[Location: Eastern Forest – Day Two beneath the Banyan Tree]
"Even silence speaks — when the soul has ears to hear."
The sun filtered through the heavy canopy, dappling the forest floor with patterns of light and shadow. Aarav sat cross-legged a few feet away from the wounded man, who still lay slumped against the thick root of the ancient banyan. His breathing was slow, shallow—but steady.
He hadn't spoken since last night. Not a word. Not even a grunt of pain.
Aarav wasn't sure why he hadn't left yet.
Maybe it was the man's eyes—dark, unreadable, but not entirely empty.
Or maybe it was something else. Something that hummed beneath the silence. A presence in the air itself.
There was a gravity here—not of weight, but of waiting. As if something was listening too, just beyond the edge of sound.
He'd tried everything practical already. Cleaned the wound again. Left water. Tried feeding him a few bites of fruit and roots. The stranger had accepted them wordlessly, but barely moved.
And now, there was nothing left to do. Nothing but wait.
Aarav leaned back against the banyan's trunk and closed his eyes.
Images drifted in.
The cracked mirror of the Trial of Shame.
His childhood reflection, twisted and trembling.
His voice breaking on the banks of Duhkhagraha.
And this man… who seemed to carry his own silence like a river.
Each memory rose like a breath he hadn't finished taking. Each image left behind a question: Had he come here to heal the stranger… or to be seen himself?
"What do you want from me?" Aarav whispered—not to the stranger, but to the forest itself.
No answer came.
Only the soft rustle of wind through the banyan leaves… like the whisper of forgotten prayers.
At midday, the stranger shifted slightly. His hand reached for the soil, then paused. His fingers curled into the dirt as if sensing something hidden below.
Aarav tensed. "Do you need water?"
The man said nothing. Only opened one eye—half-lidded, unreadable—and let it rest on Aarav for a long breath.
Then, slowly, faintly, he muttered:
"You are too loud inside."
Aarav blinked. "What…?"
But the man was already silent again.
A chill moved through Aarav's spine. The voice was weak, but the words struck like thunder in a temple.
That night, Aarav did not sleep easily. The words echoed in his mind, repeating like a mantra he didn't understand.
You are too loud inside.
What did it mean? His thoughts? His desires? His failures?
He watched the stranger until the stars had shifted. He watched the forest breathe. He tried to still himself, but couldn't.
The banyan held its secrets. The man held his silence. And Aarav… held a storm he hadn't named yet.
And yet… he didn't want to leave.
Not yet.
✨ End of Chapter 14 ✨
The silence deepens. And sometimes, the stillest waters hide the deepest truths.
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