The almost full moon and cloudless sky conspired to light up the endless patch in paddy fields outside the old house, the cool shine reflecting off the cut husks, the shadows of fledging shrubs hedging the semi translucent plains. The air swathed with the pungency of a natural cocktail of ash, and ember. An eerie silence camouflaging the scurry of rodents and buzzards hunting for sustenance.
Her breath was shallow as Ain sat statuesque still, the rain smoothened surface of a boulder close to the edge of the atmospheric paddy field providing her lithe frame ample seat as she basked in the serenity. She heard Arman's approach, his rubber slippers slapping the grass-free soil forming the base where the house stood. A solitary construct in the vast landscape, its immediate neighbors the whispering trees, crisscrossing shrubs and a constant swirl of cool night breeze.
"Mind if I join you?"
Ain gestured to the empty spot besides her, left palm sweeping away dust and debris. He sat down, his gaze towards the sky.
"Counting stars, Ain?"
"Uh umm," she replied, inviting further chats with a warmth in her answer.
"This used to by my sulking corner, you know. My bottom shaped that very place you sat. Favorite spot for every time I throw a tantrum."
"Or when she throws you out."
"Reading my mind, Ain?"
"Don't need to. I know how close you are. I'm sure there were numerous occasions when you got on her nerves."
A frog croaked somewhere to their left, followed by the patter of it moving, an invisible splash hinting to where it went.
"When we first arrived here, I was kind of guarded, you know."
"Well, you are at a stranger's house, having arrived with another in his pick-up. It's a natural reaction for anyone…"
"True… but its more than that, Arman. Ever since I woke up, I've discovered more about my abilities. And using them, testing my limits."
She chucked a piece of stone into the pond before them, a plopping sound as it dove into the dark waters.
"You remember the murdered young woman? From the bank? I literally saw her life force ebbing. Her soul dissolving like exploding stars. Wasn't something I'd cherish but I went wow, Arman. Horrific at how callous I was then, at the same time marveling at myself."
"Was that why you broke down in Tanjung Malim?"
"Yes and no. I took out everyone in the bank while aiming for the bad guys, Arman. It felt so good to unleash myself I became… uneasy. There was joy inside of me. As though deep inside, I'm not a good person after all."
She heard Arman drawing a deep breath into him, not daring to read his mind on what he thought of her revelations.
"I began to think myself omnipotent. And then arriving here to find a person whose mind I can't read."
She saw Arman facing her, his gaze sharp, quizzical.
"Aunt Maisara?"
"Yup. Her. I'm really enjoying these abilities, Arman. Kept finding new ways of harnessing it. It is addictive and if ever I'm a junkie, this is right up there in terms of sheer euphoria. Your Aunt however…."
She took another piece of pebble and toyed with it before flinging it into the pond before them.
"I gave up after a while, figuring it to be exhaustion from the journey, or something. Then I saw something in her mind. Not thoughts, but how she sees things, circumstances. Reminded me of something I thought I had lost."
"A loved one? Is that what you mean?"
"No. Not at all. More like a state of mind. One taken away from me…"
Shrugging his shoulders, Arman fiddled with a wind-blown leaf which fell on his lap.
"I won't pretend to understand any of that. I'm just glad you and her get along with each other."
"As compared to the girl with her hair dyed green? You really should know better…"
Her staccato laughter filled the air. Ain saw Arman's glare turned into a grin, heard him mutter under his breath.
"I might as well list all my secrets now… Yeah. I thought she would be all understanding and supportive. That she'd back me up when it comes to introducing the girl to my parents. Didn't happen. Aunt Maisara didn't not warm up to her. Not one bit."
"Her acceptance was really important to you…"
"I guess so. Anyway, I broke up with the girl a few weeks later and scooted my ass to where you found me."
"Fate at work, I supposed. Otherwise, we would not be having this conversation. I'd probably be lying inside a freezer somewhere waiting for my next of kin who would never arrive."
Now it was his turn to be silent, but only for the shortest while.
"Don't you know him, Ain? John Doe?"
"I haven't the faintest idea who he is."
