Haunting Memories

Chapter 11

Ritika sat in her room, sipping evening tea. Another cup lay empty. She wondered if she should pour some for her sister, or if she would be having her tea with the guest. A small wave of irritation hit her, but it was soon washed away with guilt. Anjali was doing all this for her, and she was getting upset over the fact that she was doing it so well. Ideally, even she should have been having her tea with Mr. Arora, perhaps even finalizing the deal with him, or as per her present state of mind, informing him of her change of mind. But that was something she was not yet ready to do. And that was why she was avoiding him.

The door knob twisted and Ritika was surprised at the joy that filled her at her sister’s arrival. She knew it was her. Everybody else would knock. The other person who had full right over her life, who would enter her room unannounced, was no more. A memory of Aarav trying to sneak into their room on her birthday with a bouquet of flowers and smiling sheepishly at being caught surfaced, and she pushed down the pain it brought along. She was doing so well today; she couldn’t let her feelings drag her down.

“Hey,” she called out, attempting a merry tone.

Her sister walked in, and smiled at the cheery greeting as she closed the door behind herself.

“Hey yourself, sister!” she said back, grinning.

They both grinned like they did in old times, and Ritika took this to be another sign. Today was the day she was going to be okay. But Anjali let her smile drop, and a serious expression took over her face.

“How come we’re not having tea with our ‘esteemed guest’?”

Ritika didn’t reply, and thankfully Anjali let the matter drop. She came to sit down beside Ritika as she poured her some tea.

“Your maid told me that she brought the tea over here and I should come join you,” she rolled her eyes as she continued, “I thought I’d better hurry before it’s your night time curfew and all your servants disappear from this floor.”

Again, Ritika ignored the comment, cringing at the disapproval behind her sister’s words. Instead, she handed her the cup of tea, and picked up her own. They drank quietly for a minute, and then Ritika felt obligated to break the silence.

“Nice day today,” she commented, and noticed Anjali’s eyes dart towards her, surprised at the words.

“Yeah,” she replied as she continued to inspect her sister. This was one of the drawbacks of having a family member living at the mansion. Ritika felt as though they were constantly keeping an eye on her, watching her words and actions, trying to decide if she was being ‘normal’.

“If we had tea downstairs with Sudeep,” her sister said, “We could have finalized the deal.”

Ritika puzzled over Anjali’s words, and then realized that her sister was talking about Mr. Arora. She sure had some socializing skills, already speaking on first name basis. 

“Over dinner then,” she continued, “The sooner, the better. He looks pretty happy at the moment. We don’t want him to change his mind.”

Ritika thought about it a moment, knowing her sister was getting tired of the silence and would expect an answer.

“What if I do?” she finally asked.

“Do what?” Anjali’s brow creased as she worried that her sister was going to go off on a tangent again.

“Change my mind.”

Silence fell again. Anjali stared at her a moment, and then turned her attention to the cup of tea in her hand. Ignoring Ritika’s comment, she slowly raised the cup to her lips. She held the cup there for a moment, but couldn’t manage to take a sip. She placed it back onto the saucer with trembling hands, and turned her stormy eyes on her sister.