Back at home, Zonish finished her homework. She was quite a good student academically too. She helped her mother around with the garden as well. They weeded the area. Put some fresh new sapplings in the pots.
"Planting trees is an act of charity. It helps us in so many ways. Not only us, but the birds and insects. It's a form of goodness that gets to outlive us. " Her mother told her as she listened carefully.
"Goodness that outlives us, " She nodded as she took the words in.
"Let's tidy up and I will get you something to eat. You worked so hard. You must already be very exhausted.
That night, Zonish sneaked out of her room in the middle of the night. She was having some trouble sleeping again. She ran for sometime at a stretch . Her mind was running here and there. She hadn't realised it but she was now standing on the place where she had transformed that day.It was the place where the volcano had erupted. She looked at the destruction around her. The quite . She looked at her hands.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She was taken aback. It was her father calling her cell.
"Where did you go at this hour of night? Is everything alright? " He asked, concerned.
Zonish never had to lie or make up excuses before. So it took her a moment before she replied, "I couldn't sleep. So I am taking a walk. "
"Oh, I see. Next time you need to take a walk, go out of the main door and not through the window. Alright? Be careful on your way back child, " He laughed and hung up.
Zonish felt touched yet again. How could life be so fair, so good? She was too pessimistic to accept that.
Right at that moment, Zonish's sharp ears picked up what she thought was sobbing. She strained her ears . But instead of the noise, the stench that her nose picked, immediately sent her flying. It belonged to somebody from the hunter's family and it was coming from the same spot she had last seen the hunters, who stood watching as she burnt. Zonish even thought that she saw a silhouette of somebody, bent in a sitting position, sobbing. But running was all she had in mind at that time. She almost stopped her breath as she ran, until she reached home and straight under her blanket. She noticed that even though she had picked up the hunter's scent, she wasn't followed. Which in itself was very strange. She went inside her blanket, shivering ,as slow slumber took her over.
The next day she sprang up with zeal. She had made her mind up to focus on the present. To overcome one obstacle at a time. The immediate ones being the basketball tournament and the exams. She worked hard over the stretch of the next few days. She managed quite well in the exams and was also able to help her school get that much coveted basketball trophy. As Zonish started making a few friends, her adoptive mother and father also seemed to relax a bit. They usually seemed very worried about her. Ever since, one by one, her friends have kept dropping by her place or seeing her off ; their minds found peace too.
Zonish got so intuned with her new-found life ,she was almost forgetting her own reality sometimes.
It felt just like one of those average school days after the vacation. Zonish had arrived on her new bike that her father had gifted her. She leaped and smiled as the sun kissed her face with warmth and glow.
"Hi, guys" She yelled at her friends, hurdling at the gate.
"Hi, Zonish! " A group of pretty girls replied. They were the Sun sisters, a very popular girl's group in the school, who hardly paid much attention to anybody other than themselves. They had started showing interest in Zonish since her basketball win.
However, Zonish just smiled at them, and made her way towards the boys, Sofi, Bass and Philli.
They punched her hard and said, "How have you been, mate? "
The boys never treated her like a girl. In fact, they actually treated her like a boy.This was just fine with Zonish as physically she was much better built than them. She would often lift them up in the air as a joke. As they stood chatting and catching up, a car drove in.
At first, Zonish didn't even notice. But as soon as the doors opened, a gush of air blew towards her face. The scent it brought along, petrified Zonish from head to toe. She stood there frozen as she stared. A handsome , well-built boy, apparently almost their age, unboarded the vehicle. Just a glimpse of him made Zonish's heart skip several beats. There was no mistake , he was a descendant of the hunters. Zonish literally felt her heart pounding in her chest as he slowly walked towards her direction. She could not even run as her entire system was paralyzed with fright.
The boy walked straight past Zonish towards the main campus without even sparing her a glance. Zonish stood there holding her breath, as if that might tick him off. The scent could not be mistaken, so why didn't he take any notice of her? Was it because he didn't have a mark yet? She tried thinking logically. Or was it one of their well-spread-out plans of action, to capture and get rid of her for once and well. She kept staring at the direction he had taken. There were others pouring in too, as the bell rang.
"Where are you lost? " Philli pushed her, snapping her out of her daze.
"Oh my ! Why are your hands so cold? " Sofi pulled her to the side . " You are sweating too. Are you alright? " He asked her.
"Let's take her to the nurse", Bass suggested.
"I'm fine. I'm fine guys, " Zonish pushed them all and strode straight in the direction of her class.