A Touch
Aisha was feeling very weak so she refused to show up for dinner. Bani and Swara bought her the meal at her door. They wanted to tell her that it was okay. They were fine accepting her differences. Though they were not. But, Aisha wore a fake smug and asked them to leave her alone for that night. Just her. Alone!
Namrata was with Ishita. She had been trying too hard to make her understand that Aisha was innocent. She had been humming the same lines,
"Ishita, she didn't even know her eyes glowed until we told her. She doesn't have any control over herself."
But Ishita was hard to agree with over anything right now. She had seen it, along with the others this time, and was too much occupied making the decision to either go out and shout Aisha's truth to everyone, or sit back and wait till Aisha does something to them, and then she couldn't say anything. Nevertheless, she was the one who suffered hypnotism, not her friends. How will they understand what she felt. How horrifying is Aisha's calm to her now.
Horrifying! One term to describe every second of Aisha's life. Her food got chilled lying on the table and she sat on the windowsill. Gaping at the moon, she clutched her knees and pulled them closer to her chest.
'It's been just a week since I have been here. And, within a week, so much chaos occurred. I have faced accusations from friends, enemies and many people I don't even know. I have seen horror in all eyes. Horror in Ishita's eyes, in Siddharth's eyes... In all my friends' eyes. I've seen horror... Because of me.
I have tried my best to hide my things but they take no time to turn into an undiscovered chapter in front of everyone... And me. Wasn't it sufficient for me to hide the truth behind my full name and past that now I have more things to do?
Now, how can I be keeping my eyes from glowing when I don't even know what it means? I can see the fear and hesitation in their voices when they were here to see me tonight. How far Bani stood from me, how Swara couldn't come closer after keeping the food on the table...
The food! Shit! I don't want to eat it. And... now I don't think anyone will bother if I don't.They are trying hard to pretend that my differences don't bother them, but I've felt it, I know it, I've seen it. It does!
Yesterday, when we returned, I was accused by Ishita who thought that I am hiding things beyond limits. That I am lying to everyone. That I'm a monster, a threat, a traitor. Am I? I have no clue why my eyes twinkle... When I am going with the flow of hard emotions? Such a joke! Are they my eyes or an emergency siren?
I have become a mystery to myself. And, I need to sort it out before I start to lose the only things I have in hand. The only people who are supporting me. All I have here is just a group of four friends and an honest boy who appears out of the blue, when I need help, always. But he is right, he can't be there always.
But, now I feel he will never talk to me again; why do I have such a strange feeling? He looked at me with so much horror in his eyes. What happened that made him look so sick? I can't lose these people, they have become precious to me in no time. It's like I need these people to keep me going.
But, I can not rely on them. I will not be served with help now and then. It's high time now, I need to do things in my way. It's time to turn my misfortune and discover what I am and where I belong. It's time to change my priorities from hiding and not accepting the truth to start a journey to discover me.'
..................
On the other hand, Siddharth was to sitting lonely in his room. His room was dark and he had no roommate. His gloomy space had slight interference by the moonlight. The moon, which she used to watch. Today that was even making him feel uneasy. He wanted the mood to disappear behind the clouds so that nothing that is related to her might touch him, even though it's just the moonlight. He had not changed his attire and sat by the door, his left leg spread out straight while he held on to the other near his chest. His head rested on the cold wood and his body went mellowed out on the floor.
'She did magic! I saw it. I saw that glitter in her fingers. She relaxed me, her touch calmed me. Her touch forced me to reverse such magic I don't even know how I did it. (he looked at his hand) She touched me, I felt her warm fingers on my hand. I didn't feel the current then, she touched me. What is happening?
How did I perform that horrible magic? I have not studied or read about it anywhere. It was not any common Maya. It was even Maya. But I did it. And I even reversed it... No, I didn't reverse it, she reversed it.
I saw her doing it, intentionally. She came to me, she touched me and did... Magic. But she behaved as if she doesn't even know it. She reacted as if her eyes didn't glow or she didn't touch me or she didn't do anything.'
