What Are My WordsWorth

44. Residence- The Darkness

i once feared dark

for the eeriness it offered

and exclusion of light,

painting everything cold and jet black

that once was warm and bright.

But in the twinkling of an eye

the dark befell on me,

the terror crawling up my spine

impeded me from seeing.

Holding myself together

i tried to fear not,

but to my amazement

the gloom was a little too soft.

Kissing my scars,

consoling my ache,

singing me a lullaby

of tranquility and solace.

It was a place I've longed for,

a home i was looking for in the broad daylight,

oblivious to the fact 

that it has always been here,

embracing me every night .

Saara later revealed to us that Divam had been the star student in their school and had earned a scholarship to the boarding school. It was easy to see why, given how confidently and eloquently he answered the questions that our teachers threw at us. He seemed to have a vast and deep knowledge of various topics.

The bell rang for the break, and Dhriti and Saara invited me to join them in the canteen. I declined their offer. I was on my periods and I felt a dull ache in my lower abdomen. The last thing I wanted was to walk or even move during this time of the month.

"What about you, Divam? Won't you join us?" Saara asked him.

He shook his head and said, "No, I'm good." He stayed in his seat next to Aadarsh and Danish.

Aadarsh turned to me and asked, "Are you okay?" He noticed that I had laid my head down on the table, trying to ignore the cramps.

"Yeah...I just didn't want to go outside," I lied, not wanting to share the real reason in front of a bunch of boys.

"Or you could have just said the truth that you wanted to spend some time with me," he joked, winking at me.

"Oh, shut up," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Are you guys in a relationship?" Divam asked out of the blue.

Before I could say anything, Aadarsh smiled at him and said, "Yes, we are." He knew what he was doing. 

"No, he's lying," I told him, feeling flustered.

"Come on, we can tell him," he said to me, pretending to be serious. "You won't tell anyone, right?" he asked Divam, looking at him with a fake earnestness.

"No, why would I?" Divam reassured me, smiling slightly.

"But I'm telling you he's ly-" I tried to tell him, but Aadarsh cut me off in the middle of my sentence. "She's just a little shy," he said in a low voice. 

"But make sure you don't tell anyone. My girlfriend won't like it," he told him.

"Of course, you guys can trust me," Divam said, nodding his head.

I knew explaining myself would be useless. Aadarsh was having too much fun with this prank. Rather than expressing my fury, I sighed and turned my head on the table, hoping he would stop soon.