“Why!?”
A voice resonated from the top of a cliff. There was an emotional trauma in that expressive yet sorrow-filled groan. If one could feel the voice, they would probably sense the absolute pain that had cried out with the symphony of sad ocean. The cliff was at least seven hundred meters tall, and the bottom was an expansive, enigmatic but ferocious river, Raudhara. It was just because of its dominant nature that this river had gotten such a powerful name.
On the cliff stood a youth with trembling brown eyes, trying to control his troubled emotions as he breathed. As he looked below, his eyes revealed a 10-inch knife thrust into his chest with a golden hook, right at his heart. Touching the cold blade, he looked straight ahead, revealing another youth standing tall in the same blue clothing but with an emotionless expression.
“Why did you do this!?”
Shivam’s complexion was turning blue, and his clean clothes were stained with his warm blood. Just a couple of moments ago, he was there trying to enjoy the moment carelessly, but who and how would someone imagine such a thing to happen - a friend getting stabbed by his friend? He was a 20-year-old university student, and the other youth standing before him with an unfazed gaze was Suram, his classmate and childhood friend.
“Why? You ask?” Suram sighed. “It’s because I hate you.”
What! What is he saying? Shivam thought. But just as he tried to process everything, Suram moved and wrenched the knife out of Shivam’s chest forcefully, intensifying his suffering much more than before.
Ahk!
Shivam immediately vomited blood as the knife was pulled out. Holding the weapon tightly, Suram looked at Shivam’s deep eyes indifferently before touching his face and saying, “I hate when you smile like everything is easy for you."
Snorting, he added, "Every damn time I got compared to you by everyone was hell to me. I don't understand why you kept trying to fit in when you are just a bastard son of someone who didn’t even care for you. I swear to God if we ever meet again, then please don't be my guest. I hate every inch of your existence.”
“So, it is better for you to die than live to overshadow me. Goodbye, Shivam.”
Ah!
Just as Suram finished his words, he placed his right hand on Shivam’s bleeding chest and pushed him off the cliff. Time seemed to stop for Shivam as he witnessed the betrayal, betrayed by the one he trusted the most.
Shivam and Suram were childhood friends. They grew up together as brothers with similar tastes in everything. Still, unlike Suram, who had parents, Shivam was raised in an orphanage. Growing up with no parents to get support from, Shivam’s life was miserable, but he remained strong with an unwavering spirit. In his hard times, the one who remained his comfort and support was Suram.
Splash!
As a droplet fell onto the raging river from the bottomless cloud, Shivam fell into the cold water. His warm blood turned stone cold, merging with the colorless water to form a thick red texture.
Looking down, Suram added, “I hate you from every inch of me. But...why do I feel like this?” he knelt as sorrow filled his empty heart for uncertain reasons that was trying to eat him alive. He was becoming breathless as his heartbeat raced with each passing second. As he continued to look down at the blood-stained water, he couldn’t stop reflecting on Shivam’s memories in his heart, being haunted by his own emotions at the sight.
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“What did I do to deserve all this misery?”
Shivam sank deeper and deeper as each second passed, but finally, a gust of wave carried him further into the river’s depth. With each second that passed by, he saw his memories coming back to him, reflecting his life.
There's a saying in the world of living that if a person is moments away from death, then they'll be able to see their whole life's reflection in just a moment of seconds before they die, and maybe Shivam was experiencing the same phenomenon. Which meant, he was near the door of the death.
Silence!
The sky suddenly grew calm; the wind and the tides of the ocean crushing the rocks nearby went still. But the only thing echoing was the sound of a tense heartbeat that belonged to only Shivam.
“I feel cold!” Shivam thought, “Am I going to die of betrayal? I see, Suram,” he sighed, “You never liked me. If there is a chance for us to meet again, then I will make you regret making me your enemy. You will regret it!”
By releasing his final breath, Shivam dwelled into coldness, turning all pale.
Meanwhile, “Goodbye; I wish you happiness.” Turning back, Suram gazed at the sky and left the site.
The day ended with people everywhere searching for Shivam from day to night, but none could ever guess that Shivam had died leaving this world in the hands of his only friend.
…
Swish!
A gust of silver wind stormed gracefully into a dark void filled with darkness. The void looked as if it were a place where all the energy resides. But strangely, something was off. There was nothing but calm darkness everywhere. It won’t be wrong to describe that particular place as the true peaceful darkness.
The void was spread far and wide as if it had no end or the start, like infinite to what none can comprehend its beginning or its end.
The gust of silver dust started gathering, spreading its particles into the whole void. In just a second, the whole previous pitch-dark void now suddenly reappeared, starry, filled as if someone had just sprinkled a black canvas with silver stars.
The silver gust flew up in the void, clearly visible in black space. As it flew, it spread its afterimages like a halo of divinity as soon as it began gathering in one place, taking on a human shape.
“Open your eyes, my son.”
A grace-filled feminine voice resonated within that place.
“Am I alive?” slowly the silver figure opened its eyes with calm.
The feminine voice once again resonated, “Just a small scratch can never harm you, my dear son. Your time has come for you to know your fourth identity. And Many are waiting for your return.”
“Son?”
The translucent silver figure was none other than Shivam in his spirit form. He turned around, trying to find the source of the sound claiming him to be her son. But there was nothing except for the starry void.
“Who are you and why call me, son? I was born an orphan.” Shivam trembled. But soon he realized that he was the void, which was truly unfamiliar and strange to him. “What is this place, where am I, and why do I look like this?” he thought.
“Shivam, you are my son, the son whom I gave birth.” The voice gently exclaimed. “You have forgotten your real self in the constant karmic birth cycles, but finally the time has come when you will get a chance to know who you are.”
The spirit body of Shivam began to fade as the voice stopped. Feeling as if his life was once again going to wither, Shivam added, “Am I dying again? But it feels relieving. Where will my broken soul gather?”
Several thoughts came into Shivam’s mind as his spirit body trembled in the air. But as he remained calmly depressed, the same voice once again echoed. “My son, you are not dying, but you are going back to the place where you got your very first karma. But remember, only by breaking your limits can you become truly worthy of reclaiming your true title. I hope you can once again show me your real self.
With a gust of silver air, Shivam’s spirit dispersed into the air.
The life that gave Shivam nothing but misery had finally withered; his silver spirit has far surpassed the life of an orphan, and finally, he has gone, escaping the life of pain from this world. But is his real destiny just started?
***