Not made for each other - 3. Fire

Zune

You know the morning you wake up hearing chirping of birds, feeling warm solacing sunshine on your face making its way through the window glass and you’re thinking about a hot guy who at the end of the day could be your boyfriend? It was that sort of idyllic morning for me. Despite last night’s debacle and my ailing wrist, I was feeling full of life. I was just so happy to be alive. I pushed the sheets off me, stretching my limbs and smiling, ready to embrace the beautiful morning.

I got ready for school as soon as I could. I was never so excited to get to school before. I was in such a hurry that I didn’t bother to eat breakfast. I took a glance of the newspaper. The only news that caught my attention was about firefighters of the city who were striking over changes to the workers compensation plan.

After calling mom and checking the locks twice, I left for school with a radiant smile on my face.

Twenty four hours ago, I was a person who was not ready to trust anyone; afraid of being hurt. Because of what my father did to us, a strange bitterness took a place in my heart, which didn’t allow me to ever trust anyone. It was the main reason I never had many…any friends. It was not like I was ignoring everyone around me, but I never let anyone know the real Zune. But after meeting Kev, Carol and Jake, everything changed. This Zune wanted to trust them and wanted them to trust him.

‘I see a true friend in Carol; the friend that I never had. I see a perfect boyfriend in Kev, one I always dreamt of. I see a timid but genuine human being in Jake, and I want to know more about him. I am definitely not going to lose them just because of my insecurities.’ I decided that I want them in my life.

When I reached school, I found Kev waiting for me at the entrance. When he saw me, his eyes lit up and gave me an amorous smile. I smiled back but couldn’t hold his gaze for long and looked away. I guess that’s called stupid, but cute and innocent infatuation of adolescence. I was so ready to give whatever it would take to make this work between us. I knew I had to give our budding relationship time to gain respect, trust and eventually love for each other and for that I’d a lot of patience and was prepared to wait.

There was still half an hour left before our first class, so he took me to a back-alley café which was one of the little secrets of the locals. It was situated in the back of our school. He revealed that he used to come here often. Kevin doesn’t even like coffee, but still it’s his favorite place. From the outside it looked like an historic structure. It was painted an intense forest green with a lemon colored trim and it had a wood sign hanging outside, ‘Love Life Café’ in a violet color. Once inside, I found it a very small but homey place, having a halcyon atmosphere with the exotic smell of brewing coffee. There were not many people as it was quite early. We got seated across from each other on comfortable chairs. He ordered two small cappuccinos for us. I placed my elbows on the round wooden table, clasping my hands together. We remained mum for few moments looking here and there, smiling, blushing and then as usual I broke off the silence. I told him about my feelings and my dilemmas. He gave me all of his attention. He looked happy knowing about my feelings; and he was understanding when he learned about my dilemmas.

“So, where does our relationship stand?” he asked curiously when I was finished talking.

Our coffees had arrived while he was speaking.

“A step ahead of friendship and a step behind love.” I imitated my mom’s words, lifting my coffee mug off the table. He smiled encouragingly.

“So, are we…are we…boyfriends now?” he asked expectantly. I couldn’t lift my eyes which were glued to my middle finger, which was tracing the rim of my beautiful black coffee mug. I blushed. “Okay, so it’s a no”, he sadly concluded when I didn’t reply.

“No. No…I mean yes…I mean no, it’s not a no, and yes we are…” I couldn’t even complete the sentence before he burst out in a laugh. It took me another moment to get that I’d become the latest prey of his playful humor.

“I’m sorry…so sorry…I was…I was just…just kidding.” He worded between laughs.

“You know what, I’m leaving. Bye, Mr. Prankster.” I stated lifting my left eyebrow, showing mock anger and left my chair to exit the café. I was about to pass by his chair, when he held my hand gently to stop me. I looked at him irksomely, holding back the excitement I was feeling by his mere touch. There wasn’t any sign of playfulness on his sober face now. He slowly released my hand. He brought his hands to his ears and looked at me with an imploring, puppy face and mouthed ‘sorry’. Oh gosh, I couldn’t be angry with him for more than a minute. I smiled, which became the reason for his smile. I came back to my chair.

“Zune, be angry with me, insult me, hit me but please never ever leave me alone.” He said urgently, and then within a moment that cheerful Kev was back. “So, we are officially boyfriends now?” he asked for the second time with a broad and shining smile.

“You know the answer.” I answered shyly.

