Finding The Other Half

Chapter - 2: Chocolates and Ball Gown

Jadis' P.O.V.:

I wake up to my brother poking something in my face every five seconds. "Stop it already!" I kinda whisper-shout.

"Sorry to wake you up princess, but mom asked me to wake you gently even though I wanted to push you off the bed."

"Gee, thanks dear bro." I said, while trying to rub out the sleep from my eyes.

"And HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTAA!!" he literally shouted in my ear while shoving a shiny, golden rectangular box in my face. IT WAS A BOX OF FERERO ROCHER!

"You actually convinced mom to buy it?!?! Omg, I love you! Thanks for this." I sort of shouted. Great way to start my day, huh?

I attempted to get off my bed. Well, just an epic fail attempt. My mom came in my room while I was trying to remember where I kept my cell phone last night. "Happy Birthday sweetie!" she wished me with a smile. "Thank you and thanks for the Rocher too." I replied with my signature grin. I had a big day ahead.

My grand-dad wanted my 16th birthday to be special. Grand will be a better suited word though. He has planned a masquerade ball for me. He expects my The One to be there. I am just like hah no freaking way. I ain't that lucky. The guests are expected to be dressed up either like the Victorian era. I am gonna wear a ball gown. It is red and black with frills and lace. At least, that's what my mom said. She said, I quote, "I know what colours you love and your grand-dad asked me to not show you the gown till The Day." So I really don't know what it looks like. I just know the things she told me.

I finally got off my bed and went towards the mirror. My wavy, dark brown hair was a mess and the hair tie which I had used last night was hanging at the end of my hair which ended right above my butt. My eyes were hazel coloured and were surrounded by my smudged kajal. I had an hour-glass figure with high cheekbones and a not-so-well defined jaw. I tried to wipe out the smudged kajal as much as I could while walking to the bathroom. After freshening up, I went to the kitchen cuz honestly speaking the only reason I got off the bed was because I was hungry. The aroma drifting from the kitchen was delicious. "You made pav-bhaji with cheese?" I asked my mom who was stirring the vessel with the bhaji. "Yeah, obviously. It's your birthday and you love my pav-bhaji." she replies with a grin. "Aww. Thank you. Love you." I hugged her and went to the dining room. My dad was reading the newspaper. He kept the paper down and wished me. He asked, "Are you excited for the ball?"

"Obviously! I mean IT IS A BALL!! I always wanted to go to one. Besides, all my friends are gonna be there actually dressed in something other than hoodies and leggings. So yeah, I am excited for it."

"Calm down, child. Take a breath." He laughed, "I am happy to see you so excited. I just wanna make sure that you prepared for the other big thing."

I raised one of my eye-brows trying to remember what else could be better than having a ball. Oh yeah, finding the other. "It really doesn't matter to me. If it is written in my fate then I will find him. If not then it won't affect me since I don't have any high expectations for it."

"Don't lose hope, dear. It is good to see my princess finally growing up but I don't want you to lose faith in the pendant. It is very powerful. Especially in our bloodline." He said the last line in a low tone.

"Do I wanna know what you meant by the last line?"

"You will know when the time is right. Knowing too much can be dangerous you see."

"Did you just quote me Percy Jackson?"

"Haha, yeah. Now eat your breakfast with peace."

I knew better than to question my dad about it. Every time my parents kept something from me, it has been for good. So I know that I have nothing to worry about.

I live in a 3 storey bungalow. The ground floor has the living room with dining table in one corner and kitchen door near it. The guest and store room are on the right hand side. The first floor has my parents', grandparents' and my bedrooms and a mini kitchen attached to my grandparents bedroom. Each bedroom has its own balcony. I turned my balcony into a walk-in closet cuz I already had two windows in the room for ventilation. The second floor isn't fully furnished yet. We use it to store the furniture and other stuff which we don't need for now. Above it is the terrace, with its extra low fence. The view is great from there. One can see the lawn in front of it, which dadi has maintained on her own with little help. On the left, there are the two ponds in which Sam, dada and I go for fishing. They are within our compound wall. To the extreme left there is a forest of numerous trees including mango, litchi and chikoo. Behind one of the ponds, on the upper left side, there is a storehouse. On the right, there is a line of trees of papaya then the boundary wall. Beyond the wall is our neighbours' house. Dada got a concrete path laid in the compound so that I can freely cycle around without running into trees. There is traffic of course, since we live in the city. But I love this place anyway.

It was 10 am, the time around which my grandparents usually return from their morning walk. My grand-mom unlocked the door arguing with granddad, "I told you that lady is ripping you off by selling you stale fruits. But no, you did not wanna listen to me. Now suffer in silence."

"You really need to calm down woman. Just because one orange is bad doesn't mean others will also be like that."

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Eat the others. No one is holding you back."

"Later, first let me wish my Natineeya [Bhojpuri: A loving word for Granddaughter]. It is an auspicious day for her. Many, many happy returns of the day, love. Hope lady luck is in your favour today."

"Thank you dada," I responded with a smile," I hope for that too." I lied through my teeth.

"Happy Birthday, honey. We need to get you all dolled up for the evening. How wonderful it is going to be." my grand-mom said with a sarcastic dreamy expression. I get my gene for sarcasm from her. She knows how much I hate applying make-up. But today, just on my mom's request, I am gonna do it.

"Thank You, dadi. The evening is really gonna be awesome."

After breakfast my girlfriends were gonna come over with their dresses. We will hang out till 3 pm then start dressing up. The ball was at 7 but I gotta be there by 6 to make sure everything is alright. My three best-friends, Zayna, Akira and Iyla, have been with me since kindergarten. Akira used to be my neighbour but her dad got transferred when we were 12. We maintained contact though. I mean, I knew her since I was 3 year's old, so neither of us were gonna give up on that friendship. She flew in last night. I met Zayna and Iyla in school. I really don't remember how we started out but we ended being the best friends and we lasted even though our school days are over.

I was really excited to see my dress. I couldn't keep it; in heavens knows I tried. It was hidden in my mom's balcony, fully covered, and I wasn't allowed to enter it. Now I can finally see it. My mom led me to her room and dragged the mannequin wearing my gown into the room.

"Lo Behold! The Magnificence of the Gown!" she said in a British accent.

"Mom, enough with the dramatic effects already!" I whined impatiently.

"Alright sweetie." she giggled and pulled off the covering.

And there it was. The gown. It was beautiful af. Hell, I couldn't find words to complement it enough.

*the picture is there at the start*

It is red and black like I was told. Not much lace, not much frill. Just the way I like it. It has a black inner dress with a red overcoat sort of thing. It is open on the front side with a red thread tied in a criss-cross pattern on my torso. The red is a blood red shade with its borders frilled but not much. The sleeves are skinny for 2/3 length then they are loose. There is a red and black choker with a red band and black frill. To match with this, there are black velvet ankle boots. Overall, it was perfect.

Now I all I had to do was wait for time to pass.