One Day

I pace outside the abandoned house, the over excitement making me unable to stay still. I roll out the two parchment papers and read it again for the tenth time or so. I still can't believe he signed them! I think he is getting used to me and my pestering.

"Neelah, baby, do you need my help?" I call out into the abandoned house. There is a short pause. My term of endearment must have surprised him, as it did me. I rarely call him with any endearments, his name itself is beautiful to me. But today, I'm so happy that I'm feeling extra lovey-dovey. And, I know he likes them. Neelah, on the other hand, loves to call me all kinds of cringy nicknames. Mostly because he knows I love to hate them. He gets the kick out of seeing me cringe.

"No, no. I'm fine. Give me few more minutes. I'll be out," comes his delayed reply.

I start pacing again. The parchment papers held dearly in my hands. As usual, my mind wanders free. But, somehow always manages to wander towards my blue eyed elf and the numerous ways he makes my life more beautiful.

It has been over a year, fifteen months to be exact, since the day Neelah took me back into his world with another beautiful parchment paper from this very spot. A lot has happened since then.

I have been working in a wonderful company. Though my job takes up a lot of time, time I couldn't spend with Neelah or my friends, I still love it, cause I get to do the thing I love most. Creating homes. Neelah finally joined the Portal Making Unit six months back, after an equally tough and time consuming six months of training.

I met Neelah's parents officially an year ago. His mother is very sweet. His father though, is yet to completely accept us. He doesn't ill treat me or anything, he just isn't warm or accepting. Our interactions have always been distant obligatory one word conversations. Aeolus and Dherya on the other hand, are two of the best people is the world. Hands down.

Aeolus is very charming, fun and goofy. The pranks and jokes he pulls on Neelah are the best, most hilarious things to witness. He is like the big brother I never had. He is more of a brother to me than to Neelah. When Neelah and I argue or fight, Aeolus always takes my side. Mostly because it pisses off Neelah even more. Dherya, always the kind one, takes her brother-in-law's side to save him from our ganging up.

Dherya and I clicked instantly too. We can talk about decors and personalities and color palettes for hours. She has a beautiful golden tanned skin, just like Aeolus who takes after his father's color. Her race is west Asian. She has long wheat brown hair, and beautiful hazel eyes.

When the four of us are together, we have an absolute blast. We have been on many double dates of sort, lead by our wonderful tour guide, Neelah.

Though I've been coming to Amora for at least a year and half now, there is always something more to see. I never tire of it. Sometimes we visit the old places, sometimes we visit new ones. Sometimes we go alone, just the two of us, sometimes some friends tag along.

Aeolus and Dherya have a lot of friends. There is Aeolus' crew, the one he builds houses with, and their girlfriends or spouses. Some of Neelah's friends tag along too, although there are very few of them. Most of the younger generation elves accepted me pretty easily. Some of them are even pretty fascinated with me because I'm a human. Though the people have gotten used to seeing me around Amora, not all of them are accepting. Well, I can't satisfy everyone I guess. As long as they don't ill treat me, I'm fine with being ignored.

The most surprising relationship I formed is Amora came in the form of Mi Ra. A few weeks after I was allowed back into Amora, Neelah and I were having a picnic under the willow tree in the meadow. I was telling him about my first week at the new job, when she approached us. She wanted to talk to me, in private.

Neelah left us under the tree. She actually apologized to me. I had no reason not to accept her apology. I mean, she did what she had to. Just as she was leaving, a sad smile on her face, I felt sympathetic towards her. I said my own 'sorry'. I didn't elaborate on what I was sorry for. She understood. With one last sad half smile she left.

I was sorry that she was in love with a man who loved someone else.

I didn't see her after that for a few months. Then one day, she joined one of our group outings. It was pretty fun actually. She didn't look at Neelah with longing eyes anymore, and she was good company. She became a good friend somehow.

I even went on a girls day out with her and Dherya one weekend. We went to Asu. It was super fun.

I would miss my gang the most during the group outings. I always made sure to see them on Saturdays. We are still tight as it can be, but I sometimes wish they could see the wonders of Amora with me. Neelah, Aeolus, Dherya and Mi Ra would have loved them too.

They are all well settled in jobs themselves. Tanay and Poori got married last month. Janvi finally gave up on Raghav and is dating a doctor. Sveta is still married to her books and Raghav is hopeless as ever. Though they pestered me a lot about where I disappeared of to every Sunday, I never budged. They finally gave up. All they know is that I have a secret boyfriend that I visit every Sunday.

Though Sundays feel too short of a time spent with Neelah, there is no other way around it. Sometimes, when I miss him a lot, I take off after work in the middle of the week to see him. We would just cuddle in his room and talk, both exhausted from work. He has a big room now. Since Aeolus moved out, the partition is the tree house has been taken down between the two rooms. Now, it's all Neelah's.

On some days when I'm too tired to drive for so long, then trek, I would just write a letter to him. When the next time I meet him, I would give it to him. He does the same. I have a box full of beautiful letters from him, each one of them, I've read countless times.

