Amaya's Amaranth (Wattys2014)

Chapter 27: The Red Letter Day

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

                    -J.R.R. Tolkien

" You're here!" my cousin said jumping upon me and engulfing me in a bear hug. Yeah, she was 13 but her childishness made her mental age 10 and her height made her physical age seem like 16. Yeah, she was a confusion. She was Disha's daughter, Nitika.

" Yeah, yeah, " I said getting out of breath, " Here I am. "

" Sis! " comes another squeal and another hug from my other cousin Dhruv. Dhruv was the only son of my second aunt. He was 14, physical age 11 and mental age, well, 12.

" Okay guys, calm down, " I said getting my tangled hair out of my purse. I hated when that happened.

" Amaya, " my mom said and hugged me. Something about that made my heart drop and tears in her eyes made me lose control. Guilt gnawed at me like a beaver gnaws at a piece of wood. I was hiding something so big from her. Something she never expected me to do. I half made up my mind to tell her everything but then thought about the consequences, her heart ache and shattering of her trust on me, and decided to stick to my original plan.

So the day needless to say, was very tiring. Nitika and Dhruv demanded to know everything. Along with them, Tarun and Taraksh, sons of Disha joined the team.

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" Why do you keep calling your aunt by her name? "

" Childhood habit I guess, " I shrugged and continued.

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And so the whole family had gone to dinner that night at a Chinese restaurant. I was enjoying the hospitality but at the same time my heart dropped every time the thought crossed my mind that I was betraying their trust. But I was being selfish for love. Was that bad?

They had sent me there to study, to do something with my life. To be in a better position than I am in today. To enlighten the family name.

But I had not planned on falling in love either. It happened. It just happened. I was going to burn in hell for hiding such a big fact from my family. But the moment my mom learns I am involved with a guy from another religion, that too within a year of mt going to Chittagong, I don't know what that would do to her. At the age of 50, I don't think I was ready to let anything happen to her.

I finally got hold of Disha that night alone.

" Hey Disha, I need to talk to you about something. "

" Yeah sure, " she said in a concerned voice. " Is everything okay? "

" Yeah, just need to discuss something with you. "

" Okay, so we'll meet at the mall tomorrow then? "

" Yeah sure, " I smiled and bade her good bye.