"Isn't it amazing how humans can live their lives happily without ever questioning how gravitational waves form?

Isn't it amazing how some people live and never question their existence?

Isn't it amazing how even atheists can live up to 100 years, even though they don't believe in the God who's protecting them?

What is it?
An illusion, for sure.

But... Is being oblivious really a boon?

And knowledge... A curse,
That stirs the inner sea,
Causing hurricanes of questions,
And gifts the restlessness of not getting answers? "

* * *

Sristhi took a deep breath and brought her right hand up to ring the door bell while the left one clutched the white envelope. Her heart was beating fast and the anticipation of her parents' reaction was killing her.

Dear Godji, I hope I'm doing the right thing. She prayed in her mind and her grip on the envelope became tighter.

She was staring at at the envelope when the door opened. Her heart skipped a beat and she gulped the saliva with fear. Slowly, she looked up and found her mother frowning upon her.

"How's Eva? " she asked, stepping aside to let Sristhi enter. She was wearing an apron, probably preparing the lunch since it was almost noon. Sristhi glanced at her mom and saw the lines on her mom's face that she had never noticed before.

"She's okay now. " Sristhi said tearing away her gaze and walked in. She followed her mother to the kitchen and dropped the envelope on the dining table.

Suddenly, the weight of everything that had happened since last night was swayed away from her shoulders. All she wished in that moment was to hide in her mom's embrace and sleep.

My life has become a nightmare I'm experiencing with open eyes.

Tears filled her eyes, threatening to break the strong demeanor.

"But you should have called me instead of texting from Eva's phone. Do you know how scared I was? " Her mother's voice entered her ear drums and she noticed tears rolling down her mom's cheeks.

Sristhi looked at her mom and gritted her teeth. She almost died yesterday because of her carelessness.

Why was she awake that night? She should have just slept.

Why was she the only one who saw Akshat's friends disposing of the body in the lake?

Why did she go out last night alone?

What would have happened if Eva was not following her last night?

She would have just died.

Mom... She don't deserve this. She don't deserve the pain of losing her only child. She deserves better... She deserves all the happiness in the world.

She looked at her mom and said, "Sorry. "

Mrs. Verma was about to argue again, tell Sristhi how irresponsible she was yesterday texting from someone's phone when her house was just next door. She opened her mouth but decided against it when her eyes fell on the white envelope. "What's this? "

Sristhi silently watched her mother tearing the white envelope to fish out its contents. She was holding her breath, observing her mother's reaction.

Mrs. Verma's eyebrows were knitted together, something she always did while reading. Her long brown hair was neatly tied in a bun and the flour on the apron was prominent.

Mrs. Verma turned to face Srishti and asked in a small voice. "What have you decided?"

Sristhi sighed and with one last look at her mom, she dashed upstairs. She couldn't stand anymore, watching her mom like that made her decision crumble.

"I have decided to go along with the student exchange program. "

Sristhi fixed her blue cap and opened the car's door. The sun had almost hidden behind the offing and painted the blue water orange.

Wow.

She was mesmerized by the natural beauty and an involuntary gasp escaped her lips. No matter how many times she would witness nature's greatness, she was always awestruck.

"Come on, Let's move. " Eva said and Sristhi sighed. That was not the moment to get distracted by nature. Sristhi nodded and followed her.

Eva was carrying a backpack while Sristhi and Akshat had a duffel bag and Akshat was carrying both of them. Sristhi had offered him help but after that river incident, he was hell bent on being her personal bodyguard.

"Where are we going? " Sristhi asked and Eva frowned. She pointed to what seemed like a white dot on flawless blue canvas and Akshat narrowed his eyes.

"Are you sure? " Akshat asked Sristhi in a low voice and she nodded. Her heartbeat was too fast for her ribs to handle and she was trying not to think how reckless she was being following a stranger.

A stranger who saved her life.

She looked at Akshat with desperation. Her eyes followed the mess he called hairstyle and the how the sunlight casted his copper hair to appear as dark brown.

"You don't have to do this... " she said and Akshat suddenly stopped. His neck snapped in her direction and there was something in his honey brown eyes that intimidated Sristhi.

"I know I'm being reckless and all... But you don't have to follow me to Tartarus." Sristhi said, trying to persuade him.

Akshat looked at her in the eyes and stepped closer. "I am following you to Tartarus or Andromeda, wherever you decide to go. "

Srishti's fingers curled into a fist and she bit her lower lip unable to contain her curiosity.

"But why? Why are you being so nice all of a sudden? "

Akshat turned to find Eva talking to someone on her cellphone, oblivious to the fact that he and Sristhi were not following her. She seemed desperate to reach wherever she was taking them.

"You won't understand. "

Sristhi chuckled humourlessly and looked around. She took a step closer to Akshat and stood on her toes. "Try me."

"You don't need to know everything. " Akshat said, stepping back.

He shifted both the duffels on one side and held Srishti's hand with the other. Sristhi's eyes widen at this gesture but when he started pulling her, she felt bad about pushing him for answers.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle that you don't know about, be kind to them ; they deserve space, time and your support.

The quote decided to make an appearance in Sristhi's chaotic mind and she calmed down. Counting numbers from one to ten, she relaxed and squeezed his hand.

"I am sorry. " she said and Akshat's eyes fell on Eva.

"I haven't killed anyone yet and you were supposed to be my first. It took a whole lot of courage to make up my mind. I thought I was doing it for a greater good. If I succeeded, they would really accept me. But I guess I was wrong. They tried to kill me too." Akshat said and Sristhi noticed something in his voice that she never thought she would. Vulnerability. "I... I never thought they would do this to me. "

Sristhi looked at him with wide eyes. The fact that he decided to open up made her feel better about trusting him. She pulled his hand and caused both of them to stop. Standing on her toes, she brought her arms up and hugged him.

"Everything happens for a reason. Believe in a good one. "

The sun had completely vanished from the view, leaving behind moon and its attendants. The reflection of the black sky in blue water was breathtaking and the cool breeze soothed the tensed muscles.

They were walking for a while now and Akshat's patience was hanging by a loose thread. Sristhi's habit of thinking out loud made this torture a little bearable.

Just when Sristhi was about to collapse and sleep on the sand, Eva stopped. For the first time since they reached the beach did she turn back and spared the poor battery of her cellphone.

"We are here. " she announced and Akshat opened his mouth to protest.

They were standing in the middle of nowhere and the water didn't seem inviting.

I think I caught hydrophobia. Sristhi thought while staring at the waves crashing at the sand.

Eva was looking excited while both Sristhi and Akshat were skeptical. They looked at each other and seemed to feel each other's thoughts when Eva walked towards the water. It reached up-to her ankles and she clapped with excitement.

Sristhi turned and saw a white motor boat coming towards them. Akshat squeezed her hand and they watched as the boat stopped a few meters away from Eva.

Eva turned to look at Akshat and Sristhi who stood frozen. She smiled a toothy smile and grinned.

"He's here. "

She announced and they turned to see a boy walking out with a squirrel on his shoulders.

A/N:

Hey there!
I hope you enjoyed it.
So... Who's the boy with the squirrel? *winks*

Part 2 has ended and now cool stuff is here... Yay!

BTW, my classes have started and I'll be updating only on Sundays. I hope you don't mind and please, share this story if you are enjoying it. It would mean a lot.

...

I have a lots of work to do. Study Redox REACTIONs and complete the assignment by tomorrow 8 am. 😭😭😭

I was feeling so frustrated that I decided to write a chapter of TGE. But now, I have to go and study.

Pray for me.

Sorry for typos and grammatical errors. Point them out if you see one. :)