Opaque love

Chapter 2

Three days have passed without me leaving my office.

Call it my madness, but I felt a sudden yearning in my heart to draw her as if it would bring her out of one of my portraits. 

It felt too intense to draw her again since I had already done it a hundred times, but this time she wasn’t here to see me do it. 

"Can I stay and watch?" Maya asked in her soft voice, catching me off guard.

She stood at the door, observing me. Her hands were clasped behind her back, as she leaned her shoulders on the doorframe. 

There is no doubt that if she had asked me for my life any day, I would gladly hand it to her without any second thought.

"I understand you have said, ‘You don’t appreciate anyone’s company during your work sessions’, but I want to witness you draw." She went on even before I could reply to her first question. 

Her hair, down to her waist, was a mess, as if she had just rolled out of bed. She must have been since she was here in the middle of the night. Her eyes were drowsy from sleep. Even so, I thought she looked gorgeous.

"What would you like to see me draw?" I motioned with my fingers for her to get in and sit beside me on a chair as I placed the chair alongside mine. 

"Whatever you are drawing." She sat close, facing me. I tugged the hair falling on her cheek, behind her ear, before kissing her lips. 

"I’m drawing you. Still want to watch it?" I asked, pulling myself back to scan her face, arching my brows, and teasing her.  

"You’re drawing me?" She whispered, looking amazed. 

"Yes," I whispered back, against her lips, smiling. 

I stood up from my chair to yank down the red cloth covering the canvas. I removed the cloth from the half-completed painting, revealing the canvas to Maya. 

It was a red & black portrait of hers. 

I could only draw her cheeks and lips without looking at her. I always went for countless glimpses of her while completing my work. 

I went for glimpses of her just to read her, and trace her features with my fingers gently, to memorise her features. My figures learned her features like they had fallen in love with her separately.

Even then, I didn't stop touching her or worshipping her. That ultimately developed into a habit of mine that I couldn’t resist. 

Why would I try to resist it, though? 

She gave me a puzzled look a couple of times before we got used to the random touches and stares, knowing it meant nothing less than the love we had for each other.

When something soft and fluffy brushed against my feet. 

I picked up the cat and placed him on my lap.

“It’s about time you missed me,” I murmured, nuzzling his neck and forehead with my fingertips.

He meowed at me as I set Bane down at his feet and went to the kitchen to give him his food for the day. 

“I know! I know! You don’t have to be a bitch to me; I know Maya was your favourite, but you’ll have to work with me till she gets back. Okay?” I poured the cat food into his bowl, but I couldn’t ignore the ugly voice in the back of my mind saying, ‘If she ever gets back’.  

“She’ll get back; she’ll have to!” I tickled Bane under his chin, causing him to purr and meow in mutual agreement before he dug into his food bowl. 

---

"DEV! WHERE ARE YOU?" Maya called out from the front garden. I sighed, placed my book on the nearby table, and stood up from my chair. We were relaxing on our porch in the evening.  

“Dev, quit reading your ridiculous horror stories and get here; I have to show you something!” she exclaimed from behind the tree, at the east end of our property._ 

"Oh! It’s not ridiculous. What do you have to show me?" As I went closer and closer, I could hear multiple soft mowings. 

"Is that a cat?" I asked, hindering my steps so I wouldn’t startle the cats away. 

"No, there are kittens—a bunch of them. They are so cute. How could we not notice them until now?" Maya cooed them and ran her figures through their fur. 

"They look just a couple of days old; should we take them inside?" I crouched down next to her and picked up one of the kittens.

They felt so fragile in my palm, those black kittens. Some of them had a couple of white stripes, but a couple of them were totally black. There were five of them.  

"No, their mom would be terrified; we should wait for her mom before taking them inside with us. Wait, let me bring some milk for them." She softly stood and headed inside the house. I found myself adoring her even more at that moment.  

She came back with a bowl filled with milk and sat beside me. She smiled at me and touched my cheek with the back of her fingers, just like she did with the kittens, softly and delicately.  

"Wake up; it’s time," She kissed me on the cheek as she whispered those words into my ears.  

"What time?" I pulled back a little to look at her. She had a soft, sad smile playing on her lips as she whispered again.  

"Look for me." She turned her attention back to her kittens.  

"I don’t understand!" I looked around, confused. The sky looked gloomy as dark clouds began to fill it. 

"WAKE UP NOW!" Maya screamed, and I fell back on the ground at her sudden outburst. That’s when I felt a drop of water on my lips. I looked up at the clouds just before I was drenched in heavy rainfall.  

My body jolted forward abruptly, waking me up. I looked around, noticing I was sitting on my porch, just like I did in my dreams. 

It was around evening, but the sky was clear as the sun was already going down. The sky had a soft pink hue, and the birds were chipping. It was... normal, to say the least.  

I ascended the porch and went straight to the east end, to the garden. I had my hands trembling when I didn’t see any black kittens or any cats beside the tree, but only a book laying there. Not only that, but I couldn’t make out the title of the book because of the dirt on it. 

I took a deep breath and stepped towards the book to pick it up. I brushed the mud with the back of my palm.

It was the same book, 'horror fiction'. Was someone messing with me? But how could that be possible? How could this book be here? I don’t remember bringing it here.  

“I-- “I looked back at the book in my hands and flipped it open. Nothing; it was a normal book. I ran my fingers through my hair, ripping the end of it. 

“I can’t be going crazy now. Maya, where are you? I need you, please.” I gripped the book, clutching it tight in my hands. 

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Thank you for reading💕.