Epilogue

“So great to see you back my son,” Avinash’s father said. He was continuously hugging his son, and couldn’t take his eyes off him. He was emotional and didn’t want to let go of his hand.

“I am here, dad. I will always be with you now,” Avinash assured him. His father was still rubbing his hands. Avinash supported him and made him sit on the chair.

“I am glad. Your mom, Aparna and Utkarsh always admired you, the way you were... And, I guess, they were right.” Uncle took a deep breath and inflated his love on him.

“I wish they were here.” Avinash’s voice become grimmer. He asked his father,” Did I do something wrong? If I did,

please forgive.”

“You were never wrong, my son. I am grateful for you. God has given me a wonderful son. What you did, was out of love for your family. You never went wrong. Now, it’s all over. Cheers to the new beginning. And, don’t worry about them. They’re with us in our prayers and in our hearts forever. “His father didn’t even blink his eyes once while talking to him. He was straight and profound.

“Thanks Dad”, Avinash gave him a wide smile.

Both of them were rejuvenated, and were in a mood of celebration. Avinash called up Ishita to come downstairs. Meanwhile, Saanvi joined them in the main hall with a cake in her hand.

“Wow…Chocolate flavor?”, Ishita grinned.

“Yes, Utkarsh’s favorite”, Saanvi replied. A trace of despondency ran down her face.

Ishita embraced her. Avinash also got emotional and, tears were about to fall off his eyes. He wiped it out before it could start. Ishita and Saanvi observed him but didn’t say anything. Avinash cleared his throat, and to change the atmosphere, got the knife from the kitchen.

“Who will cut it?” Avinash asked.

“Dad will do”, Ishita said in excitement. He handed over the knife to him.

“To Aparna, Utkarsh, his Dad and Avinash’s mother,”, Uncle blurted out the dedication. All of them synced it together and cut the cake.

“And cheers to a new life!”

“Cheers”, they synced it again and hugged each other.

Avinash had a special gift for his Dad. He ran down to his room. He had already gifted wrapped it a day before. He handed it to him.

“What’s this?” His father asked curiously

“Open it,” Avinash was biting his nails in enthusiasm. Uncle unwrapped the gift to see a new book titled ‘The Darkest Path’, which was written by Avinash.

“Oh my god… Avi beta… This is just…” Uncle had no words to express his happiness. He was jubilating. He turned the pages of the book, then hugged it to the core of his heart and kissed it.

“Avi… my son…This is exceptional. Thank you so much for this,” He rushed his focus more on the book. He was delighted to see Avinash’s picture at the back. He couldn’t control his emotions. He went to Avinash and imparted all the blessing he could possibly do.

“You like it, dad?” Avinash asked

“I like it? I love it”, Uncle dashed his presence on it. Ishita and Saanvi were also surprised to see the new book. One by one, they glanced at it. Avinash was standing right back, looking at them. He was happy that his broken life was turning around to a new standard. The wide scars of hate, the profound illusion of vengeance, and broken relations, He was finally released from all that hatred. A small stigma of wrong, still haunted him when he tried to remember his sister. But now he had managed to overcome it. He took three deep breaths that made him relax internally. He had learned to let things go. A sense of calm grew with love inside him. His heart was steadily healing its own remorse. He chose to take on the rest now.

Ishita noticed him lost in thoughts and nudging him asked,

“What happened?”

“Nothing”, a burst of sunshine purred on his face. He pulled Ishita towards him and cuddled her.

After a while, there was a knock on the door. Avinash rushed to open it. It was Debjit with his family, with a gift in his hand.

“Hello Avi”, he jubilated in exhilaration.

“Oh my God, Debjit bhai… Myra… Ma’am… what a pleasant surprise.” Avinash welcomed them and showed them inside. They all gathered in the main hall. They saw the cake has been already cut.

“I think we are late,” Debjit inquired.

“No, not at all, it’s just missing one slice… We can cut it all over again.”, Ishita told him.

“Great… let’s do it then…”, On Debjit’s request, they arranged the cut the splice of the cake again and cut it again.

“I was about to click a photo. Everyone please stand in a group”. Avinash announced, all of them in a rapid moment scattered in a perfect pose for the family photo. He clicked the straight photo, then a selfie.

Avinash looked in his gallery to see if the photos were blurry. If they were, he had to click it again. He told them not to move from the position until he checked the photo. He was taking a more in-depth look on it when his phone ranged. It was an unknown number. He picked up the call instantly.

“Avinash Sampath… Don’t forget the chase it still on,” a strange voice warned, from the other end.