The past evening:
Aisha had a hard day since all eyes were looking at her in a different manner of hatred. Insulting Rishab, a royal child was too much for mony to accept. The heated argument between Rishab and her turned into a humiliation for him. They ignored each other the entire day but in the evening he took his revenge, the worst way out.
Siddharth too had a hard day explaining to people that he was not in a relationship and will not be in any. He was quarrelling with Nisha standing out in the garden.
He was straight in telling her,
"I have no interest in you or anyone else. So better not considered yourself special or close to me. We were just friends and now what I think is that we are not even that. So it will be better for you to keep away from me. I don't want to see you."
Nisha had her eyes filled with tears as her heart was broken before her love chemistry could have started. For years she had dreamt to be special to him. Though she was, he called her his friend. But her desires were larger than she had. She wanted Siddharth, always. She wanted to become his fantasy.
"Siddharth, please! Don't say that. I know you want me. I want you."
She closed the distance between him and her and clutched both his hands. She pressed them and allowed her tears to flow out. Though her tears weren't fake her thoughts were to melt him with the sour in that water.
Pulling apart he explained the same thing to her again and again. He didn't like to watch her cry but his temper over ridiculous tears was bad. He wasn't soft or calm to her. His words were enough to break her into pieces. And so they did
At some distance sat Aisha and her friends, where she was explaining her conversation with Siddharth. She was now confessing that her eyes can glow. She told them all about what happened between Siddharth and her in the forest, how he prevented her that morning and even the conversation with Miss Travi on the first day of school. It was soon to be dark so many students had abandoned the garden and moved to the canteen to tighten up their guts.
I
n the midst of the silence and calm of nature, Aisha passed a shock to them. Ishita was fuming with anger but remained quiet as none of her friends reacted. They say quietly, trying to absorb and believe whatever she was saying. No one had a word to conclude their discussion. They just, had to trust her. They just, had to help her.
The calm was also due to the time but the silence was due to the disclosure Aisha had made. There were fewer people around so the garden was a quiet place to sit, only if the mind of a person wasn't so disturbed to differentiate between silence and horror. But soon the peace was disturbed when two boys started to fight.
"Who else will it be? The worst enemies of all time, Rishab and Siddharth."
Swara said with a tone of disappointment as well as surety. A crowd gathered around when they heard the two boys quarrelling. Aisha and her friends too headed to be a part of the herd.
"How dare you?... You, filthy human, born!"
Rishab held out his hands to Siddharth's collar when he continued,
"You don't even know to what pride have you touched? How dare you throw her... Her... Cheap and dirty... Her coffee on my face?"
Siddharth released himself and huffed a moment before he spoke,
"And how dare you utter those words out of your dirty mouth? You jumped into a matter of privacy and you paid for it with your insult."
He smirked and replied,
"Privacy? Huh! Reached so far, boy?"
Understanding the crossed limits of the topic Aisha's blood had started boiling as she pushed in between the crowd to reach the front. Realising that she was raging up, her girls followed to stop her. Her fury wasn't wrong since two dots on torn pages were being connected. She was held back before she could utter anything. But, she got loose from her friends' grip trying to calm down for once.
"Shut up, Rishab!"
Siddharth said with calm when Rishab hyped him by saying,
"Oh I see, you don't like her to be pulled into it? I can see how bad you feel to hear about her... Oh, sorry! To hear about your secrets among the crowd. Is it so? You broke up with Nisha for that monster girl?"
Siddharth lost his temper and pounded over Rishab holding his collar with one hand and the other he fisted to hit him in the face. But then he realised that his hand never landed on that bastard's face.
Turning his head back, he saw a thick spiral of water holding tightly to his wrist. It was not fluid but looked more like a flexible glass tube with water filled in it.
"Now what Siddharth?"
