Heart entanlgled : a journey of two souls

chapter 3

My heart was pounding in my chest, each beat louder than the last. I couldn’t focus on the glasses I was holding, my mind was spinning, trying to make sense of what was going on. My mother had told me that Ayan and Zain were coming over today—just a casual visit, nothing unusual. But now, as I stood there in the doorway of the living room, it felt like something was off. Ayan and Zain were here, sure, but why were Ayan's parents here too? And Sarah... what was going on with her? I felt like I had missed something.

I blinked, trying to gather my thoughts, but nothing added up. I stared at the people in the room. Ayan's parents were seated in the living room, talking softly among themselves. Zain was chatting with Ayan, looking as casual as ever. But Sarah... my older sister, who usually kept her emotions in check, was sitting in a quiet corner, her arms crossed, her expression unreadable. She was looking at something—at nothing really—and yet it felt like she was lost in her own world.

I couldn’t make sense of it. Why was everyone gathered here? My mother had mentioned only Ayan and Zain were coming, but here I was, standing with the water tray in my hand, feeling completely out of place.

Slowly, I walked into the room, trying to shake off the strange feeling that had settled in my chest. My feet felt heavy as I followed everyone in, my steps slow and hesitant. My mind was racing, but I couldn’t grasp the reason for this sudden shift in atmosphere. Why did it feel like something was going to happen? Why was it so quiet? There was an unspoken tension in the air, and I couldn’t place it.

My mother, as always, was smiling warmly at everyone, graciously playing her role as the hostess. She asked everyone to sit and chat, before excusing herself to get some snacks. "Main kuch snacks laati hoon. Tum log baitho, baat karte raho," she said, her voice light, but there was something in the way she said it that made me pause.

I stayed rooted to the spot, still holding the tray with the water glasses. I wanted to ask her what was going on, but I didn't. Instead, I watched everyone carefully, hoping for some clue, some sign that would explain the weird feeling in the air. Zain was talking to Ayan, his voice low and relaxed. But my eyes kept drifting toward Sarah. She was sitting with her arms crossed, a strange distance between her and everyone else. Her expression was hard to read. Was she nervous? Excited? Or was there something else?

My gaze flicked back to my mother in the kitchen, still wondering when she would return. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like something big was about to happen, something I was missing. And then, as though the air had shifted, my mother walked back into the room, holding a tray of snacks. She looked at everyone, her smile wide and full of excitement, her eyes sparkling. She looked like she had just been waiting for this moment to happen.

“Sab ko batana hai,” she said, her voice carrying an air of delight, like a child with a big secret. “Aaj sab koi isliye aaye hain, kyunki… Sarah ki shaadi fix ho gayi hai! Aur uski shaadi hone wali hai!”

My world seemed to freeze in that moment. I stood there, staring at my mother in complete disbelief. Did I hear her right? Sarah ki shaadi fix ho gayi hai? Her marriage was fixed? My heart skipped a beat as my brain tried to catch up. How could this be? Sarah was getting married?

I turned slowly to look at Sarah, who had now shifted her gaze towards me. Her eyes were not filled with the usual warmth or familiarity I was used to seeing. Instead, they were fixed on me with a strange intensity, almost as though she was expecting my reaction. A tightness gripped my chest, and my breath caught in my throat.

“Oh behan kai!” I couldn’t help but exclaim, my voice louder than I intended. It was a reaction I hadn’t planned for, but I couldn’t contain the shock. My mouth went dry as I looked at Sarah. She was getting married? It didn’t make sense. This was Sarah—the one who had always been so focused on her career, so independent. She had always said she didn’t need a man to define her life. So, how had this happened so suddenly? How had her marriage been fixed without me knowing?

Sarah’s eyes narrowed, and she shot me a look that made me immediately regret speaking so loudly. Her gaze was sharp, and there was something in it that made me feel small. “Kya tumne kuch aur kaha?” Her voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable edge to it.

I quickly stumbled over my words, trying to recover from my outburst. “Oh… behan kai bhai!” I corrected myself, feeling the heat of embarrassment rush to my cheeks. It was a weak attempt to cover up my shock, but I could feel everyone’s attention on me now, and I couldn’t shake the feeling of having said something wrong.

My mother laughed softly at my reaction and placed the snacks down on the table, clearly amused. “Haan, Sarah ki shaadi ka final ho gaya hai,” she continued, her tone light and carefree. “Tum dono ko sab kuch bata dena chahte the, lekin aaj hi yeh khushi wali baat sab ke saath share karni thi.”

Still trying to wrap my head around the situation, I blinked a few times, as if that would help clear my confusion. Sarah ki shaadi? But just yesterday, Sarah had been telling me how she was focusing on her work, on her plans for the future. We had never even discussed anything about her getting married. This was so out of the blue, it felt like my world had shifted without warning.

I glanced at Sarah again. She was looking at me now, but her face had softened, though her eyes still looked distant. She had a small smile on her lips, but it was almost like she was trying to hold something back. A part of me felt like I was seeing her in a way I had never seen her before. She had always been the composed, focused one, but now, there was something different about her. Something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

Mom smiled, clearly happy that the surprise was out in the open. “Toh, kab hai shaadi?” I asked, my voice more curious now than anything, hoping to shift the focus to the positive side of things. Despite my confusion, I knew this was a momentous occasion for Sarah.

“Insha’Allah, shaadi  2 weeks mein h,” my mother said, her eyes shining with excitement. “Tum dono ko bhi apna dimaag laga ke sab kuch tayar karna hoga.”

I nodded, trying to process everything. Two weeks? That was so soon. How could everything be happening so fast? I felt a rush of emotions—surprise, confusion, even a little bit of jealousy. But above all, I felt something unfamiliar, a sense of change creeping into the room. Things were about to change in ways I couldn’t control.

As I glanced at Sarah again, her face now alight with excitement as she spoke with our parents, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of the moment. Her life was changing. And in some strange way, I felt like my own life was standing at the edge of something new and unknown, too.

As for Ayan... well, that was a whole other whirlwind I wasn’t quite ready to face just yet.

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