Liberation: Oscar's Story

Chapter 20: Pt. 2

"I've got it. Focus on keeping yourself balanced," he said warmly, tipping her shoulder down when her weight began to tilt her in the opposite direction.

"Fair. So, do you want to?" Ananya shimmied out of the row, holding onto the heads of the chairs beneath her as she did so. "There's a nice ice cream cart in the park. It's not a long walk so it'll be easy for me too."

"Alright. What's your favorite ice cream flavor?"

"Birthday cake."

"Birthday cake?" Oscar repeated incredulously. "What the fuck is birthday cake?"

"You don't know what a birthday cake is?" Ananya smirked.

"Of course, I know what a birthday cake is." Oscar rolled his eyes. "I just didn't know it was a flavor of ice cream."

"Sure, it is. There are a lot of wacky ice cream flavors. I'm guessing since you had no idea about birthday cake, your favorite flavor is...chocolate?"

"Nope." He grinned, amused when her already large eyes widened further. "I'm a wolf, sweetheart. I can't have chocolate."

"Not even a little?"

"Only a little. My favorite flavor is actually vanilla."

"Vanilla, huh?" Ananya rubbed her lip. "I liked vanilla when I was a kid. Then one of my friends introduced me to the birthday cake flavor and I was a goner."

"I may try it now since it's getting such rave reviews from you." He decided.

"I'll let you take a bite from mine."

They walked past the front counter. The boy from before wasn't there anymore, and instead, a teenage girl was managing the booth. She seemed to be having the same issue the boy had with the popcorn machine. She fumbled with the wire, trying to plug it into the outlet. It sparked and dug its flashing blue teeth into her skin for just a moment, but it was long enough to make her yelp and pull away, and then she profusely apologized to the people waiting.

"I guess they didn't fix it," Oscar noticed, following behind Ananya.

"Probably not. A lot of people here are cheap fellows. They won't get anything new unless necessary. They're kind of like my aunt." She hummed. "Maybe that's why she let me move here..."

"I was curious about that." Oscar stood beside Ananya in front of a large, white cart with candy-cane-colored flags. "Your aunt seems to be overprotective of you. How did you convince her to let you move here? If she wants you to return to Newton, why'd she let you move in the first place?"

Ananya frowned. She took a cone from the man slathering ice cream on the wafer and handed it to Oscar, then took her own. "It was my uncle's doing," she explained. "Before he had a stroke, he was pretty outspoken against my aunt. Sometimes I wonder how their marriage lasted for such a long time. They were two different people with differing ideals. Their marriage was far from idyllic. I can't remember a time when they got along." 

She paused to lick her treat. "When my cousin rebelled against my aunt, my uncle suggested that I study in a different area so that I wouldn't become like her. Of course, he loved Ai-Lee a lot, it was just an excuse to get my aunt to say yes. They argued for a while, but when I got accepted into Bourdier University, my aunt agreed. It was under the condition that I call every day, make her aware of where I was going if I went out, and keep my tracker on, but it was better than nothing." 

She shrugged. "I got to pick the house. After my uncle had his stroke, my aunt had to spend a lot of her time with him, which gave me a few months of freedom. As you may have guessed, those months ended a few weeks ago."

"I see. I'm sorry about your uncle. Is he recovering now?" Oscar bit his ice cream.

Ananya gasped. "How dare you!"

He blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"You're a psychopath!" She cackled. "You bite into your ice cream? Seriously? Who does that?"

Again, he blinked. "Yes...? Why does biting into my ice cream make me a psychopath?" He started to smile as she grew lost in her laughter.

"Because it's so cold! Only psychopaths can bite their ice cream without getting a brain freeze," Ananya teased. "It's okay, though. I suppose you'll have to be my psychopath." She gently patted his shoulder.

"Fine by me." He took another bite of his ice cream, then bent and nuzzled his nose against hers. "Now I understand the humor behind the situation."

"What matters is that you got it," Ananya replied warmly. "Here." She pushed her ice cream closer to his mouth.

He took a tentative lick. Then another. Then he opened his mouth to take a bite.

"Hey!" She pulled back her snack with a laugh. "You're going to eat all of it!"

"It tastes amazing!" Oscar gushed. "I've never tasted anything so sweet and tangy at the same time!"

"That's a birthday cake flavor for you." Ananya smiled proudly. "Next time, we can switch."

"I'd like that." With ice cream still on his lips, Oscar kissed her again, holding her with one arm around her back. His palm went flat against her back. "Can you feel me touching you?"

"A little bit. It's been numb since my spinal fusion, but I can vaguely feel your thumb."

"Spinal fusion?"

"They straightened my back with rods," Ananya explained. She reached behind and locked her fingers around Oscar's wrist. Slowly, she dragged his hand along her back, up to her nape, where she could feel the most, then down just below her butt, where she could feel the least. "It feels weird, doesn't it?"

"No." Oscar removed his hand, only to place it at the center of her back, the place where she couldn't feel anything at all. It was a sensitive spot for Ananya, not because it hurt, but because anyone who had ever touched her there had recoiled upon feeling the rigidness of her spine.

Ugh! It's so hard and bumpy! She remembered her aunt shrieking when the nurses showed the older woman how to wash her. Ananya studied Oscar's expression as his fingers moved along her spine, tracing the long, crevice-like scar through the fabric of her dress.

"No?" She peered at him. "It doesn't feel...odd?"

Again, he shook his head. "No. It's smooth. You're warm. And you smell divine." He bent his head into her neck and gave a light sniff. She squeaked. "Why would I be repulsed, my darling?"

"I..." Ananya's voice caught in her throat. "Oscar..."

"FIRE!" A scream tore through their quaint bubble. "FIRE!"

Oscar and Ananya jumped apart. A crowd shrieked and rushed past them, and another group from the park, mainly consisting of men, rushed in the opposite direction, toward the theater where Ananya and Oscar had just concluded their date.

"I'll bet it's that damned popcorn machine," Oscar growled and stood. Ananya, who was still holding onto him, was pulled to her feet by default. A stampede of people ran past her, all of them smeared with ash and smelling like a bonfire. Some of them brushed against her as they ran, and Ananya felt their scorching bodies torch her skin, their singed hair dragging across her cheek.

"Oscar, where are you going?!" She shouted over the unrest. "Oscar!"