Incandescence

Chapter 11

I was brushing my hair in front of the mirror when a knock sounded on the door. It must be Sadaf, I was sure. Her phone call had come a long time back so I knew she was here now. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror with hurtful eyes. I still wasn't used to watching my new face in the mirror and I winced when I saw my destroyed skin. The whitish-yellow leathery texture of my skin gave me a ghost-like appearance. It had scared me as well when I saw myself from the first time. I will never be able to see my old self again, I knew. This damaged skin was all I had left.

Giving my hair a last stroke, I parted it into two portions and used the left one to hide my burnt my skin. After being satisfied with my appearance, I turned towards the door and opened it. Sadaf stood there, positively beaming at me. She wore a red jumpsuit that fitted her body like it was made for her. A beaming smile touched her lips as she saw me open the door and smile at her. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail behind her head, giving her a teenager look. I stepped back to let her inside.

"You took so long." She complained as she entered my room and closed the door behind her. She can never stop whining, I thought to myself. I watched as she slumped on the bed and looked up at me. She acted like nothing had happened and we were two adults who were the same as we were two weeks back.

"I was getting dressed, Sadaf. I hope one of these days you will learn to have some patience." I retorted.

"I hope so too." She grinned back at me, making me smile.

"Where is Shahmir?" I asked, looking around her. "It's such a change that he's not following your tail anymore." I commented.

She grinned at me.

"Haha! Loser! He's my husband now; please stop calling him my pet. He's downstairs with Armaan and his friend and your mom and dad."

"That's great. Let's go downstairs then and for the record, you know I can't stop calling him that. Even he knows it." I said as I picked up my shawl and wrapped it around me.

"I know." She said and followed me outside the room.

We descended the stairs together and walked towards the drawing room, from where their voices were drifting outside. Sadaf opened the door wide and walked inside, with me following behind her. Everyone looked up to see who had entered. She hopped towards Shahmir and sat down in the vacant seat next to him.

I greeted everyone and moved into the room. I chose a seat near Sadaf so that I could talk to her easily.

"Hi Armaan!" I greeted Shahmir's friend.

"Hello Alisha. It's good to see you alive and kickin!" he grinned at me.

"Haha thanks. I guess I'm not easy to kill because I survived." He smiled at me.

"You were just lucky enough, Alisha." He replied.

"Who is that?" I asked, pointing towards his friend. Half of his face was hidden behind Armaan so I had difficulty recognizing him.

"You've met him before, Alisha. That's Anis, remember my friend whom you met with me in Gloria Jeans." He moved aside for me to see his friend and I froze. Of course I remembered him. How could I forget the brown eyes that had haunted my dreams for a long time after we'd met? I could feel his piercing gaze on me. I quickly turned my face to the left side, trying to hide my damaged side of the face. He just smiled serenely at me.

"Hello Alisha." His voice was better than I had remembered. It was sultry and seductive but smooth.

"Hi. Nice to meet you again, Anis." I said cordially.

"Nice to meet you too. How are you feeling now?" He asked, while his eyes looked straight into mine. What was it about him that made me nervous? He had just asked me a simple question, didn't he? I was breathless. Trying to calm my racing heart, I replied to him.