A Thousand Truths

Chapter 2

"Aarohi, get up, fast. It is your result today and you are still sleeping. It seems like I am more excited about your result than you are. Come on, get up now." Kairav was continuously hitting Aarohi with a pillow as he said this. Normally, Aarohi gets very irritated whenever Kairav wakes her up like this and retaliates by hitting him back, but today was her result, so she let it pass.

"Bhaiya, would you please switch on my laptop and I will be there in a second."

"Aarohi, sweetie, the laptop is switched on, the website of your college has been opened, everyone is gathered there and we are waiting for her royal highness to bring her prestigious butt to the dining table, log in and check her result," Kairav said in a very mocking tone.

Aarohi gave him a very irritated look and ran downstairs to the dining table. It was 10 in the morning. Results were out at 8. She could not believe that she slept for so long on the day of her result. She wondered why none of her friends called her to ask about her result. She quickly took out her phone from her pajama pockets to check and immediately wanted to give herself a tight slap. Her phone was on silent mode and there were 29 missed calls, 14 of them from Pankhudi, and the rest from her friends. Pankhudi was going to kill her. She knew it.

"Aaru, come fast beta, we are all waiting for your result."

"yeah Mimi, here I am, and just give me 2 seconds to log in and check my result"

Aarohi knew that she had done well in her exams and that she would score well, but what she did not know was that she would be the highest scorer in her university.

"Oh, my gooooood !!!!! Aaru topped" Akshara shouted with joy and surprise. She hugged Aarohi and danced a happy dance with her. Everyone congratulated Aarohi and the family decided to do a little celebration for her achievement.

But right now the only thing going on in Aarohi's head was to inform Pankhudi about her result. She quickly texted Pankhudi her score and told her that she scored the highest. As soon as she sent the message that her phone started ringing. It was Pankhudi. Aarohi got very tensed, she did not want to talk to Pankhudi in front of everyone, and neither did she want that her family found out that Pankhudi was calling her. She quickly cut the call and messaged Pankhudi saying that she would talk to her later. Aarohi joined her family who was having breakfast and still rejoicing, but her mind was still thinking about Pankhudi and everyone else in Shantipur, the place where she had been living and studying for the last seven years. She wanted to go back there as soon as she could.

It was almost midnight and Akshara was sitting on the terrace, looking at the stars. This was the place where she always came whenever she wanted peace. Her mind wandered to the little party that they all did this evening to celebrate Aarohi's success. She had a strange feeling that Aarohi was not happy at the party, and now as she thought more about it she felt that Aarohi has not been happy ever since she came here.

But this was not what Akshara had wanted. Since childhood, Akshara had done everything that she could to keep Aarohi happy. She had tried so hard to maintain a happy and healthy relationship with her sister. But she felt that she was failing terribly at it. Aarohi was somehow always running away from her, from their home. She did her 11th and 12th grade in Shantipur saying that the school there had better teachers and it would help a lot in preparing for her medical entrance test. She then chose to study at Shantipur when she could have easily gotten admission here at Raisar medical college saying that Sanjeevani Medical College at Shantipur was a better choice. She knew that Shantipur was the better choice for Aarohi, but Akshara somehow felt that Aarohi did not choose Shantipur because it was a better choice. She chose it because she did not want to be here. Akshara was afraid that Aarohi would do the same when it will come to choosing a workplace.

"I would not let it happen. I would not let her move away from all of us just like this. I had promised mom that I would take care of Aaru and I would now not let her leave Raisar and home. Enough of staying away." With this resolve in her heart, Akshara went to her room and slept.