There was a huge fire. It engulfed everything around it, turning all that it touched into ashes. The fire leapt and sprang. İt was steadily approaching the elderly man and the woman sitting happily, arms in arm , lost in each other. Zonish found herself sweating. She was sweating profoundly trying to shout. She wanted to warn them of the imminent danger. She wanted to get them to safety. But she kept sweating more and more. The fire slowly started concentrating in one spot, with intensity. Zonish ran towards it, in an attempt to put it out. But as soon as she reached the spot, she found the fire was taking a human-like form. Zonish pulled it from behind and she found herself staring at her other self, smirking back with malice.
Zonish opened her eyes with horror still lurking in them.She ran with speed to the bathroom and splashed her face with water. She kept splashing till her mind calmed down a bit . She looked at herself in the mirror . She looked carefully, checking for any resemblance with her other self. But it was just a dream. Even so, it was scary enough for her. She saw herself bringing harm to the ones who had cared for her, taken her in.
Soon after the accident, the elderly couple had adopted Zonish, knowing that she was an orphan. They had given her a roof over her head, taken care of her basic necessities, given her a new-found identity and family. It was the first time ever in her long and lonely life that she was loved. She wanted to protect them at any cost. But instead she kept dreaming of bringing them bad luck. She didn't know whether it was her fear, her guilty conscience or a warning.
Zonish looked at the clock, shook her head and slapped her face. İt was already time for school. She had better get hold of her thoughts. She tidied up her room, got dressed and then rushed for the school bus. But a strong pull on her bag forced her backwards.
"Where do you think you are going? " The elderly woman made Zonish sit on the chair in front of the table. "Never leave home on an empty stomach. Plus, your body is still growing. How can you neglect it this way? You need energy to function properly throughout the day. Don't you? " The woman prepared the table as Zonish sat smiling, filled with gratitude. It wasn't because she was being offered food. Her body didn't even need it to function. Zonish almost cried as she felt what a mother's love truly felt like. To have somebody watching your back, felt great, she thought.
She munched her cereal and then drank the milk before heading out for the bus.She even managed to plant a kiss on the woman's forehead, whom she could call a mother.
The elderly man was kind to her too. He would sit behind her, untangling her hair with a wooden brush. How calming it felt. Zonish could never express it in words. She would put her head on his lap as he would sing her to sleep. It almost felt magical.
"What do you wish to call me? " He asked her with his warm smile.
Zonish had stared at him with an expressionless face. The man might have read her expressions wrong and had said "If you like, you can call me father. "
Zonish kept staring at him though, without a reply. He felt bad for intimidating her and had said " Uncle or Mr. is also fine. Whatever you are comfortable in. "
"Father is fine. " Zonish said abruptly. The man looked up at her and said "No, I mean. "
" Don't worry father. I like it. I like calling you father " then she looked to her right where the woman stood with teary eyes "and you mother. I really love it. ".The group hug that followed felt straight out of some family drama, but it was real and warm. Zonish smiled to herself after what felt like ages, out of sheer satisfaction.
Back on the school campus, Zonish ran to her class as she was running late. She had quite settled down in her new-found life. Her classmates were nice, but most didn't take much notice of her. That worked perfectly for her. Staying in the shadows was her speciality. She was doing quite well catching up with the lessons, making her the teachers' favourite.
"Zonish, let's go to the basketball court today after class? Alright? " Asked Sofi, that one guy who was quite impressed with her dunking skills. He was determined to persuade her to join the school team. Though Zonish was reluctant, it didn't feel good to kill his enthusiasm. So she obliged at his request.
"Alright. Let's do that. " She said. The two of them munched the protein bar that Sofi had brought as they walked towards the court. Playing basketball against the boys was a piece of cake for Zonish, but it was astonishing from the boys' point of view. They marvelled at her skills as she dodged at lightning speed. Even the coach was impressed.
"This is some pro-level shit, I swear, " commented one.
"No joking, she flew just fine. Did you see? What speed! " The boys fangirled over her.
"We sure will win this year's tournament if she joins us, sir " one of the boys whispered in the coach's ear. He too nodded in excitement as Zonish showed a few more of her moves.
Life suddenly had started feeling too good, she thought. She soaked in every bit of it. Enjoying every moment. The praise instead of the pain, the love instead of the hate , all felt surreal, but she gave herself the break. For once, she was getting to live her life. She wasn't going to waste it with unnecessary worries or overthink. She was just going to live.