Falak Singhania wanted a peaceful sixth year. But that evidently became too much to ask when her cousin sister Geeti announced her wedding and her Daado and Ammi announced that after her Christmas Wedding Falak's engagement would be held with their...
There were only two things that gave Falak succor; cups and cups of chai and catnaps that lasted depending on her mood. Well they actually depended on the time she had before Dorcas usually stumbled in the room, belting ABBA on top of her voice. But this time it was the bloody owl that crash landed it's feathery butt on her face and woke her. Falak say up groggily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and looked down to see Ullu, the Singhania's Black snow owl, ruffling his feathers elegantly. She extended her hand and scratched it soft head before removing the red letter clasped in its claws. "What bad news have you brought this time?" She muttered. Ullu was usually used by her two grandmothers, Daado and Ammi, and as much as Falak loved them she couldn't help but grimace at the neat signatures. She opened the letter with a slight tremble in her hands and drank the words quickly, her face paling as she read on.
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An angry tear escaped Falak's eye as she read the letter again. Fine, drone on about Raghav, but atleast they could've asked me how I was. Or how my classes were going. Raghav will keep me in line? She thought, pacing her dorm, he can't even get his cat to behave properly and not grope other people. But of course her Indian grandmothers think that he's just a ideal, sanskari boy. Bah! And they ARE pressuring me and going for emotional blackmail. Does baba know about this? She wondered quickly. Baba wouldn't let Daado or anybody decide this. Baba would've fought and told them that Falak has her own right to choose a boy. "Now they want my positive reply? Oh I'll give them a reply all right." Falak announced loudly to Ullu, who had settled on the windowsill and had been staring at her with his big amber eyes. She then proceeded to grab a spare paper and quill and with a neat flourish wrote her greetings at the top. She was so going to need the courage. And by tanks.
My dearest Daado and Ammi........
* * * * * "So there's that." Falak exhaled slowly and looked at her cousins. For the past half hour, with many interruptions, she told them the disastrous tale and showed them the letter she had carried in her bag, that suddenly seemed to weigh a ton. Payal had kept a straight faces as she read and looked up to meet Falak's gaze. "You can talk to Mehak apa,* maybe she'll play some strings." Falak threw her hands up,frustrated, "Mehak apa as sure as hell won't help. I'm sure she's the one who made Daado and Ammi consider Raghav. And if I say something she'll go full senti with 'just because I chose him and he's my brother-in-law you're rejecting him."" "The worst thing," Farid states calmly, "is that only we know his chichore* and cunning ways and that, gives him the upper hand."
That was true. Although Raghav grew up, mostly, besides them and his family had a tight relationship with the Singhania's, they were not particularly fond of him and his flimsy ways. "Remember the time he snitched in us when we were trying the cigars?" Simmi reminded them with a dry smile. "With the whole irony that we found them in his bag." Payal concluded cringing. The incident always gave her embarrassment and a blush coated her fair cheeks.