“I want to hear it from you.” He demanded.

“Yes.”

“Yes what?”

“Oh God, okay...okay…Yes, we are boyfriends now.” I admitted bashfully, but before he could celebrate, I added, lifting my eyes from my coffee mug to meet his blue orbs, “but…”

“But?”

“But with certain terms and conditions.”

“Terms and conditions?”

“Terms and conditions.”

“Like?”

“Like no kisses and of course no sex until we are sure about our feelings.”

“Please tell me you are joking.” He said skeptically, like praying in his mind that whatever he just heard would turn out to be just a joke.

“I’m not.” I crushed his hopes and turned them into ashes.

“I’ll die.” He declared dispiritedly.

“I assure you, deprivation of kiss and sex will not be the reason for your death.” I ensured him with a pixilated smile. I was having great fun. It was becoming hard for me to hold back my laugh.

“It’s like you are giving me a third degree torture.” He accused me as if I’d been the culprit and he’d been the victim.

“Okay, it means you’re just a man-whore?”

“No, I’m not.” He protested innocently.

“Then prove it.” I challenged.

“That’s not fair at all.” He complained.

“Everything is fair in love and war.”

“But you don’t love me yet.” He pointed out.

“But as per your words, you do.” I reminded him.

“Have mercy on me, please.” He pleaded for the nth time.

“Kev, let’s go, Carol and Jake will be waiting for us.” I said after finishing my coffee, dismissing his pleas. I made my way towards the exit smiling, shaking my head thinking about poor Kev.

“Zune. Zune.” He reluctantly followed me. I was sure he wasn’t gonna leave this topic until he got what he wanted. “Okay, no sex. But NO KISS? Seriously? It’s beyond cruelness.” He kvetched like a cherub who had been deprived of his favorite toy.

“Oh come on Kev, it’s not a lifetime ban.” I tried to console him in a playful manner. We were still walking and were steps away from the school entrance.

“Okay, can’t we modify these terms and conditions a little?” he pleaded uncertainly. I gave him a questioning look. “On the ‘no sex’ part I’m with you, but can’t we just replace the ‘no kiss’ condition with ‘a kiss every day’?” he suggested, curling his lips in a knowing smile.

“No.” I declined shifting my gaze from him to the school entrance.

“Okay, what about ‘a kiss every week’?”

“No.”

“A kiss every fifteen days?”

“No, Kev.”

“Okay, ‘A kiss every month’? Please, please, please.” He literally begged, suddenly standing before me blocking my way.

“You are not gonna give up, are you?” I asked, well knowing the answer. He shook his head, connoting ‘No’ as his reply. I smiled.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” he asked surprisingly.

“Okay, once every month, but…”

“But?”

“But, at the end of it.”

“Done. There are twenty eight more days left in this month; it means on twenty eighth day from today I’ll get to kiss you, yipeeeee.” He was happy, very happy and to see him happy, I was happy. I so wanted to share my first kiss with Kev. I had no idea how I would be able to resist myself for a whole month. But I guess that’s the right thing to do for the time being.

I entered the school with my first ever boyfriend. Carol and Jake were waiting for us outside the locker room. When they found out about us, they were actually hopping for joy. Carol hugged us a million times. I was happy, very happy. At this moment, I couldn’t ask for more. I didn’t want to ruin all this with the mention of Mr. Arrogant, so I never told them about my face-off with him last night.

The rest of the week was incredible. Kev, Carol, Jake and I bonded really well. We started hanging out together after school. I already knew a lot about Kev but during our hang-outs I got to know my other two friends pretty well. Carol’s parents died in a car accident when she was six. Her father’s best friend got her custody. According to her, her uncle is the nicest man on this earth. Like any other girl and unlike me, she loves shopping. In fact, she says she’s a shopaholic. Apart from what she told me about herself, I also noticed a few things about her. She’s a person who would stand up for her friends no matter what. Yes, she’s talkative and has a bitter tongue, but she is also the owner of a pure heart. Jake, on the other hand, doesn’t talk much but from what I perceived about him, he’s very observant and true to his words. I also think that Jake is the most sensitive and empathetic among us. Jake also told me about his boyfriend, Ron Sword. Ron had been kicked out of his house by his own parents for being gay. His parents told him if he wants to be with them, then he has to leave Jake and live his life as a straight jock, but he immediately refused. He now resides in a rented room and has a job at the mall so he can pay for his personal expenses and save for college. I respected him more for this.

