Transformed, Depressed and Stuck

Chapter 6.

C H A P T E R 6

Square was sitting, as usual, with his egg sandwich when Choosy came in. She looked more depressed than ever, yet an unusual smile was plastered onto her face. A smile which was limited to her lips, a smile which didn't manage to reach her hazel eyes.

More unusually, she didn't hesitate to come forward and sit right beside him. No questions. No answers. No Helen.

"Hey!" Square mouthed loudly, beaming widely while she addressed him back with a mere nod.

"How are you?" She asked, biting her own sandwich a while after.

"Awesome! You?"

"I am fine, thank you." She replied with the cliché kindergarten statement, as a matter of fact.

"What are you upto these days?" He asked, chewing on his food.

"Nothing. Just living."

"Just living seems boring. Why don't you try incredible living or something?" He questioned, laughing at his own lame joke. His teeth moved in perfect synchronization, and his eyes sparkled. Choosy wondered how people could be so much happy. She felt obliged to with him, his laugh was urge-worthy.

Catching her breath after laughing hard, she questioned back, "What are you upto?"

"Incredible living." He stated with a serious expression on his face and immediately guffawed into fits of laughter. She only glared back, as if to stay the joke was already too stale.

He continued, catching his own breath. "Just joking. Right now, there is nothing too special about life. I am currently looking for an interesting part time job, something that would pass time. I am bored of my current one, which happens to be sitting inside a very unpopular book stall waiting for customers to come."

"Oh okay." She replied after a few moments of thought, apparently confused on what to reply.

"Have you ever had a part time job?" He asked enthusiastically, as a part of the pleasant attempt to know more about her. For Choosy, that was the part she was most terrified of. She didn't know how to answer questions about her past, for she didn't have a proper past at all. Why did he have to spoil such a good going conversation?

"Umm...no!" She started moving nervously, holding onto the hem of her shirt. "Sorry Square, I need to go now. Bye! See you later."

Choosy stood up, throwing her half eaten sandwich into the waste bin and hurried away, leaving a very confused Square behind.

She wandered away, afraid of already failing in the task - pretending to be alright. She knew the fake smile she used, was no more working. She suddenly needed a bone crushing comforting hug from Helen. She, very badly did.

And the fear that she may not have Helen hug her ever again after the examination made her wince.

She was afraid she would never get to see the outside world Square was talking about.

And she was scared she would never get to see neither Helen nor Square, after her skull would be pierced through.

It was funny, how not-talking-to-square-much had entered her regret-list all of a sudden. Fear of death makes you weird, I tell you.

---*-*-*---

Choosy had never analysed what it was like to live as a human. She just never wondered or thought about the uniqueness of human life; she only let the world around her run ahead, catching up every now and then. Until that day, when she desperately needed a distraction from 'the skull examination' thingy. The urge to observe and see the world through human eyes was excruciatingly intimidating. And she did exactly that, on that day, when it seemed like the mere fear of death would eat her up, not even waiting for the actual thing called death to arrive.

After school, she asked Helen if she could walk herself to home, alone. Helen was a little confused, and worried but upon having no other choice, reluctantly agreed.

She started slowly, feeling the wind on her face, the horns and creaking engines echoing in her alert years. It was one of the best evenings in the town, when none cared about anything, enjoying at the zenith of life as if there would be no tomorrow. It was only all a metaphor, or a feeling, or a mere saying for them. But she was afraid that would become her reality in the coming days.

On the carefree and tranquil walk, there were things that drew her attention. As on, a cry, which echoed only inside her head and didn't pass through her ears before causing a stimulation. It was so near; it felt like someone was screaming inside her head, pleading for help.

This used to happen for every dog and bitch almost every minute. It was the empathy link which connected them to every other animal of the same species. All they had to do was picture or look at the person straight in his eyes, and silently think about what they wanted to say. It reached the other one, perfectly, flawlessly. They didn't need any complicated languages, no sounds, nothing. It was only all about what they thought.

And that cry, it symbolized a dog in danger, screaming for help. She thought she was only imagining it, too nostalgic about her past.

And then - the realization hit like a train wreck.

The empathetic link had never gone away; even after all the alterations, it had remained and survived. There was a sudden course of pleasure that soared through her veins, when it all clicked and the pieces started to fit in. She, apparently, hadn't become all that different. There was something, somewhere that was undoubtedly the same.

Choosy frantically looked around to see who was asking for help and she spotted a dog on the other side of the road; it was hit and bleeding. She rushed to it, not heeding attention to the blaring horns or the jammed traffic.

The dog was writhing in pain, covered in a pool of its own blood. She could see in his eyes, the helplessness and agony. It pleaded to her, begged to do something, or at least end the pain.

Her eyes welled up so quickly, her vision was no more clear; it was blurred and blank. She wiped the tears away, grabbing the little dog in her arms. The passer-bys looked at her with disgust or amusement, it was hard to say. She was unaware of what a human might do then, she only ran through the road, while telling the dog it would be alright and comforting it with soothing words.

And that's when she spotted him, walking towards her quickly, the usual smile absent on his lips. He was worried for the dying puppy, and was worried for Choosy, for she was running around like an old lady who was out of her mind.

A/N

About the new addition that is the empathy link, it can be something that dogs developed over time or something that was always there and humans didn't know about! I completely leave that up to your imagination!

So what do you think about the chapter? This was initially two different chapters but I merged them to make it longer!

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Linaa!