Crush 4

Ez

Darkness is scary, it's where the monsters dwelt. Monsters unseen, unthought. But had anyone ever thought that the same walked in light too, just with different skin, attached to the flesh? I called them humans.

I hated them all, hated my skin, my form for a long time, till Rix came along with his bright smiles. The monsters still lay under my bed, but he made it a little bit tolerable each day.

I was thankful to him.

And his grandpa, who treated me like his own child, his death affected me as much as it did to Rix. The pain, the loss, for he was the only older star we followed, that led us to the path in this darkened world, and now that he was gone, we struggled together.

"Come here"

I whispered as I crawled through a small crack at the bottom of the wall. This library was old enough that most of the steel doors were rusted. We slipped inside like an earthworm and moved like a feather, trying our best not to lose sight of each other and also not to alert the guards, snoring away the demons that could potentially be there. It was a forbidden place for a reason, one of them being stories about a ghost, the other being stuck in this claustrophobic place because of broken materials and tattered roof, falling on one's head.

"Be careful, Ez"

Rix warned behind me. I nodded my head, despite the adrenaline rushing through my bloodstream at the moment, even at the thought of getting caught. See, this was the problem Rix always warned me about, telling me that my careless adventures will lead me to nothing good. He's such a mom. I snickered, only to get hit by him on the head.

"Idiot! The hell are you thinking?"

"Nothing"

I shrugged.

"Nothing indeed". He sighed and hit my head again, this time lightly, barely feeling any pain, "Don't rush too much"

He said and I nodded my head.

Book after book, we started checking. Sanskrit, old Mandarin language, Sumerian language, there was a vast number of books in the library except for the one we were trying hard to find.

I coughed and sneezed a million times because of all the dust particles that flew up in the air as we handled the books. As for Rix, his eyes were reddened and his nose became runny after a short amount of time.

"Tissues?"

I asked. He nodded his head and I handed over some tissues to him. Only when my phone vibrated in my pocket and I checked the time, I realised that we had been in that place for more than an hour, yet, still nothing.

He sighed in disappointment and I couldn't do much to soothe his mood better. I myself was disappointed.

"I can't believe this. Nothing, really?"

I gave him a bittersweet smile and patted his shoulder.

"It's fine. We will find something about it soon, don't worry"

Soon we slipped out of the library wrapped in dust and cobwebs around our clothes. I sneezed again as we finally got to breathe the fresh air, its coldness blowing against our skin.

"Well then, goodbye."

"bye, and"

He stopped me and engulfed me in a tight hug.

"Thank you"

"No, none of that. Bye"

I yelled and ran towards the opposite direction, my smile disappearing from my face as quickly as we parted. I lingered for a while in the empty street and decided to just go to that house.

"Where were you?"

My mother asked, once I entered the house. The living area was dim, nearly dark.

"Library, mother"

I held my cheeks as she slapped me on my face. I clenched my fist behind me and looked down on my shoes.

"Honey, what happened?"

I looked up and sneered. Another one of them.

"Seriously, mom? A new one again?"

She slapped me again and I smiled this time. There was nothing better than hitting that nerve in her, to irritate her, make her life a little bit more harder. It was the same reason I took a year off when Rix suffered from depression.

"Speak only when I tell you to, understood!? For one, you come home late and second, you dare disrespect me? Such an insolent child!"

She slapped my other cheek. I kept my gaze on the floor, trying hard to control my trembling hands behind me.

Monsters. Monsters.

A snake the size of a huge tree, with scales so rough and eyes so cold, appeared from above her head, looking at me, daring me to stand up against the face of the monster. I blanched and moved back as it hissed.

"That's right, coward"

Coward. Coward. Coward.

I felt my breath shorten, and my lungs constrict.

"Ez! Ez! Ezara!"

I knelt to the floor, trying to catch my breath with tears pricking my eyes.

"How pathetic is your son?"

They laughed.

I scrambled up to my feet and left the house entirely.

"Ez!"

I paid no mind to her and kept on running, till I was no longer around the area. I pulled out my phone and typed the only number I trusted to call at the moment. I was about to hit the call button when a voice made me turn my head.

"Ez?"

"Alti?"

We gaped at each other for a second or two till she blinked and spoke up.

"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

I looked at her and by the looks of it she was wearing pyjamas with crocs. I frowned as she examined my face. She seemed to have understood something I never wished anyone else other than Rix knew about.

"Get inside? It's cold out here. My house is right behind me"

I wanted to refuse and run away from there, but the look on her face made me stay just a bit longer. With a thudding in my chest I went inside the mansion.

"What about your parents"

I dared to ask. She pressed her lips thin.

"Don't worry about them. They are asleep by now. My parents wouldn't know you came"

I nodded my head and sat on the couch. She seemed well endowed, well considering she was a Maithal, it was quite obvious, but still. The mansion was as big as Rix's, with great paintings all over the walls.