The Unnatural Series: Part II

Chapter 1: The Unexpected Visitor

He stood by the road verge under the moonlit sky staring at the suburban house across the street; the snow had melted away as June seeped in, leaving frosty air and misty grounds. He had been here all day long bearing witness to the parting owners of the place as they made their goodbye's to his person of interest, their adopted daughter; the couple was to be gone on a world tour lasting five months while their daughter was to leave for Vancouver the next day, making a head start in her career. As night dawned and the neighbouring doors closed he glanced at his watch, he couldn't delay the moment anymore.

As he crossed the length of the lawn towards the main door of the suburban house, he heard the television buzz in the hall room and several other sounds which assured him of her lone presence. He rang the bell firm on his actions and waited for her to attend. Doubt, Surprise and anxiety tingled on his fingertips, the soft thud of footsteps followed as she approached the door, he could literally feel her weight against the door as she peered through the peep hole.

A flurry of emotions passed her all at once. He grimaced; he had expected her to be surprised. He had requested Vaishnavi ma'am to send someone else, tried to explain that he didn't want to break the news to her, but Vaishnavi ma'am had been quite stubborn about him being the one.

The door flew open and there she stood in a white night gown, her once young face held maturity and a calculable grace, her hair long reaching till her waist. Her eyes were wide and concerned; her mind unsure as to what she could make of his presence. Sanaya had changed immensely over the past year.

"Abhinav" she gasped dread filling her heart. "Is Madhura okay!?" she cried out. Her wildest horror couldn't come true. Days and months she had been getting nightmares in which she was told she wouldn't be able to speak to her sister ever again. That Madhura was gone forever. After each dream she would gaze fixedly at her laptop screen dearly trying to resist the urge to write to her.

"Yes she is fine, she is doing great" Abhinav assured her slightly relieved that she hadn't banged the door on his face. He watched her sigh in relief closing her eyes as she did so.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"No" she said firmly glaring at him.

Abhinav fidgeted uncomfortable at the front porch with Sanaya having a death grip on the door knob. Cold wind rushed past and she visibly shivered backing in.

"Sanaya, this is important"

Sanaya sized him up and reluctantly moved out of the way letting him in with a slight frown on her face.

"Thanks" Abhinav sighed as Sanaya closed the door behind him. She led the way in to the hall room. "Have a seat" she murmured stonily pointing at a two-seater couch as she switched off the television leaving a dull silence clinging in the air. Abhinav conceded and sat on the couch. The hall was warm and spacious; most of the furniture was pushed back and covered in white material.

"Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?" she asked without any warmth, even then he was taken aback at her civility; out of everything he had definitely not expected her to treat him as a guest.

"No thank you" he declined looking around at the hall once again. "Leaving then?" he asked.

"Yes" she replied stoutly. Abhinav felt a deja vu moment as he observed none of what she felt reflect on her face; a quality he had witnessed in her sister Madhura. He knew Sanaya was anxious, scared and angry, yet her face held certain calmness, a threat definitely telling him to be quick with his purpose and leave. He however had other plans.

Sanaya raised an eyebrow at him, her jaw hardened. "Our last, I remember I asked you to never show me your face again"

"You did" said Abhinav "But here I am"

Sanaya glared at the opposite wall, she hated his guts.

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't important" said Abhinav hoping she would drop her pretense. He knew she was curious regarding his presence.

"Why are you here?" she asked urgently sitting next to him. Abhinav noticed the way she carried herself, like she was something fragile, he frowned.

"Is Madhura okay?" she asked. "I mean you didn't say that at the door so you could slowly break the news to me-"

"No, she is fine" Abhinav assured her. "It's you actually. I have come here to take you, I mean if you want to come"

"Certainly" she spoke crisply. "What makes you think I would like to come?"

Abhinav frowned once again; he didn't like her tone at all.

"The truth" he replied quite annoyed.

"Which is?" she asked not breaking his gaze for the slightest second. Abhinav stared back at her, not breaking the connection either.

He couldn't comprehend how she was going to react, but he had to do the needed.

"About your father Mr Irani, you are not his own child. He adopted you and Madhura"

Sanaya blinked back at him. "Why would that make me want to come with you?" she asked sounding quite stern but he didn't miss the hurt tingling on his fingertips. Abhinav frowned at her "So you knew?"

"Dad left me the adoption papers after his death in his will, it doesn't change anything. Mr Irani will always be my father and not the man who was too weak to look after me."

Abhinav frowned as he stared at her quite curious by now. Sanaya knew lot more than he had expected.

"I went to Panchmarhi, to the orphanage where I learned of my family" she added explaining her knowledge regarding the matter.

He sat stunned at this piece of information. Sanaya had been so close to them at one point, she had come to Panchmarhi.

"You should have told us, we have settled in Panchmarhi" he divulged inadvertently.

"What good would that do to any of us?" she asked.

