As pink as white (COMPLETED ✔)

3 | Warm on the outside, cold at heart

I was in my room, doing assignments and studying extra for the exams due two months later. The light of Darshan's room always stayed on the whole night. I can't say that it stays on whole night because, the last time I see it on is just before sleeping and then when I wake up, it's still on.

Maybe he is always putting extra efforts in everything he does.

Mom called me downstairs and I walked past Rudra's room, glancing his way once. He looked a bit disturbed. But, I will talk to him later.

"Mom, you called?", I asked her as I reached the kitchen door step.

"Go and hand it over in Darshan's house", mom said handing over an utensil filled with curry.

"Why should I be the one?", I whined trying to handle the hot curry in the steel vessel.

"Don't you know? Darshan's mom had suddenly gotten a cardiac arrest and was rushed to the hospital. His dad is at the hospital with his mom. So, he is alone in the house. Also, you guys are childhood friends, so maybe you can make things better for him", mom revealed to me and I just gawked at her in awe. The new information was too much to digest.

Aunty had been so nice that, even a stray kitten who is helped by her, will consider her as her mother. She has never seen any difference between her son and other kids. It just kind of struck hard thinking about her.

"Did uncle ask you to take care of him?", I asked, choking out of breath.

"No. But the poor child is all alone. His aunt will come over tomorrow. The least we can do is, be kind to him, for today", mom replied.

I just need to be kind to him.

There must be a lot going through him.

I slowly put my feet inside my fluffy slippers and my mom holds the door open for me to go out.

The house is next door so I don't have to cross much distance. I knock on the door twice but no answer comes out.

I knock again, a little louder. Yet, there is no answer. I am conscious about mom gazing over the door from the living room room window, confused.

Frustrated, I pull open the door. It is unlocked. Has something happened to him? Is he alright? What if there is a burglar inside? The thoughts are enough to rip my confidence apart and make my body go numb.

With trembling hands and shivering legs, I pull the door wide open and enter the house. I closed the door behind me and walked into the kitchen which was straight from here. I keep the vessel on the table and threw my arms in the air.

The pot was so heavy.

Curiosity gets the best of me, and I make my way upstairs.

Dear God, forgive me. It's not at all right to sneak in to someone's house like this.

But, I am scared. If something would have happened to him, it would be better for me to know, so I can at least call someone for help.

I push open his room door and is met with flashy light. He lays by the window sill, sleeping, in his cricket uniform. He is drooling as his hair fall all over his face. The dirt in his uniform shows that he has been working hard.

Contemplating with my thoughts, I push his hair back to see his clearly innocent face. I gently tap his back to wake him up, without thinking of the consequences and he presses his eyelids. I call out again and he opens his eyelids, slowly.

At first his small eyes go wide as he flinches back... But then, back to normal.

"You? What are you doing here?", he asked smiling, nonetheless.

"Mom asked me to give dinner to you. But the front door was open and you didn't reply. So I freaked out and decided to check up on you", I answered, sitting back.

"Oh... Thank you... But, you didn't have to do that. I would just have ordered some Domino's", he said, with his flashy smile.

"I heard about your mom", I said chewing the corner of my lips. His smile faded, but came back to life, however. "I am so sorry to hear that... But just know that I am here and you see, she will be back normal-", I am cut off in between by him. "It's fine, really. Like, it's okay. I know that my mom will be back, all fine and better", he said widing his smile and I looked at him unbelievably.

"How can you smile in such conditions?", I asked him.

"The least I can do, is brighten up someone's day with a bright smile", he replied putting his both forefingers on either side of his cheek and pulling the sides of his lips up to show a wide smile.

I couldn't help but smile, too. Maybe that's what he means.

The very next moment, I head down stairs with him to the kitchen where I serve him the food.

"You could have at least changed before eating", I huffed and he laughed shaking his head to the sides.

"That's pointless, since I am going to change tomorrow morning however to my school uniform", he shrugs.

"Sure", I roll my eyes at him.

"Well, umm...can you make me a promise?", he asked all of a sudden in utter seriousness.

"What happened?", I asked curious as he fiddled with the spoon.

"Keep the matter of my mother's health sealed. Don't say anyone about it", he said looking down to his food.

"Why? Does nobody know about it?", I asked in awe.

He shakes his head in a 'no' and I am taken aback in surprise by his response.

"If anyone knows, I am going to be treated differently... Like they are going to pity me and sympathize me, like, it's not my mom..but me who is going through the worst. And, I don't like that kind of attention", he said and it took me a moment to understand his view point. Also, I felt a bit embarrassed because, I did the same a few minutes before.

"It's going to be fine", I said firming my utter black eyes into his honey brown ones. They are so dense just like honey. There are so many layers beyond them that it almost seems impossible to see past him.

There has been a great change between him and I since we grew up. What he has become, is beyond my understanding. What I have become, is utterly normal.

All I can say is, he has become an alternate to every protagonist of a normal story who is "Cold at outside and warm inside"

But he is, well -

Warm on the outside, cold at heart.

†.†.†.†.†.†

// Hola! Hope you guys are doing well. This might not be good enough. I am gonna edit the whole story once it is written so that I can put words to everything I imagine. It's 1.46 AM right now that I wrote this piece. Hope you enjoy it. I am really sleepy so I might have made some typos... So yeah... Feel free to correct, and to encourage. That's all most of us need...

P. S. I even edited the A/N. 😝//