Moonflower

CHAPTER 30

"Bhaiya! Bhaiya! I want a knife too, I want a small knife too," a seven-year-old Armaan protested as he trotted behind his elder brother on an empty street.

"Shh!" Ayaan signaled his brother to stay quiet as he clutched the pocket knife in his hand harder.

Ayaan craftily avoided the streetlights and led his brother along the darker sides of the road as they continued to follow an old woman whose skinny stature could barely carry the jewelry she had adorned herself with. Armaan couldn't help but hold onto his brother's shirt while shutting his eyes tight whenever he would hear any unfamiliar sounds. He followed him blindly for a while until Ayaan slowed down his pace. They were able to follow the old lady to the location where two of the streetlights were yet to be repaired from the last two years. Ayaan ran forward as soon as he saw his chance and Armaan panicked as he lost his grip on his shirt and ran after him.

The old lady was only surprised to see the knife otherwise a thirteen-year-old Ayaan posed no threat to her. She could have pulled out some one-rupee toffees from her purse seeing their tattered clothes and bruised faces but the boy with a knife was giving her the wrong signals. Ayaan threatened her to surrender all her valuables but the lady could only feel pity for them. Armaan observed his brother's hands shaking as he pointed the knife at the lady. Since the lady wouldn't give in, Ayaan began forcibly snatching her jewelry which she struggled to hold onto and her strength deceived the appearance. As their scuffle became louder, Ayaan began to get anxious of the silent neighborhood. He glanced at Armaan who was already looking at him with confusion and amusement and as the big brother, he took his chance to the last resort. He swung his hand holding the knife to push the lady and she crashed hard on the tar road with blood gushing out from her right arm which had been unintentionally slashed by Ayaan's knife. Her old bones creaked in excruciating pain while Ayaan was paralyzed with fear. He hesitated but another glance at his brother's eyes made him jump forward and pull out all the jewelry off the lady. The old lady, who was unable to move, could only watch the kids dash out of her sight through her tearful eyes.

Ayaan and Armaan paused to catch their breaths in a dim-lit alley which was only broad enough for a bicycle to pass through. Armaan dropped down on all fours while Ayaan rested his hands on his knees and clasped the stolen pieces of jewelry tighter in his fists. The horror in his eyes was evident as he stared at the blood-stained gold in his palms. This was the exact moment when the clock had chimed eleven-thirty in the night, when the winds were blowing east, when the sky was cloudy, when crickets were silent, when a plane crossed the sky, when Ayaan decided that whatever he would do, he would never in his life would ever kill anyone; and at the same time and the exact moment, the glint in Armaan's eyes had changed as he looked up to his big brother in excitement and awe.

~

"I should have never taken you out on the streets that day," the agonizing pain in his chest grew stronger as Ayaan recalled their younger days where things could have been different if not for that dreadful day when he bought his brother out to his world.

"I understand now. It's all my fault, it's all my fault," Ayaan repeated as he plunged his face into his numb hands. "You only followed what you saw, my actions were the only thing exteriorly visible but I could never share my conscience, the pain inside me. The same pain that you consider as my weakness."

Ayaan bent down further, more than his body could allow with his face still buried in his hands. "How will I face her now? What will I say to her?"

The sun shone brightly for the last time for the day and set down, giving in to the darker shades of the sky.

Ayaan stood up silently and began walking away without dusting off the dried grass stuck onto his pants. Trisha, who was sitting on a boulder settled a few kilometers away from Scarface's warehouse, stood up right after him but stayed in place as she watched his back which was about to crumble down soon. As she worriedly looked at him walk away, her glimpse switched to Armaan who was leaning over his bike and counting the remaining bullets in his gun.

~

Mehek squinted her eyes open. Her sense of smell was immediately activated due to the presence of strong and unfamiliar odors. Her eyes flashed open to the white ceiling and her vision slid down to her sides which were covered with various machines and medical equipment. She shuffled under the sheets and decided to sit up when her gunshot wound made her wince in pain. She settled back down uncomfortably. Her head began throbbing with the memories that were triggered along with the pain. The recollections of her memory flashed by before they halted to her last memory. Those shaggy black hairs, those weak black eyes, and those rough hands. Mehek rubbed her fingers together as if she could almost feel his hand embrace hers.

"Wait. This can't be my last memory with him. When the last time I saw him, he was..."

She gave her thought a pause.

"Was he really here? Did he really come to the hospital?"

Mehek closed her eyes and allowed her thoughts to flow inside her into a whirlpool of memories and emotions.

"I need you, Mehek, I need you," the sweet voice echoed bitterly in her ears, "You have always been stronger than me, both in strength and in love and maybe that's why I couldn't stop myself from seeing you every day. You were the one who gave me a permanent roof when I was hiding under a temporary shelter. I...I am a coward, so, I won't stay here much longer because I won't be able to face you but...and I know this is very selfish of me to say this, but Mehek, this time, can you..."

Mehek opened her eyes and tears slid down her temples as she recalled those words that shattered both of their hearts.

"Mehek, this time, can you come and save me from myself?"