By shadow and light,empower our inner light (an Aru shah Au)

Chapter 5

Hey guys!

Albert here!

Hope you enjoy!

Also I went to Disneyland with my sister, school picnic treat.

Very nice

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Aru sighed dramatically with a cheeky grin,"Let me breathe, will you two?"

Her sisters pretended to think for a moment, before shaking their heads with smiles plastered on their faces,"No, Aru didi , we love you, but nope,"they said in union.

Aru laughed and walked into the threshold, Nikita and Sheela right behind her. Aru looked around, taking in the view of the house she had grown up in.

The old, almost-going-to-fall doorway made of burned black bricks stood there, as sturdy as ever, or maybe they would collapse the next moment. Who know?

Wonky clay pots filled with water to keep the water if there is an emergency, covered up a corner of the mud and brick packed floor. Long, rectangular holes in the walls formed the windows, some of them covered with pieces of translucent old cloth, acting as curtains.

The ever-familiar smell of old books, chai, jasmine and cooking spices filled Aru up with an extreme sense of happiness and warmth.

Yes, her home was broken and old, but it was her home. And she was sure she wouldn't want to live in anywhere else.

In the corner of the room, on a low table, sat a girl of 22, with dark skin and dark brown eyes, pouring over some old books. She glanced at Aru,Sheela and Nikita and looked back, and then looked again with a huge smile on her face,"Aru! you're back! What took you so long? We were quite worried about you."

Beside her, Nikita rolled her eyes. "Kara didi, you were worried about Aru didi,Not us?Why, we're the youngest though!"

Aru pretended to look hurt. "Ouch, Nikki. What if I died then?Would you still live in happy obliviousness?"

Nikita casually walked away out of the door to the other rooms, as if she had no care in the world.

Without looking back, she added,"Bold of you to assume I would even allow you to die. I trust you, didi, to not kill yourself."

"Sure. Now where's Rohan and Mini?" Aru voiced, as she tried not to laugh. She loved her little sisters. Nikita, despite being super sharp-tongued and cheeky, knew when to show her love and care at the right moment.

Sheela was one of the most endearing people Aru had ever seen. Very sweet and kind, she knows when someone needs comfort and helps them right away. 

They were self-proclaimed sisters, by soul if not by blood.

"Bhai is at the Vida En Mal, engineering things, and Mini didi is, you know, treating people at her clinic,"Sheela answered.

Nikita walked out into the room again, this time with fresh clothes in her hands."Here, change your clothes, you don't want the whole of Altaza to know that you are the infamous Masked Thief, do you?"

"Honestly, I'd love to see their reactions and faces when they learn that the infamous Masked Thief is actually a girl. Especially that stupid Royal Family. Their expressions would have been priceless."

Nikita scoffed. "Oh yes, they would. The Royal Family is so 'astoundingly clever', they actually put a reward of 20000 gold coins to the person who could catch the Masked Thief." She brought out a wrinkled-out pamphlet and handed it to Aru.

"Here, have a look at it," said Nikita.

Aru scanned quickly over the pamphlet. On the top was a picture of her face, but only her eyes visible. Her black mask adjoining the black head wrap (not a turban guys) on her head.At least her eyes looked kinda good.