Open Heart: Second Year {On Halt}

Chapter 29- First Loss

I was still tired when I woke up in the morning. Tired under the glare of fresh morning rays— seeping from windows undraped into my room. My limbs were consumed by desire to lounge in bed the whole day, watching streaming sunlight changing its angles as earth spun around our star. There was no immediate interest to get up with lingering chill of the room. It was always cold in mornings, fresh-gelid climate which evaporated as daylight loomed by every hour. But no matter how tempting it was to close my lids...duty forced me awake and duty let me shut the alarm before it could knell. And duty forced me to take a cold shower over my cold skin, over my cold weariness. And duty heated it away.

The moment I walked out of bathroom, I was apprehended by a sense of difference within me. I was in my empty room with voices of roomies outside my closed door but rather than investigating the situation outside, I felt like going back inside the bathroom and letting me freeze under the coldness of that cold shower which could cocoon me in its icy protection. On the contrary, I have a chance of catching pneumonia and evidently being admitted to Edenbrok. It would be a spectacular sight with their youngest doctor being a patient herself. Oh, for the record I already have been a patient since an elevator played chucky with me that dreadful day evoked by Landry.

I knew something was wrong with me because all I just wanted was to sit back in bed and read the mail my mother had sent. I wanted it read it many times more until time became water for me and the words my oxygen. But duty forced me to not linger on my mail and instead, check if there was any update from hospital.

And loved encouraged me to check the conversation window if Ethan had sent anything back.

A raw wind of iciness froze my heartstrings when there was no reply from him. And second later, the 'seen' tick thawed me gently with knowledge that he had read it. He was angry— he deserved to be. We all deserved to be vexed but especially him because I knew life hasn't been kind to him in past and always wicked in present. It hasn't been kind to both of us but I could be angry some other time, and let Ethan be angry first. My moment would come some day and that anger would simmer like a dome of frostfire under landscape of scalding skies and raging sun and winds. And Ethan would be another storm— blistering me, canonizing me...loving me. That would be nice.

Someone let out a shrill wail, raking me out of my thoughts. The drumrolls of commotion outside my room just caught its tempo. I heard Aurora yelling heaven high and a recently arrived Jackie screaming to shut up. Dear Apollo, these two surely could be employed during election campaign. I could hear Elijah and Phoebe with their soft voices trying to keep the matter sane while Sienna was silent since she would rather cook quietly than form a roaring trio with Jackie and Aurora. I donned myself presentable with a red blouson top having high neckline and parallel pants the colour of tea rose. Lately I have developed a penchant for parallel pants, and wore them as often as possible. I folded my hair in twin buns like Rey from Star Wars (although she had three but my hair was lot longer) and applied a bit of makeup, especially under my not-so tired eyes and walked out.

"You guys seriously need to tone down." I barged into living space, "Because if we get noise complaint—what the?!"

Two unidentified furry creatures sitting on Elijah's lap stared back at me. They were small— size of both my hands combined with perked ears and fur risen in alarm. Their wild greeny-yellow eyes shiny as marbles observed me if I, the newest screaming part in living space was their predator or not.

I squealed like a five year old, "OH MY GODDDDD! Are those kittens!"

And rushed forward like a little Godzilla to grab them in my arms. The kittens were now startled at my sudden spiked interest and they squeezed further in Elijah's arms. He gave a gentle rub on their little foreheads before lifting them both to me. Wasting no time and ignoring the banter which was going on, I took both the kittens in my arms and cooed. One of them hissed at first but subsided realising that I wasn't going to maim or eat them. Their touch was soft, like Ethan's soft hair under my fingers and my eyes momentarily closed at the contact. Their paws were drawn, tiny nails scraping uselessly on my skin to stay ahold. They mewed, one black as night and one fair as snow. Black and white like squares in a chessboard. Black and white like players in world. Black and white like truth and lies.