Chapter 2 - Flight -

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I woke up to an array of voices, as if I was in a deafening crescendo with a silent inside. 

I let a ray of light in through my half shut eye. It was morning for the world, everyone busy with the regular chores. And I was wondering, wondering if I was still alive. 

''You asshole! What the fuck were you trying to do yesterday?'' exclaimed Abby as he threw a giant cushion at me. 

I dodged the big red polka dotted devil as I held myself back to my place in a jiffy.  

I forced my mind to dive deep into reminiscence. 

But it simply refused like a stubborn kid. It was true; I had no memories of the gone night.  

Abby was still glaring at me, with his eyes wide open and ready to pop out. I was scared; I had never seen him like that. 

''umm, I... I don't remember'' I spluttered. 

Abby got up with a rage showing through his facial twitches and slammed the door as he rushed out.  

I yawned and gripped my pillow back. 

A gust of wind swiveled in through the window, smashing the curtain out of its place. The piece of cloth came flying to rest upon my cheek, as if reminding me me of the curtain I had pulled down for myself. 

Aarna was gone. 

My mind was screaming through the walls of my skull, as if trying to make a way out with a puddle of blood that dominated my clenched nerves.  

I felt my heart pounding against my chest so hard that I could count.  

The door made a screeching sound, before it was held wide open. I saw Abby, holding a tray in his hands. 

I was still shivering, though the curtain covered my corpse. 

It was the first time I had that feeling of escaping senses and seeping emotions.  

''Here, eat this'' Abby said as he inserted a big granola bar in my mouth.  

I almost puked. It was not because I seriously hated granola bars, but because I missed something I wanted. 

Yes, I wanted her back. 

I chewed down the entire piece owing to a hunger that was too big to be quenched.  

I felt better.  

Food was something which could make anyone feel better, but ironically, at times our feelings posed as a fodder. 

I wore my smile back, and Abby returned one too, only along with a few tears finding a way down his bearded cheek. 

Even before I could make a remark, he stood up and hugged me tight. 

''Not everything that goes, comes back. But most of the things that stay, are overlooked by us.'' 

I smiled amidst a tear, as I pondered along to the words. 

''See writer, I am a thinker too'' said Abby as he grinned out, forcing a wave of laughter out my system. 

I picked up my cell phone and deleted Aarna's number without a second thought.  

''She was not dead, it was me who deleted her'' I whispered out to my conscience which consoled me in return. 

I walked out to the balcony to be greeted by an army of pigeons making weird noises.  

I loved birds, because I believed in flight. 

Up in the azure sky lit by the soothing rays of the ball of fire, I could see groups of birds making different patterns in flight. There was a big inverted 'V' and then a big 'W'. My mind couldn't help but think about things I had, and things I had thrown away in the ring.

But then all I had were weapons, weapons which could sail me through the battle of life, weapons called words.

I heard the slow screech of the door opening behind me, and Abby came out drying his long hair with a towel he never washed.  

Okay, he had those very long locks which looked great when tied up in a pony, but that yellow-brown towel changed my thoughts in an instant second. He knew how I hated him for that, but he still threw his towel towards me, and I dodged away. 

The towel flew down from the fourth floor, spread as a parachute being carried away with a gust of wind. 

'Last night, you could've been the towel' managed Abby in a melancholic tone as he ran off to fetch his towel.

I stood at my place, shocked. 

My shivering hand reached out for my pocket and fished out a coin. I leaned at the balcony, and quietly dropped the coin out of my palm. There was an unreal silence for a few seconds, and then I heard it crashing to the ground. 

The whole thought sent shivers down my spine, and sent a wave of mixed emotions all through my body frame.  

I dragged myself back to my room, wishing I could have someone who would drag me back to my sanity. 

I never feared death, but after knowing that I was on the verge of it once, I felt myself succumbing. My mind was in a tornado of questions, questions that I asked myself. 

My dreams confronted me, and then there were pictures of my parents, my friends, the promises I made.  

All of them could have faded in one night. 

A sudden outburst of emotions made me scream my lungs out, and that made every pigeon fly away out of a fear.  

I stood silent, just like the waves of a shore calmed down after a raging tide. Those birds had fled; they knew an escape from fear. 

I didn't. 

I rushed in straight to the kitchen in order to help myself. And after gulping down three huge glasses of water, I strolled back to the guest room in thoughts. 

My eyes were dry, but the wounds were wet, waiting to be engulfed in the realms of time to heal. 

As I entered the room, my nose detected something awkward. It was a faint fragrance of a girlish perfume, mild and gentle. I laughed to the thought of Abby wearing such fragrance over his 'Rock the party' attitude.  

I reached out for the far corner of the room, hunting for my travel bag. And the very next moment I had changed the ambience of the room with my strong Musk deodorant. 

'That's more like it' I mumbled to myself, as I walked past the hallway, back towards the balcony, only to hear Abby speaking to a voice. 

It was a low pitched, husky sound compiled with a shrill vibe. And my brain knew that voice. 

Ira, yes it had to be Ira. 

Abby's sixth girlfriend in four months, or that's the way he had described Ira for the very first time. 

To me she was just another dumb blonde who carried an empty head over a desirable body. Her actions could've made any guy embarrassed in public, and I wondered how Abby managed to keep up with her. 

But understandably so, Abby had his reasons. Reasons which were unstated, yet so understood. 

I tiptoed towards the door, my mind making a list of ways to evade a conversation with her. 

And just as my hand reached out for the door, a sudden gust of wind blew and made the door hold back with a screech, slamming back to its place eventually with a sound. 

And that was enough for those ears.

'Another setback for the day' I whispered to myself as Ira walked in.

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