Love Of Thunder

THREE

THREE

Ray

Enchanting fragrance permeated my room when mom entered. Her captivating fragrance was enough for anyone to forget all their worries.

Excluding me.

The name 'Thunder' had like blocked my all senses. Since the time, dad told me about the unaccustomed name, something within me had changed. Extreme curiosity had taken hold of me, and unfortunately, I had no control over it; rather I was pulling towards it.

Obviously, I had seen dangerously flashing thunderstorms. It didn't cause me any trouble. Only its thunderous sound was the cause of my fear, nothing more than that.

Therefore, since morning I had been just thinking about it.

How 'Thunder' could hurt me?

"...Ray, how am I looking?"

Mom, thankfully, brought me out from my trance, and I pivoted my gaze at her.

My lips stretched instinctively when my eyes roamed over my gorgeous mom.

She had worn a beauteous light blue knee length sheath dress, and her long hair was tied in French twist bun– which she had learned from Mrs. Lily. Otherwise, mom would have not even dared to do something fancy with her hair. She knew only one thing– to sprinkle colours on flowers, that’s it.

“Dad will go dizzy, that’s for sure,” I teased mom in appreciation, crossing my arms; and mom, as expected, melted like a cube of ice.

“Stop it, Ray,” mom giggled, “Stop teasing me,” and then she gently slapped on my cheek.

“Now be serious,” soon her exuberant face slipped and anxiety took its place. She placed her hands on my shoulder and looked straight in my eyes, a tinge of anxiety in them.

“Would you be okay alone?” she asked, timidly.

“Yes,” I laughed off, “Of course. Jimmy and Linda, Belle and Everett will be there with me and even my magic_”

“You have to take care of yourself,” she interrupted me, “for us. Got it?”

I nodded in agreement, hiding my popping fear which was dancing in my body.

Honey bell! Mom is scaring me.

“Okay! I will,” I uttered and stretched my lips in a fluttering smile.

Kindly she kissed my forehead and hugged me, transferring her warmth, which thankfully helped me to ease my anxiety.

God of flower knew, what would happen further.

° ° °

Raindrops were continuously impinging over the glass window of my room. Every bit was leading to uptick my anxiety. In middle of weird sound of tic and tic of clock, tip top of raindrops and gentle sound of Thunder was raising goose bumps on my skin.

What Thunder had with me?

There was no option with me to find it out.

“Linda and Jimmy are on the way,” Belle and Everett flew past me, synchronizing their tiny voice.

I heaved a sigh of relief, finally, and plopped on my bed, looking at the closed window.

Since half an hour I was waiting for them like crazy, and finally they had decided to show me their faces.

Mrs. Lily had informed me by holding her black, but fancy umbrella on top of her:

“My lovely kids will come to you within seconds, okay, Ray?”

I thought, Mrs. Lilly didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘Seconds’. Definitely she was confounded the word ‘Seconds’ with the word ‘hour’.

Ugh!

“Good, they are coming, finally,” I commented, sarcastically, raising my eyebrows.

Misunderstanding my bad mood with good mood, Belle and Everett giggled, and then earned a death glare from me.

They deserved it. They knew in which troublesome situation I was in, and still they were not letting any stone unturned to tease me.

I should have closed them in the box. Honey bell! It would be cruel of me.

I immediately shook that evil thought from my mind and jumped on my feet to walk out of my room. Jimmy and Linda were furiously knocking on the door. It was too loud; I could hear it through irritating voice of drops on window.

As I reached down, I didn’t waste a single minute to open the door.

There they were standing, shivering like wet birds without wings. They had drenched umbrellas in their hands and in the background rain was thick.

“H-Hi,” Jimmy quivered, wrapping himself in tight hug, teeth chattering with every attempt to flash an innocent smile. “Sorry for a late arrival.”

He was looking too cute and lovely; I couldn’t stop my smile to come on my face. Right there, I felt to pull his cheek and hug him. I suppressed that urge of mine though.

“Yes, we’re extremely sorry, Ray.” Linda was in same condition.

If I had let them out, they would have turned into an ice and would have caught a human fear. I didn’t want that to happen with my lovely friends. So, quickly I let them get inside and closed the door shut.