"I understand that you are angry-"

"Let's stick to the essentials" she interrupted him. "What brings you all the way here, in the middle of night at my doorstep?"

"Fine I will get to the essentials" he replied vexed by her behavior. He flipped open a bag he had carried in, and extracted a file handing it over to her. "These are official papers- medical reports. Have a look"

"What do you-?"

"Back in 1983, a scientist had run an experiment over the townspeople of Pachmarhi. They underwent a change, a terrible change. It is known to have passed down the generations and you have received the same in your DNA, just like Madhura."

"I-what? Did I hear you right?" she asked confused, doubting his words.

"You aren't normal and I have come here to take you just like I took Madhura a year ago"

"Took?" Sanaya asked incredulously.

"Madhura and I have never been in love. We are not married; it was a lie so that she could leave with me"

Sanaya glared at him wide-eyed anger pulsing through her.

"Madhura wanted you to have a normal life, hence she quickly agreed when I suggested against revealing the truth to you. You remember Madhura was sick when she left?"

"Ofcourse I do" Sanaya replied quite miffed.

"She was changing back then and I am here today because in a few days time you will be changing too"

"Is this some joke?" she asked. "What are you? Some gang fooling people and taking them away as you please? And how do you know Madhura has this or me? Why should I believe you?"

"Because I am one of the very same, I am not normal either"

"Enough of your nonsense, Where is Madhura?" Sanaya asked furious.

Abhinav sighed and withdrew a pen knife from his pocket. Sanaya gasped dread filling her heart.

"Don't be scared" Abhinav explained. "We have black as the color of our blood if you want I can show you"

"No" Sanaya refused staring cautiously at the small blade.

"I am not lying" Abhinav spoke with utmost sincerity. "You see my grey-tinged skin, I have got black blood. Check the reports if you like"

She stared at him quite baffled. Gathering herself she decided to check what the files were about. A long pause settled among them, having skimmed through the contents, her mind kept screaming at her that all of it couldn't possibly be made up, and then she had heard about- - taking a deep breathe she closed the files. Abhinav didn't speak a word; she decided to break the ice.

"I am supposed to be leaving for Vancouver tomorrow; I have been offered a place in Fashion's magazine"

"A huge success" Abhinav nodded in acknowledgement. "Before you decide though, I would like to tell you that we and by that I mean our kind are in the middle of a war, and we are fighting but we need more people. I assure you though you are not going to be forced. If you want we can send in a trainer who can help you through the changes and powers while you pursue your career"

"Powers?" she asked surprised forgetting that she was furious at him.

"Yes. Like my powers enable me to sense your emotions and change them at my will"

Sanaya held herself back from laughing.

"You don't believe me" Abhinav smiled raising the pen knife.

"No don't-!" she blurted.

"Scared of blood?" he asked.

"I would rather not have you bleed yourself. Facts ought to win my trust, don't you think?" she enquired.

"Remember Barun? He was never sick, he was changing too. His powers are to heal"

"Not a fact is it?" she countered.

"The guy Madhura had hit in that accident when you first came to meet us was Barun. You had black smudges on your car. It was the blood"

Sanaya didn't respond but waited for him to speak further, it wasn't proof enough.

"Your father never came out of his library after speaking to me that was because I told him the truth. Today you are angry and distraught about the past, and right now no matter how cold and indifferent you may try to seem every inch of you is vulnerable and until I had come in you were happy at the prospect of leaving all of it behind and leading a new life in Vancouver. Your uncle and aunt, who now proclaim themselves your foster parents, have left on a five month vacation and they are rather happy. It's just been the two of them for a long time. They realized they liked it that way. You have been watching TV all day long eversince your foster parents have left and also wrote an article Note to myself'. Fascinating Article if you ask me"

Sanaya stared at him stunned as he continued to speak.

"I know you are also angry at all of us" Abhinav continued "and I don't blame you but look at the bigger picture and try to understand, we couldn't drag you in. You hadn't gained your powers"

"And now when I am going to, you have come for me. Now she wants me to be with her?"

"Madhura doesn't know you are going to change. She doesn't want you in the middle of the war, she would rather have you head to Vancouver" replied Abhinav in all honesty.

Sanaya glared at the floor for the next few minutes pondering over Abhinav's words, who sat silently waiting for a response. Madhura didn't want her around, had never considered what she wanted. It was about keeping her sister safe, locked away. Was it all true then? All that Abhinav had said? She had heard of the local folklore while being at Pachmarhi on her weeklong stay, but did she believe it? Did she believe him? Anger at her sister flamed inside her. Madhura had never bothered to share, never been honest.

"Do not misunderstand your sister" Abhinav spoke and Sanaya wondered whether he could read minds as well.

"Having lived with her for over a year; I assure you there hasn't been a single day when she hasn't missed you and no one would know that better than me given my powers"

She then decided that she didn't truly believe him. "Prove it to me" she said curtly. "Go on, use your powers" she challenged.

