I woke up to a dark room yet again, but this time there was no headache , no major loss of focus, only slight soreness.I felt quite better, well rested even.
Sitting up on the bed, I could almost make out the huddled form, just beside my bed, with the head of the person, resting on the matress just beside my hand.
Seeing him, the previous events slipped back with an ease. The compound. The night. Waking up. Belikov . Lissa. The interrogation and then darkness.I shuddered.
Boy! Hadn't it been a long day.
Reaching for the glass of water, placed on the small table beside the bed, I soothed my parched tongue, only to realize the hunger gnawing at my insides.
There was no clock to be seen, the windows shut close , thus no way for me to figure out, the hour of the day.
It took me a moment to realize that I had in no way been restricted, my hands and feet hadn't been tied up, nor had I been blind-folded, and I wondered if they had believed me or simply imprisoned me in the room with Belikov as the caretaker, 'or your jailer.' Added my mind.
The fine line of light from under the door attracted my attention as I stood to reach for a probable exit, but the door had been locked.
'Definitely the jailer.'
I couldn't help but think.
Helping my self to another glass of water, hardly had I taken a step back towards the bed, when the dizziness returned, my feet struck something on the ground, lost my balance and tripped, my eyes tightly shut, anticipating pain.
Seconds later, when nothing happened I dared to peek from an eye and seeing that everything was fine, I opened the other ,realising a moment too late that I was inches away from Belikov's face, who had been asleep moments ago but was fully awake now, with his eyes staring into mine, while one of his hands gripped my waist, the other, my upper right shoulder to keep me from falling.
The heat rushed into my cheeks, and the silence weighed upon me only to be interrupted by the sound of my frantically beating heart.
His eyes I noticed were brown with flecks of gold, they weren't as dark as mine but the color of chocolate and deep, as if they held wisdom of ages.
I hadn't realized that I had been staring until be cleared his throat, it was interruption enough to break the spell.
"You are awake."He said almost appearing pleased.
His face held no emotion, but his eyes seemed to dance with joy.
"Sorry, I tripped on something." I said hurriedly getting up.
"My feet" he said. "It was my feet you tripped on. I'm sorry."
"It's okay."I replied embarrassed at my clumsiness.
Silence persisted next as he got up and went to the washroom, returning in some time, with a towel in hand. He had washed his face, removing any and all signs of sleep.
"How are you feeling?"He questions.
"Much better."
"Would you mind if I check it myself?"He asked, raising one of his eyebrows.
"I have been trained in basic aid and medicine."He said defensively, when I contemplated a while too long before replying.
I nodded once in reply and he set to work.
He brought a thermometer, checked my temperature, held my wrist counting my pulse, repeated the process under my skull, on the side of neck, shone torch in my eye, did the how-many-finger-do - you-see test and a few more, besides asking a few questions.
After he was satisfied, he stopped and went through the stuff he had jotted down. He had made a note of his complete observation.
"I had no concussion you know."I told him defiantly.
"I know, but its better to conduct all the tests while I'm here." He answered somberly ,clearly hiding his surprise at my accusations.
"Would you like to eat something?"
His words reminded me of my hunger as my stomach rumbled in answer.
"I'll be back."
He said leaving the room and returned in ten minutes with a big cardboard box in hand.
"Take your pick. " He said, offering a box full of fruits and salads, and other light edible items.
I chose an apple and he took it from me washed and handed it to me on a paper plate, all chopped into bite sized pieces ready to be eaten. He chosed a plate of packaged salad and sat in front of the door.
We ate in silence, but the tension in the room was quite palpable. Trying to divert my mind, I began quizzing him on random things and surprisingly he answered.
"Do you love doors?"
"No."
"Do you love floor?"
"No. "
"Do you have trouble standing up?"
"No. "
"Do you have any allergies?"
"No. "
"Then why have you been sitting on the floors since I've seen you?"
At my words he finally looked up from his plate and at me, appearing slightly amused.
"There's not enough space any where else."He stated as an excuse.
Moving towards a corner, I dragged the covers with me, "there's enough to sit down. Come on up "
He stared at me probably gauging if my proposition was serious and when I didn't back down, he joined me making me feel better. The poor man had been unable to use his amenities just because I was present.
"What is the time? "
"2:30 in the morning."
"Wow, I was out too long! Wasn't I? "
My words seemed to affect him more than I thought as he got on defensive.
"Nurse Sonya, had sedated you. To help you rest."
The news surprised me, but I wasn't perturbed, thus a bare, 'hmm' was my sole reply.
"I am sorry."He almost blurted moments later.
To say that his words surprised me would be an understatement, the guy seemed so high and mighty always right and ahead of others, I had thought that there wouldn't be a time I'd ever see him at fault.
"I'm sorry for the way we interrogated you earlier, with no care for you situation or your mental health. We had assumed that you were a mole."
His head hung low as he accepted his mistake and his eye wouldn't meet mine, as he kept them fixed at some point on the ground.
" It's okay. "I offered in peace.
" It's not. "He almost growled.
Gone was his facade of calm and, in that moment I realized, he wasn't angry, he was guilty.
"What we did was wrong, how can you say that it's okay?"He said, his distress clear in his tone.
"Well you asked for my forgiveness, its mine to give or deny, so I'll go with you and say it was fine. Your apology has been accepted. It was okay. The matters settled."
"How can you?", he said as if partly amazed, and partly aghast.
"Because I can."I replied firmly, smiling.
" Thus I take it that you've finally believed my words?"I said testing the waters.
"We have."He replied.
Silence reigned in for a while before I started quizzing him again.
"How many more days?"
"Three. "
"Do you like ice-cream?"
No answer, he just appeared confused.
"What's your go to weapon?"
"Short knives,guns,poisons etc."He answered nonchalantly.
"Don't you have questions?"
"I do."
"Why don't you ask?"
"Its not my place to ask you anything."
"Then why are you answering me?"
"Because I can."
The random quizzing continued, until, I was too tired to speak anymore and fell asleep at random, with the memory of Belikov, tugging the covers from under my feet and putting them on me.