"But you can read his mind, can't you? The way he attacked me…. He really wanted to get you. There's some bad blood there, Ain. Really bad blood," he said.
"I can read him but it's like putting your hands into a deep vat of putrid slime. Not knowing what's inside..."
He nodded his understanding, and then a perplexed look on his face.
"Come to think of it… He hasn't bothered me ever since that trailer crashed the roadside restaurant. You think he's given up?"
A hopeful look, then: "Nahh… probably just limited by the distance, right?"
"Perhaps," she said.
Ain decided against telling him of the barricades she had mentally built around his mind and Aunt Maisara, hoping to guard them against John Doe's manipulations.
He has enough to worry about being with someone who could read all his thoughts, past and present.
They heard the soft opening of a window, an equally soft call for them to come in. That it was time for supper with cakes, biscuits and tea, as they get ready to call it a day.
****
Arman watched both his aunt and Ain retire into their respective rooms. Told them he'd make sure all the doors were locked, windows shut, and electrical appliances switched off. Soon after he retired down on the sofa in the living room, listening to his aunt's melodic recitation of the Quran, a routine he knew she did every night since the death of Uncle Sayed. Long minutes passed before Arman himself began to feel cozy underneath the thin, green striped blanket Aunty Maisara had readied for him.
The sudden thrumming of a diesel engine creaking itself to life, startled him into wakefulness. The air was dead quiet, an inherent staleness assailed him as Arman squirmed in unease, his eyes seeing a vista before him magnificent in its grandeur and beauty. A snow-capped mountain loomed large in the distant, its craggy face rising towards the stars, edges sharp and unflinching, the smoother surfaces taking in reflections of the blue sky on its mirror polished sheen. An open road snaked towards the mountain with blood red signboards and arrows pointing the way. The sky was cloudless, a vast expanse of darkish grey.
Arman heard the softest whisper calling out to him. The voice was familiar, a female voice with a tinge of harshness in her, a longing to quench the thirst of unrequited love.
Canny?
Arman smiled. His heart's aflutter, as memories of her flooded his mind. How her hands felt when she touched his. The soft, almost sensual, gesture sending electrical signals delighting and enticing him, cold, black eyes…. (No, those are not her eyes… no... Yes… not black. Grey, loving eyes) looking deep into his, as he heard again her whisper words of love, and of lust, and imagined their warm intimacy, the closeness of their bodies intertwining...
A loud crackle to his right broke his luscious soliloquy, the sound of a grass cutter turning to life. Arman turned and saw a garden table, three iron chairs around it. The fresh scent of newly trimmed grass assailed his senses, filling him with peace as he saw tall green shrubs flanking each side of the enclave. They formed a wall with him at the epicenter. The air filled with soft, melodic singing of birds and the lightest breeze brushing against his skin.
But still the voice familiar and haunting called out to him from beyond the tranquility, tugging deeply at his heart. Arman stood up, straining his hearing to pinpoint exactly where it came from, looking around at the veritable fortress of greens, finding it impenetrable, a virtual imprisonment he found discomforting.
The voice was stronger, and very close. Then Arman saw the smallest pinprick in the air around him. A black dot blemishing the brightness of his surroundings.
Arman let me in
Canny? Is that you? Have you come for me?
He placed a finger on the black dot, felt it giving way like the surface of a balloon. Arman poked hard, goaded by a wave of unkempt emotions that rush from somewhere within him, of intense longing and unbridled lust in hearing her voice, clear and screaming for sweet release.
A blot of liquid blackness jetted through the enlarged breach, staining the air around him. It then expanded in size, an amoebic lifeform morphing into a shape strangely familiar. The garden wall simmered, and then shattered into pieces as it found its form. Arman heard his heart beating faster, his anticipation heightened; for he knew exactly who it was. Kendall, in the flesh. She was before him, arms outstretched inviting embrace, unblemished fair skin underneath a billowing white blouse. He went to her, stopping short when he tasted the strangely dank, putrid scents emanating from her.
