The Devil's Sweetheart

A question constantly lingered in Leena\'s head, which she couldn\'t help but shoot at Morvena. \'\'How did you seal Devin\'s memories in my body? Memories are not physical.\'\'

\'\'Energy. It\'s energy,\'\' Morvena corrected. \'\'Everything in this world is made of energy. Thoughts begin it, emotions amplify it, and actions increase the momentum. Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It just takes shape from one form to another. I just transferred his energy into a tattoo and buried inside your soul.\'\' Morvena said. \'\'Alright. I am speaking a lot of science here. It\'s getting late. You need to leave this place.. I cannot guarantee that you will cross paths with wild animals.\'\'

As long as there are no ghosts, I can deal with anything. Leena internally murmured.

\'\'I heard a ghost roaming in this forest,\'\' Morvena whispered into Leena\'s ears. She then left the room with a silly smile on her face.

\'\'Ah!\'\' Leena kicked the rail of the bed. \'\'Did she sneak into my thoughts?\'\' Grumbling to herself, Leena followed behind Morvena to the room Nick and Winter were present. Both were playing a card game to pass the time.

The duo snapped at the door, sensing someone\'s presence. Nick gazed at Leena in a question. Leena mouthed \'later\' before turning to Winter. \'\'Winter_\'\'

\'\'I am fine, Leena. Don\'t worry about me.\'\' Winter admitted knowing Leena\'s thoughts. \'\'The only thing I feel sad about is I lost my identity.\'\'

\'\'I can help you, Winter.\'\'

\'\'It\'s not easy.\'\' Winter motioned Leena to come near her and hugged Leena. \'\'I am happy to see you.\'\'

\'\'Me too.\'\' Leena smiled. After a couple of minutes of pleasantries, Leena and Nick started since it was turning dark.

Before stepping out of the house, Nick turned back and smiled at Winter. \'\'Bye.\'\' He waved his hand at her.

Pursing her lips, Morvena mouthed a goodbye. Lips parted, Leena and Morvena glanced at each other. In just one hour?

Winter watched Leena and Nick departing from the house, her eyes didnot leave a certain person\'s sight for a second. 

\'\'He left,\'\' Morvena said. She could see a glint of happiness in her cousin\'s eyes after a long time.

\'\'He is cute, isn\'t he?\'\' When Morvena took Leena to a private room, she was left alone with a man. Enger left a deep regret mark on her life. She hated sharing her space with a man, but she liked his company. He was damn funny and cute.

\'\'He is wild as well,\'\' Morvena stated, tucking Winter with the blanket.

\'\'I like wild men.\'\' Winter smiled mischievously. \'\'Can you give his number.\'\'

\'\'Sleep,\'\' Morvena commanded. \'\'Or I will have to use force.\'\' 

Winter pouted before closing her eyes. Her cousin\'s tortures are worse than nightmares.

.....

The ten hours journey felt like a decade to Leena. All the way, she recalled every memory of Devin\'s. She couldn\'t help but feel giddy all over. The moment she landed in New York, she straight away went to WD. Since it was office hours, she knew he would be in the company. To her surprise, she learned he had taken two days of leave. 

\'\'Didn\'t he tell you?\'\' Harley asked. \'\'I thought you planned a trip.\'\'

\'\'I..I we did.. I will talk to you later.\'\' Leena rushed out of the company before Harley would start her investigation.

She went home with the hope of finding him there. To her horror, Aunt Jalapeno informed her that Devin hadn\'t returned home since yesterday. She called his number, but it went into voice mail. \'\'I am scared, Nick.\'\'

\'\'Don\'t panic. He must have gone to friend\'s house.\'\' Nick patted her arm. Why does he scare people all the time? \'\'I will call the driver and guards right now,\'\' 

The driver and guards informed the boss didnot let them drive with him. Nick glanced at Leena, who was checking her mobile. \'\'I will try to find his address_\'\'

\'\'Not necessary.\'\' Leena passed her mobile to Nick. \'\'He is at Villow\'s garden.\'\'

\'\'What? What work he has got at an unknown place?\'\' Nick sighed. \'\'He is a mystery box. Let\'s go.\'\'

The location led them to a big house, closed with a shutter. Rather than calling home, it looked more like a garage. After ten minutes of knocking the shutter like mad people, the shutter at last opened up.

\'\'Walter!\'\' Came Leena\'s startled voice. 

\'\'Hey...Leena. Ummm..\'\' Walter broke out in a sweat with the new twist added onto their plate. \'\'How did you know I am here?\'\'

\'\'Is Devin here?\'\' Leena questioned him instead.

\'\'I..I..\'\' Walter stammered, wiping the sweat from his forehead. \'\'Actually...\'\'

The way he was sweating buckets, Leena knew there had something happened here. Before he completed his words, Leena walked past him and entered inside. 

Surrounded by three people, Leena saw Devin\'s body lay on the lounge chair with a tube attached to his brain. The scene reminded her of the dreadful accident. The thought itself shuddered her heart in fear. \'\'What happened?\'\' She turned to Walter. He gulped in fear as he looked at her bloodshot eyes.

\'\'Doctor Walter, I am asking you. What happened to my husband?\'\' Her voice raised to an octave, triggering the fear not only on Walter but everybody present there.

\'\'W_e planned to extract his memories safely,\'\' Walter explained all the events from the time Devin received the picture of Leena\'s savior until they lost Devin at the hospital. \'\'He went missing after the doctor informed your family to prepare for the worst. We searched all the familiar places, but we couldn\'t find his location. His subconscious memory is fighting with us, not giving us access to his memories. We all woke up except..\'\' Walter trailed off, unable to utter the last words.

This came as another surprise to Leena. When she thought everything was going well..

\'\'What does that mean? He will get up later, isn\'t it?\'\' Leena walked towards Devin and gently patted his cheeks. She then kissed his forehead. \'\'Come back, Devin. I have lots to talk with you. Please..\'\'

\'\'He won\'t wake, Leena.\'\' Walter said. \'\'He is stuck in the border world. It\'s a mirror world to no reality. He is in the assumption that you died, and his memories of you have become his reality.\'\'

\'\'No. It can\'t be. I am here, Devin. I didnot die. You saved me from the accident.\'\' Leena shook Devin\'s shoulder vigorously, but he lay unresponsive. \'\'Get up, idiot! Was one accident not enough to scare me? You do this every time. Don\'t you have any other work except making me cry?"

\'\'For how long will he stay there?\'\'

Walter stayed silent.

\'\'How long!\'\' She demanded.

\'\'Not sure. It\'s hard to bring people from the border world,\'\' Elias muttered, tightly clutching the chair for failing in one mission. \'\'I don\'t know. Or he may not come back to life."

His words jabbed her wretched heart hard.