"The Elevator to Realms" Act 16: Held Between Us

 

Kriti

“So, this has been with you all this time?”, asked Kriti with a keen expression.

“Yeah.”

Vaibhav slowly opened the box, revealing the slowly pulsing gem inside. I have not seen anything remotely close to that. He seemed very familiar with the stone as if it was made for him. With a faint smile and a hint of curiosity, I couldn’t help but wonder how would’ve been felt to touch it. He extended his arm slowly with the box.

“This is it. This is the stone that shook everything.”, I could clearly see a speck of disappointment in his eyes and voice already. I wish he could’ve told me earlier. I took the box from him.

“What does it do exactly? Where did it come from, Vaibhav? I have so many questions, Vaibhav.”, I asked with a huge curiosity. I already knew Vaibhav has been through a lot already. The accident and that fight with the unknown. It must’ve shaken him a lot.

“We have a whole day Vaibhav, I wanna know everything. Right from the start.”, I demanded.

“Yes, why not.”, he agreed as I handed the box back to him.

We decided to go to a community playground and we exchanged each and every detail about the stone and time travel. Listening to Vaibhav talk made me feel pity about the whole world, our notions, our beliefs about time travel and its impossible nature shook me.

Pooja knew everything. Right from the start. This made my heart sink when I heard about it from him. He had shared everything with her. This was the moment where I thought I could have been there for him. I felt kind of jealous of Pooja.

Pooja.

Her name hung between us like a quiet, unwanted shadow. The one which couldn’t have been avoided. The one, which I knew was coming. I didn’t want to ask more. I didn’t want to sound insecure or childish of it. But something in me twisted at the thought of her knowing every detail every event long before I did.

Vaibhav sat on the old concrete bench near the slide, elbows on his knees staring blankly at the stone glowing inside the box. He looked lost. Small. Almost fragile. Not the Vaibhav who teased me about breathing heavily the other day. This Vaibhav looked tired. Tired of carrying a world no one else could see.

I swallowed, and tried to gather some courage to move on.

“Do you… still talk to her?”, The question escaped out before I could even stop it.

He blinked, looked up, surprised I even asked him. “No. Not really”

Not Really.

Why does that hurt more than a yes? I thought to myself while slowly moving my gaze onto the ground.

“Oh,” I said, pretending to look at the kids playing Cricket and Football. Trying to mask the weird storm inside my chest. The feeling of my heart drooping low.

Anyways, he didn’t say anything for a while. The wind rustled the peepal leaves behind us. A distant whistle from a security guard nearby echoed across the playground.

Then, he signed.

“Kriti… Look. I didn’t tell her everything. I didn’t tell anyone everything. That night, the elevator, the first time it happened when we were just going to enjoy our last day at the school. When we had our farewell. I thought I was going crazy.” His voice trembled at the edges. “When the stone glowed in my hand, it felt like I was holding someone else’s fate.”

I turned to him completely. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He gave a small smile. “Would you have believed me that day? Or during our exams? Or After all your scolding?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Probably not. I would’ve thrown my pen at you at that moment.”, I let out a giggle.

“Exactly,” he said, nudging my shoulder with his. “But, you’re here now, Kriti.”

Something warm bloomed instantly inside my chest. I felt a gentle hush of comforting satisfaction in that moment. Those words.

You’re here now.

“Vaibhav,” I whispered, “you don’t have to carry this alone.”

For the very first time today, he looked at me with his gleamy eyes. Really looked at me as if my words pulled him out of some deep invisible pit. I could clearly see the relief in his eyes.

“Thanks,” he said, softer than the wind. Almost faint. “It means more than you think, Kriti.”

The world froze around me. I wanted to hold his hand, I wanted to hug him so tightly that the memories, the fear, the bruises, the time loops, all of it dissolved.

But, I didn’t.

Instead, I said, “So… show me? How did it react the last time? What did you feel, Vaibhav?”

He hesitated, but took my hand gently and placed the stone in my hand slowly.

“Just… feel it.”, he said.

It was warm. Almost alive. A gentle thrum, like a heartbeat resting against my skin.

I hadn’t expected what came next.

Vaibhav slowly moved closer. Not hesitating, not bold, just… natural. He placed his hands over mine, curling his fingers lightly around my palms, enclosing the stone and my hands inside his warmth.

The world around us fell quiet. The heat of the stone blended with the faint warmth of his touch. His hands were very steady and grounding. Almost protective. A strange shiver ran up my spine. Not from the stone, but from the closeness I didn’t know I’d been craving…

I hitched. My breath caught.

“Vaibhav… This... this feels”

A sudden gust of cold wind slashed through the playground. The stone flickered. Once. Twice.

A faint whisper brushed my ear, so soft I thought I imagined it.

“…careful…”

I froze.

“Vaibhav… did you hear that?”

He got concerned. “Hear what?”

I shrugged it off, and swallowed the lump in my throat. “Nothing. Maybe… nothing.”

It didn’t feel like nothing. It felt someone or something was paying attention.

He quickly put the box inside his bag and pulled me up. “We should go,” he said.

I nodded, but in my mind wasn’t where my feet were. It was on the whisper. On the warmth. On the way jealousy had curled inside me when Pooja’s name came up.

We both walked towards our home. For the first time, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for what came next.

***