when Tito was fourteen
When Tito was fourteen, her parents called an intervention. The fire in her heart had never been set alight.
The alchemist lugged his giant box into the room, huffing and puffing from the exertion. He opened the box with a flourish as the box unfolded to form three layers. On each step, lay several colored, shiny vials filled with liquids and powders. Some were efflourescent; some glowed dark as night.
Tito felt a worried excitement chill her bones. She might finally get her flame today. She lay on the couch as a makeshift examination table, as the alchemist tried powder after powder. Then finally, it was time for the final one. A neon green gas swirled in the container.
“There are jobs you can do, jobs for the soulless. Of course, the souled find more enjoyment in these jobs, but it’s a living.” The alchemist delivered in a offhand tone.
And truly, it was a living. Tito showed up to work on time day after day, turned in near perfect work and did what she was asked. That was until Ike.
The new hire
Ike was the new hire at the company. Tito heard whispers under people’s breath. Apparently this was his third job this year. He quit the other jobs on a whim. But they said he was such a charmer, he easily got a fourth job here. Tito felt he probably had some connection to some government official no one knew about. But that wasn’t her business.
Ike didn’t bother Tito. She minded her business and she didn’t care how much everyone raved about him. His megawatt smile he applied liberally, his almost-too pretty face. His-
Hi,” she heard a voice from her desk.. Tito startled, dropping the pen in her hand.”I don’t think we’ve done introductions before. I’m Ike.””Tito” Her words came out in a garbled whisper.
But he didn’t say “unh?” Or “come again?” Like she was used to. He extended a hand and said, “Nice to meet you Tito”
Ike and Tito
It was more socialising than Tito had ever had in this office. Ike became a regular stop at her cubicle. He made origami animals, twisted paperclip into irregular shapes. Tito knew she should have said some-thing, discouraged him from wasting company resources. Instead, she found herself looking over the border around her cubicle more often. She sketched little doodles over his paper animals and he casually complimented her creativity, a word she hadn’t known could apply to her.
She was looking at the elegant sideview of Ike when a figure rudely invaded her view. Sade.
“Your contribution?” Sade chewed gum, looking bored of the conversation she had initiated.Tito’s confusion must have shown because Sade clarified. “For Ike’s birthday.” Every birthday, her coworkers chipped in to buy a cheap cake they could share around the office. While it wasn’t a tradition she felt strongly about, she didn’t think it would be enough for Ike.
Tito stepped into her apartment the next day, hands full of art supplies. While she had loved doodling, her new bold step was going to be to paint. Every night she followed instructions in the “Beginner’s guide to acrylics.”
After that, she spent the next few days obsessing over paints after work. There was a quiet joy in mixing paints, figuring out what values to use. She learnt how the eye could deceive you. And how to see properly. And then she was done with the gift.
She sealed it in an envelope and put a little note, carefully putting it in her bag. She took a breath before walking in. Her face lit up when she saw Ike. She saw Sade roll her eyes at them.
All of a sudden, she could see her measly gift in the eyes of Sade. In the eyes of Ike. And she suddenly felt very childish. And small.
The gift
I got something for you” the words fell unbidden from her mouth before she could put them back in.
Her hands twitched as she gave him the envelope. “Oh, Tito” Ike said, and she just knew he hated it.”It’s beautiful.”The likeness of Ike rested on the paper. The way she saw him. A mess of acrylics layered upon each other. As she stared at it longer, she could see every flaw, every mistake that showed how bad she was at this.
He held it up beside his face and mockwhined.”Why is it prettier than me?”
Her mouth moved before her brain, “Nothing is more beautiful than you. He froze.
The moment hung suspended as if in eyes. She didn’t think. She couldn’t. Her mind was a sieve. And he kissed her. Or she kissed him. She wasn’t sure who started it but she knew she didn’t want to ever stop.
Heat gathered in her chest when she pulled away.
“Would you look at that?” Ike’s voice was soft.”What?” She asked, pushing down the giggle that threatened to burst from her throat.
“Woah,” Ike said, hitting the painting on the table before Tito could react.
Tito’s confusion gave way to wonder as the paper flaked away, slowly giving way to ash, as Ike struggled to stop the burning.
An invisible fire, dangerous. Only marked by what it burned. Ike had saved the painting. Only the edge was burnt. Tito tried her best to stop her heart from sinking.
A grin split Ike face as he remarked, casually. Like he was talking about the weather, “you’re on fire.”
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