Sunshine in the Rain

Chapter 2

  I sit up, gasping. I hold my head in my hands as Jama's screeches fill the house. Next to me, Ila grunts and rolls over to cover her ears. I feel like today is going to be a good...no, wait, great day...until the events of the previous night rush back to me. It hits me like a punch to my chest. No! Ma was sick! She had lung cancer, and she was in an extremely critical condition!

  I close my eyes and let the facts sink in. I take in a few deep breaths, chanting to myself, getting worked up doesn't solve the issue, the worry will just make you feel bluer. But I am not really the kind of person that can relax and actually go through with the meditation process. In my helpless frustration, I slip into a grey hoodie, grab the pillow, walk outside to the balcony, to not disturb the wailing Jama or Maya. I look around, just to make sure that nobody was around. Then, I bury my face into the pillow and yell.

  'Hey, are you alright?' a voice calls out to me. It is a deep, yet soft voice. Intrigued, I turn around to find the source of the voice.

  It is a boy. He is not much taller than me, and not much older either, by the looks of it, and has thick wavy tousled hair, eyes as dark as his hair and an aura that is a lot like Ma's, orange-yellow. He is a happy energetic guy.

  'Yeah,' I say, dryly, 'I'm good.'

  He raises an eyebrow and then nods, 'don't worry, I understand.'

  He looks at me, observing me. I haven't really seen him around any of the previous vacations, so I conclude that he must have shifted recently. 

  'I haven't really seen you around,' he says, 'I'm Nishan. What's your name?'

  I really am not in the mood for socialising. I can feel my aura drastically change from blue to grey, from sadness to moodiness, accompanied by formality.

  'Rayana,' I reply curtly, 'it is good to meet you.'

  Nishan's eyes widen suddenly and a slight streak of blue rips through his aura for a brief moment before it returns to its previous colour. He is surprised. By what? I can't really tell. Usually, based on people's reactions and auras I can tell what they hide, but I am not able to use the same method on Nishan it seems, and it makes me curious. I am most certainly not used to secrets, never have been because of my power.

  'So,' Nishan says, with a warm smile, 'there's this nice new park nearby. You should come with me, it will help you to clear out your stress and maybe we can get to know each other better. We are neighbours after all.'

  I really don't know why, but I end up agreeing to his offer. Maybe his uniqueness intrigues me, maybe I just need an excuse to let loose, maybe I just want to forget myself for a moment...forget the pain and worry that weighs me down.

  'I'll see you in an hour,' he says, 'here.'

  Nishan smiles at me and continues to jog. Oh...in my haste to let out the steam, I had forgotten about the fact that there might be joggers at such a beautiful time of the day.

  I sneak back into the house. I sigh to myself when Jama's shrill cries greet me. I owed Jama one for covering up for me. I enter the room that Ila and I share and decide to freshen up since there is absolutely no point in going back to sleep when Ma is going to haunt my dreams.

  Just as soon as I deemed myself decent enough to look like I had never cried in the night, Ila wakes up. She gives me a sleepy smile and walks over to me with a yawn.

  'Why are you up so early?' she askes.

  I look at her. Too tired to try to seem happy, I give her an indifferent face and say, 'I'm going to the new park. Your neighbour offered to take me there.'