Girls Who Dreamt of Castles

Chapter Twenty-four

"Friends are siblings from God."
   - Mencius.

Adira rolled one hard-boiled egg in her tiny hands savagely, the same way cowboys rolled apples in movies. She turned to her friend and smiled.

It had been two weeks since the burning incident at the market and surprisingly, she had thought nothing more of it. She sat on the bed Indian-style reading a novel. Anna laid next to her.

She beat the brown shell of the egg with her pen, crushing it with style. Then she unshelled the egg and bit into it, taking in two chugs of coke.

"Do you want to die?" Anna's voice sounded startled.

Adira stared at her nonplussed, then she grinned. "Why would I want that?"

"This girl," Anna sighed. "So you haven't heard of the man that died due to a bad mixture of food?" she shook her head. "He took eggs and Fanta."

"Well, this one isn't eggs and Fanta. It's egg and coke," she corrected. "And stop believing everything you read."

"Prevention is better than cure," Anna warned.

"I hear," Adira nodded grinning her egg vehemently. "What's up? How's everything going at home?"

"Fine," Anna replied curtly.

Adira knew she didn't like talking about her family since day one. She always gave simple, vague replies anytime she was asked about them or about anything. She didn't know why but she pressed on.

"You know all families have a wild side, right? No family is perfect," she said.

"Except mine. It's just like a circle, you know? No matter how much we try, all sides will always be wild," Anna returned.

Adira didn't press further, her words to Anna were like water off a duck's back. If she said anything more, it'd turn to a fight.

The house became silent.

From the corner of her eyes, she could see how worried and remorseful Anna looked. The quiet sound draining her face from any form of life. She continued with her coke and egg.

She pitied her friend, it wasn't easy living for someone else. Adira knew Anna didn't want pity, she wanted laughs. But laughter didn't make you forget things forever, she wanted to tell her that.

A low voice piped from the silence, breaking it.

"You should take a bath," It was Adira's. "You look a mess. A hot mess."

Anna wiggled her toes to work out the stiffness of her aching feet. She was jam-packed. Her job was becoming overwhelming. Regardless, she mentally patted herself on the back for a day well spent. It was a Friday and she didn't want to spend the night at her parent's place. She didn't want her mother to ask how she was doing because she knew the woman didn't really care.

Adira kept her legs on Anna's thighs playfully and stretched. "You look tired."

"That's because I am," Anna replied. "And take these long things away from me," she said and flung Adira's legs to the floor.

Adira looked across at her. "One day you'd wish you touched these legs and you will remember your actions today and regret them."

"And that's because?" Anna asked jokingly. She already knew the answer to the question.

"Because one day these longs things will take me places."

"Okay, Miss New York City," Anna said and she got up from her resting place. First taking off her suit, she threw the raw-silk material on the floor. She took it off so slow it distracted Adira. Her blouse was a little moist as she took them off too. She wiggled herself free from her shirt, smiling at her friend.