Forbidden Desire

CH 26 || The Anchor

Aditi

******

It had been two days, tied with the cannula, feeling like a prisoner. I was living the life of a corpse or that of the one whose end was near. The only difference was I couldn't see it, my end. I didn't have to worry about my family or friends because they were already lied to by Aahir. He had texted them from my phone, assuring them I was ok. Though I was dubious whether my best friends took the bait or not. As much as I knew them I was confident they won't sit idle after the news until they talk to me.

I was worried and hoping for them not to do anything stupid and believe the lies Aahir had fed them.

That evening when Aunt Lisa came to check up on me I said, "I need to go."

"You can't." She smiled faintly before she started with the routine check-up.

"Why are you doing this? You aren't like him." She sighed but didn't allow me to leave. She just gave implausible health reasons for me to stay. I felt vanquished. I would have absconded but my body was not supporting me. It had decided to act against my will.

"You must be feeling suffocated. Let's go out." I would have denied it but then pondered whether I had even a say in it. I just complied with her. She took me inside the closet of the room that led to a spacious hidden balcony. It wasn't actually a balcony but a clandestine cozy garden.

I was awestruck at the beauty of the place. I was straight away led to a place that seemed a fantasy. A heart-shaped fountain was in the middle that emitted colourful waters because of the effect of LEDs. The soft grass underneath tickled my foot soles. The assorted fragrance of the prepossessing flowers engulfed me. It was magical.

"This is beautiful," I said, reverentially.

"I know. It's Aahir's secret place." The secret didn't seem secret anymore. It was known to me as well.

"Why did you bring me here then?" I queried.

"It's his secret place but the place where you can find peace. Come." She held my hand and took me to the other end where red lilies were planted.

"These are pretty." I stroked the petals and remembered when Aahir had sent them to me. Everything was better before or maybe it was just an illusion.

"They are Emily's favourite." I didn't know who Emily was so I waited for her to apprise me of it but she didn't. She continued telling me about her as if I knew her already.

"She loved planting flowers, was a florist so she used to ha..." I intervened when she didn't cease, "Who is Emily?"

Aunt Lisa seemed nonplussed. In lieu of answering to me, she counter-questioned, "Have you met Aahir's parents?"

She was acting weird. At first, she mentioned some Emily, and then she inquired if I was aware of Aahir's parents. She was being impatient so I nodded in response. It appeared as if she was in some kind of calculative rumination.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I could tell she was lying. Later on, she excused herself and left, saying she would return in a few minutes.

I didn't know who Emily was but the way she mentioned her, she seemed pretty close to her. With her talks, I had deduced Emily was closer to Aahir than Aunt Lisa. The bizarre fact was I had never heard her name from Aahir's mouth.

As told by Aunt Lisa, it was Emily who designed that garden. She for certain was someone who knew Aahir well. Though I shouldn't have cared, I didn't have any right to, but it was affecting me. I could feel something in my heart.