He had a blue glow in his eyes as he glared directly into Siddharth's. He wore a smile and soon Siddhartha was pulled away as the water rolled down his hand and bound him. His torso was tied roughly as he struggled to free himself. Second, by second, the thrust of Rishab's magic increased around him. The grip got tighter and tighter to squeeze all his life out.
After a while, he allowed his powers to overcome and the water evaporated as his eyes started to glow in a tint of deep red. The warmth of the fire within him burnt every single drop of water.
The smile faded off from Rishab's face and he said,
"Couldn't hold long Siddharth? So poor at human skills? What good your human parents gave you when you have no human skills like tolerance in yourself."
Getting closer to him, Siddharth replied,
"So, it implies to you whose powers escaped to save him from just a punch... A human punch. You are a poor Jal Mayavi boy and couldn't stand me..."
Siddharth embarrassed him again. Rishab moved his fingers through his hair, pulling his blue streak of hair to fall freely on his forehead. Siddharth was ready to flee when he smiled and suddenly a vast amount of water was poured over Siddharth from a height. As the water touched the ground below his feet it disappeared and poured back again from the source right above his head. It was a repeated motion to which he failed to stop. The harsh flow of the water made him fall to his knees and then looked at Rishab, through a thick transparent layer, who was laughing with his crew.
"How does it feel now? You are on your knees and I am pouring cold water on you. Cold as death. Feels like standing under a waterfall? Isn't it perfect revenge for a cup of warm coffee? Say it, boy!"
Rishab was taking great pleasure when his eyes fluctuated towards Aisha who was impatiently looking at Siddharth. She wanted to help him but couldn't think of a way out. Her expressions spoke as if she was bearing the same pain as he was.
"About to cry Miss Lost For Years? He is just bathing, you see? Just... Bathing!"
He passed a devilish smile when Aisha glared at him saying,
"Would you please stop it? I guess it is a lot more than the amount of coffee he poured on you. Let him go!"
He liked the way he was being asked for relief as he said,
"Someone is begging for you Siddharth, you see it? What should I do? Should I?..."
And suddenly he pulled her out of the crowd by her wrist and rolled his arm around her neck, trapping her in his wicked embrace.
"Push her to you?"
He was laughing while Aisha struggled to free herself but her all focus was on Siddharth who was banging the floor in pain. By now that freezing water had started to pierce through his skin and were hurting him like cold needles. In the paleness of the water, his blood was mixed and disappeared in it. He was screaming maybe but his voice was getting lost somewhere in the mace of water. But all Aisha was hearing was his silent requests to make it stop.
Suddenly a red spark came running toward Rishab and covered him all around in a ring of fire, pushing Aisha out of it. He let go of Aisha's hand as something invisible burnt him, and she bounced away from him. Rishab was trapped in a small ring of raging fire, which was fuming greatly. His focus was disturbed as the pouring rain stopped and Siddharth was seen panting deeply for breath.
He needed help, however, no one stepped forward. Everyone was in the trauma of the happenings. Firstly the wild move of Rishab and then the strange charm by Siddharth.
For a while, she looked shockingly at Rishab but when she realised that the fight was turning the wrong way she ran to Siddharth and rubbed his back to bring him relief. She sat next to him and helped him grab the track of winds and slowly uttered,
"Please stop!"
Her eyes fell over Rishab who was locked in the flames and was too running short of breath and was unable to stop the rage of the fire by his magic. He didn't know how to reverse that kind of magic with his powers. Many other Agani Mayavi tried to reverse, but not even one could undo the charm Siddharth had done. Siddharth looked into her eyes, still gasping for air and then at Rishab when he lowly said,
"I don't know how... I can't reverse it."
Aisha was shocked as she snapped her head towards Rishab who fell on the ground and then her eyes caught the sight of the students who were running to call the professors.
"Then why did you do it?"
Siddharth managed to sit up straight and whispered,
"I don't know even how I did it. So how will I cure it?"
He could see a little glow in Aisha's eyes as she said,
"You will be punished for this. We have to cure it before the teachers arrive."
