Author's POV:

As Amaira was about to collapse, Reyansh hurriedly entered and held her in his arms. Picking her up, he took her to manvi and her room, laid her on the bed, covering her with a blanket, and called his family doctor to ask them about her condition.

The doctor informed them that the sudden panic could be due to some past encounter with the same situation or it could be Nyctophobia, fear of dark.

They informed him to let her rest until she wakes up and then feed her something healthy. He kept the lights on and went downstairs to make rice porridge for her.

"Help"

"Help"

"Save Me"

"Save Me"

Amaira stirred in her sleep, murmuring; sweat beads formed on her forehead as she clutched the bedsheets; tears streamed down her face as she panicked out.

Reyansh, who was now carrying porridge he made for her, heard the murmers and instantly came inside. Seeing her panic, he kept the tray on the side table. Sitting on her side, he took her hands in his, which by now had turned white due to forceful clutching on the bedsheets.

"Hey, "hey, calm down, calm down, I am here," he assured her. Her eyes opened as she hugged his arm in an instant, crying.

"Please save me; it's too dark; it's suffocating; I don't want to die, please," she cried, panicking. He caressed her back with his palm, calming her and assuring her of his presence.

"Amaira, I am here; open your eyes; there is no danger; see the lights are back," he assured her. She backed a little, still holding his arm. She looked at her surrounding, her eyes teary. She felt a wave of relief seeing the lights on.

"How are you feeling now?" He asked, wiping her tears, "I am... fine" She answered her voice, still unsure. He arranged the cushions, keeping one at her back, and made her sit properly.

She was mindlessly fidgeting with the blankets without speaking any other word. He kept his hand on her, stopping her from the actions. He held her chin with his thumb and forefinger and gently made her look at him. "Amaira Is there anything you want to share? Has anything happened to you that made you panic so much? You can share it with me," he said as she looked away, avoiding his gaze, her eyes filling with fresh tears.

"Amaira, please don't cry; it's okay if you don't want to share it now," he said as he withdrew his hands. Sensing the withdrawal, Amaira gripped his hands again. "Please, please don't leave me alone; it might get dark again; I might end up losing my life; please, I'll tell you everything." She pleaded him.

Seeing her like this, his heart felt a pang of hurt and sadness. He could sense the phase she was going through right now.

He held her hands again, assuring her with his sweet words. He then took the porridge and handed it to her, but her hands were trembling, so he took the bowl and scooped out a spoon of porridge, blowing out air to cool it a little. He took the spoon towards her mouth to feed her. His sudden actions made her stiff, but she opened her mouth and ate it without saying anything.

He gave her some medicines and made sure she slept before he left the room, taking the tray of empty bowl and glass to the kitchen.

After a few hours:

Amaira woke up now, a little fresher and calmer than before. She noticed the light of her room still on; she checked the time on her phone, and it was 1:00 am. She stood from her place only to notice a male figure sleeping uncomfortably on one of the chairs; it was none other than Reyansh.

She felt warmth spread through her with his gesture of keeping up with her while still sitting in the room. "He must be tired because of me," she thought to herself and covered him with a blanket without waking him up.

She freshened up quickly and went downstairs inside the kitchen to see nothing was cooked. She was full because of the porridge she had, but he hadn't eaten anything.

She took two vessels as she washed and kept the rice in one and the dal in the other, keeping them in the cooker. She turned on the gas and kept it to cook.

On the other side, Reyansh's eyes snap open, he notices the blanket on him, and rubbing his eyes, he looks at the bed to find it empty. Panic rushed through him. He stood quickly and checked the bathroom to find it empty. He made his way down only to find her sitting on the dining table.

He approached her. As she sensed his presence, she looked in his direction. He gave her a small smile, taking a seat on the chair next to hers.

"How are you feeling now?" He asked, "I am fine now. Thank you for today," she said, giving him a small smile. "I'm also sorry to bother you about it," she continued.

He was about to reply when the whistle sound of the cooker echoed in the room, and she stood to go inside the kitchen to turn off the gas.

Reyansh followed her inside. His eyebrows creased with worry. "Why did you cook? You are not well," he said. "I am fine now, and you haven't had your dinner yet; you'll fall sick because of me," she said, taking out the dal from the cooker.

He smiled at hearing her and went to freshen up, while she added tadka to the dal and took the dal and rice to the dining table along with a plate for him.

He returned back as he noticed only one plate being served and kept it ready. He sat on the chair and looked at her. "What?" she asked. "Why only one plate? Where is yours?" He asked, "I am full now; I had porridge." She said.

"You had it 2 hours ago; you should also join me in dinner." He exclaimed, "Either you are having dinner with me or I am not having it." He said,

"No, no, I will have it" She said, standing up to bring another plate for her. She felt butterflies dancing in her stomach as his words rang in her ears "Either you are having dinner with me or I am not having it" She blushed at the statement.

She returned with the plate, and as they sat together to eat, there was silence as no one had anything to say. Reyansh's mind was filled with questions about an earlier incident. He looked at her only to find her eating peacefully, not to give her any reason to panic anymore by bringing up the same topic. He didn't utter anything and continued with dinner.

"You must be having many questions, right? Why did I panic so much? What happened to me? You must be wondering," she said, breaking the silence. He just nodded as he looked at her in hope of getting to know this side of her.

"actually........" She hesitated speaking further. Knowing her hesitation, he said, "It's not compulsory; share with me only if you are comfortable." He assured her, and she nodded as she continued,

"Actually, I have... I have Nyctophobia I.e., fear of darkness, I couldn't stand the pitch black darkness, I get anxious and my vision gets blurry, it scares me to the depth that I get unconscious after some minutes If I don't get to see at least a little light. that's what happened earlier; everything around was pitch black, and I had kept my phone downstairs, so I didn't even have my phone with me....... please reyansh, don't tell this to anyone about today," she explained and requested.

Understanding her situation, he spoke softly, "It's okay, Amaira, I get it; don't worry, I won't tell anyone anything, promise," he assured her, and continued, "but next time, make sure to carry your phone, or at least carry a small torch with you so that next time, by any chance, such a situation arises, you won't suffer." She nodded, listening to him,

"have you consult a doctor about this?" He asked, "Yes, I have, and they say there is nothing like medication because this situation can only appear when there is no ounce of a little light, so they told me to take care of not letting such situations arise," she explained, and he nodded in understanding.

"Thankyousomuch Reyansh, if it weren't you today, I don't know what would have happened to me," she said, feeling grateful for him.

"There is no need to thank me; make sure you are safe next time, and if there is anything, you can tell me freely," he assured her.

They both then completed their dinner and went to sleep. Reyansh insisted on sleeping on the side couch to look after her for today at least, but she said she'd sleep with the lights on and told him not to worry. He was resistant to listening, but she managed to convince him finally after a lot of efforts.

To be continued...

QOTD: Do you have any fear similar to Amaira?

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