Part II
Chapter - 2
Mom was delighted to receive him (even happier than she claimed she would be), and she offered some non-alcoholic beer that she arranged for the day. It nearly felt like some celebration. We talked a lot, and Nova engaged in the conversation. We ate, and he sat right beside me. He smiled a lot and he laughed a lot.
It was his happy place.
At night, I laid on the couch, and I pondered hard. I wondered, how was it that the cramped space I was so ashamed of all my life became a wonderful abode for someone to heal and grow? Was he special?
Perhaps he was.
That day, I went to see him play guitar for the band. That was also the day when I realized that it was not a mistake to name him the ‘Super Nova'. That is how he played it. He was a glistening ocean of raw passion, and I was staring back at a reflection of myself. His fingers did not hesitate, and neither did the cheers of the crowd.
When he was off-stage, I went to cheer him on.
“You really do love to play the guitar, don’t you?”
He smiled. “Yes, I do.” He was playing a quiet tune, that he played and replayed to get right. “But…” he stopped, and that beautiful smile faded away.
“There was something I loved even more. Playing the guitar reminds me of it.”
Ah, how could I have forgotten? Speaking to him always unraveled something unforeseen. People are made of secrets.
“Mind telling me what was it?”
His eyes grew darker. He was not looking at anything anymore. “It was something insignificant. At least that is what I thought, and that is what everybody thought.”
I thought about it. “You really do care a lot about what people think of you, don’t you?”
His head lifted. “What else am I supposed to do?”
My head tilted and I pretended to be thinking again, when the answer was as clear as a crystal. “How do you feel about it?”
He sighed. Then he began playing that sweet melody again. “I do think it’s insignificant in nature, though it meant something to me.”
“Then is that not a good enough reason to have pursued it?”
He did not speak anymore. If he needed, then I was willing to provide some time to reflect on it.
We were walking to the subway together. It was a bizarre idea, it made my heart thump in my chest loudly. Though I was ready to give it a shot.
“Wanna hang out?” I asked at last.
I expected him to frown. After all, I was using a lot of his time lately. But he replied readily, his head shaking in a vigorous nod.
“But you know that I don’t carry much money.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll pay for you. Where'd you wanna go?”
He looked at me with expecting eyes. It scared me even worst. I looked away, and found something intriguing enough to stare at on the side road.
“Um… I was wondering… why don’t we go to your place today? If that is fine with you, of cou—”
The smile slowly died. Did I say something wrong? Was I overstepping my bounds? Did I hurt his feelings somehow? I should have known better than this if I expected something to be going on—
YOU ARE READING
Summoning Silences : The SuperNova ✔
Short Story[Revising] In a world already hard enough, Alex Baker tries to navigate his way through life, and make a better world for him and his mother. His dreams are innocent, and his path is set in stones. Except, the paths have started colliding, and the...
