No Rights, None Wrong

Han and Ra drove in their sedan on an empty road, forest on both sides of it. It was wet because of the recent rain that finally had cleaned their car which had been collecting dust from being all over the country for 20 weeks. Ra in his hands clasped a photo tightly. Han looked at this and his troubled face grew sympathetic.

“We will find him, don’t worry.”, Han reassured.

“It’s been 5 months.”, Ra retaliated.

“I am telling you. That man knew what he was talking about. We will find him here. We have to try anyway.”, Han reassured, again.

“Where is this lake anyway?”

“Well according to the map, right here.” Han pulled over the car next to a small path that lead into the forest.

“Ready?”, Han asked.

“How sure are you?”, Ra enquired.

“I am as sure as sure can be.”

“Well how much is that?”, Ra interrupted.

“I told you…”

“Yeah, but still.”

“Shut up! We have been in this godforsaken state, for 5 months, you won’t even show me the picture of the boy we are looking for. Every person who sees the photo, calls him cute and then points us in a DIFFERENT DIRECTION!! Now this is as sure as I can be. So, if you want to come, come or you can walk back home.”, Han shut up, breathing heavily.

Ra replies in a hushed tone, “I told you. You can’t see Jay’s photo, because Jay only shows his face to people, he thinks he’ll like. He won’t like you, so you cannot see it.”

“What about everyone you showed it to? He’ll like all of them? ALL OF THEM?”, Han replied. This was not his first time being annoyed by this reason.

“YES, HE WOULD! I would never break his privacy like that.”, This is the 1st time Ra had screamed. Han calmed down, if you can call what he did calming down and asked Ra to get out of the car as it was time to go into the forest. They had to be out before it was dark, and the sun was about to set in 10 minutes.

Ra pointed this out, “Sun sets in 10 mins by the way.”

Han, “Let’s go. I am not waiting another day.”

“It’s a forest.”

“I would go in even if it was hell. Now let’s go idiot.”, Han says this and slams the door as he leaves.

“Wants to go to hell and I am the idiot.” Ra muttered before he got out of the car. Both idiots walked out of the car into the forest.

The boys with them had one bat each. Ra held it like a sword, while Han held it like a racket. They both walked into the forest. The leaves crunched under their feet. It seemed like every branch in existence was going out of its way to hit them in their face. Enough webs tangled in their face that they could have fallen. The dry leaves turned into mud. Their steps became larger and took more effort. They were desperately trying not to sink. Among the squelches, they hear a crunch. To be specific, crunches, from far behind but very loud, growing louder. They hear a growl, a growl that covers every other sound. Ra runs, and then does Han. They both run in a straight line. Ra runs, with no direction, no idea of where he is going. Han grabs him from his collar and stops him abruptly.

“Lake’s this way.’, Han yells. Han did say that he wanted to find Jay today. They ran and ran. The squelches turned into thuds as they found solid ground this time. Something was different, there were only sounds of one pair of footsteps, Ra noticed. He stopped and turned. Han was nowhere to be seen.

From a distance, Han’s voice echoed, “Keep running!”

Ra listens, he’s focused running. He can only hear his own heartbeat, growing louder by every fraction of a second. He trips into a clearing. Hurt he can’t get up. Thuds of someone’s feet are right behind him. Ra instinctively knows when they’re the loudest. Predicting, he’s doomed, he screams. He keeps screaming, till he’s hit in the head and sees it’s no one else but Han himself. He holds a gun; his face has scratches on it. He’s muddy, dirty and sweaty. A burrito of disgustingness.

“You brought a gun.”, Ra exclaimed. Pointing at his face, Han retorts, “Tell me you have a problem with it.”

Han doesn’t stop, he is too pissed to. He walks opposite the direction he had entered the clearing. Ra follows. This quiet walk made by two hurt people, ends them next to the lake.

