Keeper Of Two Worlds

It's a secret, okay?

Sarmila woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of teeth chattering coming from Arven’s room.

She immediately got up and went to her son. As soon as her hand touched Arven’s forehead, she gasped. The boy’s skin was extremely cold, not just cold, but as cold as an ice cube.

“Arven?"

Sarmila woke her husband because Arven’s condition was abnormal.

Ajiman also panicked. The two of them took turns wrapping Arven in a thick blanket, but the boy’s body continued to shiver. The blanket felt damp from the cold air escaping through Arven’s pores.

“Take him to the village health post!” Ajiman ordered.

They set off on a borrowed motorcycle. Ajiman rode in front, while Sarmila sat behind, holding Arven, who was shivering uncontrollably.

At the village health post, the on-duty nurse examined Arven. She took his temperature, checked his pulse, and examined his eyes and tongue.

“His temperature is normal,” said the nurse, puzzled. “He doesn’t have a fever.”

“But his body is so cold!” Sarmila was on the verge of tears.

The nurse observed Arven’s body, which continued to shiver even though the room was warm. She shook his head. “Medically speaking, there are no symptoms. Maybe he’s just exhausted. You can take him home tomorrow if he improves, but for now, let us keep him here overnight."

Sarmila and Ajiman exchanged glances. They knew this wasn’t ordinary exhaustion. But they couldn’t explain it.

Just as they were about to take Arven home, his shivering suddenly stopped. Then his body began to heat up. Not just warm, but hot.

Sweat poured down Arven’s forehead. His face flushed red.

“His fever’s spiking!” exclaimed the nurse. “I’ll give him some medicine first.”

But Arven’s fever kept rising. The nurse was at a loss. No medicine was working.

Sarmila held Arven tightly. In her arms, Arven began to ramble.

“Mom, I’m hot and cold.”

Sarmila cried. Ajiman held his son’s hand, he was silent, but both his hands were trembling.

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Arven’s fever subsided on its own. His body returned to normal. Arven fell asleep, breathing calmly.

The village doctor was stunned. “That’s strange. I’ve never seen a fever rise and fall so drastically.”

Ajiman carried Arven. “Let’s just go home, Sir.”

On the way home, Sarmila kept rubbing Arven’s forehead, which had grown cold again.

“Ajiman, Arven isn’t just capable of producing fire and water. His body itself changes too,” Sarmila whispered.

Ajiman didn’t answer. He simply sped up the motorcycle, taking them home.

*

The next morning, Arven woke up as if nothing had happened. He ran to the kitchen, asking for breakfast as usual. Sarmila and Ajiman exchanged glances, relieved but still on guard.

A few days passed. The strange occurrences seemed to have stopped. Arven was once again an ordinary boy who went to school, played by himself in the yard, and helped his mother in the kitchen.

But Sarmila didn’t let her guard down. She was always watching.

One afternoon, while Ajiman was still at work, Sarmila was washing dishes in the sink behind the house. Arven sat nearby, drawing on the ground with a twig.

“Mom,” Arven called out suddenly.

“Hm?”

“Why am I different?”

Sarmila’s hand stopped washing. She turned her head. “What do you mean?”

Arven didn’t look up from his drawing. “None of my friends at school can do what I can. They just run around and play soccer. I can make rain and fire.”

Sarmila swallowed hard. “How do you know the others can’t?”

“I’ve seen it myself.” Arven looked up. His eyes were innocent. “If they could, they’d definitely show off. Everyone likes to show off. But no one ever does.”

Sarmila couldn’t answer. She went back to washing the dishes, her hands trembling slightly.

“Mom, am I bad?” Arven asked.

“No!” Sarmila turned quickly. “You’re not bad.”

“Then why are you always scared when you see me?”

Sarmila fell silent. She looked at her son. Arven wasn’t crying or pouting. He was just asking innocently.

Sarmila walked over and sat down beside him. She gently stroked Arven’s hair.

