Page 22 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
Nori turned to look at him, and something flickered beneath the surface layer of her emotions. A kind of longing… grief. Then she blinked, and it was all gone.
It baffled Vir to see how she could just turn her emotions off at will. Not just the outward mask over her expressions, but her insides as well.
“It’s not the same,” she answered simply. And that was that.
They continued shopping for groceries for a while more before spotting a lone tea shack at the far end of the lane. It stood at the edge of a cliff, overlooking easily one of the best hillside views Vir had seen. The vast green valley had a sparse scattering of tiny colorful village huts in the distance, with wisps of fluffy white clouds interrupting a pink and orange sky above. A panoramic range of misty, snowcapped mountains far in the background completed the scenery.
They took their steaming paper cups of tea and coffee, and took a seat at one of the several mismatched wooden benches nearby.
“I always wanted to live here as a kid,” Nori spoke wistfully, inhaling the steam rising from her cup. “My grandparents lived at the cottage where we’re staying. Grandma left it to me. I wish she hadn’t, though. I wish she was still here.” The longing from before seeped back into her, more melancholy somehow. But also… warm. “That was my grandpa’s favorite shirt,” she added with a grin.
Vir looked down at the plain blue t-shirt he was wearing.
“Ah,” Nori turned her attention towards the shifting hues in the distance, where bits of purple were now seeping into the oranges and the pinks. The warm glow of the setting sun reflected in the soft brown of her eyes as she whispered, “so beautiful.”
“Yes…” Vir replied, and the sun dipped a little further to gently caress her smile, the soft contours of her face, and the loose ringlets of her hair that she hadn’t tied up today. “…beautiful.”
Nori
Nori found Vir staring at heragain. It was the same curious, rounded-eyed gaze, only with bits of orange dancing in them from the dipping sun. For a few heartbeats, neither of them moved.
And then, as if someone had called his name, Vir’s head whipped to the side.
“What’s wrong?” Nori asked, watching his brow creasing into a deep frown. She followed his gaze to a man standing near the edge of the cliff several feet away from them. He toed at a small piece of rock for a while before finally giving it a hard kick and watched it projectile into the valley below.
Vir cursed under his breath.
“What’s wrong?” Nori asked again, following suit as he sprung to his feet.
“No. Wait here,” he warned.
Nori nodded, hesitant, and watched him march alone to where the man stood toeing another piece of rock. She strained to hear what looked like small talk from afar, but couldn’t make out much of their conversation. Vir took out his wallet and handed some cash to the man, and visibly overcome with emotion, he pulled Vir into an embrace. They stood like that for a while.
Once the man walked away, looking drastically more cheerful than before, Vir sighed and his entire body slouched forward as if deflated.
“What did just—?” Nori started towards him at the same time as he began dragging his feet back to her, his features chalky pale. Was he just mugged? A weird, peaceful sort of mugging? “Vir? What happened? Are you—?”
Vir passed her by without answering. He didn’t stop till he reached the car and slid into the passenger seat.
“Sorry, I don’t think I should drive,” he mumbled, when Nori hopped in on the driver’s seat beside him.
“What happened? Did he threaten you? Are you hurt?”
He shook his head and drew in a deep breath. His shoulders slumped even further when he breathed out.
“You’re scaring me, Vir.” She touched his forehead, then his hands. His skin was icy. “Vir?”
“Just drive. Please.” His fingers trembled as he fastened his seatbelt.
“Talk to me,” Nori said while she drove. “Or I’ll follow that man and get it out of him myself.”
Vir let out a sound between a laugh and a sigh. His voice was barely audible when he spoke again. “The man... he was going to jump.”
“What?”
“He’s sick,” Vir continued. “His family spent all their savings on his medical expenses. They can barely afford food. He was going to jump, so they didn’t have to care for him anymore.”
“How did you know?” Nori asked after a pause. “That he was about to…”
