Chennai Terminal || WLW Novel || Indian Sapphic

17. Are you having a fever?

The first thing I did today was smile, then felt my stomache ache and ran to puke. I rushed downstairs and struggled as I sat on the stairs. I felt nauseous, and I was sweating like anything.

I ran through the shelves for my specs, I left my contacts upstairs and wasn't okay enough to go back in there. I drank water and felt my temperature. And my stomach was hurting.

I pulled my drawer and took out this powder my mommy sent in case I fall sick. I mixed it with water and I could feel the bitterness in the air. I suffered myself to drink that and dozed off.

--
It was pitch dark.

There were loud noises. Colours on the sky, me and her dressed in ethnics. Her ears had long gold jhumkas. A dark pink shade on her lips. Red saree. She looked pretty. I have no clue what I wore, I hope I didn't wear anything stupid. We were sitting on the space above our house, stargazing.

We were supposed to play with fireworks, and we were, until they all ran out. We sat next to each other, smiling and looking up at the sky. It was calm, dark and the occasional bursting lit up her face.

By this time, we had kissed, established that we liked each other so I felt that kind of a peace.
The peace that she liked me too.

There was silence building. I wanted to clear it, I built my courage and opened my mouth,

"I can't tell what's prettier, you or the fireworks." she smiled and kissed my cheeks.

She pulled back and put her hand on my forehead. "Do you have a fever?" she asked with a serious face.

It's true, I was sweating too but I smiled. "I think it's love." I said and smiled.

She went downstairs and told my parents, and then they came up with medicines and she fed it to me.

--
"Best believe I'm still bejeweled, when I walk in room" my phone screamed. I was annoyed. I put the phone on my ears and waited.

"-poisoning"

"What?" I screamed.

"I got food poisoned" it went. It was Erin.

It took me a while to put one and one together.
"Oh, so I have food poisoning?" I screamed. And then we talked an hour about it, I nodded and gasped as she pulled facts about food poisoning from the internet.

We ate a lot of things yesterday, hotdogs, cocktails, pizza, fries, so much. It could've been anything. It could've been all of it. We wouldn't have known.

She came to my house, with a bunch of video games, lemon drink, a knitting set, and clothes?

I had an episode of comic to do, so I sat on the couch upside down and started to draw. Erin sat in another couch and started to knit. I asked what she was going to knit and she said she didn't know. She then put the piece that she knit around my head as I was focused on my drawing. She marked the size, and used my restroom, knitted a bit, used the restroom again, knitted some more and went inside again.

Poor girl.

"Can I help with your comic" she asked. I didn't want to.

"Sure... Uh- you can add page numbers to the pages." I said. And she did that.

We played video games, I gave her mommy's health powder thing, we laid down and then I slept again.

--

We were sitting there, in that same place till midnights, the fireworks were still glowing. She was looking at me looking at the sky. "Oh my" she said and looked at her phone. "It's 19 today."

"Yes it is." I screamed. She got up and grabbed my hand. She dragged me downstairs. It was our house fully decorated. Lights were glowing, there was a crowd with a blurry setting and there was the stage.

I looked down and I was wearing the expensive coat that I saved for special occasions. I saw Nayan as we were running and she had long hair, a bright red saree and jewels.

She dragged us to the altar and we stood next to each other. There was a man in front of us, with a book in his hands and he screamed a few words.

"I do." Nayan said smiling at me and borrowing my hand to put in the ring. I was nervous enough I couldn't remember if I put my ring in her finger, but then she came closer to kiss me. I came forward and kissed her too, and felt a hand on my forehead.

"Are you having a fever?" Nayan asks.

"What?"

I wake up and I see Erin in front of me. "Are you having a fever?" She continues as she pulls the thermometer from my mouth.

"Uh no?" I say and push her hand away.

"No. You do." She says and packs up her bag.

"Where are you going now?" I asked as I got up from the couch.

"We- are going to the doctor."

I swore I was fine and we had an argument after which she dragged me out of the house.

We returned after I was diagnosed with- well- food poisoning which we already knew.

I checked my phone a few times to see if she had texted me something. She didn't. It was almost as if her text could cure my sickness.

Erin set up my home theatre that was present but I just never bothered to use it, she plugged and unplugged and pressed buttons on multiple remotes and boom- she fixed it.

Sure she had bathroom breaks here and there.

She opened Netflix and scrolled and scrolled, we argued and we settled on "love again" cuz Priyanka, duh.

And I had my bedsheet tightly wrapped around myself, we divided the medicines and consumed it looking at the prescription. My fever was lowering and the frequency of  Erin's bathroom breaks lowered too.

We sat and watched it. Or should I say, we both slept halfway.
--
I was wandering in a beach alone. The Marina it was. I was searching for Nayan, for no reason, but she wasn't there. I searched for her. Here and there. I ran and ran till I sweated and ran out of breath. I sat there, in the sand. It was beautiful and quiet.

I've been to that beach a million times, but something was new this time. Something that wasn't there all those times. Peace. 19 year old me would've freaked out if she knew I make art for a living, came out to my parents, I can afford tailored suits, and I don't have a messy relationship with me. It was peaceful. So peaceful, thinking about my past made me feel sad.

I dodged the little memories of my past here and there, I felt my peace waver. I laid there still. I certainly didn't want anything that would remind me of my past. That meant- nevermind. 

I heard someone calling my name. It was Erin, dressed in pink, blush on her cheeks, with the wool beanie she knitted for me. She was walking over to me, with a smile.

--

I woke up suddenly, while Erin was still fast asleep with a soft snoring.
I was sweating heavily and the room had certainly darkened. I turned the lights on and looked out the window for the moon to shine on my face.

I walked around doing nothing and I stared at my phone. And stared at my comic. Something hit me. I figured of a way to start the conversation with Nayan.