Afterlife Of Ember And Rhea

Chapter 68: A Familiar Stranger

"How can you trust him??" Rhea shouted as Jessica packed the suitcase.

"How can we not?! He helped us fix your passport issues! Now you can go to LA and fix the mess!"

"Mom dad would kill me if they knew I went to the states!"

"They wouldn't be back until 2 months later!" Jessica argued. "So make sure you do your job within 2 months and return to the country."

"Being so elder to me, how can you say something so childish? How is that possible?" Rhea shouted.

The cousins who were almost like best friends started throwing pillows at one another. One of the pillows hit Noor's face. But that wasn't something to be concerned about to them as a bicycle kept on ringing the bell of the vehicle from the street.

Rhea rushed towards the balcony to find Ember on Rhea's bicycle.

"How did he get my keys? 🙂🔪" Rhea asked Jessica.

"W-well-"

"Come down, Princess, let down your hair!" Ember stretched out his hand towards the window of her room.

"There's no princess in here." Rhea teased him. "But a witch!"

"Bet she's beautiful! Send her downstairs!" He laughed.

"He's calling you." She smirked at Jessica.

"The hell?" She narrowed her eyes. "GO!"

"Geez, I'm coming!"

Ember put on his shades and Rhea's sunhat and started paddling. She almost got onto the backseat when a voice called for her. She got down again and it was Neel with a soccer ball. He eyed them.

"Who is he?" Neel asked.

"A-a friend." She said nervously.

"Are you the one who played in the match last week?"

Ember turned back to look at him and Rhea asked him if he did. Ember parked the bicycle and removed his disguise. "Yeah, I did."

Neel froze by the appearance Ember displayed to him. Not because he was different, but because he felt he was familiar. He started visualizing flashbacks from his dreams.

Four children playing in a village of Kerala. One not being able to communicate with others because of language difference. One with short hair and wearing shorts to pretend to be a boy and one being in the group despite being seen different from the rest. But she was welcomed in the group despite of it all.
And then there is a boy of the same age with paints and paint brushes teaching them painting.

Their differences wasn't felt to be a matter to be concerned about. But fate said otherwise.
One couldn't live, one couldn't run, one couldn't remember and one couldn't get what he desired.

"Who are you?"

Ember looked at him and then at Rhea. "It's Ember. Ember Helberg."

Neel shook his head to get the thoughts out of his mind. "I challenge you on a one vs one game of football."

Ember smiled. "Thanks but I have got more important things to do."

"Like?"

"Taking Rhea on a ride." He said and grabbed her hand. She flushed as they got into the seats and he paddled away with her, leaving Neel standing there with the ball as it dropped from his hands.

-to be continued...