"Ember,"
"Hmm?" He held a popsicle in his mouth while walking beside her. She dragged her bicycle slowly beside them since the road was full of puddles and it would be dangerous to ride over it. 
"Do you know why Loraine hates me?"

He looked at her and smiled, "Oh, he doesn't hate you,"
She looked into his eyes, "Did someone ever tell you that you suck at lying?"
He bit his lower lip and looked down, at the puddles they passed by. The popsicle was beginning to melt on his hand, "I...I don't know,"
"Okay, don't tell,"

He didn't look into her eyes again. 
"Maybe I'm not worth knowing it, huh,"
"I," He spoke, softly, "I was sick when I left India. I had to leave because I got sick and the doctors here couldn't help me so I had to go back to the US, so Loraine, well,"
She looked at his blonde hair, covering his eyes, "...I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about it,"
She pressed her hand over his forehead and brushed his hair away from his eyes, over his head. They looked at each other, "What?" He asked.

"Oh," She pulled her hands away, "Sorry. I just wanted to see if you're crying,"
He laughed, "Why would I cry? Oh my god, my ice cream!" He dropped the popsicle which had completely melted by then, "You're such a goof," Rhea looked at him.
"I liked that flavour!"
"Stop crying on an ice cream! You can just buy another,"

"You know, Rhea," Ember sat before the popsicle, "You shouldn't care if someone likes you or not. Not everyone will acknowledge your existence, and that is completely fine as long as someone does, even if that someone is you," 
She blushed. He smiled and looked up at the setting sun,
"The sun isn't bright just because I say it is. It was bright before I even knew the word for bright. I didn't decide what it is, I acknowledged what it is. You aren't worth something just because I say you are. You just are. You are worth something before I even say anything. I didn't decide that you are, I acknowledged that you are."

Rhea looked down at him as the sun faded away behind her and it turned dark. The streetlight was shining upon them, like old souls under spotlights.

"Well, that was just some skinny boy life advice. Next time, I will charge you for it. Ice cream should do," Ember got up and Rhea looked at him, "Ember,"
"Yeah?"
"Where do you learn all this?"
"I'm a natural," He narrowed his eyes and smirked.

She smiled, "I've never had a friend like you. And I don't think I will ever,"
"In that case, you should keep me forever,"
"Can you fit in my pocket?"
"The question is can I fit in your pants?"
"WHY ARE YOU SO GROSS?!"

"I wonder~" He leaned towards her and she looked aside. He grabbed her bicycle, "Rhea, I want to take you somewhere,"
"Brothel?"
"Not today, today we gonna go thuggin,"
"What does that even me?"

"Hop on, girly," He got on the bicycle and so did she. He paddled across the field, "Oh my God, this field is so muddy now. You're an idiot!" Rhea shouted.
"Hey, I didn't know it would be muddy,"
"What else would it be after it rained for three hundred years just thirty minutes back?"
"Ooh, Indian exaggeration,"

"Where are you taking me?"
"To that painting shop again,"
"We're gonna travel all the way there?! It's far away,"
"Well, the night is ours," He smiled as he paddled. Through the puddles, through the uneven path, his legs were showing off down his pulled up jeans and his vans were covered in mud. Rhea's legs swindled as the bicycle moved. She reached for his silky hair and picked up one strand, 

Truly, some of the best moments in life are the ones you cannot put into words.
Maybe you don't want to.
Maybe you want to keep it to yourself. 
Something that only you both know. 

She felt a raindrop on her cheeks and looked up at the dark sky,

"It's raining!" She yelled.
"Yeah!" He smiled and stopped the bicycle, "Look behind you," He pointed behind and Rhea turned back. There was nothing there except the dark trees and a huge creeper falling between two trees, creating a massive, grassy clot. They were at that same forest again. Their painting must be there on those walls at the end of the forest, but that couldn't be the reason of being there so late in the evening.

"Nothing's there," Rhea looked back at Ember.
"Are you sure?" He moved towards the creeper and went inside it. Rhea went after him and soon she was shocked by what she saw. Under a Prussian blue sky, was this huge land filled with fireflies! Tons of fireflies!

