“Na tum hame jaano,
Na hum tumhe jaane,
Magar lagta hai kuch aisa,
Mera humdum mil gaya”
– Na Tum Hame Jaano
(Nor do you know me,
Nor do I know you,
But it feels like
I have found my confidant)
_________________________________________
“BABY, I LOVE YOU.” He yelled as soon as I picked up the call.
I chuckled, “Did you like it?”
“Like it? I love it. I can’t believe I have an easel now! This looks so professional. I've never had a Canvas holder before. I feel like an artist.”
“Chase, you are an artist.”
“…You know, when you had told me once that Art can’t feed us, I knew you were being logical and that you were right. But I also thought that you didn’t like me painting. That you wouldn’t understand how happy I feel when I put the colors on the Canvas, but you keep proving me wrong… You keep making me fall in love with you. Again. And again.”
He’s talking about Tina. Ya, Tina. Her.
We were just silent for a few minutes, but I knew he was smiling. I knew, he knew I was smiling. It was comfortable. Sometimes, I pity Tina. She surely was a crazy woman to give this up.
“I want to paint you, love. When you come back, will you be my model?”
“Why not?”, I chuckled, though my chest ached at the thought of that never happening.
“Maybe we can go to a beach and I can click pictures of you there. You remember when we had gone to the beach and I couldn’t sit still when you started to cover my feet with sand? But, now, it won’t tickle at all. You can build a whole castle and I won’t move”, he tried to joke.
“Castle ha? I was thinking that when I come, I'm gonna startle you from behind and you would just jump up and stand there, shocked.”
“Haa! Sounds great. And then I’ll catch you and tickle you until you become breathless.”
“What if I'm not ticklish?”, I argued.
“Are you kidding me? You and not ticklish? You need to be reborn for that.”
“Ya. I need to be reborn for that”, I agreed, trying to erase my mind of all the images of him tickling Tina.
Why am I acting jealous?
I think I just want someone beside me today. Maybe it’s because of this head ache. Not to mention, a work day never goes easy for anyone.
Coming home, preparing something for myself, eating it, and falling on bed to catch some sleep sounded good but when I did come home, I just wanted some warmth. Warmth that someone I could call mine could provide. Warmth that an empty house surely couldn’t provide.
“You sound tired, baby”, he said, making me stunned. Just how tired am I that even though I’m imitating someone else’s voice, it still sounds tired.
“Just a little headache”, I waved off his concern. It wasn’t directed towards me anyway.
“Did you take any tablet?”
“Ya”, I lied.
“Baby, take some medicine. And don’t lie.”, he ordered.
I fell silent. How the hell did he know I was lying? A better question was, how come he caught this lie but not all the lies I keep telling him? Actually, it’s just my voice that’s a lie. I don’t think I’ve lied much. Well, I guess Tina just never takes her medicines. Ya, that must be it.
“I really took my medicine this time.”
“What do you mean this time? Did you ever have a headache before this, and you didn’t let me know? Baby, why don’t you just tell me when you feel tired…”, he took a deep breath, maybe to calm himself down, “Okay. I'm not going to argue now. You just relax, okay. Get some sleep. Hmm?”
I thanked him mentally as I replied, “Ya. Bye, Chase.”
“Bye, baby. Take care and don’t go to work tomorrow if you feel weak. Don’t push it, okay?”
I smiled, “Hmm.”
After the call ended, I silently took a nap.
When I woke up, I knew my stomach would growl soon but I was in no state to cook. So, I got up, took out a pair of jeans, a crop top and a jacket, combed my hair, changed to the chosen clothes and slipped on my slippers after taking my key and my clutch.
I walked to the nearby restaurant and mindlessly walked in, taking a seat. When the door opened again, my eyes widened…
It was her!
I hadn’t seen her for three long years and here she was, standing in front of me. What surprised me more was that she wasn’t a customer, she was a waitress!
I got up and… walked out. I don’t know why myself. Why didn’t I confront her? Why didn’t I ask her what she doing here or whether she even feels guilty for leaving Chase?
Maybe I was scared. Of what?
Okay. I'm done. This is confusing. I'm clueless, hungry and my head aches. Lets just go home, have some macaroni and cheese. Ya. That’s it.
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Do you know, Of what?
YOU ARE READING
To Take Away Your Pain ✓
Short StoryAn artist who could mimic just anyone's voice. A man who loved the wrong girl. An accident. A guy who just wants his brother back. A mission to help. Pain... exchanged! What will happen in the end?
