It was a crisp and cold December night. The temperature was lower than usual. The sky was clear and the moon shone with a brightness that even challenged the street lamps. Bone-chilling wind was blowing but I was happy. I was walking with a beautiful girl. Her hair escaping from the beanie she wore were flowing with the wind. The twinkle of stars in her eyes was not drowned by the moon as in the sky. I was feeling the warmth from her cold hand as it was brushing past mine. I mustered the courage and held her hand. It was cold but soft and it fit perfectly in mine. We intertwined our fingers. I looked at her and she was smiling. It was a cute smile with the ends of her lips curled upwards. Her smile was different. It had innocence in it. It did not seem fake at all that spreads on someone’s face. We walked till her house. At the entrance, she faced me and held my other hand.

“I don’t regret not wearing gloves now.” She smiled again, her eyes twinkled.

I smiled as I did not have anything to say, “Next friday again?”

“Sure.”

I leaned in. She did too. Our eyes locked. I leaned in more, her eyes closed and I kissed her. Her lips were warm and soft. I felt a chill run down my spine which was definitely not because of the cold.

“Would you like to come in? For coffee?”

“I would be glad.”

She called me in and sat me on the sofa.

“Who is it this time?” I heard a girl’s voice. I turned around and saw a girl standing near the door wearing a white dress. Her hair was tied into two tails very tightly. Her face was very similar to Reena’s. I assumed it was her sister. She was not wearing anything warm. The house was warm but not warm enough not to wear even a sweater. Reena never told me about her sister or anyone like that.

I stood up and said, “Hi, my name is Jithin.”

“Rekha, Reena’s sister. Did she call you in for coffee?”

“Yes.”

“She does this with a lot of lads, she is basically a slut.”

It irritated me a bit, “you should not say something like that about your sister.”

“You can’t tell me what not to say, you are not my mother.”

“I am sorry.” I thought that it would be better if we did not have any differences. “I think that we got off on the wrong foot. I feel that we can be friends.”

“Ok, ‘friend’, what do you plan to do now.”

“Tell me something about yourself.”

“Are you taking an interview?”

“No, I want to have a conversation with you so we can know each other better. Then we can spend time together. So, what do you like to do in your free time?”

“I just lie down on the bed.”

“Did you watch television when you were a kid?”

“Yes, I watched it turn from something amazing to absolute shit.”

I have felt talking about something people enjoy makes them happy. “What kind of shows? Hannah Barbera cartoons?” She chirped up. “Did you watch Courage the Cowardly Dog?”

“I loved that show.”

I took out my mobile and tried to show her an episode but it was hanging all the time. Ok, maybe later.

“There is a theory behind it as what the show might be really about.”

“I have read those, courage being a farm dog, the house is the whole world for him and so, he perceives even small problems as big disasters.” We discussed for a while the best years of cartoon network. I almost forgot about my date, this was not good. I smelt burning milk so, I turned around and my heart almost stopped. Reena was just standing behind with big eyes, staring us, her mouth was open. It was as if she had seen a ghost. I ran to the kitchen and turned the gas off. The milk had burnt and only brown sludge remained.

“What happened?” I shook Reena.

“Relax, we only talked about cartoons.” Rekha said.

I decided not to intrude into their private matters. So, I excused myself. It was very puzzling. Why would she get so shocked on seeing me just talk to her sister? I could not see anything else that was wrong. I thought about it and I felt that I ruined my chances with her by talking to her sister. I decided not to think about her.

She called me on Monday, “Hi, Jithin, Reena.”

“Hi, how are you today?”

“I am fine, would you like to come to my place today after you are free?” She did not sound fine. Her voice was low toned. She sounded very depressed.

“I would be glad.”

“Ok, Rekha wants to hang out with you.”

“Would you be there?”

“Would you want me to be there?”

“I would prefer you to be there. I am not very comfortable around relatives.”

“Ok, I will be there with both of you.” Her voice did not change. There was something wrong. I could ask Rekha about her.

That night, I went to her place with some cake. I knocked, Reena opened the door she looked terrible. It was as if she had not eaten anything or slept in days. “Rekha,” she called her in a voice as loud she could manage. I barely heard it but Rekha did. She came out.

“Hi, Jithin. How are you?” She said cheerfully.

“Hi, uh...” I did not know what to say or do.

“What have you brought?” She said looking at the box I was carrying.

“This is some chocolate cake for you and your sister.”

“Wow! Reena, could you bring three plates.” She said and Reena took the box with me and went away slowly.

“Help her. Make her eat something, she is very depressed. Cheer her up.”

“What happened?”

“I will tell you at the right time.”

I decided not to pry too much. So, I went into the kitchen. She was just standing with three small plates.

“Rekha told me that you are not eating. It is very bad for you.”

“I am not hungry.” She said in the same depressed voice.

“It doesn’t matter. Go, talk to Rekha, I will make something for the three of us.”

She did not say anything. She just went out of the kitchen. I made some khichdi. I saw both of them sitting on the sofa silently. I took out three plates and served. I thought based on her condition, she would want something filling. Rekha mouthed the words 'feed her'. So, I took a spoon and tried feeding her. At first, she protested but then started eating. Rekha’s plate was untouched. I looked at her and pointed to her plate.

“Later. Just refrigerate it.”

This went on for a few weeks, Reena would only eat if I fed it to her. My relationship with Rekha deepened and I got much closer to Reena but still I did not dare to ask her the reason of her problems. She was still depressed but now she was pretending to be fine in front of me. Rekha asked me to take Reena out but she always declined. So, I would try to do something nice for her in the house. With Rekha’s help, I would cook for her, make her a ‘den’ with blankets and we would watch some movie. We would exercise together. This improved her mood for a while but she would go down again. Whenever I was stuck, Rekha would tell me.

I asked Rekha again, “Why is she so depressed? Maybe, if I know the problem, I could solve it.”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Trust me, I do.”

She took me to the dresser in her room.

I was confused, “Is there some note or something in here?”

She nodded her head sideways and pointed into the mirror.

“What?”

“What do you seen in the mirror?” She asked me.

“I can see myself and-” And that was it.