Knotted Destiny

12

Happy Ram Navmi to all🤍

A A R A V

After hours of redoing the work my dear mother destroyed—just because I didn’t give her attention and after three hours—I finally stepped out of my office room to freshen up and check some pending emails. After that, I plan to play golf for quite a while, since I’m home today.

Why am I home, you ask? Well, according to my mother, “You should take a day off, beta. It was your engagement yesterday, and all you’re going to do today is sit in your office and be grumpy.”
Like seriously? Sit and be grumpy???

My dear mother takes full advantage of being the only person I actually listen to.

I sighed as I walked toward my room—when I suddenly heard a deafening sound.

Oh great. It's Aarohi again. I’ve told her countless times not to play music so loudly—it drives me insane. That’s actually one of the main reasons I never really went to parties during my teenage years… or ever, really. This volume isn’t just destroying my sanity, it’s probably wrecking her eardrums too.

This girl.

My jaw clenched at the deafening blast of the music as I made my way to her room.

“And please, please, please don’t bring me to tears when I just did my makeup so nice…”

I heard her faint voice blending into the music. What kind of song is that? Tears and makeup?

“Heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another, I beg you don’t embarrass me…”
I opened the door to her room.
“You motherfucker oooohhhhhhh—”

I paused the music player—but she was still singing. Her pose was straight out of a dramatic concert performance: kneeling, passionately belting out lyrics, holding a—wait. I squinted.

Is that a dal ghotni?

The same one Mary aunty uses in the kitchen?

What the actual hell is she doing with that?!

“Bhaiya?” She got up from her dramatic pose, throwing me a confused look while I stood there, arms crossed, clearly pissed.

I shot her a sharp glare and asked, “How many times have I told you not to play music so loudly? And yet, here we are.”

“Bhaiyaaaa…” She looked at me with those puppy eyes, thinking that would stop me from scolding her.

And—yeah. It’s working. It always works. She fully exploits the fact that she’s the first and only girl child in our lineage.

“I was just testing this new music player, see?” she said, pointing to the device I had just paused.

“And why are you here anyway… I mean, not in your office?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

“Mummy insisted I take the day off,” I replied.

Her lips formed an “oh” as she nodded in understanding.

“I know you, my dear sister—you blasted the music thinking I wasn’t home, didn’t you?” I asked, faking a stern voice.

She smiled cheekily and said, “Sorry, Bhaiya. I won’t do it again. Promise.”

“Okay, but what was that song? It’s all about makeup and tears and cursing! Chi!” I frowned at her.

“Bhai, please. I’m a 22-year-old grown woman. Cursing to aati hai mujhe bhi,” she shrugged. [I can curse too]