My Life as a Black Swan (Vahana Vamsathaar series #2) - Published

Chapter 3

"Since when did you become a veterinarian?" asked a snooty male voice.

"Ever since Google became my best friend," quipped another voice while somebody else snickered.

There was something warm on my head, almost like somebody was caressing my feathered head.

"Anna, do you really want to keep doing that? What if it bites you?" the same guy from earlier asked in a calculated tone.

There was no response, but I heard some unhappy muttering from the same guy and was happy when the stroking motion didn't stop.

I wanted to open my eyes, but I was too weak.

I let myself drift off again as the people around me started up the conversation again.

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When I woke up again, it was because of the light streaming through the wide-open window.

The small room looked cheery with pale yellow walls. I was lying near the bed, which was close to the window. There was a table with an open laptop. A lone rolling chair was in the middle of the room. It was pretty tidy except for a towel that was draped over the chair.

I was seated on a thick blanket and covered by a thinner one too. A bowl of water was kept by my side, along with some wheat grains. I sipped the water slowly, eyeing the man in the room.

The man sleeping on the bed had an arm thrown carelessly over his eyes. He had a short beard that I doubted he cared much for, as it wasn't exactly well kept. It looked uneven in a few places. I remember asking Narain once how long it took to grow a beard. He gave me a weird look and said a month. I was not sure if I believed him. Narain has never had a beard before. Now I have wonder if it wasn't for lack of trying. Appa has a strict 'no beard' policy, which was strictly enforced by Amma.

The man was sound asleep wearing only a pair of loose pants, so I took advantage of his partly nude state. He was on the leaner side, with a thick trail of hair along his abdomen. It wasn't a crime to ogle your rescuer, was it?

I wondered where the other people were, as I remembered 3 distinct voices.

I took a moment to thank the Goddess for saving my life. My 25th birthday had been hellish, and I was just glad to be alive. I didn't know what these people had in store for me, but anything would be better than being killed.

Hopefully, they didn't eat swans. Or what if tried to fatten me up and then eat me? Do people even eat swans?

I instinctively tried to flutter my wings to disperse my paranoid thoughts when a sudden burst of pain reminded me of my injured wing. I let out a cry of pain, drawing the attention of the guy on the bed.

He lifted his arms away from his eyes and focused his sleepy eyes on me. Realization struck, and he immediately got off of the bed and came towards me.

I took a step back at the sudden movement, and he froze. Bird reflexes were really hard to ignore. He lifted both hands in a calming gesture as he inched his way forward. I held his steady gaze, which showed nothing but concern. The guy saved me from a forest at night. He wasn't going to harm me now after treating me carefully. My injured wing was wrapped tightly around my body. Was my wing broken?

The man stepped closer and slowly knelt in front of me. He seemed unsure of how to approach me, and we stared at each other quietly for a couple of minutes. I noticed his hair was tousled, and he had a haggard appearance. There were bags below his eyes as well. Was it because he stayed up to take care of me, or was it a different reason? Either way, I wished I could help the man with kind eyes and wipe the frown off of his face.