Page 151 of Diamond Kisses

So…this is heaven?

With our family’s faith, I shouldn’t be here. I should be choosing another lifetime or waiting for loved ones before starting again.

Yet this…this was nice.

“Where are we?” I asked softly.

Krish looked around the room. “In the home of the man with the black heart.”

I instantly tensed. “Victor?”

His eyebrows knitted together. “No, I don’t think so? We came on a plane.”

“You…” My mouth fell open. “You came on a plane?” How was that even possible? My brother could barely stand walking through our neighbourhood if there were too many cars or people. The very idea that he’d gone to an airport and sat in a congested aircraft?

Just…it’s not possible.

“Tiger came too. The pilot said he could.”

“I think I’m missing a few pieces of this story, Krish. Do you think you can help fill in the blanks for me?”

His shoulders bunched, but he kept his hand on Tiger and relaxed again. “You left, and everything was so noisy. You know they mean well but they’re ever so loud.”

“Our parents?”

He nodded. “They missed you. They were on the phone a lot. Crying. Shouting. Looking for you. One day, I couldn’t take it anymore. I slipped through the back gate and sat on the swing in the park. It was noisy there too but at least it came from the pigeons and children, not adults and their worries.”

I risked touching him.

Placing my hand over his on Tiger, I murmured, “I’m so sorry I left you.”

He shrugged. “It’s okay. In the park, I found Tiger. He huddled under a bush. He was so scared. Everything was so noisy for him too. He can’t help it just like me. The vibrations were just too jagged, too sharp. When I touched him, I had to be the quiet for him, just like you were the quiet for me.” He beamed at the rabbit. “We were the same. We helped each other. When I went to go home, he hopped after me. I scooped him up and took him. We found quiet together.”

My heart swelled. “So he’s been helping you, then? Is that why you were able to travel and come visit me?”

He nodded with a proud smile. “When I’m with him, we’re the same. Everything about his energy is quiet, so I get quiet. Papaji says he’s a little bunny Buddha. That we were meant to find each other because we’re the same. He says Tiger’s eyes are full of endlessness. An endlessness that sees everything. I like that.”

“I like that too. I agree with Dad.”

“It’s okay, Khushi. Tiger taught me to just be innow, not later, not before. He helps shut out the mess of questions and people’s worries and I’m happy.” He smiled. “I’m happy you’re back, but I don’t need you anymore.”

My heart kicked at his honesty. I’d learned long ago not to take it personally. Krish didn’t have a mean bone in his body, but he said exactly how it was.

“I’m so glad, Krish.” I studied him, seeing a happier version of my brother even though he was far from home and routine. “It seems Tiger has taken my job.”

He grinned. “That’s why I called him Tiger. ’Cause he protects me. Just like I protect him.”

I stroked Tiger’s fluff. He was so delicate and fragile, so soft and fuzzy. In the past, Dad had tried to get Krish a service dog. A best friend to always be with him.

But no matter how many dogs we’d introduced Krish to, he’d never clicked with any of them. He said they were just as noisy as humans. Sometimes worse.

I laughed under my breath.

All this time.

Who would’ve thought.

A rabbit.

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