Strangers & Secrets Page 5

  “My friend Mia knows martial arts, and she will kick your ass on my command. So don’t try to hide. Tell me what happened”

  Mia smiled at her close friend but it didn’t last long. Her smile turned down. “When you were in the hospital, you screamed at night like you did – before” she paused.

  Miss.55 nodded. “Go ahead” She said as she reached for the water on the table.

  Mia handed the glass to her. “And when I tried to help you, you screamed at me. You started shouting ‘who are you? Who are you?’ Again and again. I tried to hold you back, called for the doctor. You screamed again asking ‘what is my name?’”

  “Oh, Mia. I didn’t mean – ”

  “Then the next night you screamed again. When I tried to stop, you stopped suddenly and looked at me. You asked ‘have we met before?’” Tears began to flow down her face. “I thought I lost you. I thought you lost your memories”

  She hugged Mia. “It wasn’t meant for you. How can I forget you? You are my closest friend. I won’t forget you until the day comes for us. I promised you that already” She kissed Mia’s forehead.

  “Now get up, you look so thin in that dress. You make me feel like a fat old lady who needs help to go to the bathroom”

  Mia wiped her face with a tissue and handed one to her.

  “Where is Hiran?”

  “He said he will be here next week”

  “Then who carried me to my bedroom?”

  “I did” Mia shrugged, her voice sweet and low.

  She scuffed looking at the zero figure sitting in front of her. The pain appeared on her back as she tried to adjust herself on the pillow. “Seriously?” Her eyebrows expressed her doubt.

  Mia smirked at her. “Why is it hard to believe? You were not that heavy, though it was quite a work climbing those stairs”

  She shook her head disbelieving. “My very hands are failing to do that. Tell me the truth”

  “I will show you the truth” Mia bent forward, grabbed her around the waist.

  “No. No, stop it. I believe you” She said pushing her arm away. “What time is it?” She looked outside the huge glass door. The sky was clear after a long time.

  “Just past nine”

  “Could you close the blinds?”

  “The lights can help you”

  “No, not now”

  Mia took the remote control from the stand and pressed the button. The curtains started marching along. The room began to darken. The lamps on the wall and overhead ignited automatically.

  “You should go”

  “Where? I’m not leaving you like this”

  “I’m fine”

  “Yes darling, you are” Mia said like petting a rude child. “I already informed Mr. Nazeer. So you can take rest throughout this week”

  “You skinny bitch. I’m gonna kill you”

  “Good, that could help you get back on your feet. You take rest and I’ll handle the rest”

  “I didn’t break any bones, did I?” She stretched her arms, folding her fingers and releasing it.

  “No, just your head”

  Miss. 55 pushed away the blanket and brought her feet down, one after another. The numb feet couldn’t support her. Mia pulled her up, bringing her arm around her neck. They both took each step slowly. She groaned as she tried to move her feet.

  “Why is my whole body paining?”

  “You have to give them some work”

  “Hey” She asked when she noticed something in her.

  “What happened?”

  “This wasn’t the dress I wore that day” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “I promise you, I didn’t do anything to you other than changing your clothes”

  “You know what? I’m very tired otherwise - ”

  “Otherwise what?” Mia grabbed both her legs, swung her up in a swift. She carried her like a mother carrying her child but their size made it look otherwise.

  It’s been two days since she arrived from the hospital. Her muscles gained its strength back. She stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a white cotton towel around her torso. She walked into her bedroom. The room looked half dead with the dull, golden light. She picked the moisturizer from the closet, walked toward her bed and sat on it, facing her wardrobe.

  She looked at herself in the huge sliding door slash mirror. Something has changed in her after that incident. She couldn’t point it out, but she felt it inside. She sat straight, looking at the white cotton crown swirled on her head.

  She opened the lid of the bottle and squirted it on her palm.

  Someone knocked on the door as she applied the cream on her calves. “Father?” She dropped few more into her palm again.

  “Should I come back later?” A male voice came through.

  “It’s OK, come in” She went toward the dressing table on her right.

  A fair middle-aged man entered the room. He was in pale blue buttoned down with navy pullover. The trimmed Balbo on his chin and thick shaded rimmed glasses gave him a look of celebrity in the red carpet. She thought he resembled little bit like a father figure Brad pitt.

  “How are you?” He asked with a soft voice.

  “Better” She said looking at him in the reflection. “-and different” Her tone turned blue.

  “You don’t like it?”

  “It’s not what I like. It’s what I have got myself into” She stared at herself, studying her face.

