Love Of Thunder

SEVEN

Ray

Unexpected, unimagined and... horrific.

Who had thought about that?

No one, except the oily thing beneath my leg, who had cruelly planned to make me fall on my shirtless friend.

Yes, now again, my dear friend was shirtless, as blanket on his body had smoothly managed to slip down.

Now, in current pose, we both– means, Jimmy and I were like glued on our spots. My both hands were on his chest, and his hands around me, holding in an awkward position; and our eyes, well, they were wide and on the verge of popping out from their sockets.

Anyways, what the hell was that oily thing which had made me to fall on Jimmy?

“Oh! Are you okay?” Jimmy’s words escaped his mouth in a shuttering way.

“Yes, I-I’m absolutely fine,” my smile fluttered, my hand still on his warm chest. I didn’t know why my mind was not sending signals to my body to move back.

“Okay,” Jimmy smiled nervously, his lips quivering as if he felt in the bucket of ice.

Now, what’s wrong with him?

“Would you now...” he said in over-nervous tone and then gently pushed me back by holding my forearms.

“It’s...just fault of ointment,” he added suddenly by slowly taking his steps away from me, but not before picking up my blanket, which was fallen down on the floor..

“Ointment,” I frowned in befuddlement. From where did the ointment come from?

“I hurt my hand...while struggling with those thorns.”

My unasked question was answered by him. He had hurt himself, and he didn’t even tell it to me. What kind of friend he was?

“Why_” my mouth had just opened itself to ask him why he didn’t tell me anything about his injury, he interrupted me.

“Linda gave me the ointment and I brought it here to apply it on my hand. And that’s when while applying, it fell down...and as a result you fell...on me.”

Very innocent explanation. There wasn’t even a tiny bit or dot on his face that would show that he was lying. His innocence was clearly visible.

But the way he was telling me, it showed he was hiding something from me. His innocent eyes were not even daring to gaze in my eyes.

“It is okay, Jimmy.” I moved forward to pat on his shoulder, and with speed of lightening he moved backwards.

Oh God of flowers! What’s wrong with this boy?

I couldn’t stop myself from staring him. His new incarnation had literally thrown me in the puzzle. I was not getting what had entered in my friend. He was okay when he had placed me on my bed. He was even okay while separating me from Linda’s tight grip, then, now what was wrong with him then.

Shivering a little, he again covered himself with the blanket and slowly, yet, quickly, he moved his gaze towards the main door.

“I think, they have come,” he told me that, and marched towards the door, without explaining to me what he meant to.

I moved my gaze towards the source, where he had moved himself, and caught him while opening the door.

Why was he opening the door, and who the hell had come?

And then a movable piece of wood slide open.

Parents.

My parents were right on the doorframe...keeping their faces stiff like a unbreakable stone. No expression was there on their beautiful faces, however, there was a slight, very slight tinge of red on their faces.

And it was more on mom’s face, whose eyes were hurling humongous, invisible balls of enrage on me.

Honey bell! Prepare yourself for some ear massage, Ray.

° ° °

“I’d informed you, didn’t I, Ray?”

Mother’s voice rose than the voice of pattering rain. In an empty hall, accompanying papa’s silence, my mother was busy in melting me with her deadly glare. Her nostrils were flaring, emanating an invisible warm smoke of enrage.

“Mom, I didn’t go out purposely,” I lied, pressing my dried lips.

Yes, mom had come to know that I had gone out, and had hurt my knee. Thanks to my dear, little but muscular, dear friend, Jimmy. He had vomited all history before mom.

How he had done it?

He had called my parents, when I was massaging my body with sprinkles of shower.

Frankly speaking, I was literally feeling to poke my thorns on my dear friend’s face, but as he was lucky. He was already out before that with her dear sister, Linda, by living me in middle of the fire.

But was that the only reason mom was angry on me?

No. I doubt.

“Then who had forced you to go out?”

Nobody. I had pulled myself out of my house to deal with the Thunder, and to reduce my dear friend, Linda’s fear.

If I had popped out this answer from my mouth, mom had, for surely, knocked me off with her usual deadly glare.

“Will you answer me or not?”

I flinched as mom came in lightening speed and stood before me by tightly crossing her arms across her chest.

“Mom_”

“You know how serious it is?” she interrupted before I could hurl some lie on her. Her eyed reddened with both– fury and stream of tears.

Honey bell! She is crying.

She suddenly grabbed my arms and shook me hardly.

“You don’t know how much we suffered to protect and save you. You don’t know, Ray, how every second was killing us because of your anxiety. You don’t know anything,” she yelled on my face and pushed me.

It surprised me. I had never seen her like that. She had always been so kind and gentle with me. Even if I had done any mistake, she had to console me with her lovely smile and gentle scolding; but that day she had like lost her control. She was shivering with...bit of anxiety.

“Mom, listen. I can explain.” I moved forward to touch her. But before my hand could touch her shivering figure, she yanked my hand.

“That...someone is trying to kill you, girl,” she snapped, her lower lip quivering. Her eyes had now taken all the colours of anxiousness and anger, and were on the verge of explosion.

Was That someone the Thunder? Yes, she was referring him. But, how did she come to know that I met the Thunder.

“That someone is trying to take you away from us, and. I. Can’t. Afford. To. Loose. You. Like. Her.”

She had forced each word in such intensity, veins in her jaw popped with each word. But what she meant by that? Her? Who was her?

Curiosity rose in me.

I opened my mouth to ask the same question to her. But before I could utter anything, mom rushed in her room and closed the door behind. She didn’t give me a single chance to read expressions on her face.

It saddened me. How could mom leave me in condition of curiosity? How could she go in her room without explaining to me the meaning of her sentence?

Dad.

Dad was still present in the hall, putting his head down. Grin of relief spread on my lips. If mom was hiding something from me, I was too sure; dad would definitely tell me about it.

I quickly marched towards him and stood before his handsome figure.

“Dad, who is she?” I asked, bubble of excitement building in me.

As soon as dad heard my sudden question, he jerked his eyes at me. His lips slightly parted.

“Um,” he cleared his throat; tentativeness could be seen from his face. “What did you ask?”

“You heard me, right?” I pressed my bottom lip with my teeth while not blinking my eyes. I had now completely focused my attention on dad’s facial expression.

He remained silent. And then silent. And then again, silence.

He didn’t utter a single word from his mouth. He just kept on pressing his bottom lip with...nervousness? Why was he nervous?

“Dad?”

“You will come to know about it later,” he blurted out, and rushed in his room, same like my mom.

Honey bell! What’s the matter with my parents?

Why they were so tense out of a sudden? Was it because of Thunder? Or was it because of her? Who was she and what was her relation with Thunder?