"Will you call me if you need any help?" Keith asks killing the engine. I give him a look which says "Are you f**king kidding me?" He looks back at me in equal seriousness. I sigh and pat his shoulder for good measure. He isn't backing down till I give him an actual answer.
"I will blow a whistle." Sarcasm never fails me. Keith grins suddenly and salutes me and jumps out of the car. "What? Are you going to walk me to her door?" I snap.
"Like a caring and trusting police officer –always there to help the helpless." Keith's voice has a steely edge to it and his eyes dart everywhere around us. I sigh and rub my temple. He was worried that I would be attacked again and he wasn't completely wrong. In fact it made me slightly better that there was someone around me who I trust to watch my back.
The only drawback of this scenario was Keith never shut up till I reached Khushi's office. He fired questions, looked at others in the lift menacingly and loudly talked about how he chased down a gangster down the street and beat him ruthlessly. I sigh when couple of girls took several steps away from the two of us and shrink towards the back wall of the elevator. Stupid Keith, I think. Keith continues being bashful.
"Stand here," I tell him, my palm clutching the round doorknob. Keith nods and takes only a step back. I realize I am too jittery to argue about it any further.
I find Khushi leaning across her chair, eyes closed. I am not sure if she is asleep or not but she doesn't seem to realize I am in her office. I walk towards the small kitchenette and plugin water heater. There are various bags of tea and pleasant smelling powders on the counter and I pick one of them that smells like fresh garden.
"If you put that in water you may develop telepathic powers in twenty four hours." A string of curse leaves my mouth as her voice startles me. I turn around slowly and find her leaning on the wall with an amused look on her face.
"Really?" I am surprised.
"No!" Amusement is dancing in her eyes and she is biting her lip to stop the grin from spreading across her face.
"Thank god I didn't drink then." I reply. "But it might be fun to find out what others are thinking. No interrogations necessary." Khushi giggles. There is a strain behind her eyes and it's helping her avoid the impending talk I was going to start soon.
She walks towards the counter and plucks the box from my hand. She pours some powder into two mugs and then pours water over it. The entire process is mesmerizing. She is in her jeans and a t-shirt which is odd given how she is in college. She stands on her toes to open cupboard over her head and her t-shirt rides up a little.
And then I see it.
It was the tattoo which has haunted me many nights before and several days in the past.
"Nice ink," I tell her my eyes fixated on her back. She turns around to find him staring at her midsection and she immediately looks down to see if anything was out of place.
"It was done in a traditional way by an elder and it was the first thing I had to do when my role was recognized. It wasn't pretty. I cried for ten days." She hands me a mug.
"Was it because it was painful?" I take the mug with a smile and continue our easy talk.
"Nah, I thought it was weird and scary." She trills in laughter. I reciprocate the same. "I was only twelve then. Coming of age in our community was way earlier than other ancient societies."
"How did you know to administer the right antidote?" I blurt out. She hasn't fully recovered from reminiscing her past and her eyes show that surprise blatantly. But she already knows the reason for my presence.
"I administered eleven different antidotes actually." He reply has me leaning on the counter. She walks towards me and stands next to me. I am not sure if she is offering me a shoulder to lean on or if it was a simple gesture of a friend. We don't movie from our positions but I am tired. The pain from the wound is biting because of the exertion. I lean my head on her shoulders and close my eyes. "I only hoped it would work Arnav though I wasn't sure if it would. I never thought I would say this but I am glad that people who want to kill you are obsessive about my cult. At least this gives a degree of advantage over them."
"Do you carry antidotes with you all the time?" I find contentment in crook of her neck. She smells of dried flowers, soap and photocopier ink.
"It's my job to keep it on me all the time. It's one of the few times I have used poison antidote though," she replies easily.
"How did you come to know that I was attacked?" My breathing is slower now. I feel Khushi's hands in mine as she retracts tea mug from it and places it on the counter. The exhaustion I feel isn't new; its collective tiredness of years of work, searching the unknown and walking dark alleys.
Her arm snakes around my waist and brings me closer to her side. It is her way of comforting me and I soak her warmth. "I have been seeing shadows in these hallways for weeks now. After the way our meeting ended, I wanted to talk to you but…"
The pulse on her neck quickened.
"For today, I will accept this lie." I tell her gently. The pulse hastens even more and her arm grips tighter around me. She breathes slowly and I find happiness in her relief. "Thank you for saving my life." I tell her sincerely. Her face dips and her chin rests on the crown of my head.
"The alternative wasn't an option." She whispers to herself. But the words find my ears anyway.
In her half embrace, the demons in my mind rests.
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| abavi | 247 | 90679 | Mimima | |
| Rizz-ington | 30 | 4470 | PeachyPisces |
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