The Devil's Sweetheart

After a while of walking into the dense forest, Leena shoved her backpack on to Devin feeling the heavyweight. Both Drew and Leena packed a bag full of snacks not to go die out of hunger and it was not even a half distance they traveled with the clues, her backpack was almost empty with the snacks.

They have already crossed the four clues successfully and now it was time to probe on the fifth one.

"Red maple tree," Leena mumbled. That's all in the clue? She looked around and found several trees surrounding them. When she looked into the necessity pouch which Leah has provided, she found a clue which would lead them to the red maple tree. She dragged Devin along with her and finally found a clue hoarded to the tree trunk.

"Finish the half-gallon of water to find the clue." She read the note. It's just a half-gallon, right? Leena grabbed the bottle tied onto the tree and after just a sip, she spat the entire content.

"What's wrong? Does it taste bad?" Devin was beginning to look worried.

"Very bitter. Must be a mixture of tomato and lemon judging by the taste and smell." Leena cried. Can I throw the juice and take the clue? But it doesn't make sense to the game right?

"Don't stress yourself. Let me drink it." He grabbed the bottle from her hands and even before Devin could finish the bottle, Leena snatched it.

"Everything is better together. let's do it together." Leena countered and gulped the leftover juice gripping Devin's shirt tightly when she couldn't take the bitter taste. Leena doesn't want to show her weak self just because she is a woman and doesn't want to take advantage of Devin just because he is a man. To her, men and women are equal despite she hates them. She wanted to have a fair share of everything with him in the game.

Listening to her words, Devin was enthralled. Her brain might be crazy but she is way m.a.t.u.r.e than he imagined.

Once Leena drowned the entire bottle, she found a clue at the bottom of it. No mood to check the note, she pulled the hint and put it in her pocket and then slumped onto the ground opening the backpack to have her dose.

"I packed for both. Are you not joining me?" She asked pulling two vegetable sandwich wraps.

"Maybe if you feed me, I will?" With a smile, he walked and settled next to her.

"You never stop teasing me, idiot?" Hitting his iron arm, Leena grabbed her mobile to capture the beauty of the red maple tree when it piqued her interest instantly.

"Sorry, darling. My happiness lies in teasing you until you get mad." Devin meant it. Her cute pout, her frown when she gets angry, he couldn't get enough of them to the point of framing it in his album.

Ignoring his satires which she long used to it, Leena began cl.i.c.k.i.n.g the pictures but none turned out to be better. Why can't I master photography until now? Out of blue, Leena remembered when she was taking pictures of Andrew, she got help from certain someone.

"Can you teach me photography, Mr. Adonis?" She made it all sound so innocent.

"Sorry! I am very expensive." Devin turned away instantly. Why ask me when she has a beloved photographer already. He still couldn't forget about the way she praised the person in front of him.

"I will bear your expenses then," Leen was already thinking of giving a dollar when he teaches the basic photography skills. It's more than enough for a BFF.

"My fee would be your beloved photographer's name," Devin demanded. He wants to see if the person can take better shots than him.

"Not telling." How would I tell him if I don't know anything about my beloved photographer? Leena has no idea whether the mysterious photographer is a man or woman and the person doesn't even follow anyone or replies to any comments on Instagram. He or she must be ugly to confront the world. Poor creature.

"Then I am not teaching." Devin got up and walked out, he was equally stubborn this time. It was the first time Leena has taken a liking to someone and It was burning him alive and the urge to know that person was at the edges.

With a pout, she followed him opening her Instagram account to check for any latest picture and she found none. Slowing down to her pace, Devin slightly peeked into her mobile but Leena locked even before he could get a glimpse of the name or person. Damn it! I will check it when she is asleep.

When both were about to move ahead with the next clue, a pair of familiar voices started echoing into their ears.

"It's Andrew and Jaspee, They must be close to us." With an exciting voice, she exclaimed. "Love birds are seizing every opportunity to get alone."

"Love birds?" Devin asked in confusion.

"Ah! You don't know about them, right? Both are in love." Leena said as a matter of fact.

Devin's lips parted in shock hearing the unexpected news. How did she concluded that they are in love? Devin marveled.

"You might have mistaken." Devin tried to clear her confusion. "They are not_"

"No! I have seen it with my own eyes." Leena attempted to explain to him better so that he could vary from them.

"What did you see?" Devin asked. Now he is worried about the two. She would have assumed something.

"When I went to talk with Andrew, I have discovered something which I shouldn't, in their room. Dirty fellows! They were mashing fruits and making fruit salad with it in the bed without closing the door and that's the reason I asked you to stay away from them." She explained in one breath and a giggle escaped from her lips.

Devin did not know how to respond. So this was the thing she has been trying to explain to me for the past two days? Telescope, black hole. While Devin was feeling that she got jealous that his friends were occupying his time, she has started living in her deception world again crashing his heart.

