Page 144 of Tiger's Destiny
“Kishan?” I called softly. But there was no black tail hanging lazily over the swinging bench.
Reality crashed into my brain: I’d never see my black tiger again. Tears slipped down, tickling my cheeks like soft fairy wings. I closed the door and pressed my forehead against the glass. “Ren?” I whispered, but there was no response.
Staggering back to bed, I grabbed my grandmother’s quilt and slid under the sheets. My hand hit fur, startling me, but I quickly realized that it was only the stuffed tiger I’d purchased in Oregon so long ago. I pulled him near, lay my head on his paws, and slept.
After a hot shower and putting on fresh clothes the next morning, I felt more human. I found Sunil at the kitchen counter, getting a lesson in how to use the microwave. A variety of breakfast items were spread across the counter.
I selected a plate of sliced fresh peaches over reheated waffles while I watched Sunil and Nilima, who was uncharacteristically flustered. She blushed often while he seemed not to mind a whit that he was in completely unfamiliar territory.
After the microwaving lesson, Sunil quickly picked up a glass and asked for another demonstration on how to get “icy cubes.”
I smiled, thinking that Nilima had better watch out; Sunil was a wily one. As she showed him how to work the refrigerator, I could see he was paying more attention to her than her teaching. Stirring my mug of chocolate, I wondered how Anamika would feel about her brother courting Nilima.
After a hearty breakfast, I wandered the house and found Ren in Mr. Kadam’s room, reading some notes.
Closing the book with a pop, he rose and took my hand. “Did you sleep well?” he asked.
I shrugged, not really knowing what to say. He frowned slightly and lowered his eyes.
“Do you,” he swallowed, “do you want to go home? To Oregon?”
“I . . . I don’t know. I’m not sure,” I admitted truthfully. Ren, Kishan, and I had had such a focused goal for so long. Now that our task was completed, I felt a bit directionless.
Nodding, he kissed my cheek. “Please let me know what you decide,” he said and then turned and left the room.
What was that about?I wondered.
On June twenty-fourth, one week after traveling through the vortex, I dressed with extra care and straightened my hair before heading downstairs. Nilima had left a note saying she was taking Sunil clothes shopping in town and that they were staying late to have dinner. I ate breakfast alone and then searched for Ren, but he wasn’t around either.
With not much else to do, I read most of the afternoon, took a call from Mike and Sarah, and then watched a series of movies in the theater room. I made kettle corn and fondly remembered how Ren, Kishan, and I liked to watch movies eating great big bowls of the stuff.
After the film ended, I was surprised at how late it had gotten. The kitchen was dark, and Nilima and Sunil still hadn’t returned.
“Well, happy birthday to me,” I muttered and headed up to my room. Not even bothering to turn on the light, I slid open the glass door and stepped out onto the dark veranda. Stars twinkled in the sky, and the fountain glistened below.
It had been two years since my birthday party back at the circus. Two years since I’d met dear Mr. Kadam and had been pulled into the incredible world of the tiger’s curse. I was twenty years old.What was I supposed to do now?
I’d fought kappa, dragons, and a kraken. I’d been bitten by a mega-shark, survived the burning of a Phoenix, dined with fairies, and killed a demon king intent on taking me for his own. I’d held limitless power, but that power was now stripped away. I rubbed my arms, but it didn’t make the feeling of vulnerability lessen.
I was back in my world, a world that should be familiar, and yet it wasn’t. For the first time in two years, I didn’t know what to do next. The feeling was not unlike the day my parents died. That experience changed me forever, and the things I’d gone through these past two years left scars behind as well.
My throat tightened as I wondered again why Ren was avoiding me.Does he blame me for his death? Does he wish he had been the one to stay behind? Does he feel obligated to take care of me?
I briefly entertained the idea of heading back to Oregon without him, but I’d already done that once before. Ren and I needed to talk before I made any big decisions. We owed each other that much.
I wiped a tear from my eye and heard a door opening.
Ren stepped out onto the veranda and approached me but stopped a few feet away, leaning his elbows on the railing. He looked out at the pool and said quietly, “Happy Birthday, Kells.”
“I thought you’d forgotten,” I replied softly without looking at him.
“I remembered. I just wasn’t sure if you wanted to celebrate.”
I shrugged. “I guess not.”
We stood there for a few silent moments. My pulse pounded as the seconds went by and the tension between us built. I waited for him to say something, but he wouldn’t even look at me. Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I turned to him and asked fervently, “Why have you been avoiding me? Do you regret being the one who brought me home?”
He stood up straight and looked at me with confusion. “Is that what you think?”