  “I too have got something for you”

  She put the bottle back, turned toward him rubbing both her arms. He handed over a gift box. Even the white wrapping of the gift looked glum in the warm, low light.

  “What is it?” She asked with a slight British accent.

  “It’s something I wanted to give you” He said looking at the gift. “Two years ago” he said after a pause.

  She peeled the wrap, ripped open the box. She found a cute Polaroid sitting inside. She brought it out, held it in front of her face. It looked like the Polaroid she wanted in her childhood. The forbidden love between a young girl and a rich camera she used to call it. “She spits photos, papa” Her failed attempt to persuade her father came to her mind.

  “I gave this to Miss. Wong to keep it as a secret. She gave it back yesterday saying this might be the right time”

  “Mia never said anything to me”

  “She is not a fool. She understands things well, and she is good with secrets too”

  “What do you want me to do with this?”

  Her father looked at her before answering her tricky question. “Just fulfill its purpose. Point at some direction and take pictures along the way”

  “I don’t think I can do this”

  “What about this boy? What is his name?”

  “He is no news. He is just some normal guy”

  “Some normal guy?” His dad’s voice became serious. “Every time he meets you and you run away from him, literally. And when you went looking after him, wound up in the hospital for three days”

  She turned away from him. She stood in front of the mirror, rolling the camera in her hand.

  “Get over it. You have been trying too hard keeping up your scheduled life. When was the last time you made a mistake? When was the last time you did something new? When was the last time you met new people?”

  She placed the Polaroid on the dressing table.

  “Do you remember, you always wanted to go to the market place when you were a child. Every time you run to that one store and stand outside looking at the window. You would have spent hours if I didn’t bring you back. You knew your father couldn’t afford that then but still you smiled, YOU SMILED every time you looked at that tiny camera”

  She looked at her naturally bright lips.

  “You lost your laughter. You forgot how to smile. What are you going to do next? You have your friends now, but they won’t stay longer as you made that pretty clear. What do you have in your mind?”

  “I DON’T KNOW” She replied in the
loudest voice she ever heard. The echo reverberated in the room.

  “Look at this” She pulled her towel, revealing her nakedness in the mirror. Her father didn’t flinch by her action.

  Multiple scars were scattered across her front. The one near the left breast was wide and thicker. Another ran down along her thighs from between her legs. A straight surgical scar stood smiling across her belly, below the navel. Her cream skin distinguished every scar with microscopic details.

  He slowly approached her from behind.

  “You asked when was the last time I committed a mistake?” She asked tracing the scars. Her fingers traveled down from her neck. “There is your answer”

  “THAT -” He realized his strong voice. He exhaled and calmed himself before continuing. “Was not your mistake”

  “Yes, it is. Half the world agreed” She caressed the scar across her belly.

  “You are getting addicted to your lies” He picked the towel. “You are falling in love with your pain. You can’t stand looking at your life getting better” He handed over the towel.

  She turned back, her eyes shifted back and forth between his eyes. “I’m scared, papa” She said like the child she used to be. Her face looked like a child lost in the crowd. She searched for the answers.

  He brought his left hand, held her face in his palm and looked into her eyes. “Good. It means you are beginning to think. You are already in the first step. Fear is the only reality in this world of illusions. If you are scared then let it scare you more, once it reaches its end, it can’t go any further. You will know all the way through it. You will know how to come back”

  “Are you asking me to trust them?”

  “I’m asking you to find yourself, my dear. You grew a lot stronger than I could imagine”

  She turned around, looking at herself in the mirror. He wrapped the towel across her shoulder. She held it with her hand, covering her chest.

  “I’m confused. Show me the way. What do I do now?” Worried expression flew through her face.

  “I can not tell you that. You have to choose. You have to find it yourself. Take control” He paused for her argument. Nothing came back. “One man creates a problem for another man to solve it”

  She opened the towel, brought it under her arm. “Yes. But it’s only the women between them suffers” She said wrapping it around her body.

  She woke up early the next day. The fresh sunlight entered through the glass door. She pushed the door across with her palm. The morning warmth gave a lively feel. She stood in the balcony in a navy t-shirt and gray three fourth, looking at the scary, big city in front of her.

  She sat on the day bed on the corner, thought over her father’s word. She bent forward, hugged the rail placing her cheek on top of it. The clear blue sky and the tall buildings stood on both sides. She saw a flock of birds flying at a distance. One bird flew at last, following its group. Her eyes followed the tiny bird struggling to keep pace with others.

