Nayantara

Prologue: Rebirth

Four months ago, at the Redmond observatory in Greenland, my girlfriend of six months, Sumati Adwani "Sam," and I were waiting for a meteor shower event called "The Enshrounding Belt." Our Professor of astronomy, Mr. Cox, instructed us to watch the show from the observatory, but Sam's enticing persuasion made me join her outside. I threw on one of her hoodies without thinking about wearing a bra or a shirt underneath. We sat on a rocky hill in the cold to wait for the event to happen for ten minutes. Nothing but motionless stars stood over us.

"Sam, did Cox just waste our time?" I said. Sam pulled me closer to her by tugging on my inner thigh.

"Be patient, babe," she replied in a soothing voice. The tone in her words with her hand touching my inner leg, aroused me not in a sexual way. I stopped caring about the meteor shower and began teasing her with kisses on her neck. "Babe, pay attention, or you'll miss it."

"Kiss me, and I'll stop."

"Fine." We made out for like one freaking second. It almost felt like a long single kiss. She left me drunk with the craving of wanting more. "Satisfied?"

"Bitch," I said, laughing. "I want more."

"You'll get it after once we're in our rooms. Calm down. This once-in-a-lifetime moment."

I was a needy woman back then. Kisses, touching, and foreplay were my daily attractions to combat the stress of being a veterinary nurse and a college student at the same time. If she wasn't around or too busy with whatever, a couple of cold glasses of beer were the go-to. So, I genuinely felt a bit mad that she wanted to wait, but I quickly understood her position once I saw the first passing showers.

"Sam! Look!" I said, pointing to the sky.

"Ah, I see them!" Glowing white rocks littered the sky in a trail of light. They flew over our heads, moving south past the observatory. It lasted twenty seconds, with the last streak being red and pink. "Did you see that?"

"Mhm!" We kept searching the skies just in case there were stragglers, but none came after a minute. "Okay, I guess that's it."

"Well damn. Looks like it's time I give you what you want." My stomach filled with butterflies when she pulled me closer. I crawled in her lap like a cat, ready to snuggle into their owner's comfort. She fondled my messy hair, tugging on certain areas of my head to arouse me with minor pain. "You really wanted this, hm?"

"Yeah," I lightly moaned.

"Your such a freak, Nikki."

"After six months, now you tell me?" We laughed like gossiping children, then suddenly, a red meteor flew over us. "Whoa!" It was lower than the previous shower. The light from it illuminated the field we were in.

"Oh? Did I touch a sensitive spot?" Two more meteors flew by and smacked into each other. They deflected to the west and east after a big flash of light. "Whoa! What was that light?"

"Look up, Sam." The moment she gazed at the skies, the two meteors that flew the opposite way came back at a rapid speed. They were followed by what looked like the first shower. Everything clashed and sparked as if someone lit massive fireworks into the sky. "Is this a part of the Enshrouding Belt?"

"I don't know." These rocks kept smacking into each other, lighting up the sky like a rave party. "This is something else entirely."

"Must be a follow-up." I watched in awe, yet confused as to what the hell I was seeing. These were supposed to be massive rocks, yet they were changing course and crashing into each other.

"I'm glad we took this class together."

"This isn't normal," I said out loud to myself as I calmly got out of her lap to sit beside her.