The Best Mistakes

6. Kayra

I had just landed in India, and the familiar comforting atmosphere engulfed me, giving me a sense of reassurance. I am fine. Everything is fine.

I wanted to leave India and see the world but I still love my country and culture. Loving something doesn't always mean to hold onto it. Sometimes, You have to let it go for your sake. I did and I don't regret it even a little bit.

Aahan, my younger brother was supposed to pick me up. And I saw him at the exit, waving at me. He was as excited to see me as I was to see him. Brothers can be a pain in the ass but they are brothers after all.

"Hey Champ!" I threw my hand bag at him and as always he caught it. Nothing compares the satisfaction of bossing your younger siblings around. "Picking a fight, aren't you?"

When did he get the nerves to talk back? I was sure his arrogance was all coming from the extra two inches he gained the past year. And in the time I wasn't here, he must've gotten the wrong idea that he was the king now. He had to be put in his place. I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Don't forget,” I looked dead in his eyes. “There can be only one king and it is not you. Hmm?”

It was fun to threaten him after so long and seeing the sulky pout on his lips. My lips curved upwards as nostalgia hit me. "You've grown quite tall." I ruffled his hair but it also required me to extend my full arm.

"And you're the same as always, Karu. Get in the car." He took my luggage and we went towards the car. The whole car ride was filled with nonstop gossip, family-tea and other stuff which I didn't know. And I was suddenly glad to have a brother to feed me intel about family drama. To survive in a brown household, you must know the ongoing dramas or else you'll be taken advantage of or worse make a mistake worthy of the death penalty. That was an exaggeration but knowing helps, it prepares you to face any contingencies.

"-and they've decided to stop looking for her. They say Priya was dating him for five years and he was of a different religion. She won't be allowed back now." Aahan recited everything he knew, like a robot. It was as if he was waiting to tell me all this.

"But she was a nice girl. How could she do this? What about her future?" I was perplexed. How could she throw her perfectly good life away?

Aahan shrugged, "You know what they say, right? Love makes you blind. Maybe that is the case."

My volume increased, "But it doesn't make you blind to the point where you can't differentiate right from the wrong. She ran away with an uneducated, jobless fool. God, she was a smart girl. How come she turned foolish?"

I hated it when people considered their foolishness as love. Love doesn't make you blind, rather it makes a lot of things more clear. Labeling idiocy as love was idiotic in itself, for both outside parties and parties involved.

And the said fool, Priya was my distant cousin. She was my maternal aunt's husband's sister's daughter. We spent a summer together at my aunt's and she was a sane girl then, who wouldn't do such a thing. I never thought she'd do something like this.

But I was having an eerie feeling about this, not for Priya but for myself. If I think about it, this incident doesn't do me any good. Instead, it can be a lot more damaging. This incident was not in any way related to me but one can compare situations simply based on assumptions.

Hearing about Priya made my anxiety skyrocket. The possibilities had consumed my mind giving no attention to any presence or anything around me. The jet lag was making it worse. I was tired but my thoughts were overwhelming me. Aahan's voice became thin with each passing second. "By the way, we're expecting guests today. Dad said they are important-"

One last word and the dark engulfed everything in my sight.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

My eyes squinted at the direct sunlight as I heard some rustling sounds from behind. The car had stopped. I looked outside the window, to find my house. We had arrived. When?

"Oh, you woke up already. Too bad, I was going to splash some water on you like the old times." Aahan took out the bags and came to the front. “How can you fall asleep while I was still talking?”

I passed out.

My head was throbbing from the overthinking as well as the jet lag and the passing out didn't help either. But regardless of my low energy and even smaller will, I stepped out of the car and went inside the house.

As soon as the door opened, my mother engulfed me in a tight hug. It was as if she knew it'd be me in front of the door.

"Oh, Karu! My daughter!" My mother breathed, her joy seeping through every word. I smiled wide and the child within me swelled with happiness. I hugged my mother back, inhaling her familiar scent. I missed her the most. The one person who always supported me and loved me with all my flaws, was her.

If I could, I would stay in her comforting warmth like this forever. But cold air hit me again when she let go and my father appeared. I let go of her and turned to look at him.

He looked as uninterested as ever. He didn't show any emotions on his face but just gave me a subtle smile. My mother always said that he didn't know how to express himself or show affection to us but he loved us.

"Welcome back." He moved a bit for me to enter. I passed him the same subtle smile he gave me and entered inside.

As soon as I entered, a sudden wave of nostalgia hit me again. Sweet memories flooded my mind and I allowed myself to drown in them. I grew up in this place, fell a hundred times, stood up hundred and one times, made some mistakes and learned from them.  This wasn't just a house, it was my home. I drew in a deep breath and exhaled. My emotions were getting the best of me. At this point, I might just slump down and feel every inch of these familiar walls.

The bad feelings which clouded my mind before coming home were disappearing with each second I spent here. My mind forgot that I was anxious about something and the sweet and fond memories replaced the bad thoughts.