"Enough," he roared, causing her to jump. The stone became hot at her skin, almost to the point of discomfort before cooling immediately.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude," she started softly, hoping to soothe the strange creature. She did not want a repeat of the incident in the library. Though she did not understand nor trust him, she could not deny that she enjoyed the company, no matter how volatile it was at times. "It's just that…honestly…you're actually rather aggressive. And it gets pretty tiring to have something growl in your ear all day telling you how pathetic you are. I mean, I hear enough of that from my family and myself, I don’t think I can take another being added on to the pile. I'm just trying to understand you," she added.
A nagging weight of unease settled in her stomach as she waited stiffly in the silence. She did it again, she thought with dread, she somehow alienated herself even with a demon who was desperate for contact. Leaning her head against the window, she welcomed the feel of the cold, hard glass pressing against her hair. Maybe she was pressing him too much or asking too many questions. Was it possible to become socially rusty? No, that would mean at one point she would have to have not been an awkward mess, and that certainly wasn't the case.
Giving it one last shot before giving up entirely, she tried again. "What was your life before you were captured?"
When he finally spoke, his tone was even and thoughtful, and she could picture the shadowy figure her mind always conjured for the djinn sitting against the wall in an equally shadowy room looking back on his life. "I am from a place where the desert sands meet the sharp rocks of the Majnun mountains."
Condensation started to quickly spread across the windshield. Sitting up straighter, Nadira's brows furrowed together as she watched a clear line begin to move through the fogged window as if an invisible finger was moving across its surface. As he spoke, immaculately detailed images of craggy mountains began to scrawl into the condensation.
"I knew from the moment my first thought appeared in my mind, that there was nothing before that moment, no birth, no childhood, I simply came into existence. Whether I be created or simply a natural manifestation in this world, I do not know, I just was."
Nadira shivered at the warm whisper of his voice against her ear and turned in her seat, her heart pounding, only to see the back seat of her car filled with a couple of sweaters and a few textbooks. Turning back to view the windshield, she watched as an image of a figure stood at the top of the mountain. While everything else was clear and defined, the image of the figure, what she was truly interested in was fuzzy and distorted, giving her no real indication at all of what he looked like.
Idrak continued. "I soon discovered others like me, solitary powerful creatures who drift along the wind exploring and tampering with the world."
"And did you—tamper—with the world?" she couldn't help but smirk at that question. Nadira was pretty positive of the answer.
"Of course, my darling," she could hear the pleased smile in his voice. "Show me a being with immeasurable power who does not enjoy a bit of chaos here and there and I will show you a liar. Oh, your books were right about a few things here and there, because mischief is what I do best," there was a growl to the end of his words that made her nerves stand on alert. It felt like she was in the car with a large talking jungle cat. "Sometimes I was kind, creating an oasis in the long hot dessert for weary caravans and sometimes I was playful slipping into the tents of brides-to-be and indulging their every desire before shackling their life to a man."
"Are you sure it was their desire and not just yours?" she asked skeptically.
Idrak laughed. "Would you like me to show you memories of those nights as proof of their eagerness for my attention?"
Taking this as her signal, she grabbed her belongings and stepped out of the car. "No, thanks."
~*~
Sitting on an open bench on the main campus lawn, Nadira turned her face up to the sun enjoying the small break from her classes. As usual, the weather was wonderful, inspiring other fellow students to come out and enjoy the wide-open campus lawn. Clusters of students dotted the sprawling green space creating pockets of talking and laughter here and there.
Forgetting about her communications homework in her lap, Nadira let her eyes track the group of girls walking towards the campus's dining hall, focusing on one girl in particular—Fatima Patel. As usual, Nadira could feel her chest tighten with an onslaught of emotions ranging from jealousy to just a simple longing to be included whenever she laid eyes on the girl.
"Now I have a question for you," curiosity mingled with the djinn’s naturally teasing tone, making her stiffen with dread as she waited for him to continue. "Why do you have no friends?
The weight of the off-handed question stung like an unexpected lance to the heart.
"Well, it certainly wasn't intentional," she mumbled.
She sat there for a few moments letting the silence hang between them while seriously considering just letting the topic drop, but something inside of her wanted to talk. It had been so long since someone actually cared about what she thought or felt.
Watching the group of girls enter the dining hall, she felt the jealousy within her begin to taper. Turning away, she let her gaze settle across the treetops and the bright white clouds in the distance.
"At one point in time, I tried to like things other girls my age liked," she recounted softly. "I went to concerts, hung out after school, I even snuck into a nightclub with people telling my parents we were studying as a group that night," she laughed. Even now, she could remember that pulse-pounding feeling of lying to her mother and praying she wouldn't see right through her. "But I found myself sitting there unable to absorb into the mood and get lost in the vibe of the music like everyone else around me. Each time, I just sat there far too aware of my own thoughts loudly questioning the purpose and logic of every activity." Lifting her hand, she ticked off the points on her fingers. "Live music surely couldn't be considered better than the original recording, right? What was the point in paying all this money to come see this band if we can barely see them, and they sound terrible in comparison to their regular music?" With a hollow laugh, Nadira sat back with a deep sigh letting the memories she tried to suppress for years wash over her along with the still raw emotions that accompanied them. "Of course, no one shared my views, and even after I wisely realized to stop sharing my opinions, it was too late," she grumbled. "All of my friends could see it plainly on my face and in my stiff posture that I wasn't like them at all. Soon the nickname "grandma" started going around. Grandma Nadira, who doesn't like anything, her idea of a good night is staying in and listening to the radio," she said in the same mocking tone they had used against her. "But you know what the worst part was? To an extent, they were right. Every now and then when my parents do go out, and I get the house to myself, that quiet, blissful uninterrupted serenity is truly is my idea of an ideal night," she said wistfully, a part of her hoping she didn't sound as lame to the djinn as she sounded to herself right now. Bringing herself back to reality, she tapped nervously on her open notebook in her lap. "Of course, I want friends, but right now, my circumstances are too pathetic to try and get to know someone, when I honestly wouldn't want to know myself."