The Family LIES

April 1 1997

I visited the store today with Lily. She was asked to buy groceries by her mother, my sweet old Edna. So I went with her to see the place.

We always wander into the forest and the town. It was like a paradise for us. But I don't feel so happy doing these things like I used to. It was more fun when the others were around. They all have gone to college and I miss them terribly.

But still my favorite part of the town was the library. I always find happiness when I'm there. I love the smell of books more than anything. Mother would laugh whenever I smell those old books from the library and then starts sneezing. But I still do it.

As for Lily, she is more into jewellery and clothes. She is really friendly with Rose and both of them would go to shopping together. She misses Rose terribly. But I know that she loves me more. We are the lilies and she loves me more than anything in the world.

Today there was a book fair in the library. I didn't have any cash with me but Lily offered to pay for me. I brought a copy of The Great Gatsby. I have read it multiple times but it was still my favorite.

I knew that when I go to college, I would choose English as my major. I loved reading and now I'm trying to do writing.

When I was small, I used to write poems. I used to give it to anyone who were nice to me. So Edna has a lot of them. She was the one who took care of me and I love her so much. My mother says that she came here when Lily was just a toddler. From then on she stayed with our family. Everyone loved the coincidence that both of our names were Lily and we ended up being best friends.

My mother and father were busy with their social life. They wanted both myself and Rose to end up like them. Rose was ready. She loved nothing more than getting dressed up and showing off. I always preferred simplicity.

Back to the book fair, I found this cute diary in there and wanted to buy it. But we didn't have enough money. So the librarian Mrs Kelly bought it for me. She said that it was a gift for me as I was always an ardent reader. I liked her comment and her generosity.

But the most important thing that happened today wasn't any of these. Summer vacation starts from next week and my favorite people are coming back from college.

They may not stay for long, but they will surely stay for at least two weeks. I will do anything to join them there. The stories that Rose shares doesn't excite me. She knows no fun. She doesn't go to parties, she just stays in her room and studies.

As for Raina, she doesn't love to go outdoors. She too stays in her room all the time. She doesn't know to socialize and I pity her. Everyone thinks she is a good girl and sometimes I too feel that, but I think there needs to be fun in life. It should be filled with adventure and love. She doesn't have an interest in both. I just remembered that Rose got a boyfriend. Someone just like her, who loves to show off to others, I should think. I talked to him through phone and this is what I understood about him.

And then about Albuerto. He is the second best thing that happened to me. The first was of course Lily, but Albuerto is the second. I remember Aunt Catherine getting married to a Latino. It was when I was nine or ten years old. Mother and father made a huge deal out of it.  But Aunt Catherine loved the guy. She was a few years younger than my mother and she always treats her like a daughter. So when my family came to know that Aunt Catherine was getting married to a guy 15 years elder than her, everyone were shocked. It soon increased when she told them that he already had a 14 year old son.

My parents never accepted the marriage. But shortly after the marriage, both of them died in an accident leaving Albuerto alone. My mother took him to our house and started looking after him.

At first I disliked him. But soon I realised that my whole family disliked him. He was the same age as Rose but she never talks to him or acknowledges him. My parents give him anything he wanted but never gave him love. The only person who showed affection was Edna and that is when I too started loving him.

At first,we used to just talk. But soon we became friends. He loved outdoors like me. And so I used to go with him and Lily to the forest whenever we could. Lily didn't like me showing affection to anyone other than her. She is jealous, just like every friends are.

Finally whatever I felt for him amplified. I started missing him whenever he wasn't there. I look for him wherever my eyes land. I know that it is pretty stupid as we both live in the same house, but still my feelings were something I could never confide in anyone. Because I know that no one would do anything to me, but they would make sure that Albuerto will be removed from the house.

I haven't talked about my feelings to anyone, including Albuerto. I don't know what he will say about it. I don't want to ruin our friendship. And I know that he might have already got a girlfriend in college. He is super attractive that every girls in my town falls for him.

Sometimes I think about telling him. Other times I don't want to. But now it is becoming irresistible. I am waiting eagerly for his arrival. I don't know what my mind would say then, but I am going to do whatever I feel without worrying about the consequences.