Red and orange tainted the sky. The shadows of the buildings, leaves, and people darkened the soil, water, and everything else.
The roads were damp from last night's rain, and the chill was circulating like a fresh breeze. Some people were returning home with folded umbrellas, some joining their friends in the cafes, small roadside eateries, and near soup stands.
Ziya was sipping her black tea of the evening, from the porch staring at the sky and birds returning to their homes, while Riku was dashing to the bar 'seven days', carelessly climbing stairs and afloat on roads.
His tote bag wobbled, breaths panted, cold air jabbed his pupils, his hands getting chilly, and his nose flushing crimson, but he continued hastening.
After meeting with his director, he had decided to meet his two friends, Druv and Hina, who were waiting for him at the bar.
Druv was one of the first Indian friends Riku made after he transferred. Hina was another transfer student, part Indian and part American, who happened to find interest in the peculiar personalities of Druv and Riku.
Druv was just as tall and masculine as Riku, with a brown tone, bright black eyes, bubbly cheeks, and curly hair. He conversed with tender words and a softer tone, which resonated with Riku.
Hina, on the other hand, used a blunt tone and words, her intentions always remaining pure, like Riku and Druv. She was as tall as Ziya, cat-eyed, with short blonde hair, fair skin, and a curvaceous body.
Hina and Druv were Riku's source of comfort in hard times caused by Ziya. They offered him required ears and words of advice, especially when he was far away from his family.
"She's gone crazy!" Riku boomed, amid the stifled music, and under the blue flickering light in between dark, carefully placed his bag on an empty chair beside him, staring at Druv and Hina, one by one. Thank God! It was a private booth.
"What the fuck?" Hina raised her eyebrow like Druv, her tone tranquil but astounded. They had never heard Riku say something like that about Ziya.
Criticizing Ziya was banned in their group, no matter what she did. While Druv followed the rule, without any trouble, Hina did not like that.
She did not like Ziya.
They watched him tensely sit beside his tote bag, in front of Druv and on the left Hina, realizing he had rushed to them to say that.
"What happened?" Druv questioned, with his palm pressing his blue sweatshirt on his chest.
"She's been -- so nice!" Riku fumbled. It was such a startling incident. He could not remember the last time she was nice to him.
"Nice, as in how?" Hina asked, resting her cheek to her palm, her elbow pressed against the table, while Druv stared at Riku, perplexed, then attended to the waiter serving their drinks.
Once the waiter had vanished, Druv asked. "What did you do?"
Riku answered, his tone subtle, his eyebrows creasing. "N-nothing. Apart from being nice to her -- as we decided last time."
Druv was confused, for he was not there with them the last time Hina and Riku met.
"Wait, you decided to be nice to her?" Druv's tone squeaked, his eyebrows daunting at Riku. "Haven't you always been nice to her?" Druv grumbled because Riku had never been unkind to Ziya. There was no need for him to put in more effort.
It was she who needed to step up.
"No. We decided I'd try not to be negative in front of her. She might have been ...sensing something of me," Riku protested, his tone sweeter, his eyes trying to convince Druv, to which Druv curled his eyebrows in ridicule and lightly scoffed.
"You -- decided," Hina corrected, lips pursed in disappointment. "I had no part in it."
"Aren't you overthinking stuff? ..Being negative around her? Are you stupid?" Druv had never been grim before, but each time he heard Riku's reasoning for Ziya's behavior, his blood boiled. He had had enough of Riku's innocence.
Riku sealed his lips, his eyes limping on the disappearing bubbles into the bear mug.
"Okay." Druv inhaled, calming the rush of annoyance in his veins, and leaned a bit towards Riku, grasping the side of the table.
"Tell us, what happened?" Druv asked, his tone surging between tranquility and annoyance.
Hina quietly watched and smirked, drinking most of her beer, while Riku explained, his mug of beer untouched. "She's been asking me to cook. ...I can ..touch her hair again. ...She doesn't ...sleep until I'm done with chores. And -- she's been -- she's been sexually very active."
"Sexually active?" Hina squinted her eyes, and Riku's cheeks flushed. "She's been kissing and hugging me."
"Is he serious?" Hina gazed at Druv with dull eyes, who was just as disappointed.
"There was this one time where she .... well, she …pushed me to the edge ... which she never did. I ended up using the …safe word. We made it just for fun. ... we never thought we would need it."
"One time?" Hina raised her tone, breathing coldly. "That's just one time! Plus, touching her hair... asking you to cook, etc? What does it even mean?"
"That's how I know she loves me. I told you that is her way... to show me love." Riku replied, oblivious to the disappointment on Druv and Hina's faces.
"Did something happen to her?" Druv exhaled. "Did you ask what happened?"
"Why would I? Finally, everything is fine." Riku answered.
Riku didn't want to go back to the days when he received close to no love from Ziya. She was present with him, doing everything a partner does, but without her heart into it.
"But it's too suspicious. It's weird and kind of concerning." Hina added, emptying her mug of beer with Druv.
"But I think maybe she's solved whatever was going on with her," Druv suggested, wanting to solve Riku's turmoil, regardless of his disappointment with Riku discarding Ziya's wrong behaviour just because she's suddenly treating him nicely.
"That's it! ...She's solved her issue!" Riku added, eyes expanded, resonating with Druv's explanation more than his own.
"But should he not question her?" Hina protested, her tone stern. She was not going to buy Ziya's yet another tantrum.
"I don't think that matters. ...I just ..want her to keep loving me." Riku replied, charged up with so much energy, concerning Hina and Druv. He looked as if he had cracked the greatest mystery of his life.
They were both aware of how deeply he loved Ziya. He was head over heels for her. So, they were quite happy that Riku had solved his problem. They were willing to push down their negative jabs at Ziya for his sake.
"She might have been -- stressed," Druv suggested to Riku and Hina, finding it hard to believe it himself, but still trying to.
"Or maybe ...she was going through some sort of distress which she has fixed now," Riku added, his eyes bright. "Why did I not think of it?"
"You also said she's done something she never did ... like she pushed you to the edge," Druv went on. "I believe she can go further if she can push you that far."
"I don't think it will happen." Riku reminisced about the days after that incident. "Nothing happened after that."
"But what if she does-- goes further?" Hina questioned, never sitting back from stirring things up. "Then what?"
END OF THE CHAPTER
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