On Thursday evening, we went to meet Ron at the shopping mall where he works. Ron was just like the person I sketched in my mind; genuine, and miles away from arrogance. He was taller than me but shorter than Kev and he was not skinny like me at all. Overall he was an attractive teenager. Ron and Jake looked perfect together. Love, respect and trust; the three most important elements in any relationship, were evidently visible in their eyes when they looked at each other. I was truly happy for them. Ron had become an inseparable part of our group by the end of the week.

During the week, Kev and I became closer as well. Carol, Jake and Ron always gave us privacy. We talked about anything and everything. Sometimes during our conversations he would stare me without any reason, as if I was the most precious thing in this whole world. Kev was doing magic on me with his sexy blue eyes. We would exchange hugs which were always followed by blushing smiles. Kev never tried to do something with which I was not comfortable. He would hold my hand now and then with some hesitance, but after a slight nod from me, he relaxed, and gave me his loving smile like he was thanking me for letting him do this. Now I was accustomed to his touch. I don’t know how long I would be able to hold myself back from crossing that line, which of course I drew.

After having a splendid weekend with all my friends, it was Monday again. I knew I had to face Mr. Arrogant today and I was sure he would remember our little incident. I was unaware how he was going to react today, nevertheless, I was ready to face him and if I found it necessary, I was ready to tell my friends about all what happened.

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” Jake asked, bringing me back earth.

“Nothing special.” I lied. Carol and Kev hadn’t come yet. It was just Jake and I in the locker room collecting our stuff for our respective classes.

“It looked like you were too deep in thought for it to be about ‘Nothing special’? Is everything okay, Zune?” he asked concerned while shutting his locker.

‘What am I doing? They are my friends; they do have the right to know about what happened that night. I should…’

“Zune?” Jake interrupted my thoughts, snapping his fingers in front of my face “Are you okay?”

“Jake, I want to…”

“Hey guys!!!” I was about to tell him everything when Carol hollered from the entrance of the locker room, as usual. I decided to drop the matter for the time being. Carol hugged us both and then cursed Kev for being late. Jake didn’t ask anything further, but gave me a look of ‘we-need-to-talk-later’. I nodded. A few minutes later Kev called me on my phone to inform me that he wasn’t coming to school today because his cousin was coming down from Canada.

“Will you be here tomorrow?” I asked, somewhat disappointed for not being able to see him today.

“Yeah, no matter what, tomorrow I’ll be there at your service, sir,” he replied. I could visualize his smirking face in my mind. I smiled looking at the ground. Suddenly his tone got serious. “Zune, I really wanted to come school today, but mom strictly ordered me to pick up Daryl from the airport. You can’t imagine how difficult this will be for me; spending a whole day not being able to see you. I’m really missing you,” he confessed. I heard the genuineness in his voice.

“What the hell are you guys talking about for so long? And where the hell is Kev’s slutty ass?” Carol grumbled.

“I hope you have heard the nice words Carol just used for you.” I jeered.

“Tell that bitch to shut up or else when I come back, I’m gonna stitch that commode-like big and dirty mouth of hers.” He responded, demonstrating mock anger in his voice. Bickering back and forth with each other over nothing was the highlight of their relationship. I guess they can’t digest their food without shooting each other with their nonsense remarks. I love that. Before I could say anything, the bell rang indicating that we had five minutes to get to our first class.

“Kev, I have to…”

“I heard the damn bell, you just take care. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

I was about to disconnect the phone when he uttered my name, “Zune?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.” He said like this was the most natural thing in the world.

I smiled and blushed, “Bye Kevin.”

“What did that fat ass say?” Carol asked.

“He said he loves you.” I replied with a mischievous smile.

While making our way to our classes, I told them the reason behind Kev’s absence. Carol seemed excited about Daryl’s arrival; I guess she knew him well. She told me he’s twenty, taking some course in the photography field and had been in this city many times before. The way she was talking about him, it was clear that she had a crush on him. I decided to talk to her about this later. Within minutes we were in our respective classes. I was disappointed by Kev’s absence and was relieved not to see Mr. Arrogant.

Everything was going fine. I was attending the last class before lunch; hardly concentrating on what Mr. Hayens was teaching us and I was distracted by thoughts of my boyfriend. All of a sudden the lights in the classroom went out after they were flickering for few moments. We were in the dark. Mr. Hayens went out of the class to see what happened and in less than a minute the shrilling siren of the fire alarm filled the classroom.

