shadows

they came for her, stayed for him (1)

The first week was unnerving. The doctor insisted they stay at the hospital two days, before signing off on the discharge. In the two days, he visited them more than any other patient. Even more than Emilia’s doctor. So much that the doctors had joked between them about whether he wanted to transfer her as his patient. He refused a little too strongly. And that inspired another round of teasing. Even in the suite with the two women, he showed a blush. At least in here he wasn’t alone. Fanny was blushing too. And Emilia and Emil were happily laughing at the two. He walked them all the way out after the discharge. They had exchanged numbers. And it was looking very much like the start of something beautiful.

Fanny drove her car. She hadn’t gone home in the last three days. She drove to Emilia’s apartment for change of clothes and other essentials. With the baby out of her, Emilia wasn’t as big. Her clothes were big on her and Fanny. And the embarrassment of bad fitting clothes was halved. Not that either cared much about that right now.

Fanny sat behind the wheel. Emilia sat in the back, with Emil in her lap. And Fanny finally took the opportunity to tell Emilia something she had long ago decided.

“Oh, we’re not going back to that apartment of yours.”

Emilia didn’t bother asking why. She wasn’t surprised by Fanny’s rejection of the apartment. It wasn’t as if she was particularly fond of the apartment either. It just didn’t matter all these months. Emil was all that mattered. Emil was all that would matter now too. Only now, the apartment wouldn’t be nearly enough.

“Where then?” Emilia asked.

“I don’t know,” Fanny answered honestly. “I thought I’d find a nicer apartment. I didn’t realise how stupid I was being. I was with you all the time. Couldn’t find any. Couldn’t find the time to search for one. So, I booked us a suite at our old favourite hotel.”

“Marigold?”

“Yeah.”

“Lovely. The room with a jacuzzi?”

“Of course. Think it’s okay to give little Emil a taste of the jets?”

“He’s not even one week old.”

“Yeah. We should come again.”

“Or, we could just have one installed in our new place.”

“Are you serious?”

“Hmm. He’s our son. That’s to say we’re as good as married. I think it’s okay now to indulge your money.”

“Yes. It’s our money now. If that’s the case, why not just move back to my family’s home?”

Emilia didn’t answer. Fanny wasn’t expecting an answer. They left the topic. And concentrated on the road. And on Emil who was experiencing his first car ride.

“Is he enjoying it?” Fanny asked from the front, turning over as they stopped at a traffic signal.

He was asleep. Like a little fleshy statue. Only his chest was rising and falling rapidly.

“Seems like it,” Emilia said. “Look at him sleep. Even better than at the suite. Maybe he’s a car sleeper.”

“Well, that would make one of us.”

Neither of the two slept well on the road. Whether in a car or a bigger bus. They never could sleep. Even when completely wiped. They had confirmed this way back in school. And now that their little boy was showing signs of being a happy sleeper on road, it was something to celebrate.

Fanny was staring at the sleeping Emil until the signal turned green. And then she had to return to driving. Emilia continued staring at the boy, not the littlest care about anything outside. She didn’t look away until they drove into Marigold’s parking lot. And then, the two women had one eye on Emil and another on the path they were walking.

Fanny had made the reservation. And this wasn’t the first time the girls were staying at Marigold. They walked with practiced ease to the front desk. Completed the formalities. Were shown up to their suite. Went in. Locked the doors. Emil was still asleep. Made him a bed next to the jacuzzi. And they stepped in.

-

The green madam woke up in the middle of the night, grabbing her chest, breathing hard, and gasping. Her lifeless eyes shone with an inhuman lustre. Like they did when she had a vision. But usually, she had visions when she tried deliberately. When she concentrated. Rare were the times when the visions came by themselves. Rarer sill was when those visions broke her out of sleep.

Ray had been woken up too, by the storm. She was sensitive, as she liked to put it. Especially at night, when she needed sleep. Quiet nights were the best. When there was nothing boring into her ear, and no light piercing through her eyelids, and she could rest her head on the soft pillow and revel in the silence. Without stimulus, she would have the best restful sleep. And a night like tonight, when the sky was hammering down at the earth, she didn’t hope to have a minute of peaceful sleep.

She was going to make herself a cup of tea. She had to pass by master’s room to the kitchen. She was at the door when she felt it. The green ripple.

“Master’s having a vision?” She wondered.

She stopped at the door. Waiting with her eyes closed. And just as expected, her master called for her.

Green knew the moment Ray arrived. She waited until the vision ended before calling for Ray.

“Come in, Ray. You’re here already.”

“Good evening master,” Ray greeted, walking in. “You had a vision. How are you?”

“You were going to make tea,” Green said.

“Yes. You want a cup? Which would you prefer?”

“Whichever you are making Ray.”

“I’m thinking red. You’re okay with that?”

“Yes. Mild, for me. Thank you.”

Some time later, Ray returned with two cups of tea. Her’s a deeper red. Her master’s lighter. And after having a sip of the tea, and enjoying the warmth spreading from the mouth and the throat and then the stomach to the ends of their bodies, Ray could voice the question on her mind.

“What was it, master?”

Just thinking about it brought back a green sheen to Green’s eyes. Before she could stop it, the lustre deepened. And she was falling back into the vision. Her hands went stiff. The fumes rising from the tea drew clouds over her face. Her lips parted as she breathed through her nose and her mouth. And her throat opened free, as her mind unfurled.

“Challenged and defeated. Fate was broken. She who should be dead, is dead no more.”

“Is it really such a big thing?” Ray asked.

“The shadow was lost.”

Ray was shocked. The shadow was a much bigger deal than fate. Fate was challenged more often than most realised. The shadow was a whole other story.

“Are we going?” Ray asked.

Green didn’t answer. But that was all the answer Ray needed.