Across the lake was someone lying on the ground. Ra immediately and Han after a little scepticism assumed it was Jay. They made their way across. They had a white bag and a fedora next to him. 10 feet away Ra recognised Jay's face and ran to him in excitement. Han, keeping Jay’s space issues in mind, injured and frustrated, decided to stay away.

10 minutes went by. Ra had been holding Jay in his hand. He yelled, “I think Jay will be ok with you seeing him.” Ra had started a fire, to keep them warm.

“Why?”, Han asks.

“I think so, you did find him and basically saved his life.”, Ra replied. Han didn’t really care about Jay. He did all this, because Ra told him to, asked him to. Saving a kid’s life was just a side-benefit.

He walked to the fire.

“Han, meet Jay.”, Ra introduced as Jay’s head turned.

“What the hell?”, Han had lava in his voice. “What do you mean?”, Ra had surprise in his.

“That’s a doll.” “What do you mean that’s a doll. That’s Jay.” “He’s a doll, he’s got button eyes and a cloth face, he’s a DOLL!”

“Why are you kidding right now?”

“I am kidding…I AM KIDDING. Where’s Jay, show me the photo you’ve been showing to everyone.”

“What? Don’t make jokes now, he’s been lost for 5 months. We need to take him home alright, no time for jokes.”, He sniggers thinking this is funny.

“Home? He might as well be in a landfill. Show me the photo, RIGHT NOW!!”

Ra had no idea what was going on, he looked at Jay and scoffed. Denying anything to Han right now would only make Han’s mood worse, Ra knew that. He handed him the photo.

“There.” He threw it at Han.

Han grabbed it from the air and looked at it. “This is a photo of a doll.”

Ra replied now just as angry, “I don’t know what kind of humans you meet and do other shit with, but that’s a human and this is an argument I never thought I’d have with you.”

Han picked up Jay by his collars, “I drove across a state, TWICE, for this! I almost died because of THIS!”

“Drop him!”

“What did you show to all those people, did you have another photo? Was this just a big way to screw with me.”

“What in the world are you talking about, that photo is the one I’ve been clutching. Stop blaming me, stop acting crazy and drop JAY!”

“Oh really?”

“YES!”

“LOOK AT ME!”, he pointed at the scar on his face. “This is never going away, because of THIS! Because of all of THIS!”

He threw Jay into the lake. “Are you drunk?”. Ra jumped into the lake. In the dark lake, Ra splashed, took many plunges. He couldn’t find Jay. He waved his arms around helplessly. Then he hit something. He recognized it was fabric and grabbed it tight. Panting for breath swimming for the surface. When he broke it, he saw it was Jay. He had saved him.

They made it to the shore and lay there panting.

“Oh, thank God. We’re safe, don’t worry Jay”, Ra said. He then felt something on his forehead. Han had a gun pointed at him.

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t give a shit what you think I am doing?”, Han’s voice was guttural and painful.

Han cocked the gun, ready to shoot it.

“Oh please don’t, oh please don’t.”, Ra prayed. Han didn’t care, not one bit.

“Oh please, please, please. I beg you. Don’t do this to us.”

‘Us’, that’s the word that got through to Han. His anger subsided but didn’t decrease. His adrenaline and pain got replaced by reason. He dropped some cash, he had on him, on the ground and his gun, and started to walk away.

He took out his car eyes. He walked all the way to the other side of the pond about to enter the forest.

“This is why, I am the only one you had a relationship with. You ruin everything good for you and everything good you would do.”, Ra screamed at Han.

Han didn’t yell back; he didn’t see the point. His voice was loud enough though, Ra would hear it, “You’re holding the reason in your hand and head. Idiot.”

The two men made it back to their homes but they didn’t talk for another 10 years. Ra tried to contact Han when he got married. Han just replied with a letter that said, ‘Congratulations.’ Just that, nothing else. 5 years after that after Han got married and didn’t even send Ra an invitation. He found out from one of the guests. that apparently there had been a fight between Ra and his best friend.

Ra and his best friend made up. Ra and Han never did.