AISHA: The Cursed Name

Chapter -21 A Touch

A Touch

Aisha was feeling very weak so she refused to show up for dinner. Bani and Swara bought her the meal at her door. They wanted to tell her that it was okay. They were fine accepting her differences. Though they were not. But, Aisha wore a fake smug and asked them to leave her alone for that night. Just her. Alone!
Namrata was with Ishita. She had been trying too hard to make her understand that Aisha was innocent. She had been humming the same lines,
"Ishita, she didn't even know her eyes glowed until we told her. She doesn't have any control over herself."
But Ishita was hard to agree with over anything right now. She had seen it, along with the others this time, and was too much occupied making the decision to either go out and shout Aisha's truth to everyone, or sit back and wait till Aisha does something to them, and then she couldn't say anything. Nevertheless, she was the one who suffered hypnotism, not her friends. How will they understand what she felt. How horrifying is Aisha's calm to her now.

Horrifying! One term to describe every second of Aisha's life. Her food got chilled lying on the table and she sat on the windowsill. Gaping at the moon, she clutched her knees and pulled them closer to her chest.

'It's been just a week since I have been here. And, within a week, so much chaos occurred. I have faced accusations from friends, enemies and many people I don't even know. I have seen horror in all eyes. Horror in Ishita's eyes, in Siddharth's eyes... In all my friends' eyes. I've seen horror... Because of me.

I have tried my best to hide my things but they take no time to turn into an undiscovered chapter in front of everyone... And me. Wasn't it sufficient for me to hide the truth behind my full name and past that now I have more things to do?

Now, how can I be keeping my eyes from glowing when I don't even know what it means? I can see the fear and hesitation in their voices when they were here to see me tonight. How far Bani stood from me, how Swara couldn't come closer after keeping the food on the table...
The food! Shit! I don't want to eat it. And... now I don't think anyone will bother if I don't.They are trying hard to pretend that my differences don't bother them, but I've felt it, I know it, I've seen it. It does!

Yesterday, when we returned, I was accused by Ishita who thought that I am hiding things beyond limits. That I am lying to everyone. That I'm a monster, a threat, a traitor. Am I? I have no clue why my eyes twinkle... When I am going with the flow of hard emotions? Such a joke! Are they my eyes or an emergency siren?

I have become a mystery to myself. And, I need to sort it out before I start to lose the only things I have in hand. The only people who are supporting me. All I have here is just a group of four friends and an honest boy who appears out of the blue, when I need help, always. But he is right, he can't be there always.

But, now I feel he will never talk to me again; why do I have such a strange feeling? He looked at me with so much horror in his eyes. What happened that made him look so sick? I can't lose these people, they have become precious to me in no time. It's like I need these people to keep me going.

But, I can not rely on them. I will not be served with help now and then. It's high time now, I need to do things in my way. It's time to turn my misfortune and discover what I am and where I belong. It's time to change my priorities from hiding and not accepting the truth to start a journey to discover me.'

..................

On the other hand, Siddharth was to sitting lonely in his room. His room was dark and he had no roommate. His gloomy space had slight interference by the moonlight. The moon, which she used to watch. Today that was even making him feel uneasy. He wanted the mood to disappear behind the clouds so that nothing that is related to her might touch him, even though it's just the moonlight. He had not changed his attire and sat by the door, his left leg spread out straight while he held on to the other near his chest. His head rested on the cold wood and his body went mellowed out on the floor.