They were still standing near the forest path when the silence finally broke.
Not the silence of fear—
the silence that comes after something almost happens.
Akash walked a few steps, then stopped again.
"Big si—"
He caught himself.
Vidya noticed.
"You were going to ask about it," she said.
Akash nodded.
"The voice."
She exhaled slowly.
"I keep telling myself it was the wind," she said.
"But the wind doesn't choose words."
They didn't argue about it.
That made it worse.
As they walked back toward the village, the sky began to soften into evening. Orange light touched the rooftops. Smoke rose from cooking fires. Life returned to its ordinary rhythm, as if the day had not bent at all.
Akash noticed something unsettling.
The world didn't care that they were confused.
The wind flowed as usual and the birds in the evening who were returning to their nest, the men after work passing by for their home too... everything outside was normal.
And after a while they also returned home today first time vidya has gone too near of a forest, they decided, in the morning they continue for the search of king because he might knew something.
At home, his father was already inside. His mother had finished cooking. The main room felt crowded in a way Akash didn't want.
So they ate in Akash's room instead.
Simple food. Quiet bites.
His father spoke little, only asking once whether Akash had gone too close to the forest. Akash shook his head. That was enough.Midway through the meal, Akash reached for his cup and realized it was empty.
"Vidya," he said without thinking,
"give me the water bottle."
The room froze.
Not because of the request.
Because of the tone—natural, unguarded.
His mother looked up sharply.
Akash realized what he had done a moment too late.
She placed her hand down gently, but her voice carried weight.
"Akash," she said,
"she is not here to serve you."
Akash flushed.
"I didn't mean—"
"I know what you meant," she interrupted, not unkindly.
"But meanings become habits very fast."
Vidya lowered her eyes, ready to disappear into the wall.
Akash's mother continued, slower now.
"If you speak to her," she said,
"speak as family, or don't speak at all."
The words settled heavily.
Akash swallowed.
He turned to Vidya.
"I'm sorry," he said.
Then, after a pause, more carefully:
"Big sis… could you please pass the water?"
Vidya looked up.
Something in her expression shifted — not comfort, not happiness — but recognition.
She handed him the bottle.
Their fingers didn't touch.
But the distance between them changed.
His mother watched quietly.
His father said nothing.They ate quietly for a while.
The clinking of plates sounded louder than it should have.
Akash's father was the one who spoke first.
"You weren't home," he said, still looking at his food.
"Not for a week."
Akash's mother paused.
"He wasn't," she said. "During the war."
Her brow creased as she searched her memory.
"As far as I knew… all the family members with the elders go to find him but none could buy the memories after that day search I can't remember😞"
She stopped, then added softly, almost embarrassed,
"And when he appeared I almost forgot to ask properly."
She looked at her husband.
His father set his plate down.
"No," he said. "It's fine."
He turned to Akash.
"I'm asking."His father's voice was steady.
"Where did you go at that time?"
Akash shook his head.
"I didn't go anywhere."
Both his parents looked at him.
"I stayed," Akash said.
"Then the soldiers came."
No title.
No nation name spoken aloud.
"From the other side," he added.
His mother's breath caught.
"They killed everyone," Akash said.
"Not because of resistance. Just because they were there."
His hands tightened slightly in his lap.
"I hid," he continued.
"I don't know how long."
His father did not interrupt.
"When it stopped," Akash said,
"There was no one left to ask where to go."
Silence pressed in.
"So I stayed alive," Akash finished.
"Because someone had to."
His mother covered her mouth, not crying — holding herself together.
His father nodded once, slowly.
"What did you do then?" he asked.
Akash answered honestly.
"Nothing heroic," he said.
"I waited."
He looked down.
"I used fruits of the forest to live, and soon when intruders came to live , I used to sell honey collecting them from forest. That's how my day's were passing."
His father did not raise his voice.
"One thing still doesn't fit," he said.
"How did you return?"
Akash looked up.
"In the evening," he said,
"I went to the market."
His mother frowned slightly.
"You said you didn't go anywhere."
"I didn't leave the village," Akash replied.
"I walked where people still gathered."
He paused.
"That's where I met her."
Vidya.
"She was buying honey," Akash said.
"For that day."
His mother stiffened a little, remembering.
"She saw my clothes," Akash continued.
"She knew where they came from."
His father listened closely.
"She didn't accuse me," Akash said.
"She just looked at me… warning me not to stay here in night it's dangerous and he behaved very well with me but I.."He hesitated.
"You remember," he said to his father,
"before you slapped her."
His father's jaw tightened.
"What did she say?" he asked.
Akash answered carefully, word for word.
" That was exactly same words that time I told her and ran away, I can feel the agony ..."
"But all night… I kept hearing the words of big sis why anyone would be concerning for me."
His mother's voice was low.
"You stayed outside?"
"Yes," Akash said.
"Thinking."
A pause."And then?" his father asked.
"I don't remember sleeping," Akash said.
"I remember the question."
He lifted his eyes." At night there the sky was peculiarly dark.."
"When I woke up… I was here."
Silence.
"That was one week after that night you disappeared," Akash added quietly.
His father leaned back.
"And before anything else happened," he said,
"a man warned the king."
Akash nodded.
"Before the storm," he said.
" He was here."
No one said his name.
No one asked where he came from.
Because now, something was clear.
Events were not colliding randomly.
They were arriving.
And Akash was no longer sure
whether he was a survivor of them
—or a witness chosen too early.
Father said" that's enough for today I will ask you later "
Then they finished there dinner and went to sleep. Akash and vidya where in the same room.vidya asked " that's why you were asking me if I remember you?"
"Yes big sis " akash replied...
" We have to reach the king if we want to know more about that man" both of them said it simultaneously... Akash said " same pinch big sis" vidya laughed and replied " same pinch brother"
They fall asleep....