No matter how cool it seems to others, in the end, Hyperthymesia is a disease and it will have side effects as you grow. This is what Jack had told him when Ember was merely twelve. At that time, Ember didn't really understand how such a gift would affect him. But now, he did.

Hyperthymesia is a condition that is always misunderstood by the person's remarkable ability to remember. Nobody bothers looking at the other side of the coin. The patient remembers everything about their life, everything. There's a reason why we were made forgetful beings to a certain extent. Traumatic memories cause mental stress and lead to depression.

"But, what about the pain I feel in my body?"
"Yeah, that," Jack looked into the paper, "That is something physical, not mental. Seems like post-surgery complications,"
"What? It's only been four years since then,"
"I'm sorry, Ember. You need to consult a physician for that,"

Ember looked into Jack's eyes and then looked away. He looked at the walls like they were the last thing he would ever see. He smiled to himself "It's okay. I'm used to hospitals,"

"Does Arorhea know about your medical history?" Jack asked.
"I won't tell her,"
"But that's not a solution to your problems, Ember-"
"I'm the problem, Jack. I'm always the problem!" Ember shouted and Jack stared at him.
"Every time I tell myself that I'm fine, I'm not! All I want is normal life away from doctors or pills," Ember complained.

Jack looked at Ember. An Ember that wasn't smiling. An Ember that was angry. He was happy Ember was letting it all out, "How would you explain this anger,"
"I'm not angry! I'm in pain!" He slammed his hand on the table, "I'm always in pain! I feel like I'm screaming but no one is able to hear me. As long as I was hurting myself it was fine," He looked at the wall "But now I'm hurting everybody,"

"No you aren't," Jack consoled him.
"Not yet,"
"You won't hurt anybody, Ember"

"Oh, I definitely will. It's starting to go downhill again, my body. I don't want another surgery, I'm just so tired...Sometimes, I really wish it kills me rather than torture me every day like this. Somedays, I really wanna die, but the others, I think of people I'll be leaving behind if I do, and then I don't wanna die, but I...Really can't seem to love life anymore,"

"It's funny how Ember who used to love life is now afraid of it," Jack smiled.
"Because death is scary and it's approaching. Slowly, but surely,"
"We're all fated to die, Ember. You'll be okay. We should get you treated before it's too late,"

"No, I don't want to. I'm not going through that again, okay?"
Jack looked at Ember as he rose. He turned towards the door and walked towards it. He stopped at the door "Jack, thank you for coming here, happy vacations,"

"Thank you,"

. . .

Rhea reached home and Mrs Laghari saw the drenched floor "What happened?"
"I fell in a fountain. Actually, I was playing inside it,"
"Why? Is land getting less to play now?" Mrs Laghari said sarcastically.
"Sometimes, it is," Rhea went inside her room and closed the door. She looked at the balcony and walked towards it.

She pressed the drawing book on the canvas stand and arranged the paint and paintbrushes. That beautiful glass paintbrush, looking like a diamond. Rhea kissed it gently, "Make me a miracle, Ember," She whispered. She dipped the brush into a velvety shade of red and pressed it on the canvas.

The next day, Rhea went to the crash course centre. Finally, Ember had shown his face in class after a week! She punched his head and pushed him aside while sitting beside him. He pressed his head, "Yeah, my dad gave me some work to do," He explained himself. 

"Bade log," AJ said.
(Tn// Hindi pun used in place of the English idiom for people who are seen once in a blue moon)

"I was busy with a new anime project. It was an important one and we've invested a lot on the designing-"
"Bade log badi batein," Rhea commented.
(Tn// Bade Log points to the people in the higher society and a richer status and it is said that those people speak egoistic words in front of normal society people that are beyond comprehension for the normal society people)

"I'm a big man?" Ember asked.
(Tn// Bade log literally means 'Big people',"
All of them started laughing but then the teacher decided to spoil the mood by shouting at them. The lecture started with a hearing, where nobody but Ember was giggling. All of them were too embarrassed to say anything. 

"This is all because of you. Don't talk shit," Rhea whispered to Ember. Ember laid his arms on the desk and pressed his head on his arms. He smiled as he stared at Rhea.

