As soon as his words started making sense to me, or rather confuse me, I looked up at him, but he was already leaving. I wanted to follow him, but I also wanted to give him some space.

I forgot Yug was still standing there, witnessing one horror after the other and comprehending all of it at the same time. He did not smile at me like he would usually do. He gave me no expression other than suspicion and fear.

God this is getting worse.

---

After roaming anxiously for hours together in my room, and then outside, and then back in, I realized that this was not going to work this way. I decided to go to Neel's quarters and tell him the truth.

---

"Neel" I called out, standing outside his room and knocking at his door. He looked at me, and his eyes said clearly he had been crying. It hurt me, to see him like this and not being able to do anything. Instead I was one of the reasons maybe.

"We have got to talk. Is now a good time?" I was afraid, and therefore spoke timidly. He let out a deep exhale and sniffed, before finally nodding in yes and turning away from me.

I boldly tried walking in.

There was a moment of silence, an awkward silence.

"You can ask me anything you want." I told him finally. My heart wanting to come out of my body and escape this planet.

But human heart is strong. It stays in, survives, regardless of how many times it just wants to quit.

His face was still turned away from me saying nothing yet.

This is going to be difficult.

"Did you know about this?" I stated again, uncertain of anything but still anxious.

He sighed and then nodded again.

"Yes I did." He finally turned to look at me. I did not know how I felt about this.

"How long has it been?" I was puzzled, curious, scared.

"It has been a while. Remember when we had returned from the other palace after getting my father along with us over here?"

That was approximately 2 months back.

"Yes.." I wanted him to continue.

"That day you wanted all four of us to spend some time together."

Does he mean double date?

"I had come to your room that day, if you remember."

"Ofcourse I remember, that was the first time you entered my room." And I also remember how you held me that day, and kissed me and--- hold on, was it because he had seen me with the gadget.

The realization immediately had me shot a glance at him in disbelief. There was no way it was that day.

"I was about to knock the door of your room, but it was already open, and that is when..." he stopped and matched his eyes with mine.

My jaw almost dropped.

"Jiera" he held my hand and made me sit next to him on the edge of his bed. "I won't say I am brave, I am not. But I am not a coward either Jiera. There were only 2 times in my lifetime where I was too scared to do anything. First , when my mother was getting killed and second.." he took a pause, deciding if she should continue or no. "second was when I had seen you use that gadget for the first time." He spoke softly. As if it was his fault seeing me use the device.

"It suddenly made sense. All of it. Why do you act so different, why do you carry different beliefs, where do you get all these weird food from, why do you use different words. Everything made sense." He continued.

"Why didn't you ask me anything about it then?" I was concerned but I wanted to be as reassuring as possible.

"Because I was scared, not of the gadget; but I was scared if I will ask you anything you don't want to answer, you might leave. And...and I don't want you to go. So I pretended all this while."

I scoffed. "If I could leave so easily, I would have already left within a day or two." I responded.

"What does that mean?" he asked. I nodded my head indicating 'nothing'

"Weren't you afraid, weren't you suspicious about me, like your mother was?"

"I was. For a fraction of minutes, I did find you suspicious. But then I saw you looking at the device and crying. You were effortlessly using that device and.. I realised, there's no way you can kill me. You can't even get back up on your own after you fall."

His words had me chuckle although we were crying.

"But I am still nervous. I am still curious. Who are you? You are definitely not from here. Where is your home. Is it far? Have you lost your way back?" I could hear his impatience

"It's far, my home." I finally said.

"Is it outside the country?" Neel was nervous again. If I was someone out of the country, he will have to send me back as soon as possible, because if the nation comes to know, this will be a huge problem.

"No! It's not out of the country, but it will still take a lot of time to be there."

"what? Why! If it's in the nation, it won't take long. Where are you from?"

"You don't have to travel distance to send me back to my home, you have to travel time." As I had expected, none of it made sense to him. my words, my world. None of it.

So I decided to continue.

"I come from an India, which is approximately 600 years away." There was a still, confused, blank Neel staring at me. His grip on my hand had loosened, but I can't complain. I am thankful enough he did not faint.

