Nature in Hiding

1. Start with an end

Nonstop Disasters Ended!!

Life threatening situations per minute Ended!!

The constant breaking down of structures and networks Ended!!

Need for the mixture of nature and Technology Ended!!

So ended the need and help of Nature's Elements.

And here they were useless and unemployed, well all except the peacemaker, who had a steady job. At the age of twenty-three, Gyaan already had so many degrees in his hand, which helped him retain his job. Young age didn't matter when one was blessed with a never ending source of knowledge.

Gyaan was steadily typing on his laptop in the living room when he got startled as Ahana entered the home, banging the door loudly.

"I hope you do remember that the door is not unbreakable and we are here on rent," Gyaan said, as he stood up to check on the door.

"Sorry," Ahana muttered with a sigh, before going inside immediately.

Gyaan was shocked, because the Ahana he knew would never relent so easily, and would have fought with him no matter how stupid the topic was.

"Is she not feeling well?" Gyaan asked her twin, who was lying on the couch while scrolling through his phone.

Neer kept his phone aside and sat up, before answering Gyaan, "Must be another rejection."

"I don't understand, why are you two facing so many rejections? Before we joined the researchers to help save the world, you two used to work, right? Then why can't you find similar work now?" Sameera asked, coming out of the kitchen.

As only half a wall separated the kitchen from the living room, she could hear and see everything while working there.

Neer looked at her with a dejected face, before explaining, "Many people lost jobs during the time of disasters. Not everyone was able to come back to their original position after the world started functioning again. Most of the small businesses have shut down. There are more applicants than there are jobs."

"And when there is more demand than supply, the value goes up," Gyaan butted in.

"Exactly," Neer agreed, "Qualifications are raised for even the most basic jobs. Do you really think we two can compete against those with educational backgrounds," he chuckled sardonically.

The twins couldn't complete the studies because of the circumstances, but they had never felt so helpless because of it or lack of it to be precise.

"It would have been nice if we could keep earning money by helping the researchers," Sameera said wishfully.

"It would have been nice," Neer nodded as he too enjoyed working with them, "but the team isn't working in an abandoned science college. The research building is restructured now, and they are back to working with multiple other teams."

"It is impossible to work with them now if we want our powers to stay hidden from the work," Gyaan added.

"And hidden we need to be," Ahana said, joining the others. The fire girl was back, her dejectedness buried under lots of hope.

"Agreed," Gyaan said. "Because the probability of them turning us into lab rats for experiments is far more than them accepting us with open arms."

Gyaan then turned towards Ahana, "And you, please stop worrying. You will get a job soon. Until then, you can rely on my money."

Ahana made a puking face the moment Gyaan uttered about relying on me. "Being dependent on you is the main problem, not the lack of a job."

Gyaan paid for the rent and groceries. Sameera too helped around with her cooking skills. It was just the twins who were free hoarding. And charity was absolutely unacceptable to the proud Ahana.

Her thoughts were broken when Sameera's phone rang.

"Hello...hi, Payal. How are you? Yeah we are good...."

The other three moved on to their own devices, tuning out the conversation between Sameera and the researcher.

"Guys," Sameera called them out, after ending the call. "Payal was asking if we could babysit Avan for today. An emergency has come up in the research building and her husband is also overseas. Shall I say yes?"

"Ask her how much she will pay for babysitting?" Ahana said, barely looking up from her mobile.

"You can be serious," Gyaan spluttered in shock.

"Seriously Ahana?!" Neer said in a scolding tone. "Just because we haven't seen him for weeks, did you forget that not only he is close to us, but also the fact that he is one of us?"

"How can I forget our cute Earth element?"

"Then why the hell are you asking money to have him with us?" Neer was flabbergasted by his twin's actions.

"It is not the time to be generous. While I love the kiddo, any kind of money is a blessing right now. Check your empty wallet, before scolding me," Ahana said, before turning towards Sameera, "Ask Payal, if we need to babysit Ayaan too? If yes, then ask for more money."

"She has lost it," Neer muttered, face palming himself.

"For a change, I think Ahana is right. Giving us some amount of babysitting money won't change anything for Payal, but it will help us a lot," Sameera sided with Ahana.

"See, I am right," Ahana stuck her tongue out to her twin.

"Fine," Neer relented.

Ahana's mouth was wide open in shock as he easily agreed once Sameera gave her 'yes'.

"What?" Neer shrugged, "Sameera is the eldest among us. If she is saying it's okay then it's okay."

His sentence earned him a couch pillow on his face.

"Being an elder means nothing. Even if I am older than you three, my experience in this world is far less than yours," Sameera said, reminding the others that she had spent most of her life being trapped in a basement.

The three youngsters Sameera lived with today, had more knowledge of the modern world in the mere age of twenty-three, than she had at the age of forty-two. After all, the world had changed so much in the twenty years she spent being a lab rat to the crazy scientists.

"Okay, enough of these talks. My mind is still stuck on the part of babysitting," Gyaan interjected, before turning to Ahana, "Why do you think we will be babysitting Ayaan when their mother only spoke about Avan?"

"And they say he is the most intelligent person," Ahana muttered under her breath, before letting him know the obvious, "If Payal can't leave the seven year old Avan alone, then it is obvious that she won't leave eight year old Ayaan alone either."

At times like this, Ahana seriously questioned the sincerity of Gyaan being a peacemaker. Even if it wasn't like the case she explained, everyone knew that where there was Avan, Ayaan would definitely tag along.

******
Welcome readers!!
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Nature in Hiding.

Nature in Hiding is a sequel to my book- Nature's Comeback. This book takes place two years after the end of the first book.

This book is fictional. Resemblance to any character, place, or idea is purely coincidental.

Hope you enjoy this story😊

Constructive comments and reviews are accepted.

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