''If we can't touch each other, how the hell are you going to save me if anything happens to me?''I asked.
''I am not here to do that.''
''You won't save me?''
''I mean, you have two hands, two legs, and a very good working mouth, so maybe you can save yourself.''
''But they told me I can die from the powers of that Hucia thing and suicide...''
''Vyaani... Vyaani, what are you doing there, have you lost it?''
I suddenly heard my sister's voice and turned around in panic to see her standing in anger and irritation. I stood in front of Tis to cover him and whispered,
''Hide yourself, that is my older sister.''
''She can't see me, you fool, don't you watch movies?''
''What?''
I smiled in panic and looked at my sister and replied,
''Oh, I... I lost my earring here in the evening, I was just looking for it.''
''Seriously, can't you look for it in the morning?''
''Oh yeah, yeah, I didn't think of it.''
(She sighed)
''Come inside and go to bed.''
"Hmm," I muttered.
I searched for Tis, but it seemed like he had vanished into thin air.
Entering the house, I continued to gaze out at the garden through my windows, wondering if he might still be there.
"What happened? Don't worry, they're not that expensive. Wait a minute, don't tell me you lost the gold ones."
"No, no, no," I replied. "Just the artificial ones, the ones you gave me on my last birthday. Can I use your phone's flashlight? I might be able to find them then."
"Wow, do you know what time it is right now? It's 12:15 am. Go to bed immediately, or I'll wake Mom up."
"No, no, I'm going. Good night, Didi."
I entered my room, dimming the lights to deceive my sister into thinking I was asleep. As I switched on my laptop, I peered out the window facing the street, using its glow to murmur softly, ensuring no one could overhear.
"Tis, Tis, hey you green thing, can you hear me?"
Silence followed. I pondered if he had vanished or if it had all been a figment of my imagination.
I launched Loogle and queried, "Is there a middle world, upper world, lower world, and what in the world is Hucia?" Despite browsing numerous articles, nothing matched my experience.
This Loogle is utterly clueless.
Suddenly, there he was again, whispering in my ear,
"aaaaaaaaa" I screamed.
"Shh, shhh, quiet. What happened?"
"Are you mad? Why whisper? Can't we talk face to face?"
"You naive child, you still doubt us, don't you?"
"Lower your voice. My sister is still awake."
"She can't hear me. Besides, wasn't it you who noisily threw that bowl?"
"Vyaani, what's going on this time?" my sister called from the other room.
"Nothing, nothing. I just stubbed my toe on the table's edge. Sorry."
"Why does she take so long to respond to sounds? Is she deaf?
Shut up and let me sleep. She has her headphones on, I'm certain she came out to check if someone was trying to steal our father's hard-earned coriander plants.
He looked at me with a serious expression and approached me.
What? I asked
"Apply something on your cuts, and don't do this again" Tis replied in a cold voice
I hesitated to respond because maybe this was the first time someone had seen those lonely, painful cuts and talked about them, but I still replied.
It seems like you know everything about me. It's not my fault, I just...
My face fell, I looked down. How can you face someone who knows about"your lives deepest regretful decisions? I fell silent.
"It's okay. Humans are messy and disgusting, to the point where they think they're great. You were human once, but now, as long as you're with me, you're not a human, understand?"
I glanced at him and nodded.
"And don't you dare touch that sharp object again. I'll slit your throat myself if you try to harm that body without my permission"
I was speechless, just staring at him. He said it so casually, as if he could kill me, as if I had never existed at the place where I was handed over to him.
And before I could respond,
He said, "You have much to learn, and we have plenty of time so just rest soundly, human. I'll return tomorrow."
''Hey, but you just said I'm not human anymore...''
He disappeared as before. I went to bed then. That night, I slept with a myriad of questions and a glimmer of hope, pondering if this was a fantasy. How did I get entangled in such a twisted fate? I slept, but these questions remained awake until they were answered.
Next day
The morning passed as usual, I was at home waiting for my class 10th board results without much curiosity, living my simple and boring life. My mom called me in the morning asking about the earrings, which I already knew about because my how will my asian sister live if she hadn't mentioned it to her. I showed her an earring from my drawer, claiming I found it as first thing in the morning. While in my room, waiting for Tis, the green boy, to explain how I was different from others after his insulting remarks the night before, I heard my mom calling me to take out the trash bags. I went to the gate with two bags of garbage, one in each hand, and that's when I saw him.
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRy78QyQaJ1
He stood there in a grey t-shirt and black pumps, tall and with a curly mullet on his light brown face, a hairstyle that seemed perfect for him. Perhaps that was one of the reasons I was drawn to him. He held a garbage bag in one hand, his veins visible, and scrolled through his phone with the other, appearing to watch anstagram reels.
The sound of the approaching garbage truck interrupted my thoughts, and I tossed the trash just like he had once tossed my heart in front of everyone in the neighborhood.
But as he glanced at me with his sharp brown eyes from his doorstep, four houses down from mine, I found myself lost in his gaze, just like I had been two years ago.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Tis's voice brought me back to reality.
''I looked around and saw him.''
"Hello,"
I whispered, afraid that others might think I was crazy for falling for a red flag again and was it even crazier than greeting the thin air.
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