It was dark by the time I reached home. The children and my grandma must have come back by now.
'What if they saw him?' I went through several scenarios in my head about how I would explain the situation to grandma, but when I went in, everything seemed normal. The children were making a ruckus as usual-some were fighting over the TV remote, some were eating snacks and two were running around, screaming as if they saw a ghost. I was worried for nothing, everything's fine.
Grandma, who was resting on her chair, noticed me and asked, "Where have you been all day?"
"Um...I..." I was thinking of some excuse and then I noticed the files in my hand. I showed them to her. "I have a school project to do...I was out gathering information and stuff."
She nodded.
"Did you have dinner?"
I shook my head. I actually was very hungry.
"There's Curry rice and lasagna in the kitchen. Go and have some. It's still warm."
I went in the kitchen and just when I sat to eat, I remembered that I have a guest in my room whom I nearly forgot.
"He must be hungry too."
I took two portions of everything in a tray and went upstairs to my room. I gently knocked on the door.
"Open up, It's me."
The door opened and I saw him standing behind the door, peeking his head out cautiously. He looked at me and opened the door wide.
"Are you hungry?" I walked into the room and put down the tray on my study table.
He put his hand on his stomach and said, "Will I get... chocolate again?"
"No, but I have something even better." I smiled at him and handed him the plate of lasagna. He looked at it and then at me," How do I chew this?"
I handed him a fork and showed him. He followed. Just within minutes, he wiped the plate clean and had a satisfactory look on his face.
"What is this thing called?" he asked.
"Lasagna"
After a little pause, he looked at me again.
"Where did you go?"
"I..." I couldn't tell him anything yet. I was yet to find out something relevant about him. I looked at him to make an excuse, but it was mistake. He was looking at me with those deep, believing eyes. His gaze was fixed on me. There was no need for words, it was evident. He trusted me.
"I went to know where you came from." I said, bluntly and truthfully. "I found you in a room and brought you here. You were unconscious the entire time."
I didn't tell him about Becky or that I found him inside a human-sized glass container, at least, not yet.
He had no expressions on his face so it was difficult for me to make out how he received this news.
"Do I have a name, Arya?" He asked.
It never occured to me that this boy needs a name! How stupid of me! I didn't know what his name is, but I can give him one.
"If I give you a name, will you accept it?"
"Yes"
This was the first time ever since I came here that someone trusted me to this extent. I was feeling something I never felt before. I looked at him and smiled.
"Mayur." I said.
"Mayur?" He repeated.
I took the plates and just before stepping out of the room, said, "It means-the most beautiful gift of nature."
"Lock the door, I'll be back in a minute." I said and went downstairs. I had to talk to grandma about him. I can't leave him now...no matter what.
....
She closed the door and I heard her running downstairs, leaving me alone in the room. The silence was deafening. I didn't know what to do. I didn't even know the things that were kept in the room.
When I woke up, she was sleeping on the couch right in front of me. She was the first person I ever laid my eyes on.
'Who is she?' was the first question that occured to me.
Everything was weird. 'Thinking' was weird. I got up and looked at my hands and legs. I could feel them and this felt weird too. I never felt anything like this before.
When I thought about it, I realised I never 'thought' before. I was never awake. I just...was, somehow.
I got out of the bed and sat beside the girl.
'She looks pretty.' I thought.
The girl had shoulder length black hair. Her face had a shine to it. She was sleeping soundly and I could only wonder who she is.
That's when I noticed a necklace on her neck. It was dark gemstone, it was so blue that it looked almost black. But I didn't care what it looked like. What intrigued me was that I could feel it-the stone. It was alive. I could feel it just as clearly as I could hear this girl breathing.
'What is this?' I could only wonder.
Even now...I couldn't get that feeling out of my head. Whenever I came close to Arya, I could feel it-the strength.
"I will ask her once she's back." I decided. "And...will she bring some chocolate with her?" I can't seem to get over that smooth and tasty thing I had in the afternoon.
Soon she was back to the room. She came in, sat across her study table and opened something. She pressed a few buttons and the blank surface began to flash-there were letters and pictures.
I came closer to it and touched it. Arya seemed to see my confusion. She looked at me and said, "It's a laptop. It's a device that lets you do...well, stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
"Um...you see...like browsing the web, watching videos, and ..." she went on and on and was talking about things I didn't understand.
A few minutes and I realized just how much I have to learn.
'Well...how bad can it be?' I thought and looked at Arya. I knew she'll be with me. I just...felt it.