Rhea looked into his eyes,

"Don't look at me!" Rhea ordered.
"But you said not to talk shit," Ember smiled.
"Don't look either! You're disturbing me!"
"What all should I do to not disturb you?"
"Stop looking here, don't talk and don't breathe! You only annoy me when you breathe!"
"You both-Get out!" The teacher shouted. Rhea glared at Ember while Ember looked at her and smiled.

They quietly walked out of the class as the teacher publicly humiliated them. They stood outside the room, "I want to kill you and then die myself,"

"Like Romeo and Juliet?" Ember asked, "How romantic,"
"Romantic? Are you okay in the head?"
Whatever. We can skip now, both of us"
"But I wanted to attend the class!"
"As an apology, I'll treat you. What do you want to eat?" Ember asked.

They stood in front of a stall and Rhea asked the vendor to give them two plates of pani puri with extra spice.
(Tn// Pani puri is a street snack of Indian origin. It consists of a round, hollow puri, filled with a mixture of flavoured water, tamarind chutney, chilli, chaat masala, potato, onion or chickpea)

"Oh! I've heard about this. Is it good?" Ember asked as the vendor handed him a paper plate.
"Yes, you should eat some," Rhea gave an evil smirk. Ember looked at the plate and soon the man kept a small sphere-like wheat ball filled with green water. Ember looked at it and then at Rhea. She had already eaten two of them by then.

He smelled it and started examining it. Finally, he took a small bite and all the water oozed out and fell on his clothes.

"Shit!" Ember moved his hands away and looked at his clothes. The vendor passed him some tissue papers. Ember wiped the water and observed Rhea, hoping to learn the technique to eat it. He picked it up and quickly stuffed it in his mouth. He coughed as his eyes turned red.

"Water!" He shouted in a British accent. The vendor didn't know what he wanted and Ember jumped as his face turned red. Rhea giggled,
"Uncle, give him some water," Rhea asked the vendor. He passed him some pani puri water. Ember drank it and started shouting.

"I want potable water!" Ember shouted.
"We don't have anything like that," Rhea said.
"Drinking water! Rhea! I'm dying!" Ember said.
"There," Rhea passed him her water bottle. Ember snatched it and gulped down the water.

They decided to hang out on the terrace before Rhea left for home because the class was already over. They sat on a pile of cardboard kept beside the wall. He gave her bottle back to her "Jeez! You finished all my water. Are you a water tank?" Rhea complained.
"I almost died!" Ember shouted.
"Yeah but that's not the point. Don't change the topic!"
"This is turning funny," Ember laughed.
"Don't laugh!"

Ember laughed and Rhea pressed her back on the wall behind them. She sat right beside him, listening to his laughter. It was only them on the terrace. Finally, Ember stopped laughing and looked at the sky. Rhea closed her eyes and called out his name,

"Ember,"
"Yes,"

"Hey, what does 'Ember' mean?" She asked as she looked at him.
"It's a happy name," Ember smiled as he looked into her eyes, "It means glowing coal in a dead fire, like light that glows when you're surrounded by darkness and all hope, is lost,"
She looked at him, "You sit well with your name,"

"What about you? What does Arorhea mean?"
"It means...A charismatic artist,"
"Your mom what she made, huh," He laughed. Rhea smiled at him, "Ember,"
"Yeah?" Ember looked at her eyelashes as she turned her eyes down to look at his neck.

"I don't know what to call this, all of this that is happening between us, but I like it. It feels silly and fragile and good," She said. Ember narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. He leaned closer to her face, 

"Say, Rhea, do you like me?" He asked. She was caught off guard. He tilted his head and waited for a reply in anticipation. Her heart was beating fast and so was his. She took a breath in and asked him,
"You tell me, should I?"
He chuckled and looked away "You shouldn't,"

"But why? I really want you to know something" She blushed as her voice turned a bit shrill, "But I... Don't want to tell you,"
Ember blushed lightly, "Okay Rhea, listen. It isn't what it seems, I-"

"Oh my God! My fiancé is cheating on me!" A girl shouted as she stood at the terrace door. Ember and Rhea turned towards her.
"Miranda!" Ember got up. He was smiling as he looked at her and Rhea looked at him.

Fiancé?

-To be continued

Ember Helberg__Neel Dewan
Can't I Touch Your Heart?