"Oh my goodness! It's beautiful!"

It wasn't Nazira, but me-  getting mesmerized and thoroughly captivated by this realm that Makara admired the most.

I cleared my throat, feeling the awkwardness in the tone of my voice that sounded too womanly. I glanced sideways at Nazira to see if she had read my lips or observed my expression finding another reason to tease me. But thankfully, right now, I was her last priority to pay any heed.

Frozen for a while, not even a blink. Her mouth opened and closed several times, trying to speak up but failed to frame words. Her eyebrows raised and her eyes completely wide, she seemed to have lost her composure.

I couldn't blame her for being too unrealistic. The realm was legit the best of all we had been through yet. Series of small, minute islands conjoined and dividing one large waterfall into tiny series of plunge falls flowing from between the islands. Sun rays radiating through the trees of Vrindahina grown in varied heights all over the rocky surface of this realm, with its golden flowers dropping off the branches, tumbling down to flow away with the slow-paced stream of water.

It wasn't only the golden hues of flowers, but the arch of numerous rainbows giving away colors to the rising mist at the foot of the falls, making the water sparkle and the complete sight glorious to behold. Despite the warm sultry weather, there was a sweet fragrance in the crisp air, a distinctive aroma of the holy flowers and wetted rocks.

Nazira and I had waited the whole night to see this beauty Makara had praised a lot-The realm of Vrishabha, the only Constellia who I have never met nor seen before.

I was still watching the waterfalls, but the back of my head was waiting to hear the voice of the praise or to atleast notice a change in the expression, but surprisingly even after waiting for quite some time, I heard nothing but the tedious sound of the pouring water in one common direction. 

She was utterly hypnotized.

"Nazira, are you okay?" I asked and tried to hold her hand but before I could, she held me by my palm getting too close, suddenly regaining consciousness.

"Oh my god! Look, look, look!" she yelled excitedly, shooting her hand up pointing at the other side of the island we were standing on.

I was more interested to look at her face glowing with happiness, but only to respect her enthusiasm, I carelessly turned my head aside.

It was a flock of enchanting sea green large peacocks, a few of them having their long tails open, together jumping from an island to the other. Nazira laughed suddenly and then I noticed the peacocks weren't alone, but the group of small, furry and skittish pure white rabbits running along with them. Some of them seemed to have diverted their paths and racing towards us, running away from beside our feet.

This was one lively realm- colorful and mystical. I wished she was here with us to watch this phenomenal beauty existing in the parallel universe.

I turned my head to completely face Nazira, who yet wasn't done admiring the rabbits passing through the sides of our feet. I was used to her jibber-jabber to such an extent that now her silence was becoming unbearable.

"So?" I asked.

"I really, really, really, really, really...."

"Short version, please."

"....really love peacocks."

"Hmm," I said, folding my hands, watching her widened eyes that twinkled with humor and delight. Her voice filled with certain awe and high spirited merriment that I hardly had ever heard. And therefore, I had a slight notion that if I questioned her a little bit more, maybe she'd say something that might mean to me.

"What else do you love?" I asked, feeling butterflies in my stomach.

"I love rainbows."

"And?"

"Waterfalls."

"Wow, so informative."

"I love everything that is in this realm."

Does she really mean it?

"Thank you. That satisfies my curious soul."

"How about you?" she asked, looking aside at the peacock that was just about open its tail.

"You want to know what I love?"

"Yeah, why not!"

Say it, say it, say it!

"I love...food!"

Slightly jumping on my toes, I instinctively bent down and picked up a passing rabbit by its ears.

"Finally I'm going to have some grilled meat today," I said, firing up my other hand.

"No, you can't!" She shouted and snatched the rabbit away from me. "Animals are supposed to be treated with respect and dignity that you, Pruthvi and Leena never care about."

Damn, there goes a trait of Celina.

I sniggered, watching her scowl at me, her hand gently caressing the top of rabbit's head. She walked past me and went straight ahead to sit daringly at the corner of the dry cliff, having the rabbit in her lap.

The way she was holding the tiny creature, patting its back affectionately, it jogged my memories involving her. All those months that I had stayed with her in the academy, hearing her inspirational quotes and random thoughts. I mentally laughed remembering that fine day when Celina fluently recited a sad poem about accidentally eating a chicken piece dropped on her plate by Tyrell.

"Chicken chicken, please listen;
I so accidentally have you bitten;
I urge you not to be sicken;
But heck, you tasted like heaven!"

It has been a while now, and all my concerns were directed at her and the clan's welfare she completely dedicated her life to. How was she, what was she doing? Did Pruthvi and Leena had a chance to meet her? Did atleast Tyrell meet her?

"Are you thinking about Celina?" Nazira's voice suddenly jerked me back to the present.

