Can't I Touch Your Heart?

Chapter 75 Falsely True

Rhea walked out of a flower shop, with a little porcelain pot in her hands. She walked over the fallen Neem flowers, the shade of Neem and Eucalyptus trees. It had been a week since Ember passed away. She reached her home and found Loraine standing at the zebra crossing before her apartment. She didn't see his eyes but she could tell it was him. He had a white cardboard box in his hand and his eyes were covered by his golden-white bangs. She clenched the flower pot between her fingers, she did not want to see him yet. He turned and looked at her.

They both walked on the footpath, beneath the shade of Eucalyptus trees. Everything about him seemed so oddly familiar to her. They just walked quietly, a comfortable silence and walking home, for a moment, you almost believe you could start again. An intense love rushes your heart and hope. It's unendurable. Unendurable, "Did you really love him?" He asked.

She looked at him and then back at the ground, he wore black shoes, no more red jordans, "Yes,"
"How much?"
"Does it matter?" 
"Why does it not?" He looked at her.

"Because it wasn't enough to make him stay," They stood before her door, "Why don't you come in?" She asked.
"No thanks, I'd rather not," He told her, "Neel told me your dad doesn't like it,"

"No, come in," They heard and turned back, it was Mr Laghari, "Come inside, have some tea,"
Loraine looked at Rhea and she shrugged, "Well, shall we?"
He sat on the sofas and took a sip of his tea, he looked bamboozled, "Wow, I've never had tea like this before,"

"This is called Masala chai," Mr Laghari laughed, "Authentic Indian tea,"
"It's really nice, can you teach me how to make it?"
"Yes! Rhea doesn't want to learn my speciality, you come with me. To the kitchen!" He merrily walked into the kitchen.

Loraine pressed the white box on the porcelain pot in her hands, "What is this?" Rhea looked at the box, it read Hygge. It was Ember's handwriting, "Hygge? What does it mean?"

"I don't know Danish, how would I know?"

She sat on her bed and opened the box. It had a small photo he clicked of them while they were buying the fabric for Jessica, under that Gulmohar tree, a photo frame of a picture of them when they were little, the same one Rhea had in her room, only that his one was better kept. It also had the necklace that Rhea had given him on her birthday, a golden paintbrush, few guitar strings, a blue sweater and a pastel blue camera, with withered petals of forget me not flowers. Rhea picked up the camera and looked at the files inside it. It had a few folders having videos from his childhood, but the one that caught her eyes was "Hygge"

She played the video and Ember sat inside the screen, on his bed.

"Hey Arorhea, how's it goin'? Well, I decided to make it because one, I am bored and yeah, that's the only reason, actually. It's really weird talking to the camera this way, I feel like a Youtuber," He laughed, "I hope no one enters the room otherwise they'll think I'm a freak! Seems like my brain muscles have started depleting now haha. Well, Loraine's gonna slap me to death if he sees what I'm doing-I mean, a goodbye video? Like who does that?

Yep, that's me. Ember Cardilia Helberg! RHEA! You know what, there's this one thing I never told you. Remember I told you that the first time I met you, I was being bullied? Actually, that was the second time I met you, the first time I met you was on a rainy day when I forget my umbrella, so I decided to just go back home without one. I stood there at the train station, without an umbrella, drenched in the rain; people simply passed by, ignoring me. But there was one person who didn't ignore me. Quick quiz! Guess who was it?

Bingo! Correct, it was you, Arorhea! Really, you were so nice that you gave your umbrella to me saying that I needed it more than you did. You were always so kind to others, so you obviously won't remember such petty incidences, but I do because the world has never really been kind to me, so yeah. I am one simple guy.