The Partham Chronicles

Part 3- Reeled in

"Um... no, I think I will take two more laps," Vysna said.

"Okay, don't tire yourself," her friend said to her as she waved her goodbye.

Water was her getaway. Every time she was near any water body she was at ease. It calmed her nerves and gave her peace. She would spend hours swimming and not feeling tired or bored. Her dad nicknamed her Swordfish cause, she could cut through water like one.

She dipped back into the pool and swam towards the other end. Rolled, pushed and took one lap. Then started another, but she stopped halfway and floated for a while.

If only Aaden had not reminded her. She was happy with the way things were going right now.

She dived down and hovered just above the bottom of the pool floor. She closed her eyes and sent a wave. She could hear the wave hitting the walls of the pool; she could see an image of the inside of the pool, the edges, the filters, every detail. She knew how far she was from the edge. She swam towards it keeping her eyes closed. Each time sending a small wave and getting a vision of her surroundings. The feeling she got every time she used the wave was exhilarating. The knowledge that living this way, without the fear of anybody finding out who she was or even using these powers on a daily, excited her. It would be her normal life. Somewhere back in her mind, she knew that her mother would not want it. She had asked about all of this too many times, and every time, she had been vague. What was so secretive about them? What was it that made them so different?

Her mother never told her who she was, Vysna had figured it out by herself. She knew she was different, she experienced situations differently. Her experiences with her surroundings were perplexing. She would be startled by sounds that no one heard. She could see a three-dimensional image of a two-dimensional object and remember every detail if she saw the object once. And when she was in the water she was unbeatable. She started swimming when she was three years old. Her swimming instructor was surprised by the way she mastered it so quickly. She has been winning medals since then at many national and international levels. She was good academically as well. She also could see music. She could imagine what a musical note would look like in 3-dimensional space. She had only talked about it to Aaden once, who had told her not to tell anyone because he thought that people would call them weird.

Aaden had always been the cautionary one. "We have to plan, planning is very important." He always said. But he was very supportive of her no matter what she did. Even if it was a wacky idea of going on a solo trip to the mountains. "You are crazy, what if something happens to you? Don't haunt me as a cranky ghost if you die there... But I think it would be fun." He'd said grinning.

And Tashvin was her annoying little monster. Nobody knew what he did sitting alone in his room. He was never athletic or outgoing. But he was a topper in his class and brilliant in academics. At the young age of fifteen, he had a patent under his name for the design of a hovercraft. And now he was working on some other project, which he said, "You are too dumb to understand." Infuriating her.

She loved them all to let go of it.
"what do you want?" a voice in her head said. 'I don't want to leave my family. I wish I could have both,' she thought. Then she swiftly swam back and climbed out of the pool. And went towards the changing rooms.

She wanted something more out of her life because sometimes what she had, didn't suffice. Her mother loved her dearly and told her that whatever she experienced was a part of being a Partham. And now if she gets a chance to live the kind of life she wants, should she not take it?
What wouldn't she do to get the best of both worlds?

She was on her way to the bus stop when she got a call from Tashvin.

"We are dead... I am dead... Vy, I don't think I am going to survive this shit. We are fuck-" he was shouting through the phone.

"Tash, calm the fuck down and tell me what happened." She cut him off.

"We will have to give the bloody test, Mum lost the case. Oh, I am not prepared for this..." His panic was evident through the phone.

"Are you going to tell me properly or so help me god I will..." Vysna lost her patience.

"Fine, fine..." He slowed down. "Mum didn't win. I found out about it just now." A tiny ping of excitement struck Vysna. "She came home early and then Dad came home. And she broke down and was crying. I am not prepared for this." His voice was amping up again.

"Wait, first of all, what were you doing at home? Did you bunk school again? Mum's not going to be happy bout that." she asked.

"Don't be a snitch. Are you even listening to me? We... Will... Be ... giving those legacy tests. We are going to compete with each other. And one of us will have to leave. I think my bunking school will be the least of Mum's worries right now." he concluded.

That struck her. He was right, her mother had spent the past year pleading with the council to exempt her children from the tests. And now, for whatever reasons the tests had become inescapable. Giving the test was a secondary thought, what plagued her mind was that she would have to compete with her brothers and leave her family if she got selected. She couldn't shake off that idea.

"Tash, where are you now? She asked.

"I am outside the house. I don't have the guts to go inside. Mum's upset and I am freaking out. You come here asap." He said.

" No listen, meet me at Coco's cafe. I don't think we should go home just yet. If mum's upset, as you say, then dad will console her, but you need to calm down first. So, meet me there." She hung up.

Her mind was racing. What was Tashvin talking about? If Mum had lost, it meant that they had to give the tests. She broke into a cold sweat.

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Hello, my beautiful readers. ❤️

At the end of this month, I will be taking a short break because I have a small family function. And if you are from India then you must have a pretty good idea of how chaotic they can be. Before that, I will try and update as many chapters as possible. Thank you for understanding.

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RTW