A Strange Experience

A peaceful and quiet week went by after my brother's most memorable day. Well, peaceful for most of the people except for me. My brain had been trying to whack up excuses to be alone after hearing that 'she' was coming too. It had turned me paranoid and edgy.

The first time I lost my temper was when Arhaan wanted to have a game of badminton with me. I said that I was not in the mood for one, but on his insistence with his puppy eyes brimming with crocodile's tears, I gave in. It was truly annoying that a man of his age still acted like a child in some ways.

Because I wasn't in a very happy state, my habitually smart and trained shots never hit the shuttlecock. I survived the first ten minutes in silence, trying to calm myself down and concentrate. Yet nothing seemed to work out. In frustration, I had thrown the racket and marched off into my room. I did regret not being kinder, but I also hated myself for not getting a single shot right.

When he had come into the room to console me, saying that he was sorry that he wasn't letting me win, I told him to get away before my temper got the better of me. He kept at the door which eventually led me to roar at him to let me cry in peace and sort my mind off. I even ended up telling him that he was making it worse for me by trying to eat me.

It was only after I had stopped crying that the guilt had started to eat me alive. I didn't go to the dinner table out of embarrassment for treating him that way. All I could do was lie down on my bed while facing the window showing the pretty night sky with brilliant stars and cry myself to sleep.

The other time, Sam had come to invite me for a little party that he and his friends were holding as a little celebration to have made it into the Winter Academy. I had denied the invitation, something I normally wouldn't do, as the awful thought crept back into my head.

Aysha had come by to console me, but it ended up with me shoving her off and reprimanding her for trying to intrude into my me-time. The little girl had gone away with tears trickling down her face. I could not get myself to apologise to her for being so unkindly, unlike my usual self.

Being cooped up in my room and barely talking with my family had definitely got them concerned. After a week of this behaviour, I tried to get my resolve to get work done and not be depressed at the thought of the two of them coming. I stopped overthinking about situations where we would be paired with our enemies and made to work together and went down to the kitchen to grab a snack to release the stress.

Mum and Arhaan were cooking in the kitchen, which was a queer sight at first. But the thing that was even more peculiar was that Aysha was helping around too, bringing the ingredients from various drawers and then stationing herself between the two to see what was cooking in the pot.

I leaned on the door frame as I munched silently on my apple, smiling at the cute sight in front of me. It partly made me regret my actions, yet I decided to not dwell on my guilt just to enjoy the few moments I would be there to see in the view in front of me.

Their merry laugh echoed around as a placid smile formed on my lips. I tried to tell myself that if moments like these could be present in my life, then maybe I wouldn't need to worry about other things that made me petty in life.

'Just enjoy the little time of happiness,' my conscience reasoned. 'One may not get these moments back for a long time to come. Cherish it while it lasts.'

When they turned around and found me standing at the door, the first thought that flashed into my mind was 'Run'. It was only when they gestured me to join in their fun that, with a sad smile, I proceeded towards them.

"What have you been doing being cooped up like that?" asked Mum as I picked up my peeping sister from between the two to give her a better view of what was cooking.

"Nothing much," I replied. "Just reading a few books and resting my hot head."

"Do you have a fever?!" came the exclaimed voice of hers, startling me and nearly making me topple my sister. "Then we must take you to the doctor!"

"Geez, Mum. It's not a fever and that doesn't need a doctor to be cured unless it's severe. Every little thing has been annoying for some reason."

"She can't help but yet worked up for every little thing," my brother remarked, rolling his eyes. "Really, Mum, give it a break. We can handle ourselves."

But Mum wasn't one to not exclaim about when we were in the kitchen handling hot items. Even giving my sister a piggyback to let her have the best view of the pans and pots got her worked up.

"No, no, don't play your games here!" she went, turning her attention from Arhaan to the two of us time and again. "This is a kitchen for God's sake!"

"We are fine!" the three of us said in unison. I almost planned for the three of us to lock her out of the kitchen if she started.

Arhaan grabbed her attention completely with his cooking as he started to question about all things small and great so that we wouldn't be caught playing and learning the spices. I would be a little afraid to give Aysha the glass ball-like bottles in case they slipped from her hands and broke. We would certainly be thrown out of the kitchen then.

We went to watch the cooking show when we heard some soft sizzles. Arhaan was using his cooking skills like a pro-chef, astonishing all of us. We couldn't waver our attention at any phone call, let alone Dad's voice, because of how awesome it looked to see it close-up.

"Oh damn," cursed my older brother as he did a wrist snap while cooking the fried rice on fire. "We are out of those spices and fresh meat. Would you mind getting them for us, Hamsa? I don't want to leave this right now."

"I thought we always keep things ready at home?" I asked, raising my brow to question this queer change. "I saw that we have every spice in the drawers. Why would you need more?"

He sighed deeply and said, "Why do you take things so literally? We will be running out of them once I use those and need more. Now, will you please get them before the food gets ruined from my lack of attention?"

I pulled my lips in a thin line, looked at my pouting sister, who I knew wanted to play with me after this long separation, and went to fetch the grocery shopping bags. Then I marched off down the street to the nearest mart, holding the long list of items that had been shoved into my hands full of bags.

I happily shopped about, with the headscarf around my head as I was learning to keep myself safe, and ticked off each item on the list as I picked them up. It was while I was going to the meat section that I felt I saw the familiar silhouette of one of my enemies.

'Come on,' my brain said. 'Just because you are afraid of getting hurt by her comments, you're going to avoid that section?'

'It is better to avoid her now by picking the spices,' I told it. 'We're done with the vegetables so we can avoid her easily by staying in the spices area.'

I went around and collected all that we needed. While proceeding to checkout, I was sure that I was standing right behind Fareeha. The last thing I needed was to face her again. I wished I was hallucinating as it couldn't be true.

I covered my face with a bit of the headscarf and shifted to another counter. Then I briskly walked away from there and sighed with relief only after I rounded a corner.

After closing my eyes and breathing in deeply while counting to three, I opened my eyes and stared. For there in the bushes was a pair of large glowing eyes staring right back at me in hunger.

'Have I become someone's meat today?' I thought as the bushy hedge rustled.