To love or die trying

Chapter 4. The very next day

Another day, another memory. Tuesday here we come Radhika thought before she woke up and got ready like the day before. She then walked to the kitchen to make her breakfast. Before she opened the fridge to get some milk, she saw a note from her dad that read "will be out of town for the whole week, stay safe" Radhika sighed a heavy sigh then continued making her breakfast and sat down to eat. After awhile she finished her breakfast and heard a car honking outside her house. She rushed to the front door to see who it was. Turns out it was Rajah in a convertible with the roof open. the convertible look like a second hand black Volvo C70.

"aren't you sick of bus rides?'he joked with a smile.

Radhika smiled a huge grin and locked the door behind her before rushing to Rajah's car. She hopped on and the both drove to university. The car ride was filled with chatter and laughter. Radhika began to fall in love with Rajah and they haven't even gone on a date yet. Once they reached the high years they went straight to the cafeteria. Yup, another free block of the week. There was one free block every day of the week and for Shanaya, Radhika, and Rajah, they shared it together.

The bell was about to ring for the first class and there was no sign of Shanaya. Rajah and Radhika were a little worried and tried to call her. No answer. They both tried texting Shanaya, but she did not even read the text. It was stuck on delivered. The bell rang for first class.

the first class was a new class: French. The teacher was a young French lady in her late 20's. she had a slim figure including a slim face. her name was Ms. Marie.

As always the class was read the rules, regulations, and requirements of the class. then the class began. Throughout the whole class Radhika could only think of Shanaya; why didn't she answer the calls? Why hasn't she text back? Is she ok? Where is she? is she safe? Questions keep circling Radhika's mind. Before she even realized, two classes have passed and it was lunch time.

Rajah already waiting in the cafeteria looking nervous at his phone waiting for an answer from Shanaya. Radhika walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder to show reassurance. Rajah smiled and ate his lunch. Little did he know Radhika was more worried than Rajah was. She started to remember how it was in the past when she did not answer her phone; Radhika would be contemplating death scenarios and how they would turn out, she would be drinking poison or cough syrup, she would be standing on her balcony and seeing where is the perfect landing space to instantly kill a person, all in all she used to think of death.

Suddenly out of the blue, both Rajah and Radhika's phone made noise. Shanaya texted the both of them saying that she's fine and thats she was just feeling out of the weather. Both of them were so relieved to hear that. Rajah decided to skip the last half of the day to check up on Shanaya. Radhika followed him to the car and they drove to Shanaya's house.

Rajah and Radhika reach Shanaya's house. The house looked a little run down from the outside: a few roof tiles were missing from the roof, the front yard looked like a graveyard, and the walls paint seemed to have dulled through time . Rajah parked the car and they got out. They walked up to the house and knocked on the door. No answer. They pressed the doorbell. Still no answer. Good thing Rajah knew where the spare keys were. he walked up to a colorful pot of flowers and picked it up to find a spare key. Rajah unlocked the door and went in with Radhika right behind him.

Once they entered, Radhika saw where Shanayas lived. it was as if a broke bachelor lived in that place for years. All of a sudden they heard noises from the kitchen. Someone was cooking. Rajah walked in front of Radhika toward the kitchen. and there both of them saw Shanaya in her pjs and sandals cooking some soup. She looked so out of the weather; runny nose, reddish eyes, pale skin, an all round classified sick person. Rajah secretly sneaked up on Shanaya and picked her up from behind in a bear hug surprising Shanaya. When he put her down she was surprised that both of her best friends were not in university. Radhika answered that their friendship is more valuable then an education. Rajah then demanded Shanaya to go to the living room and watch something with Radhika while he finishes up making the soup.

Shanaya and Radhika walked together to the living room. Radhika took the universal remote and gave it to Shanaya to choose the channel they should watch. Shanaya chose a tv network that was showing an old RomCom movie. Once Rajah was done with cooking he served the soup to Shanaya. The trio then spent the rest of the day together; watching movies, doing university work, laughing about random things, listening about university gossip, eating snacks. The trio then dispersed after dinner.

Rajah drops Radhika home. He then asked her why her house lights are still off. Radhika explains her dad Is out of town for a week. Rajah asked if she needed help. Radhika shooked her head and said shell be fine with a smile. Rajah still kept on insisting so Radhika accepted Rajah offer to walk her to her door. They both walked up to the door. Radhika took the keys out her university bag and unlocked the door. Radhika wished good night to Rajah. Rajah sneakily steals a peck on the cheek and returns the wish before walking away. Radhika was caught of guard, but liked it. As she was closing the door she saw Rajah smiling at her. and as always she would return the smile with a shy one before shutting the door.

Radhika got ready for bed as always. But this time it was a little different. While she was cleaning up to get ready for bed she stumbled upon a letter that was on the floor. she picked it up. The letter was addressed to her. She couldn't open it though. Not because it was hard to open. It was because it was from her mom.

Radhika was stunned she put the letter on her nightstand next to her bed. she sat on her bed thinking whether or not she should open it. she thought of what the letter is about: is the letter about her?, Is the letter about life after her mom passed?, Is the letter left blank? All she knew is if she did not open the letter it would haunt her until she opened it.

Radhika took the letter and opened it. She started tearing up because the letter was written by her mom instead of typed. She started reading

"dearest Radhika, you have gotten so much older since the day i left the earth" Radhika teared up as she continued reading "i know you still blame yourself till this very day, even if it was never your fault. You and i both know it was god that destines our faith, and it just turned out that he destined me to die from cancer. I bet you lost faith in god after I left." Tears were rolling down Radhika's cheek as she wiped them of. "I know you are trying your best to cope with living with your dad. But fear not, everything will be ok in the end, and if its not ok..." Radhika the whispered its not the end "you are my brave, stubborn, rebellion and always will be. Your energy is what made me stay alive longer than the doctors predicted. You always said that I was your hero but you are mistaken. It is you who is mine."

Radhika took a deep breath in holding her emotions steady before continuing to read "by now you are aware of what your father is like; going away for days or weeks, giving you a last minutes notice. Well he may have said it was for work but the truth is its not" Radhika gasped could it be true? She thought to herself as she continued reading. "the truth is your father has another family."

Radhika couldn't read anymore. She closed the letter and shoved it in her nightstand drawer. Could it be true. was her own father another father and husband to another family. Thoughts were still on her mind about the letter. She needed to know the truth. She decided to take the letter out and read more.

"yes your father has another family" the letter continued "that was one of the reasons your father and I got the divorce. I know by now everything in your head is topsy turvy, but soon enough you will be able to put one to another. You will soon make a hard decision and I know you will make the right decision.life is full of struggles. But overcome it, and you will be one step closer to your destiny. My last few words for you is even though everything else seems bad, trust your heart to guide you to a better tomorrow. My love for you is bigger than this world could carry so ill watch over you to bring you luck. Love forever and always, your ma."

Radhika closed the letter and gently placed the letter on the table. she then lay herself on the bed to get some sleep. she tossed and turned thinking about the letter, she couldn't believe the man she called a father had a secret family. An hour after midnight she started to dose off to see what tomorrow has In store for her.