"Where did you go? That blonde boy again?" Mrs Laghari asked as she crossed his arms and stood before Rhea, as she quietly entered the house.
"Kind of?" Rhea smiled, nervously.
"So late at night?"
"Mom, it's only eight. And he called me at five, it was my mistake I got late. Anyways, where's my dinner?" She quickly changed the topic. She carried the food to her room and looked at the paint on the floor.
"Mom, give me a mop,"
She cleaned the paint and looked at the floor which was now a mix of many colors. "It stained! My floor!" Mrs Laghari complained but Rhea looked at the stain carefully. It was a beautiful pattern.
How mind blowing it is that the same imperfections can be beautiful to one and ugly to another. It just depends on who is looking, "Mom, I'm going to the terrace once,"
She left with her drawing book. She reached up, she was used to seeing Ember sleeping at the corners of the terrace of the mall. She sat on a cardboard laid on the floor and kept her drawing book over it, "Ember..." The city looked so small, and so did her problems. The world seemed to move so fast, all the traffic lights moving past on the orange lit streets far away from her. She remembered holding him between her arms just a few hours ago. She didn't want to let go, but she remembered his eyes,
"Why do your blue eyes..." She felt the tips of her pencil as his eyes filled her mind, they had never left her ever since she first looked into them, but they always, "Smile at me like that?"
The night didn't have a single star, the October breeze felt cold. The loving desire turns into mere strokes of her hand. She hugged her drawing book and slowly began moving sideways, smiling mindlessly and looking at the moon.
Inspiration,
That's not all she wanted from him anymore. Inspiration came from within, not by people. They are mere facilitators, not the sources of inspiration. Ember, he wasn't a source of inspiration. But she's never wanted to make sources of inspiration happy. But him, she wanted to make him happy.
"As I feel the winter breeze, I remember what you give me," She sang, softly, "You give the courage to move on, you make life seem easy," She pressed her hands on the cardboard, holding the weaight of her boody on her arms and closed her eyes, "We met like sky and ground, your seas, they make me drown, and I ask, 'How do we do' We have changed now. Oh, these fragile flakes of love,"
Fragile flakes of love,
She wanted them to reach him before they melted. She took a deep breath and looked at her phone screen, "Wanna meet at that paint shop again this Sunday?"
'It's time I tell him what I feel'
. . .
Ember and Jack sat inside that greenhouse, sitting before that same marble table, drinking blue tea and eating some blueberries. The aroma of flowers and herbs filled the air, "What did you find yet?" Ember asked him as he took a bite of a blueberry muffin.
You know, Ember, psychology is not such an easy science to study," Jack took a sip of his tea and Ember looked at him, "With different people comes different ideals, beliefs and concepts. Different complications, different minds, some new kinds of disorders, new behaviours, different kinds of attitudes, it's just so beautiful to witness"
"It isn't beautiful," Ember looked at him, "Stop romanticising pain, there's nothing beautiful about it. Just tell me what you found,"
Jack got up, "We'll have to start the therapy as soon as possible,"
Ember smiled, "That's what I wanted to hear," He looked at Rhea's text and left it on seen, "Sure," He texted.
. . .
Neel went to Rhea's place but her mother told him that she was on the terrace. He walked on the stairs, mapping out everything that he would say. But when he saw her, sitting on the cardboard with her drawing book on her lap, he couldn't move any futher. She turned to look at him,
"Oh Neel, hey," She smiled.
"Arorhea,"
"Hello,"
"You are drawing?"
"Yes, the city, look," She showed him her rough sketch and then looked away, "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I shouldn't have done that,"
He looked at her for a while, "I can't understand our relationship," He said, "We don't even feel like freinds. It's like...Your love for that blonde boy is gravitatting you away from all others,"
"That's not true," She looked at him, "I feel like...I don't deserve you, Neel,"
"You are all I have though," Neel moved closer to her and looked into her eyes "I can't tell you how much it destroyed me when you and Ember left. I haven't made a single friend since then. I couldn't. I was afraid of being left behind again. When I met you again, I was so happy. I wanted to talk to you again. But you seemed to have forgotten me. And I couldn't approach you because I was scared,"
Rhea smiled, "At some point, we are all cowards but you must do the things which you think you cannot do. After all, fear is an illusion," She smiled "If you use that energy for self-confidence- You will be amazed,"
"Fucking Ember messed it all up,"
"Stop blaming your insecurities on him. You're not acting any better than Nikki," Rhea turned away, leaving him speechless, "Why don't you both talk?" Rhea suggested.
