READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 11: I want Mom and Dad!
Aryan stirred from his sleep, the soft light of early morning creeping through his bedroom window. He rubbed his eyes groggily and scanned the room, only to realize that his grandmother was no longer by his side. Bewildered and still wrapped in the fog of sleep, he swung his legs off the bed and called out in a small, hesitant voice, "Grandma?"
His words echoed faintly in the empty halls of the mansion as he made his way downstairs. As he descended the staircase, his eyes fell upon his grandparents sitting together in the hall. Jai Shankar's face was drawn and weary, his features carved with deep lines of sorrow, while Vedhika's eyes were swollen and reddened from endless tears. Despite the grief that clouded them both, they sat closely together, as if drawing some sort of unspoken strength from one another.
A smile crept onto Aryan's face as he approached them, thinking that his parents must have returned and were waiting to surprise him. His heart swelled with anticipation and hope as he ran toward them, the simple joy of a child unaware of the storm swirling around him. "Grandma! Grandpa! Where are Mom and Dad?"
Vedhika looked up at Aryan, her heart breaking once more as she took in the sight of his innocent excitement. She opened her arms wide, and Aryan rushed to her, his little body filled with hope. She enfolded him in a tight embrace, her tears falling freely as she held him close, unable to shield him from the inevitable truth.
"Grandma, why are you crying?" Aryan asked, his voice muffled against her shoulder. He pulled back just slightly, his large, innocent eyes searching her tear-streaked face for answers.
Vedhika's heart twisted painfully as she fought to steady her breath. Words failed her, and for a moment, she could only hold him tighter. Finally, her voice came out, thick with emotion and grief. "Aryan, my dear boy, your parents... they... they won't be coming back today."
The weight of her words crashed down on Aryan's small frame. His face faltered, and the bright spark of joy that had filled him moments before dimmed instantly. Confusion and fear washed over him as he searched her face, struggling to comprehend the enormity of what she had just said. "But... but they promised. Where are they?"
Jai Shankar placed a comforting hand on Aryan's shoulder, his touch gentle but firm, as his voice cracked with sorrow. "Aryan, your parents loved you more than anything in this world. They were so brave, and they fought so hard to come back to you."
Tears began to well in Aryan's eyes as he looked up at his grandparents, his young mind struggling to piece together the fragments of the truth. "What happened to them, Grandpa? Where are Mom and Dad?"
Vedhika, unable to bear the weight of her own sorrow, sobbed quietly, her body trembling as she held him closer. "Oh, Aryan," she whispered, her voice a fragile thread in the silence of the room. "They... they had an accident, my love. They were so brave, but they're not here with us anymore."
The words struck Aryan like a thunderclap. His small body trembled, and he clung to his grandmother as if he could somehow hold onto the past, to the world that had been before the darkness descended. "No, it can't be," he cried, his voice breaking as the truth began to settle in. "I want Mom and Dad!"
Jai Shankar, unable to watch his grandson's pain, reached out and wrapped his arms around both of them, pulling them into an embrace that spoke of shared grief and mutual support. His own tears fell freely, unbidden, as he whispered, "I know, Aryan. I know. We all want them back."
In that quiet, heartbreaking moment, the three of them held onto each other, their grief intertwining, their pain too great for words. The mansion, once a place of laughter, love, and hope, now stood silent, its walls echoing with their collective sorrow. Yet, in the midst of their shared loss, there was a flicker of something else—something unspoken, but felt by all: a quiet promise. A promise to carry on, to protect one another, and to find a way through the darkness together, even as the light seemed to slip away.