ASRAN SERIES- ACROSS THE BORDER

Chapter - 54

Sussan glanced at the book in her hand and then at the man who has now almost turned into ashes. She felt too helpless as she could do nothing to save him. 

He did not deserve this and she knows that no one would want him to suffer all alone. But here he is, staying next to her and she could only watch him suffer helplessly.

“Is there really nothing I could do to save you?” Sussan asked as tears rolled down her cheeks.

The Ashes Lord took a deep breath and said, “Sussan, I am just a replica of the Ashes Lord. I should have long disappeared from this universe after my work is done. But I stayed back for more than a thousand years now. I think it’s time for me to vanish from here forever.”

“No! Please no…” Sussan tried to hold him but she could only hold on to ashes and even that slid down from her hands.

The Ashes Lord took a deep breath and then he said, “I met Peter! He was poisoned by the witch but do not worry, he is ok now.”

“No!” Sussan almost felt dizzy after hearing what Ashes Lord informed her.

“As I said before there is nothing to worry about as he is doing alright now. He has my heart power but you might need to be careful as I cannot protect you both once you are on your own. My time is almost up! The guardians will take me back to Ashes and…” The Ashes Lord gasped for some air and then said in a very weak voice,

“Until you give this book to Peter, you might have to face some great danger. There are people out there who may kill anyone to get their hands on this book. So, please be careful and do not trust anyone easily. Please… Please take care… This might be our last meeting and I don’t want to see your crying face before I leave.”

“Please… Please smile for me once… Only once,” Ashes Lord begged him.

Sussan wanted to say that this book was not as important as his life but she couldn’t mouth out the words. She squatted down and held his hand while tears rolled down her eyes.

“I am sorry, I feel so helpless. I want to stop crying but how could I do that now after seeing you disappear like this in front of me? I don’t know what I can do to make you feel better but I won’t let anyone who caused this to you, escape!” Sussan said with determination.

“No, Sussan. Don’t! I don’t want any more war. I want you to live a happy life with the kids and he would want that too. Please do not chase after anyone for revenge. Revenge is not something which leads to anyone’s happiness,” Ashes Lord said and closed his tired eyes.

“Let me know if you need anything, I will try to fulfill it before you leave,” Sussan asked him.

The Ashes Lord shook his head and said, “I don’t have anything to ask…”

He then sighed and said, “If only he never met that witch then everything would have been fine now. After being alone for so many thousands of years, no one understood why he suddenly thought to have a family of his own after he met you.” 

‘Now I know why he got attracted to you and sent us here,’ The Ashes lord thought and dropped a small smile.

“But the girl he fell in love with was actually already taken and she is in love with someone else. He tried to control his emotions all this time but in the end, he could not…” Ashes Lord mumbled.

When Sussan lifted her head, she noticed that he was almost on the verge of his last moments. She gripped her hands and stood up to call the guardians inside the cave.

Just when she saw above to leave, Ashes Lord said, “No one should know about Peter’s and Elly’s truth. No one! It is quite dangerous outside and if they know he has two kids then they would target them as well.”

He coughed a little and then said, “They will do anything to attain that much level of power. It is for this reason that Asran always made sure to keep him alone. His power brings destruction and nothing else. Please save Ashes Lord! This is my last request! I beg you… I am sorry… I couldn’t be of much help to you… Please nothing must happen to his kids...”

 Before the replica of the Ashes Lord could finish talking, he took his last breath, and his whole body crumbled into ashes. The light which emitted later from his ashes entered the book and then disappeared from Sussan’s sight.

Sussan sat there holding her head for who knows how long. She could not digest the news that she had heard just now. She was in love with David and he’s her husband now. 

But after the memory mask session, she doesn’t know who she really loved anymore. All she knew was that she had to do something for her kids, if not they would get stuck in this political war.

Even though David never asked about the origin of Peter and Elly, She understood that in her mind he might want to know about those details. It was not that she did not want to tell him but at that time she herself did not know how she got pregnant.

‘What should I do now? What should I do?’ Sussan grabbed the Ashes in front of her and murmured in a sad voice.

‘What is the use of knowing everything now? It’s already too late…’ She packed a little bit of the Ashes Lord's dust into a box. 

‘Now I remember everything and am able to connect all the missing dots. But what is the use now? When a part of you already disappeared from this universe?’ Sussan wanted to meet the Ashes Lord again.

Every time she went to Asran, he was there! Waiting for her! She had always had a feeling that she had forgotten something or someone. But she did not take it seriously at that time.

Now she found out which part of her memory that she could not recall. It was always blank and when she found out that she was pregnant, she instantly went into hiding! Until David found her and brought her into society.

‘He said to the world that he is the kids' father. How can I now tell him that I already found out about the kid's biological father? What would he think about me? Will he doubt that I intentionally hid that information from him?’ Sussan wondered.

But then she recalled what the Ashes Lord said before he turned into ashes. ‘Never tell the truth about the kids to anyone.’ The Ashes Lord’s words echoed in her head.

She did not know how it happened but right now all she had was fear in her heart! This uncertainty and hopelessness made her wonder what the future held for her family.

‘No, I must not give in.  I have to stay stronger than before and fight people who try to harm my family. It may be a witch or anyone else! Even if Ashes Lord tries to harm them then she will make sure that Ashes Lord pays for what he does to them,’ She took an oath in her mind and stood up from the ground.

Once she had a clear mind, she tried to walk out of the cave. But before she could leave, all the stress accumulated in her mind, made her feel dizzy once again. Just a few steps before she exited the ashes cave, her body slid down and she lost consciousness.

When she came to her senses, everything around her was empty. Suddenly she saw the book that Ashes Lord gave her beside her. Just when she was about to pick the book in her hand it disappeared. 

“Where did it go?” She swiftly lifted the infinite pouch to search her bag.

But before she could find the book, David came running towards her and lifted her in his hands.

“What happened? Where is the Ashes Lord? Did he say anything about the fight or war?” David asked her many questions but all he heard was silence as an answer from her.