MEERA - 11
"And when he smiled! Oh my god!" Lilly said, placing a hand on her mouth, eyes sparkling.
"Yeah yeah, I heard it the first time you said, no need to repeat it five times!" I said trying to somehow detach this clingy creature from my arm. She's been going on and on about Ronen ever since we left the cafe. Well I guess this is what happens when you give a hot, well behaved Asian guy to a kdrama fan.
"And-" She was about to move forward on her train of appreciation for Ronen when I slapped my hand on her mouth.
"Enough ok, stop now or my ears are going to rot!'
"So boring.." She said pouting. I hid a small smile that made its way up to my lips. This is the first time I've seen her like this, mad for someone. The Lilly I know is a female version of what you call a fuckboi. She has never in her life given a fuck to any guy in India, I've always thought she'll die alone, because no matter how many guys you fuck, in the end you need someone who loves you for you and is gonna be there for you when you wake up, who's gonna give you a tight hug and a sweet kiss after a hard day, someone who's just made for you and only you. I know I'm a hopeless romantic. To be honest I'm happy for her, but there is this one thing that doesn't sit right...
"Don't you think we should stay away from all this?" I asked her. She looked at me, probably a bit confused with the sudden change of subject.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean.. shouldn't we just peacefully spend our holidays and go back home? These attachments will just be a hindrance." I tried hard to make it sound right so as to not offend her.
"Are you stupid? Attachments will be a hindrance? And if yes so what? How long are you gonna stay daddy's little girl? You're 24 for god's sake, get a life!" She said. What? She's talking as if she doesn't wanna go back... but that's.. our home...
"And don't you talk about attachments. I saw the way Apollo was looking at you. That seems more than an attachment." She said and suddenly my face started heating up, it felt as if the flow of blood suddenly doubled in speed and my heart can't keep up. What's wrong with me!? Why the fuck my blood starts running so fast at the mention of him!
"What- what do you mean!? How was he looking at me?" Being a woman i'm sensitive enough to know when someone's watching... but being someone who grew up in isolation I didn't knew what it ment.
"Like he is really really interested in you. He couldn't take his eyes off of you the whole time." She said sipping on her smoothie. It's safe to say that my face now felt like a burning coal, the one that turns red. Was he really interested in me? It was hard to believe it ofcourse, that too when he's got that face. I won't call him a Greek god this time. Honestly I don't really get the concept of calling a handsome and beautiful guy a Greek God, since none of the ideals of the Greek God looked even close to handsome, not that I've seen any. I mean I know they have been described as breathtaking in many stories but they don't look the part in the images and the statues. All I see is naked men with long beards and excessive muscles. True, some of them are good looking but Greek gods should not be the standard. The standard should be Apollo, and no not the Greek God Apollo, Apollo Del Valle. Okay this is getting cringe Meera, stop.
Gathering my thoughts I turned my attention to the sky as we sat on a bench on the sidewalk. The sun has already disappeared in the distant horizon, leaving a mix of pink, orange and red behind in the otherwise deep blue sky. It was late, just about to get dark and the fellas were already here from all the parts of the town for the fire. Among all this my eyes again landed on that spider shaped figure. It was placed at the very end of the queue and close to where we were sitting. The details of the structure were still so fine it was almost hard to believe that it's not a real giant spider, which was looking right at me. Creepy..
Soon the fire was lit, the firecrackers were bustling beautifully covering the now inky blue sky and the fellas were set on fire. Everyone watched in amusement and the cheers soon filled the air with the heat of the flames which were roaring wildly. I sat right there watching each figure getting consumed by the fire, turning to nothing but ash. It must have taken them months to make all that, and only a few minutes to destroy.
"Don't you think we should move a bit far away? The heat is getting unbearable now." Lilly said, I nodded and followed her through the crowd, away from the main fire.
"You know what? I think we should go back to the hotel. I don't want to watch them burn down anymore and also I'm hella tired." She said but despite what I was feeling earlier, I want to watch this to the end.
"Alright you go on ahead, I'll be there in a moment." I motioned to her and without asking any question she turned around and disappeared among the crowd. I turned back towards the fire but the place we were sitting on a few moments ago was already taken by someone else now and the crowd was already making it difficult to see anything. I need to find some higher ground. I looked around but everything seemed occupied... My eyes landed on a building, the stairs leading to the higher floors were located completely outdoors. I climbed the stairs and sat facing the fire. It had no railing support, they must have taken it down to replace it, but it was dangerous for children, anyone can easily die from here.
Quietly watching the fellas burn, my mind traveled back to the person I'm trying so fucking hard not to think about.
"It's already late, the fire must be all set, you're coming with us to the fire right?" I asked hoping he would say yes.
"Of course not, I have a business to run. I better work to do than watching things burn down to the ground." He had said. That jerk. Why did he ask for coffee if his time matters that much. Jerk.
Suddenly a big explosion pulled me out of my thoughts, I instinctively covered my ears though the damage had already been done. It was not normal, the explosion was so loud that for a second I couldn't hear anything else after it. When I opened my eyes and refocused on the scene in front of me, I lost my shit. There were bodies, lying bloody on the floor and people running everywhere in panic. The fellas were still burning but no one was around to watch them anymore. My fight or flight instincts kicked in, I immediately got up and started running down the flights of stairs. I have never heard this festival go so horribly wrong before.
It was supposed to be safe and enjoyable! I tried not to look at the people who now lay dead on the street because of the explosion and just kept my eyes on the stairs. But I didn't even make it down a single floor when another explosion came. This one was bigger, stronger and more horrible. The blow hit me like a truck, only it was burning hot too. I crashed into the wall beside me. Sharp pain spread through my right shoulder and head. After being hit so severely I couldn't make my balance again on the narrow stairs and fell down like a rugged doll. My vision was a mess and the continued hit I was getting on my head and ribs squeezed the air out from my lungs and the vision from my eyes.
I wanted to stop myself from rolling down like a rolling pin but honestly I couldn't do anything. The blow came one after another consecutively, the only thought running in my mind was that I'll be dead by the time I reach all the way down. But all of a sudden I stopped and the surge of pain that came after it through my back and head was insane. The heat from the fire was still lingering all over my body and for a second I thought I'd disappear forever from this world.. is this it? But suddenly a pair of arms grabbed me and lifted me in a warm embrace. It kinda hurt everywhere the arms touched me though.
"Are you ok? Stay with me!" A panicky and desperate voice filled the air around me, it was familiar but I couldn't make out exactly who it was above all the screaming and blasts. Forcing myself to open my eyes I tried to focus on the face of the person holding me in his arms right now. Even though my ribs were screaming from pain, my heart started beating like it wanted to burst out.
"Apollo?" I breathed. I wanted to lift my hand and touch him just to make sure that I'm not dreaming, that these are not my final moments. But suddenly black dots started dancing in front of my eyes, they became bigger and bigger and finally consumed my vision. I could hear Apollo calling my name but it feels like it was coming from far away and with each second it got further away. Before I could realise, the darkness consumed me and I drifted into the abyss... all alone..