Page 74 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
“Argh! Let me go, you ass!” Vir protested, trying to push his twin away.
With a bark of laughter, Adi planted a peck on his forehead before releasing him.
Nori chuckled, watching Vir roll his eyes as he scooted away from his brother, the tips of his ears bright red.
“I’m heading back home tomorrow. Why don’t you two come with me? Take a few days off before you leave for Delhi?” Adi asked, leaning back on the couch with another sandwich. “It’s Anita’s birthday in a couple of days. It’d be a pleasant surprise for her, too.”
The shift was so subtle at first, Nori barely noticed it. But the way Adi carried himself changed as he continued to talk. And soon, there was a remarkable difference in his demeanor as compared to a few minutes ago, before they’d told him the news. His movements became more fluid, relaxed. Relieved.
And when he smiled again, she could tell it was real. Not forced. Not a façade.
She glanced at Vir and found him staring at her expectantly. As if waiting for her to reply. The offer was too tempting to refuse. A valid excuse to extend their vacation by a few more days? Yes, please.
“We could go.” She shrugged, drawing on all the casual nonchalance she could muster. “If you’d like that.”
“I’d like that.” He knew.
“Okay,” she replied with a straight face.
“Okay.” His eyes softened.
“Okay!” Adi chimed in.
Nineteen
Vintage Vapor-Powered Engine
April 2019:
Auroville, Tamil Nadu
Vir
Got everything?” Vir asked, pulling thefront door open.
“Yeah. Let’s go,” Nori replied, joining him at the threshold.
He put an arm around her and watched as her gaze swept over the place one last time. Her rush of bittersweet emotions mirrored his own.
“We had to leave at some point,” she said, offering him a small smile. But her words seemed directed more towards herself than at him.
The door shut behind them, and they made their way through the courtyard connecting the studios to the reception lobby.
“The jackets!” Nori exclaimed, coming to an abrupt halt midway. “I forgot the jackets.”
“I’ll get them.” Vir caught her as she started turning around. “Go on ahead. I’ll meet you in five.”
“First closet by thedoor.” She handed him the card-key.
Vir found their winter jackets inside the closet, long forgotten in the warm, humid Kochi weather.
As he took the smaller one off its hanger, something fell out of the pocket and went clattering to the floor. He crouched to pick it up and froze, his fingers hovering inches from the shiny white pebble.
“What in the…”
The light from the overhead lamp glinted off its polished surface as he picked it up, half expecting it to vanish into thin air. It was the same white pebble that the woman with Nori’s face had given to him in his dream. The one with the gold etching—the etching that he’d later gotten tattooed on his chest.
Only this one didn’t have any mark on it whatsoever.