Arman how could you leave me all alone
I didn't leave you. How could I when I love you so much?
she took you away from me
A finger, long, twisted nail adorning its tip pointed to somewhere behind him. Arman turned around to see saw Ain, still in her sweatshirt and training pants from the hospital, standing before them, her eyes staring at Kendall.
Ain? You're here, too?
She's not who she says she is, Arman. You know who is behind this abomination.
don't listen to her Arman she wants you all to herself she wants to take you away from me your true love please Arman I need you
His gaze returned to Kendall again, her melodic voice dripping with sweetness he could taste in the tip of his tongue. He suddenly sensed a movement, and his body pushed backwards. Saw a blur of as Ain came between him and Kendall. Blocking the older woman's attempted embrace of him.
Ain… No!
He gasped as the two women grappled, Ain's hands on Kendall's wrist, twisting them downwards, their faces stern and stares unflinching. The younger woman suddenly shifting her weight, right leg hooking her opponent's leg in a sweeping kick, unbalancing Kendall. Ain followed through with a hard thrust of her right hand on the doctor's chest sending her tumbling to the ground that was now a hard, shiny surface, its mirror finish casting reflections of the combatants and of him.
Arman stood rooted, unable to move, as Ain seemed to gain the upper hand, her right arm pushing her opponent's upper body. Small cracks had begun to appear on the surface beneath them.
A serpentine tendril shot out from Kendall, rapier thin, snaking and wrapping around Ain's neck who grimaced in pain, her face turning dark red. She forced a hand inside the tightening coil and slammed her left knee into Kendall's side and the attack separated them as the other woman released her hold on Ain.
The combatants stood up, facing each other.
you know you can't win bitch why don't you be a good girl leave us alone he wants so much to be with me don't you Arman my sweet virgin man
It's not you he wants! Stop hiding behind this form and face me as yourself, coward!
Kendall leapt at the young woman, jaws opened unnaturally wide and baring a sharp set of teeth. They sank into Ain's forearm, puncturing her skin. Blood (no not blood, lights, white, fluid) spurted from the wound. Ain twisted her free arm around Kendall's neck, simultaneously twisting her body sideways to catch her opponent off balance yet again, throwing the older woman to the ground before stamping one foot into her midsection.
Arman found himself suddenly able to move. He rushed in between Ain and Kendall to separate them before they injure each other or worse. His eyes tracked with morbid fascination Kendall's snake-like tail and wondered why he didn't feel even slightly disturbed by it. Using Arman as her shield, Kendall lashed out, her nails biting into Ain's chest. Arman raised both hands, standing between the two women.
Stop, Ain. Please don't do this anymore!
Ain stared at him, her eyes looking straight at him. Saw her pressing the puncture wounds on the left side of her breast (bleeding lights). Arman then saw a determined look as she came at him (No.. not at me. Past me...) and in one quick move, slamming a palm thrust into Kendall's jaw with her right hand, left hand pushing him away. Ain slipped behind the older woman, locking Kendall's neck in her arm.
In a single swift motion, Ain spun her body, lowering herself into a squat.
Arman heard a loud snap, a gasping single breath, and saw Kendall sank to her knees, her head lolling to her side as if nodding.
What the hell?! What have you done?!
She was going to kill you.
Words he didn't hear as Arman felt a bursting anger growing within him. Anger and rage directed at Ain.
Caught up in the building rage, Arman didn't find it at all horrific to see a grotesque smile forming in Kendall's lips, her head slumped to one side, neck bruised bright red and beginning to bloat at the point of detachment.
No. It's you who killed her. Damn it, Ain! Is that all you're good at?! Killing others?
Around them, the sky had darkened, the air a stench of bile and vomit, turning denser and suffocating, but Arman didn't care.
Canny! That patient! The girl and God knows whoever else!
He stared Ain down, his words loud. Saw Ain's shape began shimmering, lips forming words he could no longer hear as Kendall rose from her supine fall, came to his side and wrapped both her arms around him in a close, cold, embrace.
Arman could no longer feel anything but an intense longing for nothing other than to remain there as the blackness enveloped him and the love of his life.