He gave out a small "what?" after few more minutes of silence.

I sighed as I nodded. " I am telling the truth. I am from your country. I am from what your country will be in 600 years. This is year 1441, and I am from year 2069."I don't know how much of it made sense to this man sitting in front of me.

He left my hand pulling it back, shifting behind in his place, away from me. and then getting out of bed to stand away from me.

There was nothing I could say, nothing I could do. He was behaving what a normal person should behave. Instead he was behaving better. He did not throw me out, or called me insane, or dismissed me truth calling it 'loads of bullshit'.

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, before finally gathering something to utter, "how" He said.

I stayed quiet, wanting him to continue. Ask me all that he wants to.

"How is that possible?" it was more like he was talking to himself.

He opened and shut his mouth a couple of times more.

"How are you here?" he looked at me, indicating that he wanted an answer to this.

"It was a failed, stupid, science experiment." I should have said, 'failed experiment and stupid me.'

"What... what experiment." Neel was being restless. It was the stammer that came with the impatient tone of his.

"I don't know the details..." now that I speak about it, I realize how dumb I have been all the while. I volunteered without knowing the details, just because of my stupid infatuation over Aakav.

Neel could sense what brainless episode of my life I am going to put forth. He narrowed his eyes at me as his settled back in his place near me. But not too close, as I would I have wanted.

"I volunteered for an experiment and there was some..... uh problem."

"uhh hold on!" Neel interrupted. "You volunteered for an experiment without knowing the details." Here you go. He caught me, just like that.

"uhh... yes.... Things turned out that way." I hesitated.

"So what was the problem that occurred."

"I was supposed to be here only for one day. But when I was in between the two worlds, I heard those people discuss, that the machine was set to send me here for more than one day."

I did not tell him the actual time frame. That I was here for one year. That I hardly have less than 2 months left to leave. I was already anxious about it, I didn't want him to worry about it too.

There should atleast be one of us, who gets to enjoy the relationship without the fear of tomorrow, isn't it?

"Who are those people." He asked again.

"one was Aakav, uhm..." my ex-crush? "umm.. a friend. And other I am assuming was his professor Darsh. I couldn't see him, I was halfway in this world." I recollected the horror that day had made me witness.

It was very evident that he did not understand more than half of what I was saying. It was in the way his lips curled, it was in the way his eyes narrowed, all of it telling me, how difficult was it for him to understand.

And then he asked me something I never wanted to answer.

"So how long are you here for"

2 months or less.

"I don't know. It... I just don't know." I couldn't meet eyes with him. He'll know I am lying. He'll know I am upset because I already know when am I supposed to go.

He scoffed. "Does that mean, you can leave anytime?" I did not think about this side of the coin.

If he thinks like this, it will make him even more restless.

"no.. no.. no!" I tried defending. "I'll know."

"How?"

I need to think of something quickly.

"This.." I lifted my Q tab that I had carried along. "This will tell me in advance." I lied once again.

"Will this work here?" he questioned.

"Hopefully. We'll know. But I am not leaving anytime soon." I reassured.

He sighed, giving up his alert posture and finally relaxing next to me.

"There's just so much I don't understand. There's so much I want to ask, but there is so little energy right now, that I have."

"It's okay, I'll explain all of it, whenever you want me to." I shifted next to him, leading this time, keeping my hand over his thighs while he only eyed my movements. I looked up at him, offering me the saddest smile possible. And then finally pulled me into a side hug.

He relaxed his head over mine. while I just nuzzled over his chest, internally apologizing for not being able to tell everything correctly.

He kissed me over the top of my head, while moved further close to him, attempting to absorb all his warmth from the bare minimum skin I could get in contact of due to all those heavy layers of clothing.

He slowly turned to me, his head still over mine, and now both his arms holding me, pulling me even closer, indicating that our sanity has left the room, and we are giving space to our hormonal instincts.

I straddled him, with my face buried in the angle of neck, while he cradled me, rocked me, until we both could settle the day in.

What journey will we be a part of henceforth?

________________________________________________________________________________

Hey you guys.