“I’m scared. But I’m not scared of you. I’m scared that someone else might see you and hurt you.”

“Why would anyone want to hurt me?”

"Because ...." Sarmila searched for the right words. "Because they don’t understand yet. They’re afraid of what’s different. But Mom and Dad love you. No matter what you do, you’ll always be Mom and Dad’s child."

Arven smiled. "I love Mom and Dad, too."

Sarmila hugged Arven. In that embrace, she promised herself that no matter what happened, Arven would always be her child. And she would protect him.

Since that afternoon, Arven never asked again. But his eyes had changed. There was something in them, an understanding that he was different, and that this difference had to be hidden.

*

Arven walked alone along the edge of a dirt path. His flip-flops scraped against the dry ground. His friends had been playing on the field earlier, but as soon as they saw Arven approaching, they scattered. Pretending they had other things to do.

He was used to it.

At a bend in the path, Arven heard the sound of crying. Not ordinary crying. They were cries of fear. He stopped, squinting toward the source of the sound.

A girl his age stood with her back to a bamboo fence, her body trembling. In front of her, a large stray dog was growling, the hair on its back standing on end. Its mouth was foaming, its eyes bloodshot.

The dog took a step forward. The little girl screamed.

Arven took a deep breath. His hand was already halfway raised. He could stop the dog with fire, or create a wall of water, but his mother’s words immediately flashed through his mind.

“Never let anyone know you can produce fire and water, dear. Remember what I told you, okay!”

Arven lowered his hand. He hide behind a tree, holding his breath. The dog drew closer, its fangs clearly visible. The little girl fell to the ground, crawling backward while crying.

Arven bit his lip. His chest felt tight. He couldn’t bear to watch.

Quickly, Arven searched for a large rock on the ground. He hurled the rock as far as he could into the thicket, away from the girl.

The sound of the rock hitting the ground broke the tension. The dog turned toward the noise. For a moment it hesitated, then ran toward the bushes, leaving the little girl behind.

The little girl was still sobbing, her body slumped on the ground.

Arven waited a few moments, making sure the dog wouldn’t come back. Only then did he step out from behind the tree and walk over.

“Kiana, are you okay?” Arven asked.

The little girl named Kiana looked up. Her face was wet with tears, and her knees were bleeding from the fall.

“Is the dog gone?” Kiana asked, her voice trembling.

“Yeah. It ran off.” Arven held out his hand. “Get up, come on!”

The girl hesitantly took Arven’s hand. Both of them were small and light, so Arven pulled her to her feet without any trouble.

“Thanks for helping me.”

Arven was taken aback, he was the one hiding just a moment ago.

“You were the one who threw that rock, right? You were scared of that dog too, weren’t you? You hid behind the tree, but you still helped me. Thanks, Arven.”

Arven wanted to say that she hadn’t been hiding because she was afraid. But he stayed silent, he chose to let Kiana think what she wanted.

“Are you alone? Where are your friends?” Arven asked.

“They’re swimming. I can’t swim, so they didn’t invite me to play.”

“Okay, I’ll walk you home. Come on!”

Without saying much, Arven walked beside the girl. Every now and then, he glanced at Kiana’s bleeding knee.

“Does it hurt?”

“A little.”

They kept walking in silence. When they reached the front door of a simple house with a wooden fence, the girl stopped.

“Thanks, Arven. Want to come play at my house?”

Arven shook his head. “I want to take a nap.”

“Mm, okay then. Be careful on your way home. I’m worried that dog might come back.”

Arven gave a small smile. “If anything happens, run to an adult’s house. Don’t try to handle it on your own.”

Kiana nodded. “Okay. Thanks, Arven.”

Arven turned around and walked home. Deep inside, something felt strange. He had just helped someone, but it felt like he was carrying a heavy secret.

“Mom and Dad would definitely be mad if they knew I almost used my powers,” Arven muttered as he looked down and kept walking, carrying a little secret in his heart.