On My Life And Death

1. Part 1 - Divya POV - Stranger

Some things never change. We change, the world around us changes, the seasons change, but there are some things... Some things that, no matter what will stay with you forever. Whether we move, or change jobs, or change lives, some things, like love, never change.

The sun's rays were blinding, sending tingling sensations all over my face, arms and legs as I floated front side up in the pool at the side of my house. The air was hot and dry, and it was about one o'clock on Tuesday afternoon. My best friend Inderjit had come over to swim in the pool Papa had just had repaired a few weeks ago. It was her idea of something to do after school for exercise which we never actually got to until school had ended. . Yeah right, she hadn't left the lounge chair since she'd put her bright yellow bikini, sun hat, and glasses on.

Opening my eyes, I lifted my head a bit to see her taking another sip of her spritzer from a straw out of a champagne flute. If anything was true, it was that Inderjit Singh was a bit of a diva. But what would I have done without her for the last eight years? When my mother died three years back, was when Indi became my true sister. Now that we had finished University, we'd found ourselves with much more extra time on our hands. I had promised myself that I'd put the new pool to use, and started to float around the outside.

"Didi, seriously, can you believe that we're finally finished?" Indi took another sip of the cool, fruity drink in her hand. "Five years can feel like forever, you know?" Indi, only a year younger than myself, raised her chin from under her hat.

"I finished in four and a half, remember?" Scoffing at her, I kicked a little, letting the cool water soothe my burning skin. Didi, or older sister, had been her nickname for me for years. Granted we weren't actually related, but I did consider her like a younger sister.

Indi rolled her eyes as she sat back in the chair, taking another sip from the straw. "Like finishing faster is better... You're always rushing through Didi, you're going to miss something."

"Indi, you decided to stay the extra time, you didn't have to."

"And if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met Ranjit and we wouldn't be engaged now," Indi looked down at the ring on her finger.

I couldn't help but smile inwardly. The day Ranjit had proposed to her had been something else. I'd never seen her so happy. He'd surprised her in class, asking her in front of a student body of over fifty people. He got down on one knee, and professed his love for her in front of everyone.

"If you keep rushing through Didi, you'll miss your Ranjit," she raised an eyebrow.

Don't get me started... "How am I supposed to meet anyone when all I've been doing is helping to plan your wedding? I have barely had time to sleep, much less do anything else. I can't even think about trying to find a job right now..." Finding a job was what I should have been doing, maybe something to do with my degree. But the markets were currently slim, it was harder to find a job in film production than it was to get milk from a chicken. It wasn't happening. Everything was already in production or currently not taking any applicants, and I didn't know anyone who worked in the industry.

"Like your father would even let you..." Indi added under her breath. There was also that. Danny Sankar was a strict man. Especially when it came to me and especially after my mother Preeti had died on such short notice. His promise to my late mother was to always make sure I had everything I needed, to make sure I finished school, and against my own ambitions, to see me married before he left the world to join her.

"He's probably already got some gentleman lined up for you Didi. Your father doesn't leave anything to chance," Indi turned her other cheek to the sun. What bothered me most was that she was probably right.

"Ugh!" Thinking about it drove me crazy. Which is why I never liked to talked about it. School was done and all I should have been thinking about was finding a job, or at the very least, getting some well-deserved relaxation. Hence, the pool. Pushing the thoughts out of my mind, I used my legs and pushed myself away from the edge of the pool to float on my back in the centre of it. With my eyes closed, the sun resumed kissing my cheeks and skin as I lazed in the water trying my best not to think. Of course, it was useless. "I don't want to just be daddy's little rich girl." Thinking back to school, it felt like eventually everyone had found out one way or another about my family and the success of my father's business. "You think anyone from his office would care that I'm even a person? They see my father's money and are all ready to jump in line for the dowry," I snapped, rolling my eyes.

"Well, then you have to get out and meet people Didi. It's not like the man of your dreams is just going to show up at the door."

Just as she said it, a black SUV pulled up the driveway of the property and parked just out front, just out of view of the pool at the side of the house. Its tires kicked up a reddish brown cloud of dust in its wake, floating back towards the vehicle and momentarily blocking our view before it dissipated and fell back to the ground.

"Are you expecting someone?" Indi poked her head up and stretched her neck as far as she could to catch a glimpse of the strange car. No one ever came onto the property without either me or my father knowing about it, and Papa rarely had anyone over these days.

"Not me..." I swam to the side closest to the front of the house to try and sneak a peek. The man stepped out of the car and walked up to the front door with a large, brown envelope in his hand, not even glancing in our general direction.

"Who was that?" Indi smiled, getting up and tiptoeing around the pool to my side, trying to get a better look at the car or the man before he disappeared inside.

I don't know..." I had never seen the car before. Usually, when someone showed up at the house that didn't work there, they had a driver. This man got out the driver's seat.

"I'm not waiting around!" By the time I turned to answer, Indi was already making her way to pool house to change.

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