Twice Shy

02 TWICE SHY

NINE MONTHS AGO

"I will be one of those brides cursed by angels,"

The extravagant sequins of bridal attires isn't something Ilyana was ever fond of, and she could almost tell her skin was reddening underneath the layers of tulle. The gold too, was suffocating, tightening around her flesh in a strangling manner making her cringe.

"Do you know the difference between a diamond collar and a diamond necklace, Ilya?"

Ilyana met her sister in law's eyes through the mirror who worked on her hair, anticipating Alyana to answer her own question knowing well it's her intention.

"It's about the bitch who wears it, that's all." She finishes.

Ilyana watches her carefully; Alyana, the perfect, patient daughter in law of this family, yet such a vulgar mouth.

"Why do you wish to be cursed by the angels, Ilya? You're being childish,"

"Women who disobey their husbands and break their heart, they're cursed by the angels. Are they not?"

Alyana listens to her quietly, as she continues, "What of husbands then? The best of you are those who are best to their wives, why is that not spoken of?"

"And how did he break your heart?" Alyana argues.

"By agreeing to this."

"You've agreed to this too. We've asked you, have we not? And you've talked about how perfect he is for you, what changed now?"

"That's before I knew you were all lying to me, including him, that I was basically being sold off like a prize to secure your husband's career," Ilyana snaps, her voice breaking and eyes sharpened like a sculpted glass.

"Behave, Ilya. He's your brother," Alyana grits out, hiding her hurt. Ilyana, however, lets it show.

"And you? You were my cousin and my best friend," she whispers, and for only a fraction of a moment, Alyana lets her guilt show before she defiantly raises her chin and shakes her head.

"No, was I? I cannot even recognise you anymore. This isn't you," Alyana finally says, before closing the door behind her and leaving the bride in her grief.

Ilyana slides to the ground, slumping against the mirror and looks out to the horizon. The sky rumbles, bathed in all melancholic shades of gray, appearing like some stubborn, gloom child. And when it begins to rain, she lets the ashen skies grieve for her.

________________________________

ILYANA groans, taken aback by the unpredicted rain and even more so from what she remembered of all times.

"It's raining pretty hard," Umer says. She bites her cheek, staring at the rain pelt off the windshield of his car, while the wipers aggressively move. She hasn't known him for a very long time, but it's possible there's a corpse in the dickey. Everyone else in their library has already left after work, and he was her only way out.

Earlier this morning she found the tires of her car flat, which transported her to the memory where Ilyaz remarked on being ought to teach her how to change a tire. Offended by his misogynistic assumption that she didn't already know how to change a tire, she set him straight and informed him that she's known for years how to do that. The thing is, she did not know how to change a tire, and she definitely did not know how to lie.