Five small figures can be seen running along the park, getting tangled in swings, falling down and laughing. The sound of laughter rings around the natural arena and comes back in the form of an echo. Suddenly, a voice calls out my name. Whose voice is that?? I strain my brain to identify the owner of the voice to no avail. Even after failing in identifying the person, I know that whoever it is, is someone important to me. The voice seems desperate to reach me as if it is trying to keep me away from some kind of danger.
My eyes flash open to see a beautiful yet angry face looking at me.
That is not a sight one wishes to see when one wakes up from a beautiful dream. An angry beauty is almost as dangerous as a poisonous snake.
"Bin!! Bin!!" she said, her voice the same as what I heard in my dream just more mature and sad. All of us were so happy back then. No care of the world and our only purpose to live was to make fun of each other and play. Damn this reality. Why did we grow up??
"What??" I shouted. I don't behave in such a manner with Jane. She is one of my favourite people on this planet and I don't like causing her any kind of pain. After what she has gone through, even a paper cut can be considered harsh. The cold air swept its way through the window and found my face making me reach for a non-existent blanket. To save myself from the wind, I curled my arms around my chest.
"Wake up you fool. I can not live like this. It has been three days since we got in this car. It feels like it's my home now." Jane said, anger still visible in her eyes.
"Well, what can I say Jane? All of us wanted to visit Arcata and it's a two-day ride from New York. I am no God, I can not shorten the path to our final destination"
"Our final destination is death and I will consider it my duty to make you reach YOUR FINAL DESTINATION faster than any one of us if you do not find us a hotel to stay in."
"A hotel?? We have been sleeping in this truck for three days and we can manage to do the same for two more. None of us has the money to afford luxuries like hotels" I said reminding her of our situation.
"That is not an excuse I should be hearing from an international bestseller"
"Okay, fine. I have money.... but what about you three?"
"I can cover myself up even if it means that I shall go broke for a good night's sleep"
"No, you can not cover yourself up. You barely have any money and you have to pay your share of the rent for our apartment next week. We are staying here and that's final" I said in a matter of fact tone.
"I will pay the rent. Please, can we stay in a hotel, just for one night? Please please please."
I can not take it anymore. The pleading look in her eyes can persuade a man with a heart of stone. What am I? I am just a regular man with a normal heart made of muscles and blood. I don't think I can say no to her now.
"Okay, you win but you will have to let me pay"
" No" she shrieked
"No?"
"You heard it right. We have had this discussion like a million times. You have helped me more than enough in my rough times. I can not and will not accept any help from you in the form of money" she said with a flame of determination burning in her eyes. Those grey eyes of hers can be really dangerous at times.
" How will you pay the rent?" I said trying to make my voice as soft as possible. I guess some harshness could be heard even after my tremendous efforts of hiding it.
"I will figure that out later"
"You spend more than you earn, Jane. This is not a habit you should keep up"
"Isn't that the purpose of earning money? We have to spend it in order for it to have any value. For me, the piece of paper is not as valuable as it is to the entire world."
"The piece of paper you are referring to is what allows us to eat food and in your case, it lets us stay in hotels."
"Maybe it is important but then again, it is not something worth saving. It is always better to spend it than keep it in our pockets, right?"
"Can you two tone it down a little?" came Irene's voice from the back of the truck. We disturbed her sleep, I suppose.
What can we do? When we talk to each other, we somehow forget our surroundings.
Chapter 6 comes to an end. Some bonding of Jane and Robin. I love writing this. Thank you for reading. Vote, comment and follow.
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Not A Couple
General Fiction"In my defense, a person who does not like Nutella IS THE BIGGEST IDIOT TO HAVE BEEN BORN ON THIS PLANET" "People can have different opinions" "Yes, of course people can. But they are people, what do they know? You, on the other hand are an alien fr...
