ASRAN SERIES- ACROSS THE BORDER

Chapter - 13

Sussan did not force him to consume the medicine quickly. Instead, she waited patiently until he finished the whole bowl before she decided to start a conversation. She took the empty bowl from his hand and placed it on one side of the tent. Then she asked him with the utmost caution,

“So, how were you able to get separated from your brother Robert? Isn't it almost impossible at this young age to even understand the two souls inside one body? I read that it would take a lot of energy and practice to get separated from the host body. Also, even after being separated from each other, it might get extremely difficult to stay away from each other. Are you feeling ok or experiencing any kind of stress?” 

Sussan examined him from head to toe to see if there were any changes in his body that she missed notice earlier. Nameless held his head down and started at the ground without responding to her. Even after she waited for someone's time, Sussan did not get a response from him. 

So, she slowly started to talk once again to him in hope that he would reply to her at some point. But then she did not realize how stubborn young kids could turn out to be when they fixed their minds on something. 

“Since Brenda was unable to distinguish between you and Robert, I am guessing that this is not the first time it has happened. Am I right, Nameless?” Sussan hoped to get an answer from him at least this time.

Nameless now kept on rubbing his fingernails using the palm of his other hand. Sussan looked at his hands and she realized that whenever he got distressed, he had rubbed his nails before as well. 

So, was my guess accurate? If they had done it before then Robert might be more powerful in doing magic than I thought,' She wondered while trying to think of a way to make him talk.

Once again she did not get any response from him. She was silent for a minute and then said,

“If you don’t want to talk about it then it’s completely fine. Just try to relax and take a rest. I won’t force you to tell me anything if it’s considered a secret between you and your brother or your friends.”

‘Is he trying to calm himself or sending a distress signal to someone for help without me knowing?’ Sussan suddenly realized that it was not impossible and so she started to observe him keenly.

Before leaving Robert did not ask Nameless to hide the truth from their elders if he got caught. As they have never been found out by them before, Robert might have thought that even this time they would not get caught.

Nameless lifted his head once to look at Sussan but then he immediately lowered it again. Sussan noticed his gaze but pretended as if she didn't know about it. She pulled her magic pouch near her and started to examine the content inside the bag.

“Do you want to eat something? I have some crisps and sweet cake,” Sussan took out a box from her infinite pouch and held it in front of him.

When she did not get any reaction, she pushed the box towards him and said, “Elly loves these snacks a lot. You do know who Elly is, right?”

He stared at the box with shiny eyes and picked one of the crisps swiftly. After that, he took one bite and nodded his head.

“She gave me these when she was around,” Nameless mumbled in a very low voice and continued to eat the snacks one after another.

“Did she? She is a sweet girl,” Her eyes turned teary thinking about her daughter, Elly.

‘She is indeed a sweet girl. I don’t know where she is or how she is or what she is doing right now!’ She murmured with a heavy heart.

“Don’t worry! Robert and Peter will find her and bring her back,” Nameless said and picked one more crisp from the box.

“Can you tell me where they are right now? Are there any other ways to go to the other side of the border and find them?” Sussan asked him impatiently and held his hands suddenly.

Nameless blinked his eyes and then hastily moved behind a little while pulling his hands from Sussan’s grip. He once again turned silent and rubbed his hands continuously where Sussan touched.

She cursed at herself for being impatient and knocked her head with her hands. She then gave enough space for Nameless and moved away from him. She did not talk to him later and the whole tent was filled with silence.

At that moment, Brenda and David came inside the tent and looked at the frightened Nameless.

“Did it not work? He did not say anything to you, didn’t he?” Brenda asked Sussan.

Sussan shook her head and still felt bad for scaring Nameless. David patted her shoulders and said,

“It’s expected… Don’t feel bad about it. He is like a newborn child. It may take some time to make him speak.”

Sussan did not say anything to him, instead, she kept on looking at the scared child in front of her. Brenda had enough with Nameless’s tantrums. First of all, she was very angry that they had hidden such an enormous truth from her.  

Now, Nameless would not say a word about where he sent Peter and Robert. She walked near him and sat next to him. Nameless tried to move away but Brenda held his hand and stopped him.

“Don’t you dare, son? I am your mother… How could you hide such a serious fact from me? I gave birth to you both… Now, open your mouth and tell me, where did Robert and Peter go?” She questioned him.

Nameless looked at her hand on top of his arm and was still hesitant to speak. Sussan noticed his pale face and tried to talk Brenda out of using any tactics which would petrify Nameless. 

“Brenda…” Before Sussan could say anymore, Brenda shushed her.

“No… Do not interfere when I am talking to him. When you asked me to go out, didn’t I listen to you before and left? Now, let me talk to my son without any interference as well. I am his mother and I deserve to know everything about them. They both had taken me for a fool all these days, if not, would they have hidden such a big secret from me?... Their mother...” Brenda asked her. 

“Ok, now… Start speaking, boy. We do not have any more time to waste as we need to rescue your brother and Peter soon before the militants catch them,” Brenda demanded.

Still, Nameless did not open his mouth and only stared at Brenda’s hand on his arm. Brenda was about to lose her patience once again after noticing his silence. Just before she could burst out, Sussan stopped her again.

“Please… Let me try once again. If I don’t succeed this time then I won’t interfere,” Sussan begged her.

“Sigh… I don’t understand if I am their mother or you are the one. Susy, we should not always be lenient whenever our kids throw a tantrum. Once in a while we need to be strict to these boys, if we want them to be obedient,” Brenda complained to her but she did leave his hands and stopped compelling him to speak.

Sussan gave her a weak smile and then turned her head towards Nameless. When she saw him get a little relaxed and stopped shivering, it made her feel relieved.

“Look here, Nameless. I know, you must have promised them not to say anything to us. I can understand the situation you are in, so I am not going to ask you where they are going! But can you find out where they are right now? You won’t break your promise and at the same time, I promise you that it is only to save them both.” Sussan stopped speaking and then wiped her teary eyes.

She then slowly spoke, “Nameless, their life could be in danger, or the worse case, they might be in need of our help right now. We only want to rescue them if they were caught by the militants or by someone dangerous. So, please… Can you use your power to communicate with them and ask if they are ok?”