“Get out of the class everyone, RIGHT NOW!!!!” Mr. Hayens ordered anxiously, as he came back in the room. Everyone started running towards the exit. “GET OFF THE PREMISES AS SOON AS YOU CAN. AND REMEMBER TO HELP ANYONE WHO NEEDS IT IF YOU CAN.” Mr. Hayens was shouting to make himself heard but there was so much chaos around him that hardly anyone was paying attention. He was trying to get everyone out of the class quickly. I was frozen in my seat. I was not able to understand what was happening around me and what should I do.

“MR. WILLIAMS!!! WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING IN YOUR SEAT? GET UP!!” He screamed at me. I looked at him absurdly as if I just woke up from a dream. “OUT NOW!!!” He shouted again.

I hurriedly ran out of my class. The corridor was filled with screams; everyone was running towards the stairs chaotically; pushing and shoving each other out of the way. There was so much mayhem around me that I was unable to do or understand anything. Within a few seconds, flames had surrounded the walls and were engulfing the classrooms’ windows. Teachers and other school staff were trying to put out the fire with the help of fire extinguishers, to no avail, due to the impetuosity of the fire. Flames were flickering towards the corridor through the classrooms. I was certain that in another few minutes these flames were going to swallow this corridor. Then I thought about Jake and Carol. Their fourth period class they had together on the main level. They should have been out of the school by now. I felt greatly relieved.

The screams of the students were getting louder. Smoke filled the air and it was making it difficult to breathe. Due to overpowering smell of sweat and smoke, my eyes were burning and I found it hard to see. I was suffocating. I didn’t want to die a slow, lingering death, so I moved my feet which were glued to the ground, wiping off sweat from my face and ran towards the stairs. After bumping into dozens of students, I was able to reach to the stairs. It took me an ample amount of time to climb down from the third floor to the main level because of the throng of people on the stairs. Flames were reaching the railings of the stairs now and it was evident that it would not take much time for the fire to engulf the whole school.

The situation was not any better on the main level’s corridor. Everyone wanted to be out of this hell; there was so much havoc and it was preventing the students and staff from getting to the exits. Deafening cries and screams were compelling me to put my hands on my ears. I was feeling dirty and nauseous because of the sweat and heavy smoke. There was only one face in the forefront of my mind…the face of my mom. I was wishing that I could see her pretty face again. I was scared for her. I was the only reason for her survival; how would she be able to live rest of her life without me? ‘I can’t leave her alone, not until there is someone else to take care of her,’ I said to myself.

The fire had already entered into the corridor through the stairs and the crowd of students was still trying to exit together through the small gate which was already embraced by fire. The way the crowd was running out of control towards the exit, I was sure I wouldn’t be able to get out of this calamity alive. I looked around frantically and then suddenly the exit door in the back flashed through my mind. At the spur of the moment, I made my way towards the opposite side of the corridor, pushing and jostling others without thinking about anything except getting the hell out of there. At the end of the corridor, there were two galleries; a straight one which led to the primary section and a right one which led to the storeroom, and then the principal’s office and finally to the exit door in the back. I took the right turn. The fire hadn’t gotten to this part of the school yet. I ran towards the iron backdoor hastily. I was flooded with relief when I found it unlocked. I tugged it but it didn’t respond. My relief evaporated instantly. I used all my might trying to open it again and again using every possible part of my body, but it was all in vain. That bloody door was jammed. I cursed myself. Now I knew why no one was using this exit. I turned around to revert to the main corridor but couldn’t take a step ahead. I was perturbed to find that there was fire all over on all the walls of the gallery.

I composed myself and cautiously moved towards my destination. I was a few steps behind Mr. Fitzgerald’s office, when I heard a heartrending cry coming from that direction.

“HELP!!!! PLEASE HELP!!!!” I quickly got there but the door was closed and enfolded in flames. I put all my strength into pushing it with both of my palms. In a flash, door swung open. I entered, coughing and jerking my burnt palms. The entire room was filled with smoke. As I swayed my right hand before my face for clearer vision, I found a woman on the floor and a black electric wheelchair lying on its back, few steps away from her. She was lifting her head and looking at me hopefully.

“OMIGOD!!! Are you okay ma’am?” I asked the stupidest question under the present circumstances. Without waiting for an answer, I lifted the wheelchair to place it in an upright position and after pulling her and pushing her; I finally got her situated in it.

