Back Then

Chapter 7

I never expected Adriano on time , Ahad always lags , he is a promising example on why you shouldn't be a perfectionist, that you would always end up procrastinating anything you try to pull , waiting for that glorious and perfect time .

Tina and Jake already slept, I was the one in charge till Lana arrived. The universe inside my brain is already singing lullabies . To keep my eyes and mind both awake , I tried hard.

By almost 12 midnight I saw a car flash , someone came in , in a blue jacket , with a shimmery red bracelet and shiny face yet unclear . The back doesn't look like Adriano's , still expectations were holding ropes. But the person went back , reversed the car and left without a sign .

I don't know what came next , I already fell asleep with all the tides surfing through my inside .

Adriano woke me up from the not so peaceful sleep . Ahad wasn't there . He had something to do with his university exams , but he should have told me earlier. He looked so white and rosy and that perfume was perfect to ruin the sleep, very strong scent, breezy and blowing.

By the time I came fresh , Adriano and Jake were indulged in some conversations which was much boring than economics lectures . I thought Jake would be angry since I didn't inform about his arrival , later I came to know that they were buddies back then that they met from guitar classes .

I took him to the room and described briefly about the scenarios, he kept on asking back questions, to which I had nothing to tell . The brain of mine wasn't braining . I was literally so curious to unwind the mysteries revolving around the letter . I took the letter ...

"Wow " his pupil grew wide.

" Why " I asked

" At professor John's place... This is literally him and these ass lines what is it .. eww " ... He said with a low note .

" Are you sure?? There could be many of them "

" No .. the professor hates the smell of ink , he always asks dad to add this scent to his buys .... This is no one but him ! "

Will the professor do this ? He was literally the best tutor in town , an honest and passionate teacher , earning everyone's respect ever since I have heard . I remember him giving us free science lessons,since we had no money to afford private coaching, he was Uncle Percy's closest and was also a cute funny man who can unload all your difficulties in learning science. My thoughts were agitated , the mysterious doors were tunneling me into more of them . My life was offering a lot more dramas and it took a while for me to accept and realise that it won't be always same .

Jake already signed a petition to handover the case to CID . We were waiting for the upgrade . Already a lot of authorities were involved to give their best to find Ross since he handles many of their important cases since he is irreplaceable .

Jake and Tina went to their office to apply for a week-long leave . And I'm already on an uncertain period of leave since my life has turned to nothing since Ross's loss . And Lana after crying throughout the night fell asleep in the morning , her eyes were swollen, I could see her veins through that semi thin eyelid skin .

Adriano left by afternoon, after which I decided to go and meet one of my oldest acquaintances who is also a friend of professor John . I already imagined him as a monster after hearing it from Adriano . My life gives me rotten tomatoes. It's sour , useless and pungent.

I started taking my life seriously only after Ross took me with him and I was slowly resonating with the atmosphere there , my universe was slowly expanding . This tragedy again made me perplexed and lost . I'm chewing a lot more than normal and at least I was thankful that Tina has restocked a little more of it.

I knew a student named Ann who lived near the professor's place. Poor me , always gets stuck everywhere, I missed all my contacts with her . I decided to ask any of my classmates but will that be helpful in any way? I thought multiple times and ended up reaching five of them . She was out of everyone's cerebral limit that people don't even know that Ann existed.

I could feel my heart rumbling around all the unresolvable confusions under the stigma of being stuck in road leading nowhere. Do I deserve this ?

I received a call from Jake
" Sands , stay safe , we would come late "

I had nothing to say
" Hmmm"

I closed the main doors and gate . Sat in Jake's new super comfy sofa , with a pack of Doritos. I took the letter again , to feel the magic beneath the revengeful lines searching for a golden key.

Those words , What in the Bible are they !

My cranium can feel the pressure of being tightened under the excitement and an irrelevant scoop of fear.

'How many red flags have you seen ? How many times do you blink when panicked? You ever count? But I count. I count any steps I sense . Before you mess let me put it into your mind , and never ever try to pull the worst . Bad for you and bad for anyone.'

I read out loudly, loud enough to echo it inside my mind , unstopped . He counts the red flags , so... Does that mean that Ross is one amongst?

No no I'm just directing myself into the unwanted dimensions. I convinced myself to retract back from the thought that he could be wrong.

My brother , he's good , he can't be a red flag . I told , the inner me , who can be easily flattered.

The letter seems rude but deep down I could sense some undefined pain , hard to describe or relate , arising from something thoughtful . Nothing about letters is soft or kind , most lines are coiled, strong and revengeful. Unwinding this coil could be the end of all confusion , I thought as if I'm capable of doing that. The letter and the anonymous call , both can't be junk . The villain definitely wants us to reach him .

After wasting plenty of time and energy both on few random , clueless facts , I started convincing myself to take things more logically than getting emotionally jarred . What if Ross did something bad ? He is my brother, that doesn't make him unmistakable. The world revolves around mistakes and corrections .

The intrusive thoughts were running everywhere paralyzing my ability to distract myself . I let myself read that letter again but now from the writer's perspective , portraying Ross as villain. With complete patience I did that . The sudden reversal of thoughts made me pretty crazy and mugged up , a sensation which can freeze your physical body painlessly , pouring in new realisations, new diversions of thoughts and reasons . A strong pain replaced by dark revengeful thoughts , the writer is dropping all his sorrows through revenge, trying to find peace through something destructive. Ross is a lawyer, did anything unjust happen?