Anshu's POV
I woke up at 6 and took another good 40 minutes to stare at my phone; my new phone to be exact. I did not leave the bed until I heard my sister scream from the room across.
"How did this happen??? What will I do now?" She literally screeched.
In no time I sprung out of my bed and reached the dining room, where I felt my whole clan had already gathered. In one corner Dadi and Nani were sipping tea but the awe on their faces were clearly visible. Mummy and Divya mausi were standing on the kitchen door, and it seemed they must have reached the spot just a minute or two before I came. If they both reached together, I assumed they shared the first position and I stood second in the early morning 'unexpected' marathon. My maternal cousins Fanny, Kirti and Shaanu came third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Life itself is a marathon!
It was barely 7 in the morning. The smell of fried mustard seeds and onions from the neighbor's kitchen filled the room. Their pet dog was barking endlessly at the decorators who were trying to put up a shamiyana in the lawn. Sometimes your sensory organs do their job so well and start working way better than usual. This was that moment for me.
Dadu, mausa ji and bade chachu were sitting in the next room peeping into the same page of one newspaper. It seemed the world news troubled them more than the family emergency. Or maybe the situation at hand was not yet categorized as an emergency at all.
"Kya hua? What happened?" asked Mummy.
"See this!! My dress, its destroyed." Bellowed my sister.
I saw the dress in her hand looking helpless while my sister swayed it around showing it to everyone while the long end of the dress danced on the dusty floor.
"Did you not turn the iron setting to silk? I told you specifically the other day Anshu!" Mummy said simultaneously looking at me and Aastha. "Beta Aastha it's just a small hole. It won't be even visible."
"But it was a brand new dress! And you expect me to wear this in the wedding?" Aastha was about to cry. She is very particular about the little things. She has been the perfectionist the moment she gained her senses in childhood.
And the words 'brand new' echoed in my ears longer than I thought.
Mummy looked at me and blinked twice which meant I had to apologize now, or else this will not end and the whole Sharma family will remain hungry without breakfast.
"Aastha I totally forgot to change the setting and this happened. Am really sorry I should have been more careful. And I promise I will take this to master ji myself and get it mended. We will even have ice-cream while returning home." I looked back at Mummy. She was smiling. My work was done.
Aastha bleakly said, "It is okay Anshu. You just see I will choose the most expensive ice-cream."
I had been forgiven. I knew Aastha could not stay angry with me for a long time.
Or maybe I was about to be proven wrong in days to come.
Our maternal cousin Rohit bhaiya was all set to marry his one true love Ayesha. Elders loved her and children in the family cherished her. However from day one, I always felt something odd about her.
"I have trust issues Aastha. On top of that, I have seen her make faces looking at mausa ji's house when she came here last time. Didn't you notice?"
On the contrary, Aastha mostly praised her and would call me a negative thinker. We would often talk about her even though our opinions were separated by hell and heaven. But at the end of every conversation, she would convince me saying opposite attracts, and that one day I might experience it myself.
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TWISTED ENCOUNTERS
Non-FictionAnshu and Aastha are sisters who were living a happy, no-worry life with their mother. However, life took a twisted turn when they find out about there father and his connections with JCPL. Aayush is their sole best friend who has his own personal s...
