by Onaiza Khan
“Noor. What are you doing here? Are you okay?” he cried, and this time I couldn’t hold back from throwing myself against his body. I wound my arms around his neck and broke into sobs. “I’m so scared. I don’t know what to do,” I whispered and didn’t want to let go of him, but he took my arms and straightened me up, looking deep into my eyes.
“What has happened? What is wrong? What are you not telling me?” Again I realized he didn’t need the necklace to make me talk. His gaze and determined voice were enough to break me. I told him that I felt my power go and he tried to console me. He said that I might have overused my power or pressured myself with too much information which burned me out. Sort of like a mental breakdown and I would get my power back soon. I just had to calm myself down. I wanted to believe him; I wanted to believe him so badly.
He steered me upstairs and tucked me into bed. I asked him to stay, to not leave me alone and he spread out on the sofa. I couldn’t sleep, hell I couldn’t even shut my eyes. So I lay awake all night staring at the ceiling.
Given the chance that Daniel could be right, I decided to give myself a break. There was only one thing, I decided, that could stop this flood of eternal sadness and depression. Christian. I intended to go with Christian for a couple of days. I could easily annunciate the effect it would have on my relationship with Daniel, but then it was a risk I had to take.
My mental energy had faded entirely with a sleepless night, and as soon as I could sense movement from Daniel, I sat upright in bed and faced him the moment he rose.
“I have to talk,” I said in a voice that was pretty loud for me. And he became alerted immediately and walked towards me, “Yeah, tell me,” he murmured. “Christian is going to Newfoundland tomorrow. I want to go with him. To his house. Just for a couple of days. To…you know…stretch my mind out. I need this Daniel. I need a break,” I shook my head.
His face fell, and he immediately nodded saying, “Yeah sure. You must go.” And he turned away. I could feel the pain in his voice. I had hurt him. He loved me, and I wanted to walk away with another man which implied that Christian made me happy and with Daniel, my life was atrocious and awful. I wanted to plunge into his mind that very instant but I couldn’t. Again I tried very hard to use my power but was soon convinced that I couldn’t.
I spent the day agitated and blanched, and Daniel had disappeared too. I had informed Christian about my plan, and he was buying the tickets. I told him I’d pay him later, but he refused outright.
My pain was literally scraping my mind, and my strength was diminishing by the minute. By the evening I wasn’t even able to stand. I had refused eating anything or taking even a tad bit of sleep. I kept peering into the necklace, but it was like a blank canvas. Nothing transpired, and it lay lifeless in my bed when Alba got dinner. I called out to her, “Alba, come sit with me,” turning on my side.
In the beginning, I didn’t know what to say, and she sat in the bed as still and motionless as an object. I collected myself, and sitting face to face I poured out all my emotions to her… How my father was trying to kill me and how I had to find a way to stop him. Not just from killing me but also many other innocent people. If I could stop him, my superpower would be of some use. Otherwise, it’ll all be in vain. And then also the tragedy of losing connection with the power. I placed every piece of my heart in front of her. My love for Daniel, my fear of death. Everything.
Her response included a few gasps and wide eyes. It wouldn’t have surprised me if she had run away in fear by my revelations, but at least she didn’t do that. She stayed there firmly. Daniel had overheard some of my conversation which made me understand the gravity of it. He was standing in the doorway with pursed lips. I immediately picked up the necklace and put it on. I looked into Alba’s eyes and said, “FORGET ALL I SAID TO YOU TODAY.”
Chapter 20
Daniel despised me for compelling Alba. I had blown the bridge between us. He thought that such a power should only be used in critical situations, but he didn’t understand how critical it was for me to talk to someone and cry in front of someone like a normal person. Plus, I wasn’t doing her any harm.
Next morning, I was all set to go to Newfoundland with black lines under my eyes from my sleepless nights and my body dull and lifeless. Daniel was standing with me on the front porch carrying my little suitcase, and I was staring blankly ahead. Christian came in a cab and waved without getting out. I wanted to go with Christian, although my heart was breaking from parting from Daniel. His silence was even more painful. His guilt and jealousy were having the better of him. He did not even smile at me as I moved my feet towards the cab.
I reeled back and looked at him. Before he could throw a question at me, I drew him into a warm embrace and purged all my pain and love into a kiss. The alarming look on his face told me how awkward it had got, but I was just playing my part to preserve the foundations of the broken bridge in our relationship.
I forced myself out of it and turned back. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him after that. What if he was appalled? What if he didn’t love me anymore? What if his love was gone just like my power? I dashed into the cab, and we set off.
I was tormented and eerily quiet. Christian didn’t say a word either. He must have seen what happened on the porch and must have been giving me some time to get over it. But that didn’t happen. I wouldn’t get over it. I wasn’t designed in that way. I was a hopeless romantic. And I was madly in love with him. All my problems shrank into a little pea sized ball but my lost love or ‘to be lost love’ stood over me like a mountain.
In a few hours, we were knocking on a door in a huge farmhouse. The whole place was lavishly painted in greenery. The air was fresh and natural. My eyes got drowsy, and my body was almost flying with the wind probably giving me signs that it needs sleep. Grandma opened the door and gulped. And then I realized she was crying a little out of happiness and calling out to Grandpa, “Michael” and that’s all I could muster before passing out.
