Destiny's Play!!

Chapter - 47

Avni had never thought that jumping off the cliff would make her feel liberated. She had practically turned away when she had stood at the edge of the cliff with Karan standing right behind her. But where she had trembled in fear despite all his assurances he had stood there calm. She had sensed the excitement, the rush in him. His whole body had tightened in the anticipation of the thrill. He had held her close. His arms wrapped protectively, comfortably around her. Since she was short and petite that wouldn't have posed a problem for him anyway. But it was his warmth that had wrapped itself around her dulling her fear of what was to come. She had felt safe and secure. And excited. She had instinctually known he wouldn't let her get hurt. The best part was that though it had felt a little odd at first to be held by him in that manner she had soon felt the rightness of it too. Sahil had never held her this way. He had never touched her. But she had stopped those thoughts right there. She hadn't wanted to think of him in that moment. Karan was a strong man. Not just on the inside but even on the outside. This was the first time she felt his physical strength. She had a vague memory of him carrying her that first time when she had fainted but she had been in a semi-conscious state and hadn't really remembered much of it. And there had been that instance when he had righted her on that boulder but even then she hadn't known what his embrace would feel like. Her heart thudded in her chest at such closeness. One because she wasn't used to being held in this manner by a man and two because she was aware of him this time round. How had he felt she had no idea? He had spoken softly in her ear instructing her. His arms were like steel bands what with all the lean hard muscles, his body was equally hard. And yet she had felt cushioned. Strange, how she had practically swooned at that thought. It had felt so right. And that was what had puzzled her the most. Her reaction to him.

Then they had jumped. He hadn't given her much time after he had told her to do that. Which was good in a way. He hadn't given her time to react or go all nervous again. He had held her and she had closed her eyes. He had been right. As they propelled downwards towards the ground at an alarming speed she had felt her heart drop and then the rush hit her. He had let her go in that moment but not before telling her what he was going to do. The beauty of it was he wasn't giving her time to think. He told her and then the next second she was flying alone. At that she had screamed. She had felt abandoned. And she had opened her eyes but as she was lifted into the air again and she was swung around she could feel the wind around her, hear its sound in her ears almost as if it was talking to her, she heard the river gurgle on its way through the cliffs. He had been right. She felt weightless. She felt free. And she had laughed enjoying the strange sense of being light. She had in that moment imagined herself of being like a bird gliding through the air. It was what she had for the first time experienced. Liberating. There was no other word that would do justice. Just this once she had done something so insane in her life. And there was nothing to bind her to stop her. It was amazing. And then while she had hung upside down and felt blood rush past her ears she had opened her eyes to see a grinning Karan who was obviously busy hauling himself up. When she tried to do that he told her not to. Soon she felt herself being pulled up. Inch by inch. And she admired the beauty of it. The whole experience had made her feel alive. Once she was on the ground her feet had shaken so bad she had to sit down for a few minutes before she could stand and feel the sensation return to her legs. Then the prickly feeling came up and she walked around in circles to get the blood circulation back in her veins but she couldn't stop talking. She thanked everyone for bullying her into this and then likened her experience to that of a bird in flight which was when Karan had told her that was a different experience and if she was up to it maybe next Saturday he would take all of them for a paragliding session. And she had agreed in the heat of the moment.

Now that she sat and watched Karan get ready for his second jump she felt like a fool. Just because she had survived this didn't mean she could survive the next. But then Karan had made it possible for her to do this of course it was Uday's idea but she was sure had Karan not been here she would never have taken the jump. So maybe with him around she could do other stuff too. She bit her lip as Karan gracefully jumped off the edge. One of Uday's buddies as well as employee had come in to help out. He was the one who kept a watch on every jump. Karan was such a strong vibrant person how could she ever match up to him? What would he do if he found out about Uday and his plan? He would certainly hate her. Then what will she do? Worse what if he ever found out who she really was? And that thought had dampened her spirits even more. He would never forgive her lie. She had gone quiet again after that. If anybody else noticed they didn't comment and she secretly thanked them.

Uday cracked a joke and she laughed softly. He was such an amazing person too. The amount of seriousness and care he had shown for their secure and safe adventure was commendable. She hoped Riddhima could see that too. She watched as Karan came back up. And she released a slow breath she had been holding. Despite everything that was going on in her head she realized a small part of her had been secretly wishing to see his familiar face again, his two feet back on the ground safe. What was this feeling she had for him? Was it just plain concern or something bigger? As their eyes had met she had looked away. There was a frown on his face. Was it because of the strain he had just put himself to while hauling himself up or was it something else? She sighed hoping things would remain just the way they were. She was slowly beginning to believe life had suddenly given up on torturing her and wanted her to be happy from now on.

Wishful thinking of course. Life was giving her a second chance but not before it made her face her past. To move ahead one had to stand up to the past and put it firmly where it belongs. Would Avni be strong enough to do that or would she crumble and hide?

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