Amidst A Thousand Suns

~a feeling inexplicable~

Anamika's P.O.V.

~~~

Aaghyaa hastily turned the volume down of her mobile phone when she started playing what seemed like a YouTube video. Only after she had fished out her earphones from her backpack, plugged them in her ears, did she increase the volume.

"What are you watching?", I asked.
I know the answer to that question, but a little poking doesn't hurt anyone.

"Umm...you know, the usual.", she paused the video and shrugged.

"Your 'usual' comprises of a lot of things. Be specific.", I air-quoted the words.

"CarryMinati. Here, I said it. I know you just wanted to hear his name."
She was clearly annoyed.
I giggled inaudibly.

I shook my head and stopped the car after seeing the red signal.
"You're obsessed."

"I so am.", she said rather proudly.

I would definitely say that our relationship has improved somewhat.
All thanks to Tuffy.
We would often play with him together, and somehow, amidst the giggling and petting that came along with Tuffy, we have learner to go a little easy on each other.

We both have gone through some serious things.
Better appreciate that fact rather than demeaning each other.

After five minutes or so, I stopped the car in front of the mart from where I usually bought my groceries. But this time, we weren't here for the vegetables.
I tapped Aaghyaa's shoulder and she removed one earpiece from one of the ears and raised her eyebrows at me.

I pointed to the medical store just beside the mart and said, "Go and buy your medicines from there. Here. Take your file.". I reached out to the dashboard and handed her the file.

"Are we seriously doing this?!"

"What? Conversing? Yeah, of course! That's what humans are brilliant at."

"Cut the sass. Do I really need to buy these meds?"

"Statistically and according to the doctor, your deary-deary asthma pump ain't enough for your condition right now. So, yes, you need to buy those pills."

"Fine.", she rolled her eyes, got off the car and slammed the door shut in irritation.

She has hated pills since she was a child. But having the worst immune system in the whole world, she was bound to take all sorts of medications from a very young age. Aaghyaa nearly has consumed all shapes, sizes and colours of pills there are. You ask me how I know? Well, because I was there when she was literally in tears while swallowing an atom-sized pill and was also there when she had puked out the same into the toilet.
What do these teenagers call it these days?
Yeah. Been there, done that.

She returned in five minutes with a plastic bag in her hand and a pout.

After she had settled down and wrapped the seatbelt around her, she exclaimed, "I want to go to that new bookstore. Treat for taking pills."

My gaze followed to where she pointed.
Latitude.

"No.", I said and started the car rather abruptly.

"Wow. You preventing someone from going to a bookstore. That's news.", she snorted.

The memory of the minor panic attack I had gotten there after seeing a particular book rushed in front of my eyes.
No.
No.
Never.
Never ever.
I can never go back.
Not only there; I cannot go back to any bookstore.
It's- it's too much.
It's too much for me to-