Imagination or reality?

"Nath?" Elliana whispered again in disbelief.

The loud sound of cicadas buzzed in her ears as she patiently waited for the person to say something, something to indicate he was real and not her imagination.

It has been around eight years since she last saw him, but there was no way she would forget those mysterious galaxy eyes.

It wasn't exactly the color of a galaxy. It was more beautiful than that.

The outer circle of his iris was a dark brown color. The inner circle was dark blue with a hazel middle.

It was as if she was in a trance. She looked at the man, and when he didn't say anything or make a move, she stood from her place and walked in his direction.

She was feeling jittery inside. The thought of meeting her only friend after eight long years made her nervous and anxious. She was more angry than happy.

On the day she turned ten, he had come to meet her like always. He even brought a present for her. It was a blue colored emerald ring. After giving her the ring, he said he won't be able to come and meet her from then onwards.

To say Elliana was disappointed would be an understatement. He was smiling when he said that, and she thought he was probably joking with her.

The next day, like her usual routine, she went there, and for the first time, he wasn't waiting for her. The fear that he was serious lingered in her heart. She was so angry that he left her alone just like that, whatever the reason was, that she didn't wear the ring he had given her.

Though she was angry that he didn't arrive, she still didn't want to believe it and had gone to the Griffith caves for six months straight.

Going there was like the therapy she needed at that time. Even without his absence, she used to tell everything about her day and how everyone bullied her about the surrounding trees.

Nath had already made her fall in love with nature, so nature had become her solace at that time.

"You aren't real, are you?" Elliana stopped a few steps away from the man in front of her.

She wanted to touch him and know if he was real because he wasn't showing any movement. Not one muscle of his body was twitching, and it irked Elliana.

She moved a step and was about to move another when she stumbled forward. She thought she would fall since this imaginary Nath was also at a good distance from her when she suddenly felt warm hands grabbing her shoulders to put her in place.

"It totally depends on whether you want it to be real," His deep and comforting voice resounded, and Elliana's eyes brimmed with tears.

He was real. He was indeed here. After eight years of waiting and wondering what happened to him and why he suddenly stopped talking and coming to meet her, he was finally here, and Elliana felt enraged.

It was like a pet abandoned by its owner.

No. It was like a friend who had been abandoned by her only friend for a long time.

"I hate you," Elliana's lower lip trembled, and a smirk spread across Nath's face before he ruffled his hair boyishly.

"I know how much you love me. I mean, you are already falling for me, aren't you?" he joked about her stumbling forward before gazing into her eyes.

"Isn't that why I am here? I am sure you called out for me," he walked closer to her before pulling her in for a hug.

Elliana struggled against his strong grip. There is no way she is letting him treat her like everything is okay between them when it's obviously not.

"No, I hate you. I hate you so much that seeing you here is making me cry," Elliana sniffed in his arms, and Nath chuckled at the stupid girl.

"So you are still a crybaby, I presume," He distanced himself before scrunching his brows.

He looked at her before pursuing her lips.

"Wait. Why are you blaming me? I told you I would be there if you needed me," Nath said before his gaze roamed over her face.

"You feel different. It's like you are not the same as before," he murmured before his gaze fell on her hands.

Elliana noticed his gaze lingered on her hand for longer than needed, but she had more pressing topics to discuss, like where did he go? Or why didn't he try to come for her?

"Of course, I am not the same. It's been eight years since we met. I am a human who ages and -" Elliana paused.

She was a human who aged, but why the hell does it look like while Elliana aged eight years, he didn't even age a single day?

He still looked like the same eighteen years old boy she had met when she was seven. At that time, she had fallen for his gentlemanly nature and had even thought she would ask him out and propose her feelings to him when she was grown enough.

At that time, she didn't want him to think of her as a child, and that's why she never displayed or expressed her feelings to him.

Only after Nath left and she started becoming lonely did Aditya make his way into her heart by being friendly with her.

It was like compensation for the loss of a friend she felt with Nath's absence that worked in Adotya's favor.

"You are not wearing the ring I gave you. Did it break?" He asked, and Elliana cleared her throat.