All in all, life is pretty good. Missing and longing included.

The creaking of the front porch snaps me out of my thoughts. I look up and my eyes widen. Holy Shirt! My boyfriend is hot!

I stare at the black jeans hugging his muscular yet lean legs so perfectly. The white button down tucked neatly shows off his nice broad shoulders and taut abdomen. He has the top botton open, and sleeves rolled upto his elbows. How in the world does an elf living in an isolated island know to style his attire so sexily?

"You look super hot," I say to him with a wink. To my surprise, his neck and ears turn a beautiful shade of pink. Is he feeling shy? When he, in fact, gives me a flustered smile, I laugh out loud, my heart filling with love at how adorable my boyfriend is.

I reach him in a long step and kiss that beautiful smile of his. Our lips dance with each other's rhythm. The kiss starts to get heated pretty soon, as his tongue battles with mine for dominance. When I go to pull him closer, the parchment in my hand snaps me back to reality. I reluctantly pull away. When he bends down to recapture my lips, I put my hand in between. "Later love, we are getting late. Let's go," I say to him, once again surprising us both with the endearment. His wide smile is worth it though.

We walk hand in hand for half an hour. A different path than the one I took in the beginning. I found a shortcut after a lot of searching and analyzing the area. Now it only takes half an hour on a very uneven road to get to the abandoned house from the highway.

Once at my motorcycle, I turn to him and place a grey colored beanie on his head, covering his pointy ears. I hand him a leather jacket. He quickly puts it on. I notice that he is uncharacteristically silent for a few minutes now.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I ask him, taking his hand in mine. "It's nothing," he says, his eyes not meeting mine. I take his face in my hands, and look into his eyes. "What's bothering you? You don't want to do this? We can go back. We can do it some other time," I tell him.

"No, no. I want to do this. It's just, I'm nervous," he blurts out, with his eyes closed. As if it pained him to admit it. I smile at him, liking the fact that he is nervous. It means he cares. He opens his eyes and adds, looking right into my eyes, "I'm even more nervous to get on that monstrosity." He looks at my motorcycle in distrust.

That's when I burst out laughing. He sulks when he sees me laugh, his cheeks coloring in embarrassment.

"Neelah, you have nothing to worry about. I won't let us fall. Trust me," I say to him after my laughter subsidies. He turns away from me. Annoyed at me for laughing at him.

"Aww, don't be like that," I pinch his cheeks, annoying him further. "Here," I take out a face mask and put it on him. When he gives me a questioning look, I explain, "The pollution can be a bit much in the city. I know you are very new to the atmosphere, so you might be sensitive to it. This is just a precaution."

All his annoyance melts away, as a smile breaks out on his face. He gives me a hug, "thank you for thinking about everything," he says by my ear.

"Of course. Thank you for doing this," I tell him, my own smile wide. "Of course," he mimics me.

After I put a helmet onto both our heads, I get on and start the engine. I motion for Neelah to get on. He gets on clumsily. A chuckle escapes me at his misery. He is tense behind me.

I turn around to look at him over my shoulder. "Just hold onto me tightly. I won't let you fall. You can do that right?" I ask. His arms immediately come around me, his front flush against my back. His helmet right beside mine. "I can definitely do that," he says, as my heart beats faster at our contact. The feel of him against me never getting old.

