Second Last Life

Chapter 2

In the slowest of speed, Tiyash opened his eyes, and was greeted by the enchanting blue sky of the morning. He watched the soft and weightless clouds float away to distant places. There is no string that connects them to other volumes of white puffs. According to their fate, they can join in a group to create millions of raindrops, and fall on the soil, to either be praised by some, or be cursed at by the people who had made plans to visit somewhere in a ‘sunny, bright and beautiful’ morning. Tiyash inspected the object that he was laying on. The tiny herbs rubbing against the shell of his ear, provided him with some hint. He felt the substance under him with his fingers and the question that liberated in his mind was - “What am I doing here lying on the soil?” He speedily sat up, and looked at his surroundings. The place where he was resting on was filled with lush green grass. There were also some trees in the surrounding that bore different kinds of fruits and flowers. “Where am I?” Tiyash asked no one in particular. All that he remembered was packing the necessary items for staying in the ‘Haunted Mansion of the West’. After his work was over, he decided to go to sleep. And, in his sleep, he saw the spookiest dream in the history of spooky dreams, and then he woke up. Tiyash felt ashamed of himself for getting so terrified of a female ghost. His dignity was so tarnished that he did not want to see his own face again. It was just a dream that made his body paralyzed. What will happen if such a ghost really shows up in front of him? Coming back to the topic, he stood up to dust off the dirt sticking to his back. He had no idea where he was, and this situation was eventually turning weird.

“Oh, you are awake!” A sweet voice rang in Tiyash’s ears. He turned back to find out who the owner of such a beautiful accent was. Upon looking at the splendour in front of his eyes, Tiyash was awestruck.  No, it wasn’t because the girl who had called him looked extremely attractive. Rather, the girl literally looked the same as the female ghost in his dreams. Suspiciously identical. What startled him most was the fact that the girl was a British figure. Never in his wildest dreams did this thought occur in his mind that there might be day when he would get to meet a foreigner...without clothes. The memory of his dreams were always vague, but this time, he could remember each and every detail of the dream, as if, that event had really occurred in his life. Tiyash’s eyes travelled down the girl’s body, and stopped at the hem of the shirt. To his astonishment, she was not wearing any pants. There were so many questions that Tiyash wanted to ask, but he ended up enquiring her about her semi-nude outfit. “Why are you dressed up like that? I’m sorry, but it’s indecent to not wear pants in public. A-And that shirt is mine, isn’t it?” Saying so, Tiyash blushed. The shirt was big enough to reach the girl’s thighs. She was adorably swimming in it and was not looking lewd in any angle. Suddenly, a thought struck his mind at a lightning speed. He clearly remembered that the ghost in his dream was not covering her body with any piece of cloth. Her nudity made him grow angry and thus, he threw his red T-shirt at her. But…the shirt literally passed through her…and that’s how he came to know about her real identity. “This is your bag. You left it on the corridor of the house last night,” The girl lifted the bag higher to make it reach Tiyash’s eyelevel. Tiyash's jaw dropped. He could not believe that this British lady was talking to him in broken bengali. 

"Y-You know how to speak bengali?" Tiyash widened his gaze. Suddenly, he became aware of the fact that this girl was not normal. First of all, she was not ashamed even the slightest bit when he saw her without the presence of a single thread on her body. Secondly, being a foreigner, she was speaking bengali. Yeah, it is not impossible for an outsider to learn bengali, but this thought did not seem to arise in Tiyash's mind.

“I do not want it,” Tiyash rejected the ownership of his bag and took steps backwards to move away from the girl. He had finally realized that the girl was nothing but a ghost and the supposed ‘dream’ was actually the ‘reality’. “But why do you not want it?” The girl was dumbfounded. She did not expect this boy to act weird all of a sudden.