I was becoming a pro at passing out. But this time, the reasons were utterly natural. I was weak with no food, no sleep, and dehydration. When I woke up, I was fed and given some tablets which I assumed some doctor must have prescribed. After having eaten, I could feel myself and my environment, cause before that I was just a dead body. The first thought to cross my mind after gaining a little consciousness was that I was troubling them unnecessarily. This time I even regretted the decision of coming. I would have rather passed out in Daniel’s arms instead of a strange house with old people standing at my service.
But they seemed very pleased and happy with my presence. I was looking straight at them, but no one talked. “I’m sorry for the trouble, Ma’am,” I murmured. Grandma stroked my hair lovingly and said, “It's okay my dear. How are you feeling now?”
“Better,” I whispered. And soon I really felt better. “Can I go outside?” I asked yearning for the cold fresh air and beauty all around. Grandma nodded and passed a shawl over to me, and I sprinted outside. The moment I stepped out of the door, the fresh air wrapped me and my mind pooled with positivity when I saw Christian strolling towards the door with a huge grocery bag in his hand.
“You look better,” he chuckled, and I smiled wide, “I feel better too.”
He stretched out on the porch, and I settled on his side. “So what’s your plan for today?” he asked casually.
“I’m your guest. You should plan something for me.”
“Grandma wants me to clean the storeroom this evening. Wanna help?”
“Wow Christian, how am I ever going to return your hospitality?”
“Oh don’t worry. You don’t have to. I’m returning your husband’s hospitality actually,” he said, at which I laughed. I was laughing again. That’s how being with Christian was. Even though the word husband pinched me a little.
“How did he find you?” I spoke looking straight ahead.
“What?”
“How did Daniel find you?”
/> “I don’t know what to say. You better find that out with your own power.”
“Tell me.” I forced the words out of my mouth muffling a sob.
“I was at an engagement party. I have an Indian friend from school. He was marrying his college sweetheart. And then there was some accident where the bride was trapped in her room alone as it was burning to the ground. People evacuated but she wasn’t there, and then someone called out ‘she’s still in her room.’ I’m not afraid of fire. Well, I jumped in from the backyard and saved her. She had a few burns, but she was fine.”
“And Daniel saw you there?”
“No, Yousuf saw me there.
“What?”
“Yeah, that’s how I met Yousuf. Nobody seemed to have noticed anything weird, but he did. He talked so casually to me about my power as if he knew more about it than me.”
“And then?”
“And then, you know when someone talks to you about something personal, it intrigues you. I was interested in talking to him, and soon he brought you up.”
“What about me?”
“He told me that his daughter was on the verge of realizing a huge superpower just like me and that is why her husband has held her captive somewhere in Yukon. He didn’t know where exactly but he had some sort of a plan. He needed my help to rescue her. I mean you. He was offering a handsome amount of money too. I didn’t say yes at first, but the second time he asked I just couldn’t refuse.”
“Why?”
“What, why?”
“Why couldn’t you refuse? Did you feel pity for me? Or was it for the money?”
“Honestly I would never put my life at risk for money and I knew what he wanted me to do was dangerous. And I obviously didn’t feel pity for a girl who was on the verge of realizing a superpower. Come on, do you think I’m an idiot?”
“Then why did you say yes?”
“I don’t know. I just did. I felt like…Wait, why are you…?”
“What happened next?”
“Whoa, you’re on the Police mode. Why are you asking these questions?” He eyed me seriously masking the humor in his words.
“Just tell me what I need to know. Please. Can you do that much for me?”
“Alright. What do you wanna know?”
“What happened next?”
“Well, he laid out the plan in front of me. I had to lie down on a particular street half-conscious. Yousuf dropped me there himself. And then Daniel would pick me up from there. Everything happened exactly according to the plan. I wasn't actually unconscious, was just pretending to be but Daniel blind-folded me and tied my arms before stashing me in his car.”
“That doesn’t make sense. I think you lost me.”
“See, Yousuf told me that Daniel was also there at the party and that he was obsessed with people with any kind superpower. He said Daniel had noticed me and would soon be after me. He said ‘Tomorrow morning when he finds you in the street he is going to take you home where my daughter is and we’ll follow you and rescue her and blah blah blah…’”
“What time did it all happen? The fire accident?”
“I don’t know 10:30 or 11.”
“Daniel never stayed out at that time. Not in the days before you came.”
“So, what does that mean?”
“I don’t know what it means. Christian. I have no idea.”
“No offense but why aren’t you using your power? You have this freaking crazy superpower; you’re all-knowing. Why torture yourself like this?”
“It’s gone. The power. I don’t have it anymore,” I broke into tears.
“What? How is that possible? It’s not a thing that you lose. It’s a power. It’s supposed to stay with you.”
“Yeah, I thought so too, but since last night, it’s disappeared.”
“Well, then why didn’t you find out everything while you still had it?”
“I just never wondered about these things,” I stood up and started walking around the place in circles.
