COMFORT ZONE

BI - PART FOUR

It was very warm inside the living room of the creche. The electricity had been cut off two hours ago, and there was no news of when it would return. The children moved from corner to corner, trying to fan themselves and obtain momentary relief. Stacie felt a trickle of sweat run down her spine, making her shiver. Her hands were damp, and she couldn’t hold her novel properly. Frustrated, she slid it across the divan, and it halted next to Auria’s crossed feet. 

“Parcel?” she asked, trying to smile through the exhausting heat. Stacie couldn’t help but laugh, “Yes, our ability to entertain ourselves has been reduced to pushing objects towards each other.” Auria nodded, solemn, and placed her fingers on the spine of the book, concentrating on a spot near Stacie. She applied pressure and the book had travelled back to its owner. “It is fun, if F-U-N was spelt as M-I-N-D-N-U-M-B-I-N-G.” Drumming her fingers on her thigh, Stacie looked expectantly at the Head Lady as she walked in. “It will be back by evening. Why don’t we go to the nearby park, for some time? Gather some fresh air?”

Stacie scrunched up her nose. “You don’t care for some breathing room?” Auria inquired, noticing her expression.

“I do not have anything against nature. I do have a bone to pick with the Sun. I don’t like it.” Auria rolled her eyes lightly, and coming over to Stacie, grabbed her shoulders suddenly, her eyes wide, “We must go. It is the only way we would survive. It is now, or never. Are you with me?” Stacie stared at her, blinking hard. She couldn’t understand what to focus on, Auria’s hands on her, her eyes looking into hers intensely, her face inches from her own or the urgency in her voice. Swallowing, she said, “Uh huh.” Auria dropped her arms, and grinned, “That is more like it.”

She turned around to talk to the Head Lady, and Stacie rubbed her collarbone and shoulder blades, a sense of emptiness tingling her. Auria came back, with a pair of earphones and a phone, and said, “Come on.”

***

It took the group five minutes to arrive at Springday Park. It was nearly empty, with a few neighbourhood children playing. Once inside, everyone broke off into groups, running away to play tag or simply roll on the grass. Stacie continued to stand at the boundary, wondering where she would fit in. Her eyes settled on a bench-cum-swing and she indicated towards it, “Can we sit there?” It is under a tree. No sunlight.”

Following her, Auria mumbled, “Sometimes I wonder if you are a vampire.” Baring her incisors at her, Stacie sat down, propping up her feet and letting the coolness of the metal calm her. Auria was staring at the phone screen. “Where did you get that?”

“I borrowed it from the Head Anne. I thought we could listen to music; it pairs well with the scenery.”

Stacie looked sceptical, “I am not really a music person. I cannot find any comfort in artists talking about heartbreak, relationships and love.” While she did not look up, Stacie noticed Auria had raised her eyebrows. “Not all music is that. You need to find the right artist.”

While she waited for Auria to choose a song, she looked in the distance at the youngest member of their creche, Syene. She was just four, and perhaps the only child Stacie had ever liked. She had kneeled down, amongst blossom blushes, and was tickling a flower petal. Something about the innocence that action emitted made Stacie feel warm.

“Okay, we are going to listen to this. Take this.” Stacie’s attention snapped back to Auria, who had already worn one of the earplugs and was handing the second one to her. Before she could put it in, properly, she heard Auria exclaim, “Where did Syene go? I cannot see her.”

Confused, Stacie replied, “What do you mean? She is right there…” Stacie looked in shock at the spot where Syene was standing two minutes ago. She could no longer see her, and in her spot, an older boy, older than Auria, was standing, staring down. Auria connected the dots before Stacie could, and suddenly jumped and ran towards the bushes. After a second, Stacie dropped the earplugs and ran after her, barefoot. Within seconds, she had caught up with Auria. They staggered to a stop, right behind the boy. Stacie’s attention dropped to Syene, who had fallen down amongst the thickets of thorns and was crying. She pushed the boy aside, and picked her up. “Hey, Syene. Shush. You are okay. Shush.” She held the girl in her arms, and patted her back.

A growl from behind her made her turn, and she saw that Auria had grabbed the boy by his collar. “What were you doing? She is a little girl. What is wrong with you? You touch her, or come close to her, and I will hurt you.” Stacie felt her insides freeze. Auria was not threatening her, but she could feel the anger in her voice. She continued to caress Syene’s head, as Auria’s hold on his collar tightened. The boy, who always had a smug look on his face, looked genuinely terrified. “Do you understand me?” He nodded furiously, and with a glare, she let go of him. He scurried away, and as soon as he was out of sight, she dropped next to Stacie, “Hey, baby. Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Realising she was speaking to Syene, she handed over the girl to her. She settled her on her lap, and carefully examined her arms and feet, for scratches. Syene had stopped crying, and was staring at Auria with big eyes. She kissed her forehead, “No one will hurt you, okay? You’re safe.”

She turned her head sideways, and said, “Stacie, I am taking her to Head Anne. I’ll meet you back at the bench.” Stacie nodded and watched Auria walk away with Syene. She could still feel the cold that had grabbed her when she saw Auria speak to the boy. There had been something more in her tone, something more than just rational anger. She twiddled her thumbs as she made her way back, wondering if there was something about Auria’s childhood that she hadn’t been told about. Knowing it wasn’t the right time to ask her, she did not say anything when Auria sat down next to her, swinging her legs.

Wanting nothing more than to break the tension, Stacie picked up the earplug and said, “Shall we listen to the song?” Auria nodded, and pushing herself to the back of the swing, she hit play on the phone. For a few seconds, Stacie could not hear anything and was about to ask if something had gone wrong, when soft music waved itself through, with the word, “Bogoshipda.”

***

Note to Readers: Bogoshipda is a word taken from the Korean language, and means, "I miss you." One reason for using this word here, is that it is the first lyric of a Korean song named Spring Day, which is also the name of the park in this story.