“Because you are a ghost!” No sooner did Tiyash utter these words than he began running at high speed to reach the other end of the field. His heart pumped so fast that he felt that his precious organ was going to explode at any moment. Sweat dripped down his forehead and collar, his shirt became smelly, yet he did not stop his legs. He knew that the only way he could get away from the ghost, was to run like a cheetah as long as his soul was inside his body. If the sight of the girl wasn’t horrifying enough, the next thing that occurred appalled him to a greater degree. In attempts to look backwards, he discovered that the girl was running too, the only difference was that she was just a few steps away from him. “She’s going to eat you!!” Tiyash shouted out to himself so as to boost his alacrity, but he was out of breath after he set his foot on the grass two times more. His legs felt loose and the last few steps were taken haphazardly, which resulted in him falling down and hurting his knees with a couple of scratches on his elbows.

“Are you alright?” The golden-haired beauty, knelt down beside him and tried to caresses the cut skin of his knee, but Tiyash jerked away, avoiding her touches like a plague. “Don’t! Don’t touch me!” Tiyash stood straight, enduring the pain all over his body and again, started walking away from her. He stumbled initially, because of a sharp pain in the lower part of his body, but it did not take long for him to gain speed.

“I’m not a ghost! I’m a girl, a real one!” The girl proclaimed. She hurried after him with his bag in her hand. Tiyash could not decide whether he should believe her or not. While walking further, he thought back to the time when he threw the clothing at the girl and it passed through her. Was it a correct vision? Did that incident really happen? He eventually slowed down his pace, and beckoned the pretty lady to come closer. “Sorry,” he uttered out of the blue and instantly grabbed her hand. The girl remained stupefied as Tristan awkwardly clasped and groped each and every part of her body. “Hand me the bag,” Tiyash pointed at his bag hanging in the girl’s hand. The girl did, with her expression quite baffled. Tiyash looked at her chest for some time, and then he gracelessly pushed the bag against her bosom, in hopes that the bag will pass through it without an issue, but just like all the other parts of her body, this too remained impervious. “Was it my imagination?” Tiyash enigmatically looked at the girl. “What?” The girl asked. “You are…are you really a human?” Tiyash grabbed her hand again, this time the girl stepped away from him, her eyes boring holes into his skin. “Shameless beast!” she threw the words at him with a pinch of hatred. “Wait! I did not mean to molest you or something! I was checking whether you are a ghos-,” Tiyash’s words remained unfinished as he was attacked by his own bag that arrived at a great force and hit his stomach hard. “Oh damn! No no no! Believe me! Don’t take me for a p*****t!”

“But…weren’t you trying to touch me because my lower half is not concealed?” The girl took another step back. Tiyash lost it. He clutched his hair and shouted out curses at himself. “i***t!” he bellowed. In the beginning, it was the girl who was begging him to not run away, now that he performed some stupid stuff, tables had turn on his part. He was now pleading her to stay, and give him time to explain that he was not a pestering freak.

“I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I was just checking…whether your skin is…impenetrable….” Tiyash lowered his head to look ashamed. “And what is your conclusion?” The girl asked as he offered him a side eye. “You are certainly…not a ghost,” Tiyash smiled gawkily. In reality, he was still not convinced. He was definitely assured that this particular girl was the same one who showed up n***d in front of his eyes in the previous night, catering to her wearing the same shirt he threw at her.

“Your name?” The girl fiddled with her fingers and looked at Tiyash shyly.

“Tiyash Chakraborty.”

“My name is Isabelle Mary Kingston. Oh sorry! You did not even ask…,” The girl laughed out clumsily, but Tiyash found it adorable.

“Nice name! When you pronounce it, it gives off a ‘royal’ feeling,” Tiyash praised.

“You really think so?” Isabelle blushed, which made Tiyash feel a bit confused. What was there to go red? He just complimented the sound of her name. That’s all! “Maybe she’s just a shy person. Quit overthinking,” he thought.

“You can call me Isa. It’s my name in short,” Kingston suggested.

“Oh, very well, of course!” Tiyash shook his head ‘yes’. “So, Isa, what were you doing…in that barren and abandoned mansion? Do you live nearby? Or, do you live…there?” Tiyash pointed at a random direction, because he had no idea where the spooky house disappeared when he was sound asleep.