With one last smile over my shoulder, I drive off. "Let's go break an oath!" I yell into the wind against my face, earning an excitedly terrified laugh from him.

~~~×~~~

My mom blinks once, then twice, then thrice, "he is a what?" she asks, for the third time.

"An elf," I say, for the third time.

I look at my mom, who is still blinking rapidly with her mouth open, where as my dad is looking at Neelah as if he was a very complicated calculus problem.

"Is this a prank? Is that ear prosthetic? Which country are you from? How did you meet my daughter?" my dad asks Neelah, his face holding a frown. I suppress a smile at his words, and I see Neelah doing the same in my periphery. Now you all know who I take after. These are almost the same questions I asked Neelah when I first met him too.

It takes well over an hour for us to convince my parents to believe us.

So basically I've been super good at Amora. I even did a lot of research during my non existent free time at the international meteorological society. It was super hard to get a pass. Luckily, Sveta's uncle worked there, who allowed me to tag along and taught me a few things. He thinks I'm interested in meteorology.

With the resources, I managed to track down few remote inaccessible islands all over the globe with the help of satellite images. I tracked down a total of 23 islands, and submitted the report to the Head, in return I begged him to allow me to let Neelah meet my parents, and to tell them the truth. He unwillingly relented. But in return I have to get them to sign an oath of secrecy themselves.

It takes one more hour of interrogation. How I've been meeting him all these days? How is this even going to work? How am I going to keep commuting for hours every weekend? Are his people nice? Is he nice to me? And many many more.

We answer all the questions. They still look unsure. I can understand that, it is a lot of information to digest in a few hours. But, no matter, my mom feeds us to the brim. Neelah seems to enjoy my mom's biriyani.

I show them their oath of secrecy documents, and they sign it, still dazed. They still look like this is all a dream.

When it is time for us to leave, despite the confusion and disbelief, my mom packs a lot of mithais for Neelah. She asks him to share it with his family. I smile at that. Typical mom. And I love her for it. My dad pats him on the back twice and tells him to be good to me. Typical dad too.

As I drive us back, I hear Neelah yell out over the wind, "Your parents are nice."

"Yes, they are. You did great," I yell back.

"This is nice too," he shouts.

"What is?" I ask.

"This. You, me, driving against the wind. Me holding you," he says, his voice muffled by the wind and our helmets.

I smile at that. "Yes it is. It definitely is," I yell back.

The rest of the drive is spent in a content silence. Though he felt nervous at first, Neelah seems to have gotten used to riding my motorcycle. He even seems to be enjoying it.

When we arrive at the abandoned house sometime later, we both sit under a huge mango tree in the backyard of the house.

Neelah is leaning against the tree trunk, where as I'm sitting in between his legs, and am leaning against his chest, my head on his shoulders.

Neelah breaks the silence, "Aren't your parents right? How long are you going to be commuting for so long every week? Isn't it tiring? I hate that you are the only one doing all the hard work," he says, the dissatisfaction clear in his voice.

"Then? What do you want me to do? There is no other option," I tell him with a shrug. Honestly, I don't have a problem, I'm accustomed to it by now. As long as I get to see him, I'm fine.

"Should I make a portal between my room and yours?" he asks, sounding serious.

I bolt up and turn around to face him, "are you crazy? That's illegal! Do you want The Head to throw us out together, once and for all?" I scold him. I can't believe he'd even think that.

His face immediately falls, a despondent look on his face, "I want to do something for you. Something so that you'd be more comfortable, and so that we'd be able to see each other more. So that we'd be able to live together one day," he says, his voice small and sincere, his blue eyes never leaving mine.

My breath catches in my throat. Live together one day? I feel so happy to hear those words from him. I feel happy to see him put so much thought into our future.

I decide to be honest with him and tell him the thoughts I have put behind our future.

"Okay, I'm going to tell you something, don't take this too seriously, just listen and imagine, okay?" I tell him, as I completely turn around to sit cross legged, facing him.

He too sits up straighter, his blue eyes intently staring into mine.

"Someday, a few years down the line, this house behind us is replaced by a new one. A house which is both traditional and modern. A perfect compromise between both. It has lots of rooms, as the people living in it have lots of family and friends. It has a nice big fence to keep animals away. It's backyard has beautiful flower and vegetables patches and fruit trees. In it's living room will be a pretend closet, through which one can enter a portal and go into a far away islands in the atlantic ocean," I say to him. With each of my word, his excitement grows, seeing him this excited, my own smile grows. I take out the sketch book I've been carrying around for an year, from my backpack. I show the sketches I made nearly an year ago, while waiting for him in this very house.

He flips through the pages, the large ear splitting grin never leaving his face. When he reaches the last page, he looks up, "I love it! Go on," he urges me to continue. His excitement is contagious, as I find myself describing more animatedly.

"I won't be working an office job anymore. I'll start my own company and take on only few projects. I'll do the consulting and designing, while I'll have hand picked staff who will do the execution. That way, I can work from home, and I'll need to commute less often. And you will be busy making portals and scouting habitable places for your people to live. We'll have friends and family over for parties and get togethers and events. They will all accept each other, and we will have a very fulfilling life," I say, grinning like a fool. It's not a problem though, because Neelah's grin is bigger and more foolish than mine.

Seeing his reaction, I get bolder and I continue in a soft voice, "We can get married, right here in the backyard, under this tree."

At this, his wide grin is replaced by a soft genuine one, my favorite kind, as he leans down to kiss me on my lips, "sounds perfect," he whispers against my lips

I give him a shy smile, and tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "What about kids?" he asks. At this, my eyes widen, and I look up to see him giving me a mischievous smile. Oh, he is having fun with this whole 'let's imagine' thing. Well, I won't hold back then.

"I want two. A girl and a boy," I tell him. He immediately shakes his head, "nope I want more. At least six of them, five girls, one boy," he says, a silly grin on his face.

I roll my eyes at this, "you can give birth to the extra four yourself then," I stick my tongue out at him.

He laughs at my reaction and pulls me into a hug. I too laugh and hug him back. I feel happy. Blissfully so.

"Each and everything sounds so perfect. Let's do them all," he whispers by my ear. His voice sincere, nothing playful about it.

My heart skips a beat and butterflies erupt in my stomach. A future I just described sounds indeed incredible, all because it's with him, Neelah, the love of my life.

"One day," I promise, fully intending to keep it all costs.

"One day," he promises too.

I look forward to that day with love and hope in my heart.

THE END END. 😉