Moon of the Starlights

Chapter 7 : Shawn's Party, Part - 2

The basement was too small to hold so many people in. Still, the whole party squeezed in somehow. Sirius was suffocating by the time Shawn finished cutting the cake. He suggested Selena to go somewhere else with air around. He took her hand and pushed through a sea of people. The whole place was crowded so they decided to go out of the house. They went on the porch in the backyard and sat on the wooden bench set there.

“Are you ok now?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said but Selena’s worried look said she didn’t believe him 'cause he still looked sick.

“Are you sure? Should I get water or something?” she asked again.

“Yeah, I am ok. I don’t like congested places. Anyways, change of topic. Tomorrow my football practice starts. I know it’s weekend but will you come after?” he said.

“I don’t know if I can. But I’ll surely try,” she said.

“Ok,” he said. Something told him she wouldn’t.

There was a strange silence around them. As if they both wanted to say much more but were controlling themselves.

“Tell me something about yourself. I just realised I know nothing about you,” she said breaking the awkward silence.

“Umm…ok. I love football. I am a striker in our school’s football team. That about sums me up,” he said.

“No. That can’t be it. There is always more to a person than they actually show,” she said. “What about your parents?”

“I live with my dads. They adopted me when my biological parents, and sister died in an accident,” he said.

“I am so sorry. I didn’t know,” she said.

“It’s ok. I never knew them. I was a baby when they past away. And Baba and Dad have never let me miss them. No one could have been better parents to me than them,” he said holding his tears.

She held his hand and said, “I was adopted too you know. My family died in a fire. I was in it too. I was a baby and barely survived. The Whitlocks were our distant relatives. They took me in. Then my adoptive father, and uncle, Altair and Archer’s dad died when we were little. They were in the army.

“I know you miss them cause I miss my family and think of what could have been all the time. And that doesn’t mean, I don’t love my present family. It's nothing to be guilty about. You can love your dads and miss your parents at the same time. No one is perfect we are just human afterall,” she said and put her head on his shoulder.

They were again silent, absorbing and sharing each other’s pain in the dim yellow light of the porch.

“This feels really nice, here with you. I feel so light, like someone lifted something off my chest,” he said. “This is what I feel when I play football. Free and light and good, without any worries and pain.”

She put her head off his shoulder, looked at him and said, “Seriously! You feel like the way you are playing football when you are with me!” and laughed.

“You know I didn’t mean it that way,” he started laughing too.

“I had this weird dream about you last night. It seemed so real. I guess I don’t want to stay away from you even in my dreams,” said Sirius after sometime.

She suddenly become very still and serious, “What! What did you see?”

“You don’t need to hear it. It was really silly…,” he said.

“Just say what you saw,” she said impatiently.

“Ok, you were in a lake, calling for me to help you out. Then suddenly everything started to burn like hell and I couldn’t go in the water to save you. Something was not letting me go in. I don’t know why I saw it. It was really weird…,” he said.

“So the dreams were connected. You really were there with me,” she said to herself. Her grey eyes burning with realisation in the dim light. “But how is it possible!”

“What?!” he asked not being able to make sense of her words.

“In the dream, did you say anything to me that didn’t make any sense?” she asked ignore his confusion.

"No, I didn’t. But you said something weird to me,” he answered.

“What did I say? Do you still remember it?” she asked again.

“Yes, very clearly. You said, ‘Lift today’s veil off your mind, remember beyond tomorrow and burn yourself to light up your core. That is how you will get in to save me.'

“But is it that important? It doesn’t make any sense," he said recalling last night’s dream and how helpless he felt.

“It was clearly a message cause I got it too,” said Selena under her breath.

“Will you please explain?” he asked her, frustrated.

She was about to say something when Taura burst out of the back door and said, "Selena time to go home. Orion called, mom and aunt Orsina are arriving early.” She had a weird expression on her face.

“Yes, coming,” she said to Taura. “Sorry Sirius. I’ll explain later promise. Goodbye,” she said and got up.

“I’ll wait for you tomorrow,” he said before she left in a hurry.

It was very clear to Sirius that whatever Selena was about to tell him, Taura didn’t let her. She must have heard them talking and burst in right before Selena could reveal anything to him. Sirius got determined to know whatever secrets the Whitlocks were trying to hide.