"Who is that in the mirror?" I stuttered out in a frail voice.
My eyes landed on the reflection of hairs flowing out like a fountain around a beautiful rectangular face. The face was that of a terrified little girl, looking with eyes that seems to say that they have seen a ghost.
Do living humans look like ghosts for the real ghosts?
The question was hanging in the air as I had decided to play dead by not moving at all. I shifted my pupils to look around me and indeed there was no other person in the room. Surprisingly even my reflection had vanished.
So the girl staring back at me was not my imagination but this harmless looking ghost?
I looked back at the little ghost who was staring back at me with now a little less terrified eyes. I was confident that my charm worked on the girl ghost and it was not terrified anymore. I think I could feel my nose growing a few inches with pride on that time, but then a dreadful thought crossed my mind.
What if the girl is trying to look harmless so that she can gobble me up later?
I was so horrified that I sprinted out straight and magically closed the door -which I couldn't even open earlier- on my way out.
I sat right outside the door and waited for a while. I knew no one here. The one person that I knew was the beloved of my aunt whom I upset while trying to save my skin. He was the only one I could trust at this point but I didn't know where he lived or how he will react to my bizarre situation. Moreover I was really afraid that I would set him off, further ruining their relationship, if I tell him the truth.
I didn't have the wish to go out and fend this unfamiliar world on my own. What I wished was to cover myself in a cocoon that never go through metamorphosis and then I would never have to face this world anymore. I could simply live in the warmth of the cocoon.
The radiant rays of the Sun shined brightly on my face and brought the much needed warmth and engulfed me in it like a blanket. The early morning hours of August gave off a comfortable cool air that relaxed my tensed muscles. I was already tired after staying awake for at least half an hour from that scary incident. My eyes were heavy and I fell into a deep slumber.
The twittering of sparrows entered my ears as I slowly woke up from my nap. My eyelids slowly lifted and I looked up straight at the grass-less front yard. Two shoes -with their owner- were right in front of me. They urged me to look up at two eyes gazing at me from above. My vision was still unclear and I was perhaps still groggy from the sleep, because I felt as if I have seen that face before.
I rubbed my eyes and looked again at that face. The boy, probably in his late teens, was coughing as if covering a laugh or a twitch of the lips. I noticed the light pinkish tint on his ears.
I was going to open my mouth to object before recalling my special circumstances and immediately shut my mouth. I squinted at him while glaring at him from down, a face that meant to say, 'What do you think you are laughing at?'
The boy looked at me and sluggishly removed his hand from his mouth. His lips were down as if he never laughed: a good actor indeed. The blush on his ears had fainted a bit but lingered still.
'Is this boy thin skinned, is he planning something devilish?'
Those eyes were indeed filled with devilish mirth. Hopefully no mischief will follow.
In a serious manner he looked at me and crouched down to my level. He stretched his hand and with his thumb, swept my tears. I flinch but otherwise didn't react. And no I didn't have any nightmares. In fact I wasn't crying, my eyes just burst into tears after waking up to sweet warmth rather than cold of the previous night. My eyes were indeed two adroit poetesses: being able to symbolize the moment with ink of its tears.
"So the sleeping beauty is up? I thought I would have to wait for another hour", he shrugged and patted my head. The smirk bloomed on his face as he jerked back his hand. When he realized that I made no efforts to swat his hands away, he looked at me suspiciously.
"Sukshma said this happens with Stella does it happen with you too?", he said as if changing the topic. I didn't want to arose more suspicion so I resolved to observe as much as possible and keep quite.
"Say? Does it hurt somewhere, or a nightmare perhaps?"
The boy asked but I didn't know the answer to the question so I prolonged my silence.
"You know", continuing on his own he said, "He never saw her crying right after waking up with his own eyes but Stella told him about it. You are worrying me, tell me does it hurt?"
As if cat got my tongue, I could not speak at all. I didn't know whether it was due to receiving a tender gesture from a total stranger or the absurdity of the whole situation. Anyways it was not like I would have spoken even if I could. The guy sighed and got up. He coughed again and lightly patted his cheeks. Now that I looked at them, they were also red. So maybe it was not mischief? Or maybe it was, but my reaction made him hold back his mischiefs.( hopefully not for later)?
'Are you sick?'
I gestured at him. Of course I won't just ask someone if they were picking on me!
Oh!— how i asked him that? Listen.
