A Peek Into The Life Of A Brown Girl

Chapter Twenty One

Anamika's pov :

She sat down trembling on the chair. We rushed to her and asked, " What happened ?" " Who was on the phone?". " You... remember... my cousin... Naina she began while stuttering. I nodded at her reassuringly to continue. " She had an accident and she didn't make it," she said and began sobbing. We hugged her tightly. Naina was Ishita's cousin-sister but they were closer than real siblings. She loved her immensely and they were as thick as thieves. Losing Naina so suddenly was a huge shocker for her and us. She was a sweet girl who loved making everyone around her happy. I wiped Ishita's tears and said " Your mama mami need you more right now, you have to be strong for them Ish ". Sara agreed and said, " You have to be strong for your family Ish and moreover for Naina". She nodded and said, " You are right, I am gonna go and meet Mama Mami right now". " You want us to come with you?" I asked. She shook her head and said, "I will be okay". We smiled at her encouragingly as she went to meet her family. " You think she will be okay?" asked Aditi. 

"It is a lot to take and this is gonna take a toll on her but she is our strong girl, she will get through this," I said. " Yeah, she will. And she has us by her side" said Rohan. "Of course, we will always be there for her," said Sara. I smiled and said, " Yes we will but we should let her grieve right now". Everyone agreed and we decided to visit Ishita tomorrow. I went home and told my family about it. " Oh God that's terrible " exclaimed Maa. " Yeah poor Ishita" exclaimed Bhai. " Her family must be in so much shock right now" exclaimed Bhai. I agreed with them and said, " Yeah I mean losing your young daughter, best friend, and sister so suddenly is so sad". " You be there for Ishita okay," said Maa. " Of course Maa" I replied. She smiled at me. I hugged my parents and went up to my room.

The next morning we decided to meet Ishita. As we entered her home, her dad greeted us. " Hey, kids! It's so great to see you" he said. " Uncle where is Aunty?" asked Aditi. Uncle sighed and said

" She is at her brother's place to be there for them". We nodded and I asked

" Uncle where is Ishita?". " She is in her room. But I have to inform you, she is not in a good state. She hasn't eaten anything and has not come out of her room since she came back from her Mama's place". You could see the worry in his eyes for his daughter. Sara smiled at him and said, " Don't worry Uncle, we are here now". He smiled at us as we went upstairs. I opened the door and got scared at the sight. There sat Ishita my best friend in her night dress with untamed hair and lots of junk surrounding her as she munches while staring into the space. We approach her nervously. I tap her shoulder and whisper her name to get her attention. She looked at us with such a blank face that it terrified us to the gut. She looks so numb and out of her mind. She has her and Naina's photos spread near her. She caught me looking at the photos and said

" Please don't take these pics from me".

" I am not going to take them, I just wanna see" I assured her. She smiled maniacally and started telling us stories about her and Naina. " You know this is when we went to the camp, it was so fun," she said enthusiastically. My heart ached at the sight. I and the others hugged her and said " It's okay Ish you can cry, we are there". She began sobbing loudly as we held her. Finally, after a while, she slept. We went outside to talk. " I can't see her in such a state guys" said Sara. " Yeah she is in another world" said Rohan. " Yeah the trauma has taken a toll on her" said Aditi. I agreed with her and said, " Guys we have to be there for her, especially tomorrow since it's Naina's funeral". Everyone nodded in acknowledgement and we decided to spend the night there with Ishita.