LEECH

CHAPTER FIFTEEN - AISHA (NOW)

Sonam's slippers are comfier than mine, I don't know how.

We are sitting in her drawing room, Papa and Sarthak Uncle laughing over something funny on their phone, Mumma and Kavya Auntie engaged in a lively conversation.

Sonam hugs me. "Sorry, sorry, sorry I couldn't go see your performance yesterday." She pouts.

I sigh, pretending to be angry as I stare out the window into the dark, starry sky. I know better by now. Sonam is a stickler for rules and schedules. She gets really anxious when something new pops up and invades her plans.

But still, am I really me if I don't make her fret over this?

Sonam crouches in front of me. "Aisha, yaar, next time for sure, okay? Promise."

I narrow my eyes. "You promise?"

"Yes, pinky promise." She holds out her finger and nods rapidly. I laugh and wrap mine with hers.

Kavya Auntie speaks up. "Our Aisha has grown up so much. She was a wee little baby just yesterday, and now she's in eleventh and all." She discreetly brushes off a tear.

Kavya Auntie is literally God on Earth, because no mere human would and could have given birth to two absolute geniuses like Sona Di and Sonam. Mother of two state toppers, a current IIT student and a future one, she has the children probably every asian parent ever wants. But even after that, she's always expressing how she wants me as her daughter, which leads my mother to suggest 'an exchange offer', where Kavya Auntie gets me and Mum gets Sonam.

I actually don't really mind that, but whatever.

Sonam always grumbles about how her mother loves me more than her. That's not true, though — she knows that — and there's a different reason as to why Auntie adores me so much. She's a lover of art of all kinds, but her daughters were never interested in any form. They naturally gravitated towards academics; logic and puzzles, unsolved questions with cryptic answers — that was their forte. I know that because I've been with them since childhood. Personally, I'd kill to have Sonam's brain, but to each their own.

I think the main problem here is that she wants to see herself in her kids, and humans always want what they don't have.

Dad and Uncle are childhood friends, hailing from the same village and whatnot. They were always close, even when I was in Bayview and we lived far away. That's why Sonam and I have been friends since we learned to crawl, long before Riva ever came into play.

"Mom...I'm in eleventh too, by the way, if you forgot." Sonam waves her hands in front of her face exaggeratedly, rolling her eyes a little.

"Yes, my kids, you grew up way too soon." She says.

"Decades ago, when we were your age," That's Sarthak Uncle, Sonam's father. He addresses me. "Your dad used to look at Riva with these big bright eyes dreamily, when we used to walk by. At that time, neither of us had the money or resources to study at Riva. Now, you both will be completing your schooling at our dream school next year, as alumni."

A pang of emotions strikes my heart from within at his words. Dream school. Riva was Papa's dream school. I remember him telling me this.

I'm living my father's dream.

The thought itself brings a smile to my face. They've come a long way. We've come a long way, and there's still miles to go. I just hope everything goes smoothly in the future as well. As long as I can have the life I want, I'm ready to put in as much effort as needed to achieve it.

Sonam beckons me over to her room, away from the ears of our parents.

"Did you read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief?" I ask her.