I Am Tired Of Being A Hero

The sound of something pacing echoed in his ears.

Ravi yawned and reached for his phone but it was not by his side. Habitually, he tried to reach the creases of the mattress but no phone wither. He sighed and burrowed deeper into the covers, he wanted to sleep some more.

Work! Was it time for work? Lateness equals deducting salary. The thought made the rolling Ravi freeze as he instantly opened his eyes.

It was bright outside. The kind of sun that one can only see in the midday. It must be 12 pm or 1 pm.

He was dead. He was dead. He was dead.

He jumped out of the bed and rushed to the door. He must have left his phone downstairs.

Ravi opened the door and his eyes met quiet cornflower blue. The cat.

"Meow."

"Good afternoon."

He did not know what to say to the cat.

"Do you need something?"

The cat shook its head and waited quietly.

Then why was he pacing outside his door? Ravi was a little confused. "I need to get my phone. I am late."

He instantly vanished, his body reconstructing on the ground floor. He found his phone and swallowed it.

57 missed calls. Lisa had called him 30 times. He checked the time and date.

12:32 p.m. It was two days later. He slept for two days.

Ah! No wonder the cat had been pacing in front of the door, it had been worried. He had said that it should stay clear from its room, that was probably the reason it had not entered inside. Just waiting outside.

Ravi bit his lips. It has been a while since he felt someone’s else worry. A long while.

He opened the fridge and saw the banana leaf in the first rake. He did not throw it away. He opened it and saw the grilled fish, just a little had been caught, less than a quarter. The entire rice was in the fridge, it had not been touched at all. Ravi started to get a bad feeling and rushed to the pantry, it was exactly the way he left it.

He looked at the cat that was at the top of the stairs and frowned.

"Come down."

His voice was cold, and he could catch the fright that flashed in those cornflower blue eyes.

"I would not hurt you. Come down first, we need to talk."

The cat walked towards him before leaping onto the counter where Ravi patted his hand.

"Food is fuel. If you want to grow up strong, to be able to protect yourself and the people that you love, you need to eat. Are you allergic to fish?"

The cat shook its head, a little confused.

"Do you hate fish?"

It shook its head again. Ravi sighed, he was not equipped to handle this child but he would try.

"I was asleep for two days. Our deal was I would provide you food and I failed in that. But next time something like this happens, you should help yourself to what the house is. Everything in this house, you are free to eat. Or is it that you do not like my cooking?"

This time, the head shaking was so fast that Ravi was afraid that the little head would fall off.

"You should have finished the fish and helped yourself to some rice. There are different sauces in the fridge. I work so I have food ready so that I can eat when I come back. You can just..wait a minute." He took out his phone.

Can a thirteen-year-old use the microwave?

"It says you can use it. So just warm the sauce and have a nice meal when I am not around. If you are not hungry then here is cashew for snacking. I will make more snacks later."

Those orbs were so large. The kitten is malnourished. He recalled what the doctor had told him, that Infernal Covenant, Ravi clenched his fist in his clothes, "Next time, you must eat. Your only duty in this house is to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can have any fruit in the orchard. If you can not peel it, tell me." He hesitated, "You can enter my room if you need me."

"Do you understand?"

The cat nodded slowly.

"You kept the souffle in the fridge, it would have spoiled otherwise. Even the rice and the fish, you have done well." He patted the cat’s head and a small smile appeared on his face.

The cat stared at him in shock.

Why was it so shocking, was his expression when smiling that horrible? He adjusted his lips and took out a jar of strawberry juice and poured it into a bowl.

"Have some. I need to answer some calls and we will go out for lunch."

The hairs on the cat’s body rose up when it heard going out. Ravi patted, "I am strong. Very strong. I would not let anything happen to you. Drink some juice, it is from our farm. I will be right back."

He stood on the veranda and looked through all the messages. Lisa was really animated. One time, she would be scolding him, and another time, she would be begging him not to be in danger.

He wanted to call but he was not sure if he sounded sick enough. Draco, Tom, and even Sarah had sent messages to him. But there was nothing from Arlen, no message, no call.

He must be busy with the suspect and the villains that were captured at Helios.

The excuse was rational but Ravi could not prevent the sad thread that crept into his heart.

Thinking for a while, he sent a message to everyone. It was simple.

"I am feeling sick. I apologize for the inconvenience my actions would cause everyone. I would take three days from my sick leave to recover." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

For Lisa, he added, "I am not dead. I am not kidnapped. My kidneys are not being harvested. No, you are not in my will and I would not like lilies on my grave."

After sending the message, he returned to the kitchen, the bowl of juice was empty, and its eyes were looking longingly at the bottle on the counter.

"If you fill up now, you will not be able to eat lunch. Let’s go. Hope you like porridge." The man and cat walked to the door when Ravi paused, ’You can shapeshift, right?"