Devin felt bad for Drew and Jasper suddenly. Now that they have caught my sweetheart's attention, their doom has started. With her crazy brain, she would have already visualized far away.

"Putting them aside, what's the next clue?" Devin asked to distract her from the thoughts.

"I found a small box in the bottle and it is just a blank paper." Leena handed him not understanding why they have put up an empty paper as a clue.

"The paper itself must be a clue. Open the kit which Leah has given to you. If I am not wrong, it might be connected to the hint we are searching." Devin implored, examining the paper carefully. When he saw Leena pull out the stuff from her bag, he got the concept behind the clue.

He grabbed a lighter, ignited a flame, and burnt the paper slightly. Right after that, a handwritten note was visible which appeared to be their next clue. "It must be written with lemon juice."

"That's brilliant. Even if it is a lemon juice, how did you know that by igniting a light, a note can appear?" Leena was again amazed. For a moment, she kept aside her self-love and praised him and it was the first time to applaud someone.

"Lemon juice is made of sugars, acids, and clear water and if you are diluting with the water and paints it on the paper, nothing appears. Only when you heat it, the sugars react with oxygen and turns into a brownish shade and that's when you see the words. Ideally, it looks like magic but in reality, it's just chemistry." Devin explained.

"Are you a chemist? or perhaps a scientist?" Leena asked with curiosity. 

"None." He chuckled and grabbed Leena's hand and pulled her along with him. Glancing at the hands which were harmoniously ambling, she gleamed in happiness.

While they entered into the forest a little deeper, except the occasional birds chirping or the gushing lake squeaks, they couldn't listen to anything. Leena tightly gripped Devin's jacket in fear of animals, even after they were given heads up that there would be no wild ones.

"Don't worry. Even if an animal notices you, it would run away." Devin held her hand safeguarding her but with the steep slope in the forest, Leena's leg slipped suddenly, and even before she could fall, Devin caught her waist.

"Did you get hurt?" Devin asked, he was sure she must have got stung on the same leg which she had an accident.

"I am fine. You caught in time." She smiled and before she could turn away from his blazing eyes he lifted her to her surprise.

Strolling close to a place where a giant rock was nestled, Devin placed her on it gingerly to check her leg. The quiet atmosphere was deafening them and both were in a pool of thoughts. Devin wanted to ask about her accident but he too was terrified to ask when he thought of the cold shoulder she has lent him. But Leen was muddling with the thought of how to start.

"I_I suffered a near-death accident five years back when I fell from a cliff." She started.

His hand halted for a moment. Near-death experience? Did she suffer trauma at such a young age?

His silence was all she wanted that he is listening to.

"I had a broken pelvis, fractured back, crushed bones in my legs, feet, and almost every part of my body was torn and ripped apart. None of the parts in my body were spared when I fell from a cliff. For days, I laid in a weird state between sleep and awake. Everything seemed blurry until I got up and when I woke up from the surgery, I couldn't move my legs and arms. My physical pain was intolerable and when doctors told me that I would never walk again, I felt like my heartbeat stopped at once." A teardrop fell from her eyes when the past surged back at once. It was the first time, she has shared about her accident with someone since she did not want to remember the painful days which has broken her physically and mentally.

Squatting in front of her, Devin wiped her tears and quietly listened. A lump formed in his throat when he heeded to the horrible disaster she faced.

"I did not want to live my life relying on others for a lifetime and the naive me even attempted suicide on numerous situations realizing death would be better than to withstand the humiliation God has bestowed on me. But I couldn't give myself to lose again. I wanted to walk again and show the world of my loss." Leena hiccuped, her face crushed and scr.a.p.ed recalling the dreadful night. She has to touch the graveyard doors on that night but like a knight in shining armor, someone has arrived and saved her. She recalled the words he whispered into her ears when she was struggling with life and death. 'Fight with death by living your life, little one...' The only words she remembered before collapsing. She wanted to meet her guardian angel once but he was like a mysterious mermaid in an ocean hiding from her. Leena has been searching for him from the moment she got up but there was no trace of him as if he has disappeared into thin dust. Even the CCTV footage of the hospital didn't help her.

It was devastated to his heart to see Leena's wretched state and Devin craved to hug her and calm her racing heart and his last resolve broke when Leena glanced at him with her watery eyes. That's it! He instantly got up and embraced her tightly with his sturdy physique. It was the only way he could resist the stabbing pain in his c.h.e.s.t and to soothe her grief.

"Don't stress yourself if you are not comfortable, You don't need to tell me," Devin whispered stroking her hair. He is slowly understanding the reason she did not want to share the tragedy. The pain in her heart was evident in his eyes.

Why did she go near a cliff alone? Was it an accident? or it was deliberate? Devin didn't want to probe her further seeing the broken shelf. He was happy that Leena has put trust in him to share her secret. They have a lifetime in their hands. Devin was sure she would open up in the future if there is more to her accident.