**Setting: Evening, the gurukul garden**
Dharaaya wandered the garden, lost in thought. She spotted Akash sitting alone on a rock,
gazing at the horizon.
**Dharaaya (softly):**
"Akash, why are you alone? What thoughts consume you in this silence?"**Akash (eyes fixed on the horizon):**
"Where is the calm? This evening, the birds' chirping… it soothes the turmoil within. In this
silence, I gather myself."
**Dharaaya (concerned):**
"Your words carry a deep sorrow, as if you fight your pain alone. No friends, no sharing… just
solitude."
**Akash (with a faint smile):**
"We all fight our sorrows alone, Dharaaya. What troubles you? Sometimes you're so lost in
thought you can't focus."
**Dharaaya (in a broken voice):**
"How do you control your mind, Akash?
I feel a pull I can't stop. A thought has taken root, and I
can't share it. I want to break free. Help me."
**Akash (seriously):**
"Don't run from the thought. Face it. Understand why it pulls you. Reach its root, and its hold will
fade."
**Dharaaya (hopeful):**
"I'll reflect on your words, Akash. Thank you."
Akash's advice planted a seed of hope in Dharaaya's heart. Lost in thought, she walked away, wondering if she could truly trace the root of the pull she felt towards Vayansh.
But as she glanced back, she saw Akash still seated on the same rock... his eyes now held not peace, but a deep, suppressed anguish. He opened his palm, revealing a broken pearl, and whispered to the wind, "We so easily guide others to face their roots, while our own remain forever buried."