“You’re gonna be okay, don’t worry.” I tried to calm her down but she didn’t say anything, as she was busy pulling that joystick on her wheelchair back and forth.

“It’s not working. DAMMIT, IT’S NOT WORKING!” She shouted in terror.

“Calm down. Calm down, ma’am. Don’t worry; I’ll wheel you out from here, okay?” I assured her. She stared at me nonplussed but never said anything. I felt my assurance calmed her to some extent. I carefully guided her wheelchair to the gallery. The blazing fire that roared around us had gained momentum. There was no way I could get her through the corridor unscathed.

“Ma’am, you just wait here for a while, okay?” She looked at the raging flames and then at me vaguely. “Don’t worry ma’am, I’ll be back. I’m NOT gonna leave you here, okay. Trust me,” I assured her, reading her thoughts. She nodded and a slight smile crept through her worried face. I smiled back reassuringly.

I was sure there would have been some blankets in the storeroom, which could be very useful to us right now. I quickly went there, ignoring the fire on either side of me. I burned my right upper arm in the process, but at this point of time, the best way to handle it was to ignore it. I opened the storeroom door using the same maneuver I used earlier. Before I could search for blankets in the smoke-filled room, a boy around five lying on the floor, grabbed my attention. He was unconscious. I ran towards him and sat down next to him. I took his upper body in my lap and patted his cheek impatiently. He must have wandered in here from his primary school which is attached to the high school.

“Hey…Hey bud…Come on, wake up bud…Come on...for God’s sake, PLEASE.” He slowly opened his eyes in response and I sighed in relief.

“Hi.” He said with an impeccant smile. I smiled back.

“Look bud, we have to get out of here as soon as we can.” I tried to make him understand.

“But why, I don’t think school…” he coughed due to the smoke and I gently patted his back, “…I don’t think school is over yet.” He said innocently looking puzzled and then he scrutinized the room with his small beautiful green eyes. “Why is there so much smoke in here? Who are you? What are you doing here? Is there a fire?” he bombarded me with a bunch of questions. ‘Oh God, how will I be able to make him understand everything’ I thought to myself.

“Look bud, our school is on fire,” A sign of terror appeared on his cute face, “but you don’t have to worry. I’ll take you to your mom safely, okay?” I assured him before he could panic.

“You will take me to my moma?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“God-promise?”

“God-promise.”

We stood up and I made him stand in a safe corner of the room. The fire had already entered the room through the door and it was proceeding towards the old wooden cupboards and other furniture. I started looking for the blankets in every cupboard.

“My name is Ariel Samuel Bemerth,” he said. I didn’t respond.

“What are you doing?” he asked curiously.

“Nothing.” I answered still searching those DAMN blankets.

“Are you looking for something?”

“NO.” I yelled at him over my shoulder.

“Sorry, I…I thought you were looking for blankets.” I swung around to face the little angel.

“You know where to find them?” I asked impatiently.

“Yes, they are in the lowest niche of the cupboard on the left.” He answered with same innocence, indicating with his finger towards the cupboard.

Without asking what was he doing in store room, without asking how he knows where the blankets were, and without even thanking him, I ran towards the cupboard. There were two maroon blankets there which I took. By this time, the fire had spread to the whole room. I hurriedly moved towards Ariel, lifted him in my left arm and wrapped one of the blankets around us. I tucked the other one under my right underarm and left the room.

From the walls, the flames reached to the hallway and it was apparent that in a minute or two, it would be immersed by fire. Holding Ariel in one arm and an extra blanket in my other burnt arm at the same time was becoming hard for me. I knew I had to be attentive as I couldn’t jeopardize three lives. I swiftly but carefully made my way through a partially fire-covered hallway, towards our principal’s office.

“Where are we going?” Ariel asked looking at me bewildered. But I never answered.

When that woman in the wheelchair saw us coming towards her, she sighed in relief and stared at me with gratitude. I think my reappearance allayed her fears.

“Are you okay, ma’am?” I asked, putting Ariel down. She nodded.

“Why are we here?” Ariel asked another question but got the same response from me.

“Sorry it took me so long to come back.” I explained to her, unwrapping myself from the blanket. I lifted her limp, heavy legs and arranged them, so she was sitting cross-legged. Then I wrapped the other blanket around her tightly. She looked at Ariel and I hoped she understood everything because I had no time to explain anything.

“But you came.” She concluded.

