Stay With Me

Chapter - 15

Year:2021

Finally, I am home. Tomorrow is my birthday. I am so happy. I will turn 16. Sweet sixteen. Tomorrow I will be able to eat restaurant foods after a long period. And obviously birthday cake. I love cakes so much. I am already vibing with the birthday song. Oh, by the way, happy new year. It's 2021. I hope this year goes so fine and COVID disappears. 
I take mom's phone. I haven’t touched this phone in a week. I opened IG. Oh, I received a new year wish from Jeremy. Actually all of my friends wished me but only his one is highlighted for me because he is special. I replied to him. Then I noticed that I have a message from my school also. Yeah, right what I was guessing. I am promoted to class X. The most senior batch of school. Different vibes, aha! 
I come back to IG when I find Jeremy's reply. I wonder, does he always wait for my message? Maybe or maybe not. 
Jeremy : Where have you been?
Me : I've been to London to see the queen. Haha. Just kidding. I went to my cousin's place. I came back home today. 
Jeremy : Wow! You may have enjoyed it a lot.
Me : Yeah. I enjoyed it. But not much..
Jeremy : Why?
My heart is telling him, "Cause I missed you Jeremy." But I refrain myself from saying this.
Me : Nothing. I don’t know. Forget it.
Jeremy : Okay :|
Me : Wait,  I wanna show you something.
Jeremy : What?
I quickly took a snap of the portrait of him. Then send it to him.
 Me : Look :D. I know it isn’t as good as yours.
Jeremy : No, it's beautiful. I loved it. Thank you, Bella.
Me : You're most welcome.
He is typing something but I put the phone down. I am feeling so sleepy. No matter how comfortable a place you find in this world, the most comfortable place is your own home.  Where you can sleep with your heart's content. Today I am feeling just like that.

[ The next day ]
Everything is better on your birthday. Mom never scolds me on my birthdays. Dad's behaviour is fair enough. Mom calls me by such adorable names. I love it. Why are 365 days not the same? The main thing I like is, I don’t have to do any household work today. I hate doing household chores. 
The breakfast is good enough. My favourite pancakes with nutella. Just like heaven. Again, why are 365 days not the same? I know the answer. If 365 days remain the same, then you will never understand the flavour of life. That's why 365 days are different. Life is full of happiness and sadness. My father beats me, my body hurts for some days, then the pain lessens. I come back to my regular life, I never think about the pain again, that's it. That's what life is. Sadness often comes in life, but you are the one to change it. Your positive self is the one who can pull you up from the negatives of your life. It pulls you to the bright. Okay okay, I have given so much knowledge about life. A 16 years old life advisor. 
I can touch mom's phone at 3:00 pm. Because my Biology class starts then. Without having any classes, I can't touch mom's  phone. A strict rule. Besides, I don’t have school classes on Zoom in the 1st week of January.  So I can't take the phone in the morning. I am thinking, maybe Jeremy wished me at 12:00 am. A smile on my face appears. He is so sweet. I never called a boy sweet. Jeremy is nice. He usually makes me laugh, he has a seriousness, he is polite and gentle. But I mainly love the seriousness in him. But I am a funny creature. I make a lot of fun. But I am in love with a serious person. That's interesting.
 
[ At 3:00 pm]
Finally, I will get a chance to talk with Jeremy. I am so excited. So excited that I am making a mistake while entering my IG password. Haha. I finally entered IG. Just what I was thinking. Jeremy wished me the 1st! At 12:00 am. There are a lot of wishes from my friends. But Jeremy's one is sparkling like glitter. 
Jeremy : Happy birthday Bella :)
I am replying after 15 hours.
Me : Thanks. 
He replies immediately. Wow. 
Jeremy : Welcome. May all your days of life remain full of happiness including today.
Me : Thank you so much.
Jeremy : So what's your plan for today? 
Me : Maybe I will go to a restaurant  with my parents in the evening. And will cut a cake for my sweet sixteenth birthday. 
Jeremy : That's nice. Your dad is fine. Why are you always so afraid of him? Me : (Smiling) Jeremy, look often what we see isn’t the real thing. Everything you see may have a past. A past which is beautiful or a past which is traumatising. 
Jeremy : What do you want to say? 
Me : Something I don’t share with everyone.
Jeremy : You can share with me. You can trust me.
I smile at his words. But today's my birthday. I don’t wanna recall the tortures I get from my dad. So, I am not telling anything to Jeremy.
Me : You will know. Forget it now. I wanna be happy today. 
It's not like that. I am not saying my dad is a villain. He is obviously a good man. He loves us. He often does things to make us happy. But his anger is not good. And for his anger, he doesn’t hesitate in beating his own daughter like a convict. That's what I hate and he has lost a part of my mind. But I am not angry with him. I am angry with his anger. And if this anger continues, more disasters will come in the near future. That's what I know.