  A thought came to her mind. She got up, strode inside her bedroom. She plucked a scarf out of her closet, tied it in her head covering her hair. She went down the stairs, entered the kitchen. She opened the freezer door. The whole freezer was filled with myriad plastic boxes. She pulled the large one on the left, put her hand inside and pulled a black, tiny ring box.

  She opened it. A key was sleeping inside it. The winged badge print on its handle read the letter “R”. She held the key in her hand for a moment before closing the door.

  The room was dark. She searched for the switch. The light blinked when she switched it on and finally, the room came alive. Various mechanic tools hung on the shelf to her side. A dirty bike stood in the middle of the garage. The color of dust painted the whole thing into brownish yellow.

  She walked toward the center with a piece of cloth in her hand. She walked around the bike before reaching its front. With the waste cloth in her hand, she wiped the dust of the tank. The word ‘Royal’ appeared in the midst of mud and dirt.

  She went toward the corner, dragged the jet water machine near the bike. She connected the wire into the plug and the tube to the tab. The machine stood ready to fire water.

  Her father walked inside just as she finished. “That is a huge step”

  She dragged the tube along with her. “I’m not going to drive. Just cleaning”

  “Still it is a big step for you. When was the last time you came here?” He looked around the unused, abandoned room.

  She grabbed the cloth from the tank, threw it at the table behind her. She pointed the cannon at her bike, squeezed the handle. The High pressured water came out, striking the dirty mud skin of the bike. The jet stream revealed the black metal hidden underneath along its path.

  An hour passed. Her pants were darker, her bare feet soaking wet. She was sitting on the wet floor, leaning back with the support of her arms, admiring the humongous shining beauty standing in front of her.

  She took out the key from her t-shirt. She stood up, approached the bike. She inserted the key and turned it. She climbed the wild beast and stood astride holding the handlebar. With her bare foot, she brought the kicker to the position.

  She rose up gaining all the force and kicked the starter in her barefoot. The bike stood silent except for the sound of her kicking. She kicked again with the same energy. She did again and again and again. The arrogant bike didn’t come alive.

  Her father bent down, examining the engine. Everything looked fine to him. She kicked and kicked and kicked. Her feet began to grow tired. She stood for a while, catching her breath. “Why is it not starting?”

  “That’s because you are stopping” Her father replied. “When you are performing a CPR, you can’t afford to take breaks”

  She did again, keeping her head down. Her muscles in the calves began to ache.

  With one last kick, the bike cried out loud. She twisted the throttle. The bursting thump sound echoed inside the closed garage. The air around her vibrated. The tremors flew through her body.

  She climbed down. The silencer pump continued its low thumbing music. Her head waved at the slow heartbeat of the bike. “I figured out what I am going to do” She lifted her face from the bike, looked at her father. “I’m going to commit suicide”

  Her father smirked. “You are going to need some help”

  “I already found one” Her head continued to sway as her eyes began to close at the rhythmic sound.

  Chapter 6

  INCOMING CALL

  “What did you do?” Devin asked with folded hands.

  “I didn’t do anything” Eva looked down, tying her hands behind.

  “Did you push that boy in the playground?”

  “I didn’t pujh him. I just taujed him” She said hiding her eyes from his view.

  “You shouldn’t keep on fighting with boys older than you”

  “I jhood pight with baaij younger than me?”

  Mara chuckled from behind, keeping her hands on her mouth.

  Devin kneeled. He held Eva’s shoulder. “Look at me”

  She raised her guilty face, looking at him.

  “You should be honest. OK? You should never lie to us”

  She nodded, pulling her lips inside.

  “Now” He pulled the curly hair and tucked behind her ear. “Two days ago, I kept a chocolate cake in my fridge and when I went looking for, it was half-eaten. Do you know anything about it?”

  She began to nod but changed the direction and shook her head hard and fast.

  “You didn’t eat that?”

  She shook her head again after a pause.

  “Did you give it to someone?”

  She stared at his eyes before shaking her head.

  “Is your mom telling you to say no by vibrating your monitor?”

  She smiled mischievously, looked at her mom.

  “You are spoiling the child” Devin turned around, looking at Mara.

  “You are being too hard. Too much honesty can kill you. Come here Ev
a” Mara said opening her arms.

  He held her from moving. “You promise me you won’t lie”

  “I promij I waunt lie” His hands loosened around her. “Juhj like your promij” She ran toward her mother.

  “Come. The vibration is delayed, I think your monitor needs a change of battery” Mara brought her daughter, sat her on the couch.