“I had to.” I responded, reassuring myself that no part of her body was out of the blanket except her face. She gazed me looking like she was pondering something.

“Who is she?” Ariel asked and our gaze shifted to him. We ignored him…again.

“Ma’am, we have to hurry up before the fire engulfs our path completely. Will you please take him on your lap?” Without waiting for her approval, I made him sit on her lap and enveloped him within the same blanket. Surprisingly and much to my relief, Ariel hadn’t asked anymore questions. After tucking the blanket tightly around them and adjusting my own blanket, I quickly pushed the wheelchair towards the main corridor, fixing my gaze on the path which was soon to be disappeared in flames.

Without much damage, the three of us were now in the intersection of the gallery and the main corridor. I glanced back, more than half of the way we just travelled was not visible because of the fire, and as I was expecting, flames were raging towards us. I was angry, damn angry with those firemen who were still on strike.

I shifted my gaze to the corridor not knowing that a more atrocious sight was waiting for me. The fire was blazing down the corridor path. It looked like a river of fire. Even the wooden planks, which were affixed to the ceiling, were engulfed in flames and dangling towards the floor. I had a feeling that soon they would be detached and plunged in the fire surrounding the corridor. Trust me; I was never so fearful in my entire life. I had read somewhere that fire is a good servant but a bad master, so true.

“I want to go to moma.” Ariel said to no one in particular. I couldn’t see his face but I was sure he was scared and crying.

“Don’t worry dear; Zune will take you to your mom.” The lady in the wheelchair ensured him.

‘Yes, why not, as if I’m Superman…huh. Who the hell does this woman think I…hey, wait a minute, how does she know my name? I never told her. Then how…? Well, if I want my answer, we have to escape from here alive.’ I thought to myself.

I closed my eyes for a second and gulped down my saliva. ‘God, please help me.’ I prayed in my mind.

“Ma’am, hold Ariel tight,” I commanded, “and Ariel, I will definitely take you to your mom.” I promised. “Ready?” I asked looking down at them. They just nodded. “I love you mom.” I whispered to myself.

“HOLD TIGHT!” I exclaimed and ran towards the entrance of the corridor, keeping my eyes on the door that was smothered in fire, pushing the wheelchair swiftly with all the strength that remained in me. My feet were burning hellaciously. I let out a series of painful cries. My eyes were brimming with tears, which left me with blurry vision. I could hear the creaking and falling of those wooden ceiling planks behind me. I thought that this was the worst that could happen right now but I forgot that old saying ‘misfortunes never come singly’. Suddenly my blanket was caught in the metal hinge of the staffroom’s door and fell behind, but I never stopped.

Within seconds, which felt like years for me, we were out of the corridor and were in the gallery which led to the exit. My shoes, socks, and lower part of my jeans had caught on fire. I instantly threw off my fire-mantled shoes and socks and extinguished the fire on my jeans with my bare hands. My feet and lower legs were already badly burned and now my hands were inflamed as well. I was crying and moaning in unbearable pain. Thank God fire hadn’t hit here yet. This place was free from flames.

“Zune? Zune, are you okay dear?” The lady in the wheelchair worriedly asked. Thereafter, I heard a few known and unknown voices, but I was able to construe only three words, ‘Ariel’, ‘Mom’ and ‘Zune’.

I was hardly able to understand anything. I didn’t know what was happening around me. I wasn’t able to breathe and it was getting harder for my eyelids to stay open. I wanted to vomit, I wanted to scream. I was feeling like my whole body was on fire. I didn’t know how I was still standing. All of a sudden I felt the touch of cool water on my burnt body as if it were raining. It felt like the best thing that ever happened to me. I was dozing off. I could feel that I was falling as my body wasn’t in my control anymore. Then I felt I fell, but not on the hard and dusty ground, but in the strong but gentle arms of someone. I sensed an arm around my waist and another around my shoulder. Water was still pouring over me, cooling my burns and helping my pain. I could sense water on every part of my body. I was in heaven.

Slowly, the flow of water stopped as did my comfort. After being held in those arms for few moments not stirring, I slowly opened my eyes. My eyes met with a pair of known dark brown eyes. Water was dripping down from his damp hair to my already wet face. There was a look of concern and pain instead of hate, anger and disgust on his face. He slowly freed his right arm from my waist and tucked few wet strands of my hair behind my earlobe which were entangled between my moist eyelashes.

“Ed…Edward.” That’s all I was able to say. Then the world turned black.

TBC.