It was the painful moment in the flashback, after Ira had been completely rejected by her parents and left home to find Onik, but before she reached him.
The night was deep. Gusty winds and heavy rain poured down from the sky. Ira had taken shelter on the rooftop of a friend's or acquaintance's house. Lightning flashed repeatedly, and the thunder roared like doom.
Then Ira sat on the roof.
Darkness surrounded her, broken only by the momentary flashes of lightning that illuminated the entire sky. This storm, this lightning, seemed to be all the wrath and curse of society raining down on their love. Ira, in her wet clothes, sat huddled near the stairs.
She did not avert her gaze, looking steadily at her stomach. Her hands were tightly wrapped around her belly.
Lightning was striking. Whenever the lightning flashed, the soft hands on her stomach and her eyes—everything was clearly visible.
Ira (Whispering, ignoring the roar of the clouds, talking to the tiny life inside her):
"Can you hear it? That is our father's rage, and my father's fear. The sky is crying so loudly; that is the crying of our mothers. They want us to disappear. They want it all to end."
A sharp clap of thunder shook the corner of the roof.
Ira laughed, but it was a laugh born of pain.
"But listen... you know we won't end. You know our love, and your father's love, is much stronger than all this thunder, than all this sky and earth. Let them all be angry. Let them all cry. The two of us—no, now the three of us—we will fight. And we will win. You just stay calm, my darling. You are our everything."
In the momentary light of the lightning, fierce determination shone on her wet face. That same night, Ira used the storm as a symbol of her resolve and set out to find Onik.
Reunion in Cox's Bazar: No More Consent
There were no more signs of the thunderstorm in the sky, but the air was still heavy. Dawn had not yet broken. After a long, exhausting journey, Ira finally stood at the door of that familiar apartment in Cox's Bazar, where they had last been together.
Hearing the door open, Onik quickly got up. Perhaps he was still awake, restless.
Onik's eyes couldn't believe what they saw at first. The four months of silence, the four months of pain and resentment, seemed to lift instantly. Seeing Ira, his face filled with joy, anxiety, and fatigue.
One night, Ira arrived in Cox's Bazar to Onik.
Onik couldn't say anything, only looked at Ira. A silent question streamed from his eyes, "Why did it take so long?"
Onik slowly approached her, a faint smile on his lips.
Onik (In a tired, subdued voice): "Come, sit. Are you... are you okay?"
Ira entered and sat on the sofa. Her body was weary from the long journey, but her eyes held an indomitable resolve.
Onik sat beside her and sighed deeply. He understood why Ira had come. The hardest truth of their lives lay before them.
Onik (Looking down, softly): "My mother and father are not agreed. They won't accept me as their son."
Ira smiled—that smile which belittled all pain. She held Onik's hand, just as she had in Japan.
Ira (In a firm yet calm voice): "My mother and father are also not agreed. That is why I have come. Now, we don't wait for anyone's consent. Now, we fight only for ourselves."
At that moment, all hiding ended for their lives. The two blows, the two families, the four months of silence—everything culminated in this new, difficult resolve.
Symbolic Immersion: The Cleansing Fight
Dawn had just broken. The darkness of the night hadn't fully lifted, but an orange glow was beginning to appear on the eastern horizon. Just like that light, the rage, fear, and future uncertainty of the past four months exploded into a fight that morning.
Early in the morning, Onik and Ira argued.
The argument wasn't about love but about their failed attempts to forget each other and what they should do now that both families had rejected them.
Onik (Shouting in pain): "Why did you come! Why did you come after four months! You knew what my father would do! What do we do now? Your mother... my mother... why did we hurt them so much?"
Ira (In intense agony): "I tried to forget, Onik! You tried to forget too! But this (pointing to her stomach) wouldn't let us forget! Now there's no turning back! I can't take this pressure anymore!"
Ira was wearing a symbolic outfit—a thin, white dress on her body. Onik was also in a similar light attire. This white dress was the symbol of their new beginning, which was now being scorched by the fire of their argument.
Distraught with anger and pain, Ira ran out. She ran from the apartment straight toward the sea. She didn't stop, even when Onik shouted after her.
Ira reached the seashore, crying as she walked into the sea. The residue of the argument was still on her body, and the pain of four months of silence was in her heart.
In the white dress, Ira quickly walked further and submerged herself in the middle.
She dove—as if she wanted to drown her father's slap, her mother's silent tears, the four months of silence with Onik, and all the fear of society under the seawater. Ira completely surrendered herself to the salty water.
The Blue Glow and The Vow
Onik rushed after her. He saw Ira sink, and all his fears became reality.
Ira allowed herself to sink for a moment. Then Ira sank. The four months of silence, her father's slap, and society's pressure—everything seemed to pull her down.
Onik ran. He did not delay for a moment, ignoring everything, and jumped into the water. Deep in the water, he saw Ira still, lifelessly sinking.
Deep underwater, Ira reached her limit of agony and closed her eyes. Then Ira slowly closed her eyes, as if seeking freedom from all the struggle.
Onik quickly reached her and grabbed hold of Ira. He pulled her strongly towards himself.
Exactly at that moment, something miraculous happened deep in the ocean water. In the murky light of the early morning, a gentle blue glow spread around them inside the water. That light seemed to turn the ocean around them into a sacred temple, with nature itself acknowledging their love.
In that blue light, Onik held Ira tightly. He placed his lips on Ira's forehead and passionately kissed her forehead. This kiss was not just love; it was forgiveness, surrender, and a silent, underwater oath to protect their child.
With the profound kiss and the holy touch of the blue light, the four months of silence underwater were broken. Onik pulled Ira quickly up toward the surface.
When they floated to the surface, the sun had just begun to spread its first light over the sea horizon. Both Ira and Onik were panting, but their eyes held a new, sacred peace. Their old lives were submerged deep in the ocean. This time, they were free.
The Final Question of Freedom
Even after surfacing, Ira was still trembling. Her crying was heavy and intense, like her wet clothes. Her mind still swung between liberation and the struggle.
Ira grabbed Onik's shirt tightly—the way a drowning person holds onto the last anchor. Tears were still in her eyes, but her gaze was fixed on Onik's.
Then Ira cried.
Ira (In a wet, trembling voice): "Why did you save me? Why? I wanted to go! Why didn't you let me be free? Tell me why?"
She grabbed Onik's shirt, pulling him towards her chest. Her question was why he dragged her back to this difficult life from that moment of ultimate peace.
Onik, firm like the calm sea. His hand moved Ira's wet hair aside and touched her cheek.
Onik (In a firm and calm voice): "I cannot let you die, Ira. I saved you because you are not just mine, and you are not just your own."
Onik held Ira gently in the water.
Onik: "I saved you because, in that blue glow deep in the water, I swore an oath to our child. This baby will see the light of the world, Ira. I saved you because this love and this life are more than both of us. Now there is no way to turn back. Come on, now we go to them."