Aru Shah and the Chamber of Lies

Forgiveness

Hesitantly, Aru reached into her backpack and pulled out the book of poems her mother had given her.

She handed it to Kara, who held it in her hands gingerly.

"Here," she said. "Mom wanted me to give this to you."

Kara turned the book over and over in her hands, her expression unreadable. Finally, she asked, "Why?"

"Because," Aru answered, trying to choose her words carefully. "Because she wants to make up with you."

Kara pondered for a while, before asking, "But why didn't she do so earlier? If she wanted to, she could have come and met me earlier." Hurt seeped into Kara's former expressionless face.

Aru shook her head and said, "She wanted to, but you were already adopted by then. And, well, Mom got really busy, Kara, to have come by earlier because of...you know," Aru trailed off.

"Dad," Kara finished. Then, she hastily added, "I mean, your dad, of course." She frowned. "Why couldn't she have come after she trapped him in the lamp?"

"Well, she sorta did," Aru said, shifting her eyes. Telling her sister that their mother basically stalked her was probably not the best idea. "But she found out that you were in a loving home, so she thought it would be best to just leave you here, I guess."

Kara sighed, but she looked a little less upset. "But, I still don't really know if I'm up to talking to her. I mean, so much has happened. I don't think everything is going to be okay after all that," she admitted.

Aru bit her lip. "Kara," she started to say, the right words suddenly springing to her mind. "I'm not asking you to forget the past, and neither is Mom. I'm just saying that maybe you and Mom should talk and find your own definition of 'okay'. After all, every relationship has its own bumps and struggles, but that's what makes it stronger."

She grinned to herself. That was an amazing speech if she did say so herself.

Kara looked stunned. Then, she suddenly asked, "Is your relationship to Aiden like that too?"

Aru was momentarily taken aback, but she nodded sadly. "Yeah...even we have our own rough bumps."

Kara looked concerned. "Did something happen between you two?"

Aru sighed. "It's nothing. We'll work it out...hopefully."

Kara gave her a sympathetic glance, and hugged her book. "Thanks, Aru. Maybe I will go talk to Mom after this whole thing is over."

Aru nodded gratefully. "That would be great."

After that conversation was over, Kara started to gush over the poems that were in the book, but Aru wasn't listening. She was still thinking about her own words. Maybe she and Aiden were going through a rough patch, but like Aiden's mom had told her, maybe they should talk it out?

Aru had tried to avoid it for so long, but after giving it another thought, maybe she should try and open up to Aiden. She was really angry at him, but most of her anger had dissipated by now.

Aru shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Maybe she would talk it out with him, but not right now. They had a huge quest coming up, and Aru had a feeling that they were going to have to be as focused as ever.