DIVINE CHAMPIONS: A BOLT OF LIGHTNING

HOME 'NOT SO SWEET' HOME

Home at last, though not the sweetest of homes, but home for sure.

The boys had tolerated twelve hours of flight journey. Rishi had spent his time listening to songs, and sleeping, but when he looked at Rick, he seemed bored. Why? Rishi had no idea. He also had his headphones on, so why was he bored? Only God knew. And speaking of God, Rishi's mind recalled the super-weird dream he had in the temple. By this time, he had accepted mentally that it was a dream. He tried to divert his mind.

When they landed on the airport, Rishi's parents were there to receive them. His Mom was short and a little plump, which made her adorable. She had black hair and black eyes. She was wearing a red kurti, while his father wore a light purple T-shirt and black pants. He was a tall, thin, and good looking man with grayish hair and brown eyes. Both his parents wore glasses. They came out with the luggage, Rishi's mom hugged them both, while his dad put the bags in the car. Once he was done, he repeated his wife's actions. They got in the car, and Mr. Roy started driving.

When they entered Pankhpur, Rishi looked outside, through the windows of the i20 his father drove. It was all so familiar: the fields, the shops, the malls; everything was familiar to him. The street they were driving through were known too. In the morning, Pankhpur was beautiful. As Thor had said in that dream, it was resourceful, too. The biggest construction company in India, Sarkar Enterprises, Rick's company, was based in this town. But, there was more. The dark side of Pankhpur was so dark that it could not fit in words. The town had no law. The biggest illegal drug dealer in the country, the richest man in the city (yes, even more than Rick), Vihaan Chaudhry, was also based here. The cops would stay out of his business. The truth is, he had bought them all. In the day time, Pankhpur was a normal town. People were going to work, to college, kids were going to school, it was all great. But once the Sun set, the city would change on its head. The same people, who were so normal in the morning, would get affected, and would move around the roads. Whenever they would find a woman in the streets alone, they would follow her, get to her, and would do things that are too horrifying to describe. If she didn't protest, she would live with all that. But, if she did, she would be killed. No wonder, the level of sins was rising.

They reached home after an hour. The day was going good for Rishi. Their flight was on time. He was back to his family again. The weather had definitely gotten better. It had rained for two days in a row, his mom had said. As his dad parked the car, Rishi stood beside Rick, looking at the apartment society. The eight towers stood side by side, four on each side, each consisting of at least fifty apartments. In the center was a ground, and a stone path that led upto the main gate.

"At last, we return." he said.

"Yes." Rick said, "so what's for lunch?"

"I have no idea. Mom didn't..."

Rishi found his words stuck in his throat, unable to come out. Just when he thought the day couldn't get better, he was proved wrong. He looked at the stone path, and walking through it, coming towards them, was the one person who could actually make the words of Saptarishi Roy get stuck in his throat.

To anyone else, she was a girl of the same age of Rishi. But, to Rishi, she was much more than that. She had medium length straight black hair, tied in a ponytail. She had blue rimmed glasses on, over her shiny black eyes. She did not have a fair complexion, but Rishi found her perfect. She wore a light brownish T-shirt, and olive green sweatpants. She walked up to them and smiled, making Rishi smile as well. And then, he got lost in some trance.

"Hi guys! How've you been?" she asked.

"Hi, Aitri. We've been good." Rick answered, and Rishi came back to reality.

"Ha...how are you?" he stammered.

"Pretty good. How was the trip?"

"Amazing!" Rick said.

"Nice. Now, Rishi, you will tell me everything about this once we get time."

"Ta...time. Oh...okay." Rishi said.

"Where are you going?" Rick asked.

"The grocery store. Will talk later?"

"Sure." Rishi managed, "Bye."

"Bye!"

And just like that, she left. Rishi decided that he would ask her out soon. He had to. Or else someone else would take her away.

"So, you have a crush on her?" Rick asked after lunch. Since the encounter with Aitri, Rick had been weirdly smiling at him. Now, after lunch, in his room, Rick popped the question out of nowhere.

"What?" Rishi asked, a little surprised.

"You have a crush on her. Isn't it?"

"Who?"

"Aitri. Who else?"

"Oh!" Rishi chuckled, "no. No."

"Don't you lie to me. I know you too well. I saw how you stopped talking when she walked up to us. I've seen this happen before. So, tell me."

Rishi's chuckle turned to an embarrassing grin. He had been caught red handed. There was no escaping anymore.

"Yes, I do."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Five months."

"Whoa! So, you are telling me that for five months, you have had these feelings for her, and you did nothing about it?"

"What am I supposed to do? It took me a month to figure out what these feelings were. Another month to accept that."

"Dude, ask her out."

"How can I? Have you seen her? She tops her class, has such a bright future, and is so beautiful. And look at me. A skinny boy who, no matter how much he eats, stays skinny, an average student, average looking, has a hint of a bright future because of his rich best friend. How can I have any chance with her?"

"Because you are a great person. I have known you for twelve years. I know what you are. And that hint of a bright future thing? Am I your weakness?"

"Not at all! You are my biggest strength."

"Exactly. Now, ask her out soon or else it might be too late."

"Okay, I'll do it whenever I meet her next."

"That's more like my buddy. Okay, I gotta bail. Will meet you tomorrow, in the internship?"

"I still think, you did not need to get me a place in this."

"Of course I did. Bye."

Rick left, and Rishi sat on his bed, thinking about what was to come. He forgot completely about those weird dreams back in Iceland.