Love Of Thunder

TWO

Ray

Since my childhood, I had been taught by my parents to take care of myself. They had told me to not raise voice to save my vocal cords.

I should blame it on my cowardly life.

Sometimes I would think, it would have been better if I wasn't a future Queen of flowers. It didn't mean I despised my life. To sprout new buds of flowers, to sprinkle flowery dust on withered flowers -- I loved it. It used to give me an immense pleasure; there was no doubt about it. Just only one thing was there which was leisurely draining my happiness.

It was a terror.

A terror of anonymous power, about which my parents had never told me, rather nobody wanted me to know about it.

According to my parents, they didn't want me to live a fearful life and therefore they had taken a great care to keep me away from such things. But by doing so, they had already built a mammoth wall of fear in me.

Whenever I would go out to attend a human school, my heart would thrum against my chest in anxiety and insecurity. To just trust someone had been even a difficult thing for me.

"I can't go, Ray," mom said in low tone, pulling me in her room, an ambience of floral odour. As windows were wide opened, enchanting redolence of floribunda roses permeated her room. "You know how much I_"

"Mom," I interrupted her quickly before she could speak, placing my hand on her shoulder. "I'm seventeen now and can take care of myself. There is really no need to worry."

I could feel mom was trying to say something. Her mouth opened and unopened and then she heaved a sigh while shaking her head.

"You scared of thunderstorm, aren't you?" mom asked me hurriedly, her eyes not meeting mine.

She was right. I was scared of thunderstorms, there was absolutely no doubt. Every time when bolt of lightning would impinge on the earth, I would cower myself under my bed, or would run towards mom and dad to hide myself. In mom and dad's shade I would feel secure, but something within me was screaming that I should not hide like a coward.

I should be brave, and face the situations in front of me. There was no use in running away from the troubles. In actuality, I wanted to move out from that womb of cowardice and be brave. After all, I was the future queen of flowers.

To prove my courage, after so many days, I had finally got an opportunity to check my braveness; and I would not easily let it go.

"Mom, Jimmy and Linda will be there with me," I responded, plastering bored expression on my face. In reality, I was trying hard to hide boiling fear in me.

"They are not capable to protect you. They are just human beings," mom argued, her forehead wrinkled.

"Belle and Everett will also be there," I blurted out, hastily. Anyhow I had to assure her that I would be fine.

"They are not capable_"

Mom was just about to put forward her point, I interrupted her to put forward my point, "Since childhood, I have been taught to bend and hide beneath like a coward. I'm not. I don't want to be coward, mom. Every day I crave for a normal, happy life, like every human being lives. To sprout new buds I have to be happy. And for me, happiness is to come out from my fear."

I spat my heart out. It was my frustration, which I had hidden from many days in my heart. After throwing it out, I was finally relieved and was proud of it. I was just hoping mom would understand it.

For some time, she preferred to read my face, which seemed to be red due to my sudden infuriation. I could feel it, as veins in my jaw began aching.

"Do you really want to stay?" mom questioned, forcing her each words with a little expectance that I would say no.

"Yes, I really want to stay with my human friends," I confirmed, looking straight into her eyes.

This was the first time I had a serious and stubborn talk with her, and therefore, I was feeling shamed. However, it was good I had kept my real thoughts before her. Otherwise, she would have never understood from what I was going through.

"Fine," mom said so softly that I hardly heard her. "You can stay, but, you have to promise me to not to be curious about any unprecedented things."

Okay! To not to be curious was not in my hand. It depended on situation.

Even though, I decided to give promise:

"Okay," I cleared my throat, "I promise, I won't."

I didn't know how much my words of promise had given her the satisfaction; still, I had some positivity that I had managed to build some surety in her.

"Fine, then," she crossed her arms. "I'll cook your dinner. Share it with Jimmy and Linda, and I'll keep sleep dust with Belle and Everett, so that they can sprinkle it in your room, in case if we come late at night." (Sleep dust was a dust of sweet dreams and magic. Whenever that dust sprinkle on flowers, or any human beings, sleep envelopes humans and flowers too.)

