Can't I Touch Your Heart?

Chapter 42 What Draws Us Away

"Why did you have the paintbrush Ember gave me?" Rhea asked Neel a few evenings later as both of them stood outside their balcony, enjoying the cold October breeze. Neel seemed dazed, not expecting her to identify that old item, "I really didn't know it was Ember's paintbrush. I just remembered that your grandma gave it to me, but I never used it. So, when I met you again. I gave it back to you,"

Why would her grandma give away her things? Things that could keep Ember's memory intact in her head? Rhea was lost in thoughts again after that, thoughts about her grandmother, whose face was unclear in her memories.

Meanwhile, Loraine, Maple and Ember sat in a saloon, getting a haircut. Ember and Maple played a video game while Loraine read a magazine.
"I lost again!" Ember wined and Maple laughed, "You can't beat me! Yeezy pro gamer man, gg ez, suck my ass!"
Loraine flipped a page of the magazine, suddenly remembering something out of the blue, "Did you take your new pills, Ember?" 

Ember looked at him, "No... I took one, it makes me feel weird,"
"Weird?" Maple and Loraine looked back at him, "What do you mean "weird"?"
"Like... I feel...weird,"

"You haven't been eating awfully much, maybe that's why," Loraine commented.
"What he said,"
Ember looked at his reflection in the mirror. The white mask covering his hair, "No, I feel like I'm...getting sexually attracted to Rhea,"

Loraine coughed.
"Oh, that's normal," Maple patted his shoulder, "I get a boner every morning,"
"No," Ember looked down, "It's not that,"
"Then, what to mean by "sexually attracted"?"
"I feel like...I can't be alone with her anymore or I might hurt her, even though I don't want to,"

"Ember," Maple looked at him gently, like an elder brother, "It is okay. You know you would never do anything to hurt her,"
"I know but," Ember looked at them, "This love is starting to manifest itself in a direction I do want to take it,"

"What are you going to do then?"
He looked at Loraine, "I don't know. I don't want to leave her, but I can't just be a friend anymore,"
"How about you confess then?" Maple proposed and Loraine gave him a menacing look, an eye of disapproval. Ember noticed it and took a deep breath.
"No,"

"Come on, if I were a girl, I'd happily get railed by you,"
"That's disgusting," Loraine rolled his eyes.
"You don't understand, it's not like I do not want to, I can't. Honestly, I'm afraid." He clenched the towel covering his thighs, Maple noticed that they were trembling "I don't want her to love me,"

. . .

By this time, Jack had set his feet on the land of the Great Indian subcontinent-He was actually a brunette by birth but he had dyed his hair platinum blonde and had very light blue eyes shining over his strong, brown tan after working in Africa for over three months. Ember had known Jack for five years when Jack was still pursuing his psychology degree. After graduation, Jack was now a professional psychologist and helped Ember cope with his post-surgery mental health. 

Jack stood on the airport, looking for a taxi. Finally, he found one rickshaw but when he turned back his suitcase was gone "What a humble way to welcome a guest,"
He turned towards the rickshaw driver "Let's go, bhaya," He got into the rickshaw.

(Here Jack tries to speak "bhaiya" a Hindi honorific for older males, literally meaning brother, but he pronounces it as "bhaya")

As they moved across the streets, Jack clicked various pictures with his phone. He would also ask him to stop at many places whenever anything would catch his eyes. It was mostly artificial jewellery "Do you have a blue earring? Matching my eyes?" He conversed in Hindi as he looked into his translator. He bought a cream colored kurta, hair ornaments and even bangles. He didn't care what it was-If it was useful or not-If it looked pretty, he picked it up. He even tried a hookah with the rickshaw puller. With Dussehra nearby, the market was decorated. He tried pani puri and finally sat back on the rickshaw. He asked the rickshaw puller to drop him before Nason's place.