Instead of giving her the time to reply, he added, “And yeah, please tell me about the things that happened after I lost my consciousness.”

“You want to know about me?” Isabelle enquired dubiously.

“Yeah.”

“Then, let us take a seat,” Isabelle was about to sit on the ground, when Tiyash grabbed her wrist to prevent the action. “You’ll get yourself dirty. I’ve an extra pair of pants, you can wear them.”

“Do you have a gown?” Isabelle asked hesitantly.

“I-It’s okay if you don’t…you are a boy…” It was certain that she felt very embarrassed. Tiyash was amused at her choice of clothes. He saw girls adorning themselves with gowns occasionally, but most of the time, they clad themselves with casual pieces of fabric. Isabelle asked for a gown in such a manner which made it seem that she was used to wearing such an infrequent dress, and which too, probably made her feel comfortable.

“Sorry. I do not own a gown. I can only provide you with my pants.” Tiyash left her wrist and opened his bag to dig out the denim. “Come here,” He ordered and simultaneously gestured with his finger. Isabelle, like an obedient child, stood closer to Tiyash, who was squatting with the pants in his hands. “Wear it. I’m looking elsewhere. You can change here if you wish,” Saying so, Tiyash turned his body to face the opposite direction. After some time, Tiyash asked whether she had finished sliding them on her legs. “I’m not at ease,” Isabelle sounded unhappy. Tiyash turned around to check on her. “Y-You don’t even know how to wear pants!” Tiyash was bewildered by her lack of knowledge. Isabelle was able to slide the material up her slim legs successfully, but the chain and buttons of the denim was pressed to the valley of her rear. “You are wearing the pants in the wrong manner! This is why you are feeling so uncomfortable!” Tiyash shook his head out of frustration. He never met such a weird person in his life.

“Open the pants! And wear it the opposite way. Yeah, the buttons and chain will be at front.”

Tiyash turned back again. He was confused as to why he was giving her privacy to cover the lower portion of her body. She was bold enough to approach him in the buff, yet at present she was acting different. Was she a girl with sound mental health? He had nothing but doubts clouding up his head.

“I’m done,” Isabelle notified. Tiyash turned back. He was so amazed by watching how his boyish clothes made her look extra perfect. She was so fair! Her wavy blonde hair fell over her shoulders like the marvelous angel falls down the colossal, and the tufts of hair that curled up at the start of her forehead made her look far more gorgeous. Her eyebrows were darker than the shade of her hair, each strand arranged in a haphazard style, yet they looked so attractive. The freckles that scattered at her nasal region, made her look even cuter. And her eyes were so blue and beautiful that it reminded him of the bottomless oceans. Her lips symbolized the ornamental red roses, that he loved to paint every time he felt the need to replenish himself.

“Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?”

“I did not mean to stare….,” Tiyash mumbled apologetically.

“It’s fine…can we sit together and discuss what you want to know from me?”

Tiyash nodded eagerly, but he did not make a move to stand up and come closer to where Isabelle was standing. Seeing his lack of movement, Isabelle came forward and sat down with her legs crossed, facing the dark-haired boy. Time to time, she struggled to itch her legs by rubbing the denim on top of the irritating skin, but stopped whenever Tiyash’s eyes fell on her limbs.

“Tell me about yourself, I mean, where do you live? Why were you roaming about in such an unusual place yesterday night? Don’t you fear ghosts? Do you live here? In West Bengal? Or are you just a tourist?” Tiyash spoke and thought about how he, ‘the legendary brave boy’, got his lungs squeezed flat at the sight of an ordinary, harmless girl in her nudes, due to some malfunction in his eyes. 

“I do not have a house to live in. So, I stay in the deserted mansion in order to provide myself with a shelter.”

“That’s ridiculous! Do you not have parents? And…what about your clothes?”

“I do not have parents. I was bought up by my uncle and aunt, but they were too selfish to supply me with wealth, so they threw me out of the house. And regarding my clothes…it was too old and smelly, so I disposed it of.”