“Wait. I thought you knew everything. At least about yourself, Daniel, me and your father.”
“No, Christian, it doesn’t work like that. I’m not God. I’m not all-knowing. It’s like Google. To get the right answers, I need to ask the right questions. And that too with a burning desire to seek them.”
“You didn’t want to know anything about Daniel?”
“The moment he told me that he never physically hurt me, I was convinced that he’s not the bad guy. Though I know, he loves me. Rhon told me.”
“Oh boy, you and your love. And by the way, who the hell is this Rhon? Would you just tell me already?”
I told him everything about Rhon at which he only gasped. We didn’t speak for a while after that, and I heard someone’s steps on the porch behind me.
“Children, why don’t you come in and have some coffee?” sang Grandma. She was thrilled seeing me leaning into Christian. Maybe she thought there’s something going on between us. I only sighed, and Christain replied, “Sure beautiful, in a minute,” and he started walking inside when I squeezed his hand.
“You said that you couldn’t refuse my fathers proposal the second time. Do you think it was something supernatural that made you give in? Like COMPULSION.”
“That would explain it. Yes.”
And we both stared at each other befuddled.
It was clear that Daniel's necklace had the power of compulsion. And if what Christian is saying is true, he had probably been compelled through the necklace. That could mean Daniel and Yousuf were together in all this.
Also, Daniel had said that he saw Christian saving the girl from the burning house which was logically impossible as he was home at eight every day and the incident had taken place around ten or eleven.
There was a good chance that Daniel was working for Yousuf. Because if he wanted to save me from him, he could’ve taken me away long before. But instead, he did everything he could to trigger my power.
“Are you joining the dots then?” Christian asked nervously to which I replied, “I’m way ahead Christian. Let’s go have coffee.”
Chapter 21
There were a lot of possibilities. Daniel could’ve been working for Yousuf all along. He could have masked his intentions through the necklace. Rhon could be a liar or could be on his side, who knows. The whole compulsion thing had fooled me once big time. It could’ve easily done that again. Also, it wasn’t impossible for Daniel to want my power for himself by getting rid of Yousuf. Posing him as the villain. Whatever was on his mind; I had to figure out as soon as possible. Although it was almost unimaginable without my power. No reliable source of information existed. Hell, no source of information existed, forget credibility. Christian didn’t seem to know much, but I doubted his intentions too.
Don’t trust anyone; I told myself. Not at all. I was powerless and defenseless, but I had put my mind to work. It was time to use some common sense. Sometimes common sense is all you need to stay alive.
My mind did not even register the taste of coffee. I was sitting on the dining table with Christian, grandma, and grandpa. There were conversations I could hear. But in reality, it was only a shadow of Noor in that house. The real Noor was part in Yukon and part in New Delhi. There was also a tiny part sitting on the cliff waiting for Rhon to come. His betrayal would be too much for me. He was the reason I had the courage to make decisions and fight against my tentative death. He was in a way my strength, my support.
Now that I had ordered myself to not trust Christian, Daniel or Rhon, my heart was shattering. These three men I had assumed would have my back when I confront the most important and yet most dangerous man in my life.
My chain of thought was broken by a nudge from Christian. “So, be ready tomorrow at six. Alright?” he murmured. I was startled and soon realized that we'd be going for a hike tomorrow. I wanted to scowl at Christian to remind him I’m not on holiday anymore. But I managed to remain calm and nodded in agreement.
; The next morning, I tried to make excuses for not going, but Christian said: “Remember you said you felt good here? Well, a little bit of fresh air will do no harm. You might feel more energized, in fact,” he winked. I understood what he meant by ‘energized.’ He was using it as a code for my superpower. I decided I would give it a shot.
I changed and freshened up, but I couldn’t find my extra pair of socks in the suitcase. I emptied it on the bed, fumbled through all the zips and pockets and finally found them. When I tried to shove all the contents inside the suitcase again; the necklace dropped on my thigh. That necklace. It wasn’t supposed to be with me. I remember having left it under a pillow. Daniel must have put it in my luggage then.
But why? Was it some sort of tracker?
Christian didn’t give me much time to ponder over it and come to a clear conclusion, so I just slid it around my neck. At least it’ll give me the power of compulsion so that I wouldn’t be entirely helpless.
We talked on the way. I went over everything again with Christian trying to figure out if he was lying or anything. But he seemed genuine. And I was obviously concealing my doubts under a veil of curiosity.
Though most of the conversations were repetitive, one thing did come out of it. Daniel wanted to know more about Christian’s powers. Usually, one individual can have only one spirit power, unlike my dad who was a power sucker. But even his principal power was that of sucking powers. Just one. Rest of all his powers were acquired or say stolen. But Christian had two different powers according to Daniel.
The spirit power of getting healed can only help you heal away the injuries and wounds once you have it. Like in the Wolverine, Hugh Jackman burns up in the Hiroshima blast and heals slowly after that. That is one power. But being entirely fireproof is another. Like Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones.
“So he was hell bent saying that one person can only have one spirit power because everyone has only one spirit etc. but I clearly have two. He wanted to know how and why. I said, “I don’t know, I’ve got no Ph.D. in spirit.”