Page 124 of Tiger's Curse
I smiled at him tremulously, threw my arms around his neck, and sobbed anew on his shoulder. “Thank you. Thank you so much. You are like family to me too. I will miss you terribly.”
He hugged me back. “And I will miss you. Now, enough tears. Why don’t you go out for a swim and get some fresh air while I make the arrangements.”
I swiped a sparkling tear from my eye. “That’s a good idea. I think I will.”
He squeezed my hand and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
I decided to take his advice, changed into my bathing suit, and headed for the pool. I swam laps for a while, trying to put my energy into something other than my emotions. When I got hungry, I tried wishing for a club sandwich and one appeared next to the swimming pool.
This sure comes in handy! I don’t have to even be in the same room! I wonder what the range on that thing is.
I ate my sandwich and lay out on a beach towel until my skin got hot, then I hopped back in the pool and floated lazily for a while to cool off.
A tall man walked up and stood by the pool directly in front of the sun. Even shading my eyes, I couldn’t see his face, but I knew who it was.
I scowled, “Ren! Can’t you leave me alone? I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
The man stepped out of the sun, and I squinted up at him.
“You don’t want to see me? And after I came all this way?” He clicked his tongue, “Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. Someone needs to teach you some manners, Miss.”
I gasped, “Kishan?”
He grinned, “Who else,bilauta?”
I squealed, darted up the pool steps, and rushed over to him. He opened his arms to me and laughed as I gave him a big wet hug.
“I can’t believe you’re here! I’m so glad.”
He looked me up and down with his golden eyes, so different from Ren’s, “Well, if I knew that this was the kind of welcome I’d be getting, I would have come here a lot sooner.”
I laughed. “Stop teasing me. How did you get here? Did you get six hours back too? You have to tell me all about it!”
He raised his hand and chuckled. “Hold on, hold on. First of all, who’s teasing? And secondly, why don’t you go get changed, and we can sit down for a long talk.”
“Okay.” I smiled at him then faltered, “But can we meet out here by the pool?”
He cocked his head, confused, but smiled. “Sure, if you want to. I’ll just wait for you right here.”
“Alright. Don’t move. I’ll be right back!”
I ran up the back steps to my room and quickly showered, got dressed, and brushed out my hair. I also ordered two root beer floats, courtesy of the Golden Fruit, and carried them down with me.
When I got to the pool, he had moved two deck chairs over into the shade and was sitting back and relaxing with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. He was wearing a black T-shirt with jeans, and his feet were bare. I sunk down into the other chair and handed him a root beer float.
“What’s this you’ve brought me?”
“It’s called a root beer float. Try it.”
He took a sip and coughed. I laughed. “Did the bubbles go up your nose?”
“I believe they did. It’s good though. Very sweet. It reminds me of you. Is it from your country?”
“Yes.”
“If I want to answer your questions before nightfall, I guess I’d better get started.”
He took another sip of his root beer and continued, “First, you asked me if I got six hours back. The answer is yes. You know, it’s strange. I’ve been content being a tiger for centuries, but after you and Dhiren visited, I’ve felt uncomfortable in my black hide. For the first time in a long time, I wanted to be alive again, not as an animal but as myself.”
