Quantum Potente

15. Heartfelt conversation

Music Recommendation: 'Banjaara' by Mohammed Irfan

Shakti sat on her bed, looking out the window with a dazed expression, while her roommates looked at her in concern. Shakti has been sitting silently for half an hour, without a single word. Her expression was enough to convey her disbelief to her friends.

Jade finally cleared her throat to capture Shakti's attention, who turned towards her with a stoic expression. Her eyes spoke volumes about her inner dilemmas. Jade inched closer to her bed and sat on the edge. Myra followed her and stood at the edge.

"Hey. You can talk to us if you want to. We will answer your, well, doubts.", Jade said with a hint of uncertainty. "Yes, don't hesitate to ask us what you want to know", Myra added.

Shakti took a deep breath and nodded slowly, indicating that she understood. After a minute, she spoke, "So, you both are..."

"Yes. We both are Homo potens as well.", Jade said with a nod. "Shakti, you can ask us whatever you want, and we will answer truthfully."

"We were bound to not say anything to you till you were verified as one of us. This is supposed to be a secret among our kind. Ordinary humans are not supposed to know this. So, we couldn't open up.", Myra said, while taking a seat beside Shakti. Jade scooted closer and sat on the other side of Shakti.

"No need to explain me. I understand your dilemma. If I were in your place, I would have done the same.", Shakti said looking down at her lap, then looked back at them with a slight smile. She looked out the window, her eyes glossy with emotions.

Shakti was not a girl to usually breakdown in front of others, as she usually replaced her sorrow with anger which came out in a destructive way. But the unfamiliar atmosphere took away that ability of hers as well. All she did was to stare at nothing in particular, while all sorts of confusing thoughts tried to capture her attention.

When the other two realized that Shakti will not release her inner torment, they sighed defeatedly and turned to get off her bed, Shakti said, "Wait..."

"Don't go, please.", Shakti said, her voice thick with untold emotions. Jade smiled and came closer, glad that Shakti was comfortable enough to reach out. "If you want us to stay, we will stay.", said Jade.

A wave of silent understanding passed over the room, while Shakti looked at her new friends with a hint of gratefulness. It was only two days, and she was feeling that the bond forming between them would last longer than she imagined. She was not the type to cling to false hopes of forever as she knew nothing was forever, not even this world. Her closest person was mercilessly snatched away from her by fate. Though the current situation insinuated a different picture, which she was not ready to accept.

"Homo potens are immortal? They cannot die until they want?", Shakti asked in a low voice, though she already knew the answer to the question. She wanted to cling to some hope, that what her gut was telling was wrong. But Jade's nod shook that hope and she looked out the window again, in an attempt to hide the hurt Jade's affirmation brought unintentionally.

"We can live as long as we want, and can only die, if we initiate the process of self-destruction in us. This process is a complex one and takes years of learning to properly carry it out, without harming the creatures around us.", said Myra in a matter-of-fact tone.

Shakti looked at her and asked the question that was floating in her mind, "Are Homo potens created by hereditary relations or the abilities can occur in anyone in random?"

"Mostly, Homo potens are hereditary, but standalones are also not rare. In fact, the oldest surviving Homo potens are standalones, without Homo potens parents.", Jade answered this question for her, while Shakti nodded in understanding, processing the information she got.