Aisha's friends gathered around them in a circle. They prevented the glow in her eyes to be seen by the others. But were shocked themselves seeing it.
Their eyes were locked on each other when Aisha's placed her hand on Siddharth's. No one noticed it, not even Siddharth realised until he felt her soft skin touching his deadly cold membrane. His eyes danced away from her face to her hand as he saw her fingers, a low glow between them. Looking back into her eyes he noticed the prominent Golden colour in them. His eyes turned to a flaming red hue as he completely lost himself in her deep eyes. A strange current ran through his veins as a red glow occurred from the other hand he had on the ground. The red flames flowed through the ground giving a slight shiver to a little area. And, the fire faded away.
Rishab was taken away by his friends, however, he wasn't physically injured but he felt weak as he gasped for fresh air. The smoke had filled up his lungs and he failed to win over Siddharth.
No one saw what happened between Aisha and Siddharth. No one witnessed how he calmed the fire as he was surrounded by Aisha's friends. The four girls noticed her glowing eyes, but not, what was only between Siddharth and Aisha.
She blinked her eyes and the glow disappeared instantly. She fell weak on the ground as a deep sigh escaped her lips. Her hand was pulled away from Siddharth which bought him back to his mind. He was in shock.
Aisha was clutching her head when her friends reached out to her and helped her. Bani touched Siddharth's wrist which had been burned by his magic, saying,
"You okay?"
Saying this she quickly tightened her grip and dried him up. His clothes were now all warm and he looked better. He had some injuries, but now, none except the burn on his hand were left. Only the burn, a burn he got due to his magic. A severe burn but healed halfway when he reversed the magic. But his other hand still had the soft feeling of Aisha's fingers over it.
Siddhartha was confused when he got up and looked at Aisha. The feel of the touch of her warm fingers against his cold, barren skin. He had great energy running through his veins. Energy, a magic, he hadn't felt before. Although he was rather more stunned at that moment.
When Aisha relaxed she stood up from the ground and looked around saying,
"All finished? Siddharth?"
She called out to him. Innocence was prominent in her voice. Her words sounded as if she had just missed a few incidents of the past few minutes.
There were few people around out of which two boys reached out for Siddharth saying
"Bro? Are you okay?"
But he was lost in his thoughts when Aisha came to him and smiled saying,
"Thankfully you managed it before the arrival of the professors. I was extremely shocked when you said you can't reverse it."
Siddharth looked down at her right hand which she kept on his and all he could say was,
"Your hand?"
Aisha looked at it with confusion and questioned,
"What? What happened to my hand?"
Siddharth slowly moved his hands to touch her fingers when he felt the same electric spark. Both of them pulled back their hands wiggling in pain as she said,
"What happened? Did you forget, about the spark thing?"
This time it felt harder and was more painful than any other they had felt before. He bobbed his head and slowly said,
"What did you do?"
Aisha smiled and then laughed saying,
"Do you expect me to do anything? Am I supposed to? But believe me, that magic was amazing until you scared me saying you couldn't reverse it. I mean, I don't like seeing people in pain but I enjoyed that torture for a few moments."
Siddharth lacked words so he just dropped a smile and returned to his room. He shut down his door on the faces of his friends saying,
"Please allow me some time alone. I don't want to talk."
She knew her eyes glowed again. She was feeling weak and sick and was carried to her room. Latching it from the opposite side, the smile on her face disappeared and she leaned over the wall. She took off her fake attire of happiness and calmness looking at her true self into the mirror. Her puffy red eyes and her day-by-day shrinking figure and beauty. There was no blush on her cheeks and no blood ran through her lips. Her body had a perfect figure but now she looked dull and startling. Her big brown eyes were soon to pop out of her skull since they had slightly swelled up. She had spent a week there and she had hardly had any sleep. Her nights were spent mostly on the windowsill after every night she was shaken by a nightmare. It was again a night she would keep looking at the sky in the hope of betterment. Betterment, which was far off her reach.