Rhea gasped in astonishment "I can't believe it! There are fireflies in New Delhi?" She asked Ember.
"I was equally surprised when I found them,"
"How did you? Why did you come here late at night?"
"I felt like looking at that painting we made,"
"Weirdo,"

She looked at the  fireflies fly together and reached her hands towards them, "They look like tiny artists, painting a dark world, just to light a world which doesn't care about their existence," She looked at Ember, "But that doesn't make them stop,"
"Just like you," He smiled.

She moved her hand away, "Me?" She chuckled, "I'm no artist,"
He smiled and looked around "You are right. Only some people are artists," A small firefly sat on his hair and his hair started glowing golden, "Some themselves are art,"

Rhea looked at him and started laughing as his hair glowed like a spirit lamp "Like you. Seems like you're even popular among them," 
"You mean even other species are falling for me?"

Rhea burst into laughter and Ember laughed with her. They stopped awkwardly and looked away, "I...I'll call Chuck to pick us up, kay?"
"Sure,"
He went away to make a quick call while Rhea walked ahead to see how the wall was doing but she was surprised to see, the wall was clean. The paint had been washed away in the rain. She got a little hill and walked closer to the wall. She gently pressed her hands on it,

"All the fun we had just faded away,"
"There you are!" Ember walked towards her, "Gosh! I thought you got kidnapped by forest goblins,"
She looked at him, "Ember,"
"Okay sorry, I thought you got kidnapped by trolls from Harry Potter, fine?"

"No, you idiot. Look, the paint, our painting, everything is just...gone,"
"Oh yeah, how tragic," He laughed.
"I'm so sad...I wanted it to stay forever,"
"It's okay, Rhea. Sometimes, good things are transient, but just because they leave, doesn't mean you should be sad. They hold meaning in that transience. That's just nature and people, it's most attractive when it is not worried about what it's attracting, it's there to enjoy the moment it's living in," He got on that little hill, standing right next to her, "And so are you,"

They looked at each other, standing in silence. He was very close, their shoulders were bumping, even as they breathed. She could hear him breathe. He pressed his hand on the wall too. She looked at his hand, pressed over the wall and pressed her hand over his. He looked surprised and looked at her but she quickly looked away, her face turning slightly beet. He smiled and turned his hand, clasping her fingers between his pale fingers. His hands were warm, she could hear his heartbeat through his palms.

"Rhea," He whispered.
"Yeah?" She continued looking away.
"Chuck's here,"

They heard a honk and Rhea quickly snapped out of it. She pushed Ember away and ran towards the car. He snickered and jumped down the little hills surrounding the walls and almost got dizzy. His legs felt numb and his stomach was hurting. He realised he shouldn't have paddled that much. He grabbed the tree beside him and helped himself stay grounded. 

Rhea turned back and looked at him, "What are you doing?"
"I need to pee actually,"
"...I'll just go ahead,"
"Yeah, I'll catch you soon,"

She went towards the car, tracing the bright lights, leaving Ember in the dark. He sat down and grabbed his stomach, groaning in pain. It felt like a thousand needles trying to pierce out of his stomach, his skin was burning, like it was on fire, his face grew red and he clenched his eyes tightly, "This is just a dream," He whispered as he ran out of breath, "This is just a dream,"
He pressed his hands on the ground, trying to push himself up, "I can't... get up,"

He pressed his back on the tree trunk and looked up, trying to breathe through the discomfort. Once he was feeling okay, he got up and walked towards the car, "I'm here,"
"You took so long! How much do you pee?"
"Thought I'd masturbate while I'm at it,"
"Ew! Charles leave him here, he's gross,"

He laughed and got inside the car, "Did you wash your hands?"
"There's no water in the forest,"
Rhea looked at her hand, "I'm cutting this"
He laughed and pressed his stomach. He looked outside the window as Charles started driving, with the bicycle kept inside the trunk.

That night, Ember wrote an email to an old friend,

"Jack,
I'm having the same convulsive pain again.
It's been many years since the surgery, why has it come back to me, I do not know.
But I need your help. It seems to be degenerative. Please come to India as soon as you can.

Ember,"

-To be continued

Ember Cardilia Helberg
Can't I Touch Your Heart?