Estranged

28

The third session was finally over as the break started, one by one most of the crowd inside the class flood out into the hallway. David and Raheel looked at the awfully silent Danny sitting in front of them and then they glaced back at Aurora who was immersed in a book she was reading. Raheel looked at David and let out a defeated sigh

" this is too much drama for me " she whispered to him as he immediately stood up.

"Hey Aurora you better stop avoiding him right now!" David's voice boomed and the rest of the people inside the class looked at him in shock.

"David!" Raheel whisper yelled at him and pulled him down to the seat beside her.

"what? i was just trying to end the drama" David spoke as he innocently shrugged at her.

Aurora closed her book and walked over to Danny.
"lake?" she asked and he immediately nodded at her.

****************

Both of them stayed in silence, staring down at the water under their feet.

Was it awkward? maybe but was it an uncomfortable awkward? definitely not. They enjoyed each other's company but the imaginary bubble they once created was gone, a bubble filled with hours and hours of talks about nature and books were now nowhere to be found.

The reality hit both of them really hard, before in Danny's point of view Aurora was someone who didn't know anything about him and he could be anything he wanted to be in front of her but now its gone that feeling of escapism was gone, right now he saw his own reflection in her. And she saw her own reflection in him.

"the friendship we had was never fake" Aurora said as she picked up a fallen leave from the deck.

"mmm" he hummed in response and she smiled at the classic Dan she knows.

"I know I told you not to talk to me after the whole incident but I hope now you understand why I said that" she again spoke up as she teared the leaves into pieces. He again hummed in response.

"what's your favorite flower?" she asked bluntly as she threw away the pieces of torn leave into the lake.

"what?" he asked and laughed at her usual behavior of being so random.

"just answer the question" she said in an uninterested tone.

"rose..maybe" he said more like a question.

"typical" she said and looked at him.

"hey! that's rude, there is nothing wrong with rose" he spoke up with a fake offended expression, now it was her turn to laugh.

"that bullseye looking flower on your first assignment, was that a rose?" she asked as she tried hard not to laugh and that did it, his face was glowing red under the sun with embarrassment.

"now you look Ms. Aurorablo Picasso" he pointed at her with all seriousness.

"that flower was so beautiful and you are just jealous of my spectacular creation" he accused as he flipped his imaginary long hair backwards playfully and with that she clutched onto her stomach and laughed until her eyes teared up.

"you okay?" Danny asked with concern as he saw her coughing painfully as her laughs had no sign of stopping anytime soon.

"oo my lord...Auro... Aurorablo" she coughed ever harder and a hint of a sincere smile spread itself onto his lips.

"your gonna die if you won't stop laughing now" he spoke and patted her back gently, the laughter died out as she sat straight.

"what's your favourite flower?" he questioned her.

" I love sunflower " she said as she pointed at the sun. And that's when he really noticed how beautiful she was, the way the sun reflected back from her smooth skin felt so divine and pure to him. Sunflower, it did match her persona, something that can keep you warm like a blanket.

"why sunflower?" he asked.

"because there was this necklace that my mom wore with a sunflower pendant on it, that's how I noticed that flower first" she told him.

"André Heavens?" he asked and  she shook her head no. He looked at her confusion evident on his face.

"there are so many things that you don't talk Dan " she said as he understood clearly what she meant, things that you don't talk. He nodded at her understandingly.

" You like that necklace? " Danny quickly changed the subject as he understood there was something else behind this whole scene.

"I have only seen it in photos, I have tried painting it as well..." she spoke up, her eyes flashed with some kind of an unreadable emotion. He looked at her and he felt as if something was stabing him as he saw the hurt flash through her beautiful orbs.

"Aurablo Picasso the greatest painter" she said in a dramatic tone as she presented herself and Danny laughed. Her way of smoothly never letting others feel or see her hurt amazed him.

" bless me " he said as he laughed with her.

" you know the necklace had a golden chain" she started explaining as he curiously listened to her.

" the sunflower pendant is about this much" she said as she drew the pendant design on the inside of her palm.

"do you want it?" he asked her with a serious tone and she just laughed at him.

" don't challenge me Aurora " he playfully warned her.

" No, I don't want it" she said as she gave him a warm smile.

" I mean stupid you" he said as he shrugged at her.

" I don't know what I would have done if you said you wanted it though" he once again spoke up truthfully as she broke out into a fit laugh.

" jeezz you are so typical" she said as she shook her head at him.

She enjoyed this rare glimpse of normality she felt beside him as they spent their time in woods and lake, no funny business just talking and laughing, enjoying and thanking for each other's very existence. She loved the understanding he held within himself.

He was not perfect for her in any way, he was so imperfect and those imperfect pieces joined her shattered soul yet so beautifully.