“Do you not feel ashamed of the thought of somebody seeing your bare body?”

“I do…but I’m strong enough to fight them if they try to harm me,” Isabelle grinned like an achiever of limitless power.

“It’s not that whoever sees you without clothes will try to perform immodest acts on you, for example - me.”

“I know, that’s why I did not do anything to you.”

Suddenly, realization struck Tiyash’s mind at the speed of a lightning. “Is this the reason why people hear eerie noises and melodies of a supposed ‘female ghost’ in the bungalow? People think of you as a ghost! You disturb the locality with your voice to keep people away from you! I-I’ve solved a great mystery!” Tiyash was overwhelmed with joy. He could not find words to express his ecstasy, so he stood up and punched the air, all the while shouting, “Yeah, yeah! I did it! I solved an enigma!”

“You look very happy. Can I ask you a favour?” Isabelle now appeared straight to the point.

“What is it?” Tiyash stopped his primate-like behaviour, and sat down again, now a little serious.

“Can you…can you please take me home with you? I promise I will not be a burden!”

“What?!!” Tiyash was flabbergasted. “Hey! It’s not possible! C’mon! You really think I can sneak you in my flat and my landlord will never realize the presence of an extra soul in his three-storeyed apartment?”

“Does anybody else live with you?” Isabelle mumbled.

“No…not regularly. My cousin stays at his girlfriends’ and he barely shows up at the apartment to take or leave his stuff. But no! I cannot take you in!” Tiyash rejected callously.

“Please take me in, I promise that nobody is going to find out about my existence,” Isabelle pronounced the end of the sentence very confidently.

“And what about your clothes? What about your food? What about your education...not that you require it…”

“I’ll manage it. I’ll wear whatever clothes you have. I’ll not eat any food. I’ll be educated with whatever books you own.” Tiyash snorted at her solutions.

“Will you be alive if you do not have any meal?” Tiyash laughed sarcastically. In his eyes, Isabelle appeared nothing more than an i***t.

“Okay, if you insist…then you can buy me cakes and pastries. Once I stole a cupcake from a nearby bakery, and as I took a bite of the fluffy and soft eatable, I was mesmerized by it’s elegant taste. But I felt very pathetic after finishing the cake, because I had forgotten that stealing in a sin. So…if you buy me those delicacies, it’ll not be a wrongdoing, and I’ll be able to enjoy them with all my heart,” Isabelle smiled brightly, making Tiyash’s heart flutter.

“Y-You really stole food from the store? But how? Do they not have any form of security?” Tiyash suddenly felt attracted to her good heart. The fact that she remained hungry because she did not want to steal really made butterflies prance about in his stomach.

“There was…maybe. But I did not have a problem,” Isabelle grinned.

Tiyash got confused. If she really did not eat anything for so many days, she should have become acutely ill, but surprisingly, she was fit and fine. Then, was she lying?

“How many days have you been staying here?” Tiyash asked. “If she has been staying here for just a week or two, then that explains why her health did not deteriorate severely,” he thought.

“I forgot. It’s been so long that I can’t remember the exact number,” Isabelle averted her eyes and scratched her scalp.

It was a red flag.

“Then how the hell are you so healthy? If I was in your place, I would have already been dead.” Tiyash gave her some moments to reply. Isabelle did not reply. So, he stated, “Either you are lying about not stealing food from the store, or you’re lying about the length of time you have spent here, in this mansion.”

“I…,” Isabelle gaped at Tiyash. “Okay, I was lying! I arrived here just a week ago,” Isabelle said hesitantly.

“Huh, you really thought that you have the capability to fool me?” Tiyash wiggled his brows and plastered a smug smile on his face. Nothing is as exciting as catching a liar red handed.

“Then…what’s your decision? Will you make me your new roommate?” Isabelle took Tiyash’s hand in hers and looked into his eyes with ample of expectation. Tiyash gulped down his saliva. Was he going to let such a beautiful girl become his roommate? Was he brave enough to put his life at jeopardy? Was he going to regret?

Yes, he was.