"It's because -"

"You didn't wear it because you were angry at me. You are so predictable, I swear," Nath sighed before he grabbed her hand and opened her palm.

Elliana noticed the slight glow in her hands and gulped. Her heart picked its pace when Nath brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.

Was he able to see them or not?

"I have missed these soft hands. This soft innocent smile on your face, this long wavy hair, eyes that speak volumes without speaking, and your beautiful voice," Nath smiled, and Elliana looked into his mysterious eyes, feeling like he had put her in some kind of trance.

"So it's already happening?" Nath looked at her before shifting his gaze back to her palm. He circled and rubbed the middle of her plan with his thumb, and Elliana found it slightly weird.

"What is happening?" Elliana looked at him, confused.

"The thing that I had always wanted to observe you for. This -" Nath suddenly paused, and Elliana was about to ask him what he meant when she heard Daniel's voice interrupt her.

"I knew you would be here. What are you doing here alone? You shouldn't be roaming these forests like this. You are a human. Aren't you afraid someone would attack you out of nowhere?" Daniel asked, and Elliana shrugged.

"Well, if you can't see, I wasn't alone. I was with -" Elliana turned to look at Nath, only to see he was nowhere to be found.

But he was standing here, holding her hand just a second ago, no? Where did he go in such a short period when she turned around?

She looked around in concern. How can he leave her just like that without giving her a proper explanation?

Elliana walked around, looking behind the trees to see if he hid somewhere deliberately, her mind becoming anxious because of how he left again, and Daniel scrunched his eyebrows when he looked at the girl, who looked like she was trying to find something.

"Elliana, what are you looking for? Did some happen? Have you lost something?" Daniel walked to her, and she shook her head.

"No. I didn't lose anything. It's just that my friend was here just a -" Elliana suddenly paused.

Wait. Could it be that the man she was thinking of as her friend was actually nothing but an illusion? That man had said she remembered him today, and he was right.

She thought about him today, but how would he know about that? She wasn't even wearing the ring that could've been called a device or something like that to call him, as that happens in fantasy movies.

However, nothing like that happened. It only means she was missing him today, and that's why she dreamt of him. He was never here in the first place. It was all her mind playing tricks with her. He was probably her imagination.

Elliana sighed before she looked at Daniel.

"It's nothing. I was just playing with a rabbit. He was here a few moments ago before you arrived and left just like that," Elliana said, and though her words came off as awkward, Daniel didn't push her further into the topic.

"Anyway, let's go. You will be late for class," Daniel said before he bent like yesterday for her to come and take his hand.

Elliana sighed, gazing at the pond with one last longing look before she held Daniel's hand.

In ten minutes, Daniel dropped her at the fire exit again before they walked out, getting caught by Alcinder once again.

"What is with you guys always coming out of there? Is there something I should know about?" Alcinder looked between Elliana and Daniel with a suspicious gaze, and Daniel rolled his eyes.

"I don't understand how you still have so much energy left even after getting your brains chewed out by Samantha during lunch," Daniel rolled his eyes, and Alcinder immediately thinned his lips.

"Don't remind me of it. You have no idea how hard it becomes to come out of that situation," Alcinder grumbled.

"Well, maybe if you tell her the truth about your feelings, things won't be this hard for either of you. If you like her, be with her. And if you don't, you straightforwardly tell her that. I know family and status aren't a problem here. Whatever is happening is because of what you feel about her," Elliana commented.

Daniel thought that Alcinder would snap at her again and they would start fighting, but to his shock, Alcinder nodded at her words.

"I will solve the matter soon," Alcinder said and walked towards his classroom.

"What did he want to talk to us about again?" Daniel asked, and Elliana shrugged before they went to their respective classes.

Was it really nothing but a delusional presence? If yes, then how come he held her hand? Why was his hand so warm and comforting?

Something was definitely up, and to know the truth, she needs to go to the pond tomorrow too. She will go to the pond and call or think about him like she did today.

Wait. Elliana scrunched her brows. Why go there tomorrow when she can revisit the area in the next lecture? There were still two hours before the college was over, and Mr. Marino would come to pick her up. Elliana made up her mind before dashing out of the class as soon as the lecture ended.