Realisation And Nurture (BOOK #2) ✔

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

     Prachi went around the vacant campus early the next morning as the new day rose, the dim rays of sunrise extending steadily up in the sky. She stumbled to a small spherical lake with a shoal of fish and a smattering of tiny shells.

Prachi was the first to awaken from her slumber, as she had found it difficult to fall asleep soundly for the entire night. She wanted to start her day with new possibilities and a goal she could work toward until she accomplished it.

She took out her diary from her backpack and jotted down a few lines about her experiences in the first hours inside the camp. A pair of birds with medium-sized colorful tails flocked towards her and perched on the lake's corner while she scribbled attentively.

The birds were chirping and singing in their beautiful voice, thus earning Prachi's attention. A wave of mirth filled her heart as she smiled at the two birds flapping their colorful wings and shaking their round heads. She also enjoyed watching the birds scampering around in different corners of the garden of her house, and when it came to feeding them, she used to follow it religiously.

"Wh-at are your names?" Prachi said as she moved towards them in gradual steps, making sure of her snail pace so that the birds did not fly away. "I am Pra-chi Singh Bundela, will you befri-end me?"

As she held up her forefinger gently, the bird sitting the closest towards her flapped her wings rapidly before flying over to her and settling down on her finger. Prachi offered it a piece of cookie that she had fetched with her in her bag. "Do you know coo-kies are my favorites, just like my mother who loves cup-cakes?"

The bird began gnawing over the piece of eatable with its bluntly pointed beak, while Prachi eagerly waited to see what it would actually do with the biscuit. It pecked on it at first, but the dessert didn't seem to melt its heart. She resorted to combing her fingers through the bird's skin, allowing it to recline against her unfolded thumb.

With a mesmerizing voice, she murmured, "If you beco-me my friend, I will share my food with you daily. And if it hap-pens, I'll even give you a nickname. You're hav-ing such a mellowed skin, just like how this biscuit melts into my mouth. Can I also call you a Coo-kie?"

"You can also call me that and befriend me. . . Coo-kie coo-kie. . ." A deep-ended voice of a boy spoke aloud behind Prachi, mimicking her words in a broken tone. "Coo-coo- cookie. . ."

Prachi shifted her face from the bird to glance up at the boy addressing her in the most dramatic way possible. The bird grabbed the biscuit between its teeth as soon as Prachi averted her gaze and flew away to a different corner.

"Why are you imi-tating me?" Prachi muttered politely and hugged her backpack to her bosom when she beheld the deadly eyes of the boy with tousled hair who looked barely a couple of years older than her and roughly the same height as her brother Rehaan.

The boy was dressed in a white t-shirt with a brown jacket over it, and his jeans were a deep navy blue. To offend Prachi, he had his palms clasped across his chest and his brows danced in a mocking attitude. He blew air from his mouth to keep the obstructive strands out of his gaze because his black hair wasn't nicely combed and a few messy tresses were falling over his forehead.

"I didn't imitate you, why should I?" The boy passed a quick wink at her and shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers. "Can you repeat 'Coo...coo...kie once?"

"You are insul-ting me but I'm not go-ing to fall for your wicke. . ."

"Hey, stop speaking right now." He waved a finger. "Do you know that your words escape your mouth like a staggering whistle which is the cause of irritants to the ears of others?"