Mina, smiled at her and answered her in an equally joking tone, "When someone looks like you, whoo-hoo! Who won't? It is not rude at all!" Mina answered shaking her head with a wink and then continued sighing, "Uff! Nana, thank you! I am so relieved to see you. I ask this again do you know why I dream of it every full moon day? It is making me go mad. I do not know what new power manifests within me this new moon day. I am actually worried."
"My dear sweet child, I certainly do not know of what the dream entails or what new power manifests this time. But what I do know is that you are capable of handling anything that comes your way and for the new power, you can definitely learn wielding it and mastering it the way you have your other powers.", Nana assured her in a very gentle calm tone.
Whenever Mina heard Nana talk to her, she always felt like it is kind of a telepathic conversation as she never saw Nana actually move her lips to talk instead a voice as calm as ocean was heard in Mina's mind.
Mina side-eyed and said, "But I still wonder I have been given these powers and why I must hide them. More importantly, you insist that I do not tell this to Jia too. You know she is my best friend. She is gonna kill me when she finds out. You know we never hide anything from each other!"
Nana smiled at her and told her, "Mina, you know I do not have any answers to your questions. I only have an intuition within myself that is telling me that you should not showcase your powers to anybody which includes Jia too. I do not have how or why I know this, but I do and I trust this instinct. Do you trust me my sweet child?"
"Of course! That question is impertinent! You are the only one who knows what I can do and what I am capable of. You have always been there for me. Always! If not for you, that night, 8 years ago…" saying this Mina trembled with fear.
"Do not fear past evils my child, for they are in the past. What happened has happened, let them go. Move on my child. You have a bright future ahead. Do not worry about the future too. Think of today, think of only the present so that your tiny shoulders are not too burdened with things out of our control.", said Nana.
May be the words themselves, or the meaning behind those words, or the tone or the voice which conveyed the message, Mina did not know what did the trick, she felt a calmness wash over her mind and she felt really relaxed and comforted.
She said, "Thank you Nana! I love you!" and smiled a very beautiful, dimpled smile. Looking at her infectious smile, even Nana's lips moved in a semblance of a smile.
"Now, can you help me fall asleep please? I have a long day in school tomorrow and a lot of homework to be submitted by end of this week too… Oh Rudra! Why should a small, cute, well-behaved girl like me must suffer all this at such a young age?", said Mina dramatically placing her left hand on her temple turning her head to the right side mimicking a typical drama queen.
Looking at her antics, sensing that her worries had disappeared for now, Nana said, "Sleep, my child! For tomorrow is a new day with a lot of possibilities and I will be here until you fall asleep." and started humming an ethereal sound that kind of put Mina a trance and she started falling asleep while Nana continued to hum this tone for a long time even after Mina slept.
'Brringggg, Brringggg, Brringggg' – Made the mechanical alarm clock on her bedside table waking Mina up with a shock. She saw the time on the clock and it was 6.30 AM. That was when she usually got up.
Mina had a rather disciplined sleep schedule for a teenager. She went to bed at sharp 10.00 PM and woke up at 6.30 AM in the morning. Every morning when she woke up, she felt fresh and ready to take on the day. But today, she did not want to wake up because of the last night's events where she had lost an hour's sleep in between.
Being the disciplined girl she is, she still woke up and got into the bathroom and put some paste on her brush and looked at her appearance in the mirror and she looked super pale with no energy in her eyes and what was that? Were those dark circles under her eyes? And eye bags? 'No.. no.. no..' this can't be happening! Not today! Today was an important day. She had her drama audition today. Her lifelong dream was to become an actor.
Mina decided she will look her best today despite all these. Meditation to the rescue!
She quickly brushed her teeth and took a quick shower, and she sent a silent prayer to Rudra for having her wake up this morning and also for giving her an opportunity to see another day.
She chose a pair of white yoga pants and a white cotton tee and rolled her yoga mat on the dorm floor. Facing the east side, she sat in the lotus position and started chanting 'Om' loudly for 3 times and then she continued meditating for the next 15 minutes. Meditation was a habit that was inculcated in her by her parents from when she turned 3 years old.