"I've said a lot to him. He would surely hate me now,"
"Pretty sure he won't," Rhea smiled, "This Sunday, meet me at the metro station,"
And surely, Sunday came. Rhea and Neel got into the metro, she talked to him all the way. Unlike Ember, she wasn't shy around him. He felt like a close friend, nothing romantic to make her concious. Ember though, he was more than a friend. When they reached the shop, Rhea waved at Ember who was sitting on the bonnet of the car while Chuck sat inside it. He looked at Rhea and waved at her but stopped the moment he looked at Neel.
"Hey Neel," He smiled and jumped down from the bonnet, "Long time no see,"
Neel walked towards and punched his stomach.
"Neel!" Rhea shouted. Ember fell on his knees and Chuck got out of the car to beat Neel's ass, "No Chuck, let us be," Ember groaned.
"I still can't punch you with all my strength, huh," Neel looked at his palm as Rhea ran towards Ember and helped him get up, "What the hell are you doing?"
"That hurt," Ember patted his stomach. Neel grabbed his shoulders and hit his knees into Ember's abdomen.
"Sir!" Chuck refrained from hitting Neel.
Rhea pushed Neel away, "What are you doing?! I thought you were gonna talk!
Neel cracked his knuckles "Move away from him,"
"No!" Rhea wrapped her arms around Ember.
"Rhea," Ember got up "Move away,"
Rhea looked at him, "Do it, Rhea," He smiled at her. She moved back and he moved towards Neel "If hitting me makes you happy, then so be it. Hit me,"
Rhea ran away, while Chuck just stared at them.
"You have no pride, do you?" Neel said.
"It's not about pride, Neel," Ember smiled, "Sometimes, you have to let your ego go for your own sake. It was my mistake to leave, I'm just paying for it,"
"Still have a way with words, huh?" Neel glared at him.
Ember shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say, I'm a natural,"
"A natural douche!" Neel raised his fist and suddenly, a cold packet landed on his face. He grabbed it, it was ice cream. He looked up as Rhea passed an ice cream to Ember, "Just cool down, now. I'm not letting you hit him anymore or you'll have to fight me!"
He smirked, "Wow, Ember, getting saved by a girl. How manly,"
"Beating someone up because of something they did when they were five, how is that manly?" Rhea glared at Neel. He was speechless again, "He probably didn't even know if what he was doing was wrong or right, idiot headass, use some of that brain god gave you!"
"Shut up, ugly!"
"Weak argument, next!"
"You-"
Ember looked at Rhea, fighting for him. Just like she used to, when they bullied him for having "yellow" hair. He smiled and pressed the ice cream on her forehead, "Cool down,"
She looked at his smile and looked away, "Okay,"
They sat on the long stone kept outside the forest, eating their ice creams. Ember sat between Rhea and Neel, "Hey blondie,"
"Yes?" Ember looked at Neel.
"You and I are still enemies, okay?"
Ember laughed, "Sure,"
"TAKE ME SERIOUSLY!"
"Yes yes,"
"YOU'RE NOT TAKING ME SERIOUSLY! I'LL HIT YOU!"
"Stop threatening people!" Rhea pulled his ear.
"Fuck off, bitch! You're not my mom!"
Rhea looked at them talk and smiled, 'I couldn't confess,
But this was worth it. So, maybe next time,'
Chuck looked at them while sitting in the car. He stared at Ember laughing with his friends and eating treats. He rubbed his eyes under his sunglasses,
"Sir..."
-To be continued
Jack (When Blonde)
Can't I Touch Your Heart?