"Okay," I grinned in ecstasy. Finally, after seventeen years, mom had finally given me the freedom to live my life as per my wish. It was enough for me.

Giving me a small yet kind smile, mom cupped my face with her feather like hands.

"I love you, baby." Her eyes glistened with tears, "You need to take care of yourself. I can't afford to see you unhappy, you got it. You are the future of flowers."

I couldn't do anything rather than just smiling emotionally.

° ° °

"Excellent," dad praised my bud sprouting act in such a loud tone that pink dust fell from my hand, and landed on my white sandal, metamorphosing it's colour into pink.

"Dad," I grunted, irritated and turned to face him. "What have you done? You scared me."

"Oops, I'm sorry!" he apologized, grinning, his eyes blinking innocently. "I just praised you."

"But your praising caused dust to fall down from my hand, dad," I said and pressed my lips in thin line of irritation.

Half an hour back when Mrs. Lily had gone, I had busied myself in sprouting buds. It was a challenge from mom, and I was too annoyed that I had lost it. And now, I had to complete it, anyhow.

"Once again, sorry, kiddo," dad said, and to increase my irritation he ruffled my hair -- he loved to do so.

"Dad!"

"Okay, okay," he said, raising his hands in surrender.

When I flared my nostrils, he stretched his lips in closed smile, and I turned back to my work.

Belle and Everett created some more dust and handed it to me. I took it, and very cautiously sprinkled it on buds.

"I did it," I squealed as cute, white buds took a pink colour. It was my biggest achievement so far. My soul got so delighted that I preferred to share my joy with Jimmy and Linda.

"I'll just go and share my first floral achievement with Jimmy and Linda," I gushed, clapping my hands. I was about to rush out of my garden, dad's voice stopped me.

"Ray?"

"Yes, dad?" Delightful smile was still on my face.

He raised his shoulder, crinkled his forehead, and said:

"Human being and princess of flowers, isn't it a huge difference?"

Only that question of his was enough for my enthusiasm to flit away from my face. I put down my head and plopped down on the floor- wet floor- crossing my legs.

The rain was continuously impinging against the glass walls around the garden, and my eyes had begun to well in tears.

"I wanted to share it with them," I muttered, sniffing.

"I can understand you, dear," dad kneeled down before me and raised my face to look at him.

Like mom he had those kind eyes, which was enough for everyone to melt. Only one difference was between him and mom- their thoughts.

Mom was little cautious about human beings, whereas, dad was not. He acted freely around humans; actually he loved the company of humans, like me. As he was working as a designer in a textile company, built by human beings, he knew how it felt to be unique in human world, who loved enjoyment.

He and I loved to enjoy with humans, but as we were not able to share our thoughts with them, we would get sad. To be in human world was good and even bad, especially because of the sharing thing. I was fed up of it.

"From whom you are protecting me?" I asked out of a sudden, my voice cracked.

Dad kept on gazing me with parted lips. My sudden question had surprised him.

"Dad, please tell me," I pleaded, yes, I pleaded, 'cause it was getting too much for me.

Just to protect me, my parents had transferred themselves in human world. They must have gone through many difficult situations to hide their true identity, and even they must have faced too many problems to raise me. Unfortunately, I didn't know the reason.

And now I wanted to know, and wanted to face it.

"Who is it, dad? Please, tell me, dad." I placed my hands on his shoulder, and he shook his head.

I could see, he didn't want to answer like mom. But as I had made final to know the answer, I kept on shaking him, so that he would get irritated and would blurt out the name of the evil.

"Who is it?"

"It's a Thunder."

As I had expected, dad blurted out what I wanted from many years.

"It It's Thunder," he spluttered, jumped on his feet and turned his back at me. "That's it. Don't ask me this question again," he ordered me, clasping his hands behind his back.

I should have scared by hearing the name Thunder from dad's mouth. But to my surprise, I didn't get so scared.

It put a question before me. Who is this Thunder, and why it wants to hurt me?