4. Breathe in breathe out

“When things change inside you, things really do change around you”. With that morning thought, I jumped up from my bed, brushed my teeth, “tried” bathing happily, quickly dressed up, and sang my way to the kitchen. My mom who had been baking pancakes dropped the pancakes onto the floor and rushed over to me. I was startled.

“Are you okay, Aiv? Did something happen last night? Did you eat anything bad before bed?” she asked worriedly, placing the back of her palm over my forehead. Upon seeing me, my dad who’d been busy spreading butter on the bread, sprung up from the chair and started hyperventilating.

“Are you really alright, Aiv? It’s okay. You can tell us. What happened?”

I stood there completely awestruck by what was happening in front of me. My parents were literally everywhere, bombarding me with questions that seemed to never end. It was weird, but a tiny part of really loved how they worried about me.

I dived in and gave them a tight hug catching them completely off-guard. My mom flinched a little but eventually gave in. “I’m staying." I announced. My parents looked puzzled for a second before a huge grin spread across their faces and we hugged yet again.

“What in the world changed your mind, dear?” asked Uncle James from behind us. “Just a little boy.” I answered. “Since when did you like children? Wait, don’t tell me you’re into boys your brother’s age?” smirked my little brother, for which he earned a loud smack at his back from dad and he yelped loudly.

“Oh dear. Someone’s gotten himself into trouble”, I mumbled and kept chewing on the last piece of bacon I’d been eating unconsciously. And right at that moment, dad started chasing him with a slipper on one of his hands and I couldn’t control my laughter. I just couldn’t. It’d been a while since I laughed my heart out, and I didn’t have to fake it.

Nick, my litter brother, who’s being chased by our dad at the moment is fourteen. He’s younger than me by four years yet he is quite hard working and has a clear mindset on what he wants to do in the future. He never ceases to amaze me sometimes. Anyway, he’s not home most of the time, so I barely get to talk to him. But I still love him, he’s my little ball of sunshine, and of course I wouldn’t tell him that.

As I sat there taking a sip of my warm coffee, I could feel a cold gaze from the window. I snapped my head right back to see who or what it was, but there was no one. I shrugged, thinking I’d been overthinking like I usually do. A moment passed and I could still sense someone staring at me from the window. I stayed there frozen on my seat, unable to move an inch.

“Breather in and breathe out. Breathe in and then breathe out….” I kept chanting those continuously until I could finally calm my nerves. “You can do this, Aiv! You’re a strong girl.” I mentally prepared myself and slowly turned my head to see the “person” staring right through the window at me with its dark ashy green eyes. I felt a chill run down my spine. It was like someone had poured icy cold water on my naked body in winter. Our eyes locked for a second,but before I could come back to my consciousness, he disappeared.

“What was that? No! Who was that? Why was he here? Was he spying on us? Perhaps he was keeping an eye on us!” I kept wandering. I thought it would be best not to tell anyone about it at the moment, considering no one saw him except for me. It may just arise tension in the family and ruin our stay here. And I definitely wouldn’t want that happening considering the fact that we reunited with the rest of our family after ages! Everyone seemed so happy being with each other. I can’t be a party pooper now, can I?

Hence, I thought of keeping it a secret for the time being. It was soon noon and all of us were getting ready for lunch after a few games of baseball in our backyard. Mom and I planned to bake some banana bread while the rest of the family grilled some chicken and set the tables. We heard a loud knock at the door and Nick ran off to welcome our guest.

“We’re going for a ride. C’mon guys, go get yourselves ready. We’re leaving in about an hour!” Uncle George declared enthusiastically.

“But it’s so hot out there! We’ll get dehydrated.” My little niece, Cherry, protested in a pouty way.

“It’ll be fun, little one! Uncle will get you as many ice creams as you like!” Uncle George said cheekily.

“Fine. But you have to promise me you’ll get me as many candies as I like.” Cherry mumbled and ran towards her room, probably to get changed. Kids are just so easy to convince.

So well, we all gathered near the front gate at sharp 1 pm like we’d planned earlier. I wasn’t in the mood to go, but there had been something bugging me all this time. I really felt the need to explore the place more. Though I was born and raised here, something definitely had changed. I was getting curious every second.

The plan was to go into the woods for some bird-watching and then find a suitable place for camping, meaning we were staying overnight. Nick was excited considering he really loved camping! And as for my niece, I could see her eyes shining bright under the moonlight after she heard we were grilling marshmallows and preparing for barbeque at night. Everything had been a first for her. Isn’t that adorable?

It was soon past midnight so we all decided to go sleep. All the ladies, including our little Cherry, were sleeping at the tent near a big Banyan tree, while the boys had decided to switch every two hours to guard us. These are really one of the many things that I was proud of for being a member of this family. Everyone respected each other and guys really knew how to protect their ladies.

However, I always felt like I was different. I always felt that I could protect myself and even my family. You don’t necessarily have to be a man to protect others. Women can protect their men, too.

“Or are you being too naïve to be thinking something you possibly can’t do if the right moment to act comes your way? You’re just being foolish. Do me a favour and go to sleep, will you?” I ordered myself.

I covered my body with a small silk shawl I’d brought over and closed my eyes.

A few moments later, I heard a sound, a strange sound, coming from somewhere near. But I kept my eyes closed.

“What if it gets alert and attacks me? What if it kills me knowing I saw it in it's real form? What if right after I open my eyes, its creepy eyes stare back at me?! I would literally just pass out!”

“Calm down, Aiv. It’s nothing. You must’ve been hearing things.”

Right. Left. Right. Left. Right….Footsteps! And they stopped right in front of our tent! The sound of the tent’s zipper being dragged down, in an attempt to open it. Then, silence. 

My hands were trembling violently with fear. I started sweating really bad. Right then, something lifted me up in the air and put me in its shoulder and started walking. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t feel my vocal cords anymore. My anxiety was back. And I...passed out.