Chapter 5: Is This Guy A Psychic?

(Edited)

Huff huff

I was panting heavily after running in circles around the house. I took a deep breath in and slowly let it out while playing some calming spiritual music in my head. I put my hand on my chest only to realize-

'My heart is not beating!'

I meant my heart was not beating as hard as I assumed it would be. After serving my sentence when I came out of the jail, the thing that had a great impact on my lifestyle was how lethargic I had become. My broken spirit along with a languish body, could do nothing but count the days until I meet my Aunt Stella. All I thought all day while in prison was how her wrinkled face would glow (scarlet with anger) when I will go to meet her. 

"Your cub misses you Madam"

The exhaustion finally kicked in and I slept my sorrow away.

*****************

 "Cub, why do you call me Aunty?", asked Stella.

"Then shall I call you madam?"

Stella shook her head as she fondly looked at her precious kiddo. This kiddo won't call her Mom but she always considered this kid her responsibility, and so thereafter the kid never lacked the presence of a mom or a dad and surprisingly the Aunt never lacked a kid until-

 **************************

 I was startled awake. Warm tears emerged from my hollow eyes and trickled down my cheeks. I washed them and trotted my way to the kitchen. The kitchen had a U shaped muddy hearth beside a large urn-shaped oven. Firewood, enough to cook for a day, was available. My stomach let out a bushed growl after looking at the potential place of cooking. Finally I encountered something that was not that old fashioned that I won't be able to use them. I collected the vegetables growing out in the Kiyari just outside the house. Usually aubergines are a no go for me but when stomach is hungry its judging ability dies. And that is how I begun to make a dish I never thought I will have the courage to eat much less cook. 

The aroma of the spices sizzled out and spread across the clear air thanks to osmosis.

"Woah~ although I have had my breakfast I am getting hungry again"

The irritating voice - which at the time was probably the sweetest well technically it is the most musical voice but- anyways— it hit my ears. I looked up to see the figure of Vrishi hovering over me. He came to me early in the morning just as we agreed on. It is not even six o' clock and this guy said he have had his share, I salute him for being able to eat an early breakfast without retching.

"Are you sure you are going to work just fine?", he asked. 

I nodded and pointed towards the Tarkari and then at him. He caught on and told me that he could help himself with one serving since "he can't help but try his best friend's first attempt at making food" 

He took very little Tarkari in one spoon as if fearing the unknown taste, and

'Gulp'

And then the forced gulping gradually turned into gobbling the food. A smile crept on my face.

'Looks like my cooking skills have not rusted due to transmigration' 

I put my own bowl down and went to get a pen and a paper. I am lucky that Stella let everyone knew through writing that "he" is literate and can communicate through writing. Otherwise I writing on sand to communicate would have been really suspicious the other or now for that matter. 

"Hey Vrishi", I wrote on the paper I had brought.

"What?"

"Looks like I have forgotten what my job was. Will you brief me about it?"

"Oh sure thing"

"Oh thank"- what? I halted writing and looked at him, horrified.

He looked at me with puffed cheeks, I had the urge to squish them but feared the bolus which would come out of his mouth.

"How can you be just ok with it?" I wrote hurriedly in an unreadable handwriting. He somehow read it and replied.

"How is it any new, you forget things all the time?"

I looked at him in a questioning manner, urging him to continue.

"Alright I think you never really totally forgot me or your job as a whole. But it still is within my expectation… at least you did not forget your sister, right?"

I stared at him for a whole minute and gave him an awkward sheepish smile. I held the bowl in my hand and started chewing.

He looked at me the whole time but in the end picked up his own bowl and continued with his meal.

"Did Aunt Stella get some sort of trouble with memory while she was young?"

He got up and told me to hurry up. He begun to stroll his way out but halted in the gateway when I called him from behind.

"Yes?", he said in mild voice.

"This time it is different...", I said in a regretful tone, "This I have forgotten everything"

He smiled a plastic smile and asked mockingly, "Then how come you are not panicking?"

I gave him a gentle smile and said, "If I want to freak out and run away, who am I supposed to run off to?" 'No family, no friend, no Aunt Stella...' these words were left unsaid.

He smiled and came to crouch near me. He put his hand on my shoulder and said in a gentle tone, "Then come to this brother, if you don't remember me then I will still come at your side to help you, is that alright?"

I was startled stiff from the kindness dripping off the tongue of this stranger-for-me. Maybe- oh maybr I can borrow the friend of Aunt Stella for some time... it will be alright, no?

I stood straight up and bowed in front of the crouching Vrishi. He snickered and stood up to straighten me. What are you doing crouching like that get up we have to go to the city today to get the stuff for madam"

'So, Stella indeed is an errand girl – or boy- whatever'

******************

"So do you at least remember your gender or did you forget that as well?", I joked and dodged the upcoming hit ----- that never came.

I looked behind to see the boy who was standing with square shoulders behind me. He shook his head and with a sly smile worded with his lips.

'I am in your care now, bro'

He ran away to our bikes that were parked outside. He looked like a bird that finally flapped its wings and can finally spread them to fly. He looked full of vitality unlike the mess that he had been for a few days now. To me, he always looked like an Aunty who had so many things to worry about. His effeminacy disgusted me thoroughly. For the first time in a while he looked like a cheeky teenage boy ready to rack havoc with his buddy.

~~~~~While our protagonist:

"How can I tell him that i don't really know my real gender????... By the way.. what was I in the past?"

This gender-sawping mystery had taken a toll over me that i don't even remember my gender! But then what does it matter isn't gender just a biological classification. Such a trivial thing is immaterial in the long run!

*************** Our- oblivious to the internal monologue of our MC - Vrishi:

"If he were like this all the time brother won't need to worry about this chick"-

"Are you coming?" He shouted at me while he perched himself on the back seat of my bike. He looked like me, or at least how my brother made me look like in his memories. Maybe because my brother was with me on that time and this chick has me now; even the hard times and painful separations becomes countless times bearable.

"Brother just why you had to tell me to take care of this chick?"

"Come on!"

"Although I am not complaining anymore"

I ran towards the chick and teased him for not even remembering how to ride but he had a semi- good argument of not recalling the way to the city. I sighed and hopped on the bike. Somehow I was looking forward to the day more than ever before. Probably this was what my brother meant by destiny-   

"Ride slowly", whined the chick- 

The destiny to babysit this chick forever.

***********

"By the way, you know what"

I did not know how to tell him to continue so I just tapped on his shoulder. He understood my meaning and continued.

"Promise me not to beat me after listening to it"

I tapped on his shoulder again to indicate that I am ok with the terms. 

"I use to think you are like a nagging , over sensitive girl who couldn't even take a joke, but you are more like a teenage boy now as if you are a totally different person so…. Don't change back, ok?", he said awkwardly.

His neck was tinted pink.

So he turns pink when he is embarrassed? What a silly kid! 

 'Ha! Ha.. ha...a...' My internal laughter died as I interpreted his words.

I was happy at the moment that he did not look behind to see my horrified face which was sweating profusely like an untimely winter drizzle. I got chills down my spine and asked the God watching over us,

"Is this guy a psychic? Stop joking with me already!"