I gaped at her, surprised. "How did you guess?"

"Leena told me whenever the four of you see or talk about animals and stuff, it reminds you of her."

"Yeah," I replied, nodding, "she is a real animal lover. I just hope she is doing okay, wherever and whatever she is up to. What else did Leena tell you?"

"A lot of things. But you tell me, is it true that she is boy-y?"

I bit my cheeks. "In order to answer your question, you need to explain what a boy-y means?"

"Opposite of girly," she replied quickly, letting the rabbit go that hurriedly ran away to join the rest of its kind.

I gave half-suppressed laugh, trying not to offend her. "Is that what Paramarashtrians call?"

"No, I made it up. If girls doing girls stuff is girly, then why boys doing boys stuff isn't called boy-y? I don't know why there is such a difference. I mean, there is nothing wrong in being girly, is there?"

"Whooo...!" I exclaimed, raising my eyebrows, "Feminist alert."

She ignored it. "Tell me, what do you think of Celina?"

"Well," I said, "yes, she looks quite rugged for a normal woman. She is the one who actually taught me how to master my stone. She is, in a way, my teacher, my guide. Whatever I am right now, it's all because of her. She is really special to each one of us. And to Tyrell, she is more than special."

"Why?" she asked, leaning forward placing her hand on her neck, showing interest in the topic. "Why does he like her?"

"Because she makes him complete. Also because she is strong and independent."

Probably it was written on my face or my gaze giving the signals, but my intention wasn't meant to point out her shortcomings. However, she dropped her eyes, a tinge of disappointment flashed across her face.

I touched her hand, as a gesture asking her to look up at me and tried to make the conversation more friendly. I said something that my father had taught me and I felt immensely glad that there was someone I could pass it on to.

"Speaking honestly, no one has to really look tough to be strong, like Celina is. Let's be ourselves. And in times, when it's really required, it is enough to take a step, just one step out of our comfort zone and show the world that we are not actually what they think we are... like Leena does."

She gently nodded and continued staring at me without uttering a word. Her expression was blank but there was something running through her mind, so profoundly that she preferred to remain quiet.

Again, her silence felt uncomfortable. "So tell me, what do you think of Leena?"

She gasped sitting straight and opened her eyes wide as if something had struck her and was waiting to discuss it with anyone since forever. "Leena applies a lot of colour to her face, why does she do that?"

I stifled a laugh. "What happened to feminism now, you just said there is nothing wrong with it."

"Yeah, but her case is different. One day her lips were so red that I thought she was bleeding, and I was scared to look at them. Don't tell her I said that."

I ran my hand through my hair, bending a little to hide my snigger. "Maybe she does that to look nice."

"Why? Does she has scars on her face?" She asked, immediately.

"I don't know," I said, my cheeks swelling with the pressure. There was too much sincerity in her expression, "I never saw her without makeup."

Her face twitched, and she looked sideways, probably thinking if it was appropriate to comment more on her friend.

"Go ahead," I said, "I promise I won't tell her."

"When we go back," she said dramatically, innocently, with a whispering voice, "I want to see, beneath all those colors and glitters, what Leena really looks like."

That was it, I was done. The honest and frank conversation about my female friends with her made my day, and the more I thought about it, the more I found myself engrossed in her sincerity and charm.

It might be one pleasant realm but inside of the hut was burning hot. It was as if sitting on a pyre. I, as a Floridian wasn't able to bear the heat, I could only imagine how Nazira was feeling. She was indeed miserable. Even without the medicine, she was sweating bullets. Unable to resist, she pulled her sleeves up to her elbows and twisted her hair into a low loose bun using a pencil, with few strands falling over her face. That made her look exquisitely beautiful- so much, that it developed an irresistible fascination for her, making impossible for me to drag my eyes away. Only to not to mess up with our so-called friendship, I had to rush out of the hut,  every now and then, to stay far away from her and to keep my emotions in check.

Hot chocolate wasn't an option anymore, it just generated more heat. No matter how much I and Nazira craved to drink it, we still dropped the idea fearing the aftereffects. Doctor might have listened to my prayers, that the following night we surprisingly found... not the Uilani de Blanc, but a large glass growler filled with a brownish-red beverage called Mead.

B'dazzled Bloodmoon, I read its brand name on the label having an absurd thought- People still drink Mead!?

It's existence disappointed me. My face contorted, getting disgusted when my taste buds encountered its flavor- sweet as honey and sugar-cane, mixed with common spices. When I informed Nazira how horrible it was, she disregarded the idea of tasting it and we both immediately forgot about its arrival.

The next morning, I woke up with a jolt when my head drooped aside. I balanced myself quickly and shook my head, feeling a little dizzy. Vibrant hot summer rays penetrating inside the hut wouldn't let me go back to sleep. I yawned and stretched, and in the process I found Nazira sitting out at the threshold, asleep.