Abhinav shrugged casually. Sanaya felt it in an instant, it was like being lifted from her world of grief and false and being placed at the happiest place where one can be. Her heart felt light and soft after what seemed years, and she felt a genuine smile stretch across her lips as she stared at him with joy and kindness. As soon as it had come, it went as well and she was left staring at him with that smile stretched awkwardly on her face.

"I have never felt this peaceful" she breathed, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Is it? All I did was made you feel the way you were back when I first met you, you have changed Sanaya, you have changed a lot" Abhinav sighed quite unhappy about the fact.

"Who could have thought" Sanaya nodded at him. Abhinav wasn't a first; she had heard the same from Karan and Nia over the past months.

"Within a year?" Abhinav queried.

"Madhura must have changed too" Sanaya casually shrugged, implying that it was no big deal.

"Toughened up more like but that would be because of the war, while you were here-"

"Abandoned and forgotten" she was angry again. How dare he discard the agony she had been through all these months!

"Ever imagined how that would be? When everything in life changes and you are still stuck there wanting it all back? All of a sudden you have a new family, new house, new place!" she yelled getting up, her pretense gone. "To be told how to SPEAK! How to TALK! How to DRESS! By the people who now decided to be your parents- Just because they had been given your responsibility! To not hear a word from the only blood relative I ever had, my own sister! To know that she didn't love me anymore! THAT SHE DIDN'T CARE! I AM NOT SOME TOY ABHINAV! YOU CAN'T EXPECT ME TO WORK LIKE THAT! IT'S SO UNFAIR!"

The hall rang with heavy silence as she took sharp gulps of air; all her frustration, all her anger had made its way out.

"I guess I understand" Abhinav replied.

"No, Uncle and aunt have been good; it's because of them that I am here today" she shook her head trying to calm down ashamed of her outburst.

"Madhura talks a lot about you, she was worried when you stopped writing. Had Kunal check on you, remember the guy you met at Old mansion, at your Last visit, when I was supposedly sick?"

Sanaya frowned and then nodded softly on recalling the same. "My last days with her" her voice cracked from the exertion.

"When Kunal told Madhura you were fine, she wrote back to one of your letters, your response was short, she wrote again only to get your brief letters-"

"She couldn't have expected me to share everything with her, when she herself barely did. Anyways I thought she wasn't interested with what happened at my end, given her short replies, so I stopped as well"

"I remember the day she realized that. She cried a lot" he sighed.

Sanaya however was indifferent. "To this day I firmly thought that I would never meet any of you again"

"What about staring at her mails for hours these past days then?" he countered.

"How long have you been stalking me?" she asked outraged.

"It's a part of my job" he shrugged.

She curled her fists trying to be calm."Since when have you been-?"

"A week I think" he replied his posture relaxed.

"Where's your partner then? Didn't he come along?"

Abhinav frowned at her. Partner? "Who?"

"Barun" she blurted. "Isn't he your partner?"

"No" Abhinav laughed. "He was changing; I was his trainer back then"

"Oh" she sighed trying to take it all in. The situation was getting even weirder. "How many of you are there anyway?" she asked.

"Around seventeen, will you be joining?"

"I need some time to think" she fidgeted.

"Well then you have until 2 am, that's the flight time"

"Are you kidding me?" she exclaimed "It's eleven at the moment"

"Three hours ought to be enough. You have to decide now. Would you stay here while others fight, while lives are lost or would you like your sister help us?"

She didn't have any answers ready, tears pooled in her eyes as she stared at him. The face she had dearly hated until now, the person who she believed had taken her sister away from her, was here to take her away as well. Into a world she had learned about only minutes ago.

"Sanay-" Abhinav began concerned.

A few sobs escaped as she left him at the couch, climbing two stairs at once she shut the door to her room, sliding down on the floor, her mind a complete mess and heart thumping erratically at the sudden change of events. Once again she was going to be dragged by time and circumstances. She was being tested again. When she had thought that life was finally going to be normal that she would find her peace away from all the ties, start a new life, build a new life; it had all come crumbling down. She cried then not caring that Abhinav sat waiting for her down in the hall, that she had only three hours to pack if she was going to leave. She cried for all that she had lost and for all that she was going to in the next few hours.

Abhinav ran his hands through his hair as he heard Sanaya's sobs ring in his ears as clearly as though he was sitting next to her. He sighed in deep regret and wondered if he had ruined matters rather than saved them a year ago, when he had discarded Gauri and Barun's words of disapproval regarding separating the two sisters. Had he brought this on them? Had his judgment been wrong? He shook his head clearing his mind of the irrevelant thoughts. Sanaya couldn't have joined them; it was not how things worked.

Vaishnavi maam's words echoed in his ears.

You are the best judge Abhi. I personally think Sanaya would do better away from the war, until she changes. It won't be easy on Madhura or Sanaya to be in the presence of each other. For what's to come.

Everything has its set time. Abhinav thought.

----

Chapter Ends

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