My aunt was a charity worker and picked up quite a few things on the way. One of them was sign language, which she learned to communicate with deaf people. She taught it to me as well, although it took a lot of time for me to learn it, but I did master it in the end. That mastered sigh language felt like some distant fable I could hardly remember on that time.
'Am I losing my memory after transmigration?'
Telling myself that it is happening because muscle memory didn't transmigrate with me, I looked up at the doe eyes of the boy. He looked baffled for a while and as if belatedly realizing something bowed and apologized, "I am sorry I forgot that… I forgot that you could not speak"
I sighed physically and got up and gestured him to stand up straight, well at least his sister has taken good measures to make his brother hide his "ability". He looked at me dumbly while still bowing. He sealed his eyes close and admitted that he could not understand sign language and never tried to learn it even for the sake of his friend. What sign language, can't he even understand simple gestures?
I sighed yet again and held his shoulders to pull him upright. He let out an 'oh' and pulled himself out of my grip. I wasn't holding him that tightly but I concluded that maybe he doesn't like being casually touched like this. Shrugging my shoulder internally, I pointed at him and shook my hand, left and right, to ask who he is.
"Um... why am I here? I am here to meet"-
I raised my hand to halt whatever babbling (or discourse) was going to come up and repeated the gesture with a "vigorous" pointing at him.
" Um…. who I am?"
I nodded and gestured him to continue.
"But don't you recognize me? Or my sweet voice? Your sister told me that you think my voice is good so don't even think about pre"-
His babble (or self flattering) brought back hidden memories from the back of my head. My eyes widened before squinting due to my throbbing skull. The flashes of the bang and the car crash came running towards me and among them resonated a voice. That voice.
Funnily I had totally forgotten what the voice even sounded like. Was it raspy or pitchy? Or was it deep like the voice of this youth: a pleasant depth of bottomless ocean?
"Hey, buddy, why are spacing out a lot today? Are you alright?"
Indeed. A voice like that makes you feel like you are under the waves and still provide you with warmth. This guy can be a singer; I forgave him for not knowing sign language.
I shook my head in a no and looked at him expectantly. He stood still for a while then, embarrassed for an unknown reason, rubbed the back of his head.
"I – my name is Vrishi", after a pause he added, "Shiru?"
Seeing no sign of recognition on my face he awkwardly reminded me of incidents I could not remember.
"Don't you remember that time when we grabbed a dinner together when you were?"-
But his words made one thing clear for me. That is, that this "brother" goes to work, and on his way back meet this stranger, chat for a while before parting ways. The boy looked like a wounded puppy and again started babbling this time about yesterday's event.
"Then your sister said those harsh stuff and"-
I almost jumped and pointed at him and then at back.
'YOU? You are that guy?'
Is it really that guy who sounded so violent, cheerful and composed. The boy, who was standing in front of me, was still looking cheerful but nowhere near even the vaguest definitions of violent or composed. To me he looked like a little mischievous but a kind stuttering puppy.
Like a cinnamon roll.
I held my ears with my hands in lieu of an apology for 'forgetting' a close friend and surprisingly he brushed it off as nothing; as if he has gone through something like this.
An idea crossed my mind and I produced a stick – rather the tree in the front yard had produce a stick while I borrowed it – and wrote him a message.
Please tell my employer that I am sorry I couldn't make it.
And will you please come tomorrow to take me there?
The guy smiled at me tenderly and assured me that he will come back. He stretched his right hand in front of my face and pointed at it.
"An eyelash- on your cheek"
He totally dislikes casual touches, huh? We already have something in common.
I cracked a wide smile at the boy who was probably the first and the last whom I showed my sincere smile to after transmigrating and overall second only to Aunt Stella. Maybe it was because I was not good with mingling with others or due to my cold face, but I just could not get close to anyone. Gradually I grew distant from people and hardly made any friends, if at all.
Maybe not anymore.
I bid him farewell and went back inside the room.
Why does it feel like I am forgetting something? Whatever it is time for treasure hunt!
******************************************************
Vrishi left the house after the little conversation with Stella's brother. He closed the main gate to the house and leaned back on the door.
"Something is wrong. That boy there, he is not that friend of mine, not at all! He is someone else. I don't know whether he is harmful or not, but it is someone else!"
He declared to himself and continued forward on his path. His resolution was firm and he believed on it whole-heartedly. Little did he knew that his petty self assurance held bigger truths.