“I just hate rain,” Linda groaned, wiping her wet and dirty legs on floor. “Would you give me a towel?” she asked, apologetically and I did what she told.

After offering her a towel, and passing a kind smile at Jimmy, I told my dear friends to follow me in my room.

When we entered the room, Belle and Everett immediately flit from their places and hid themselves behind the curtain.

Unfortunately, Jimmy caught their locomotion.

“Worms?” Jimmy muttered, focusing his eyes towards the source.

I felt an urge to slap my hand on my forehead; I suppressed it, thinking it would be of no use.

“Um,” I spluttered, “It would be a glow worm,” I lied, dissimulating my nervousness, my eyelashes fluttering.

“Must be,” he nodded in agreement, even though a tinge of suspicion was still there on his face.

I ignored it, and quickly I changed the topic:

“Would you like to have some coffee?” I grinned widely like a perfect host, a gentle thunder in the background and gentle lightening. I thought, something was coming closer.

“I would have loved to have a hot chocolate,” Linda said, wrapping herself like a scared cat, “But...now I don’t want anything. I just want to cover myself in blanket. Isn’t this environment is too scary?”

An extreme fear could be easily seen on her face, just like me. I was feeling the same thing like her, but was shy to display it. Linda was completely opposite of me, whereas, Jimmy was brave, but had some little fear problem. Excluding that he was better than us and my little friends– Belle and Everett.

“Ray_” Jimmy’s sentence broke in middle when an ear-splitting sound of thunder impinged against our ear, like a splash of thick liquid.

I startled by the impact and jumped on my bed, beside Linda.

We both were quivering now, including Jimmy. He had also felt an attack of thunder.

“I think it’s coming closer,” Linda blurted out, her teeth chattering.

“What is that?” I asked in confusion.

“Thunder, and what else?” she snapped like a growling cat, and then immediately cowered under my blanket when a flash of lightening zapped in my room through the window.

A small moment was taking place behind curtains, and I knew Belle and Everett were getting scared. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do anything. They had to endure it.

I felt that it (the roar of thunder) would finish soon, but it didn’t happen. On the contrary, it was growing louder and louder. The sound was roaring continuously.

And then something happened.

Something very heart-wrenching.

The floor beneath us shook like a sinking boat, when a bolt of lightning dashed on the land in front our house.

The impact was too loud and horrific, a scream escaped my and Linda’s mouth, simultaneously.

“It’s horrific and_” Linda’s voice interrupted when once again thunder showed its power.

Scary, it was too scary.

I heard a tiny scream of Belle and Everett, when window door jarred open with blow.

Honey bell! I forgot to latch it properly.

Now it had crossed the boundary of horror.

Belle and Everett flit in great speed, and again, managed to hide themselves under my bed, unnoticed.

Thanks to god of flowers.

“Please, close the window, Jimmy,” Linda spoke through the blanket.

“Me?” Jimmy narrowed his finger at his chest; forehead wrinkled in fear as well anxiety.

Oh! What a brave guy?

“Yes, you,” Linda growled.

“Why me?” Jimmy fumbled, gulping saliva, “It’s the window of Ray’s room. She’ll do it.”

Oh, wow! What a perfect gentleman, and what a perfect logic he had to hide his cowardice.

“Yes, I have to do it,” I clenched my jaw in fury, and jumped on my feet with a new born braveness.

What a coward human beings my dear human friends were? They had come to raise my fear, and not to help me.

Now I had no question rather than doing what was before me. I’d to close the window, and had to be brave to fight against my weakness.

Praying to the god of flowers, I put forward my first step.

I could hear Belle and Everett’s timid voice to stop me. I ignored them, and continued my brave legs to walk forward.

Nothing will happen to me. What thunder will do to me?

I kept on saying it in my mind, till I reached the source.

See, nothing was happening to me. Even Thunder had stopped itself from roaring.

But it was just my illusion.

As soon as I stretched my hand to close the door, a flash of lightening blurred my vision.

I shrieked and squeezed shut my eyes... but not before taking a faded picture of figure wearing an armor.