Chapter 31: Confronting the
Shadows Within
Rhea’s
heart skipped a beat as the mist parted to reveal a vision—her mother, standing
in the doorway of her childhood home, her face drawn with worry. “Rhea, you
can’t keep running away. The world needs you. You need to stop hiding from your
own strength.”
Tears
welled in Rhea’s eyes. She had always felt torn between the expectations placed
on her and her desire to protect her own heart. “I… I didn’t want to be a
leader,” she whispered, as if the vision could hear her. “I didn’t think I was
strong enough. I wanted to live a life that was just mine, not one weighed down
by responsibility.”
But the
vision of her mother didn’t fade. Instead, it morphed into something darker, a
reflection of her own guilt. “You’re afraid of failing. Afraid of not being
enough.”
“Stop,”
Rhea gasped, gripping her shard. “I’ve already faced this fear.”
But the
vision persisted, wrapping itself around her like a suffocating cloak. The
weight of the expectations, the pressure to be perfect, threatened to crush
her.
Kiran
reached out, his voice steady but full of emotion. “Rhea, you are enough. We
all are. We’ve come this far together. We’re not alone.”
Rhea took
a deep breath, grounding herself in Kiran’s words. The vision flickered and
began to fade, replaced by the warmth of their connection.