I stared at her speculatively, wondering why she wasn't sleeping in the bedroom, and then drifted away watching her sleep, getting powerless against her charm. Her eyes twitched suddenly, alerting me. I quickly bend over to pour some water in the glass. Nazira was finding it hard to open her eyes, her brows knitted, and then she pressed her eyes tight. Frowning a little, I walked towards her, gazing. There was beads of sweat formed over her forehead, her lips trembled. She suddenly gasped, her eyes shot opened wide.

"Are you okay?" I asked slightly worried when she looked up at me.

"B...bad dream," she whispered, and then covered her face with hands, wiping her sweat away. I quickly helped her with the glass of water and sat down in front of her.

"You dream a lot," I taunted her, "and always call it bad."

"Yeah," she said, dropping the glass down, "Because they wake me up. Shourya used to say, these dreams are my wake up calls."

I sniggered. "And why aren't you sleeping in the bedroom, may I ask?"

She knitted her brows again and pouted a little. "I don't want to sleep inside anymore. It feels like somebody's in there."

I blinked, averted my eyes to look at the bedroom door opened ajar and then back to her. "Nobody is in there."

"I know it's weird," she said, "But I really feel someone's presence. I...I am comfortable here, please don't force me to sleep in that bedroom anymore."

"Okay," I replied, smiling grimly and looked back at the room's door, having an intuition if she was talking about...

"I miss Leena," she said suddenly gazing at the waterfall and pulling me out of my hunch. "Look at the waterfall, how beautiful. I wish she is here to show me her magical antics."

"Antics?" I asked, feeling a little vague.

"Yes, she can just twist her fingers and bend water simultaneously...."

"She can do that?" I asked, trying to focus on what she was saying.

"You don't know?" she asked with a screeching voice, turning completely towards me. "Do you atleast know that Pruthvi can tap his feet and rise stones in the air?"

"Really?" I asked, wanting to feel mesmerized by the friend's skills I had no idea about.

Nazira shrunk her eyes, glowering at me. "For how long have you exactly been friends with them?"

"Okay," I said, finally getting back to be myself when her question felt ridiculing. "We don't talk stuff like that."

"No," she said, trying to correct me with a dragging voice, "You actually don't talk with them at all."

"Hey..."

"Okay, tell me. Is there anything you can do?"

I clicked my tongue. "Naah, never tried, never could. But sometimes whenever I snap my fingers I create a few sparks."

"Alright, do it now," she said encouragingly. "Let's see."

Excitement glittered in her eyes when I anticipatingly lifted my hand up. Picturing my stone, I snapped my fingers. It was just a tiny spark that emerged between fingers, similar to that of a matchstick, but still, it astonished me. I looked up at her. She smiled and wiggled her eyebrows asking me to do it again.

I suddenly got engrossed in it and snapped my fingers, harder this time. A bigger spark erupted arousing my curiosity. I frowned, my mouth slightly falling ajar. The sparks continued for the next few more trials until I put some pressure on my arm and on my stone. And then on snapping, my fingers creating a loud whipping sound, a tiny face in the shape of a lion's, emerged amidst the sparks, that kindled into a friendly flame. It appeared and vanished all at once.

Nazira impulsively slid a little closer to me, excitement radiated out of her making her face glow. I was bewildered and stunned, staring down at my hand wondering if it was Singh appearing in the flame I created. A loose, toothless grin spread across my face and wanting to see Singh again, I snapped my fingers really hard.

Roaaar!

"What the...!" I cried.

Nazira elicited a laugh, clapping her hands, like a two-year-old enjoying a circus act. I was immensely surprised as well. This was something incredible I never knew I had it in me until she brought it up. I repeated it again and again, watching Singh's face shimmering in the flame and feeling extremely elated.

For a while, I kept snapping my fingers just to make her smile. I was feeling proud of myself, not that I created something new for the day but for having the capacity to make a delicate girl laugh heartily. It was probably another reason why bringing her here with me felt right, now that she has come this far trying to leave her insecurities behind and considering to mingle up with people she was forced to avoid.

I stopped snapping and Nazira's chuckles slowly faded away. These moments of silence felt exhilarating. My heart beating erratically in my chest. Seeing her extremely happy, I admitted to myself that I wanted to have her in my arms and never let go. I gazed into those almond shaped eyes, not caring that she has already realized that I was staring. But this time she wasn't uncomfortable and I detected a slight blush on her cheeks forming under the heavy sunlight. Smilingly, she leaned a little back and then unknowingly looked aside over my shoulder. She gasped, the pink tinge on her face at once lost to turn her skin pale. Snapping back to reality, I followed her sight and glanced back. My eyes distended at the sight, quickly realizing what had actually interrupted us.