Fates

Part 20- Meeting

The street was cramped and loud, Riya didn't know if the direction she was going in was the right one or not. Mr. Mehta had found the girl's home address and after finishing college, Riya had come straight to this street to find the girl who had saved her. Her papa had wanted to come too, saying that she wouldn't be able to recognize the girl when she would see her, but he got called away to an urgent meeting at the last minute.

As Riya was looking around for the house that had the Sood nameplate on it, she began to think about today's events. How she had pretty much avoided Prachi today because if Riya had seen Prachi, she would need to apologize to her.

Don't get her wrong, she did want to apologize but she didn't know where to start, the last time she tried to apologize she ended up in jail and almost killed the woman that she now idolized. Riya did not want to repeat those horrific events. Also, Riya didn't think that apologizing to Prachi at the college would be a good idea. What if Prachi slapped her again in front of the whole school? She wouldn't be able to handle that kind of humiliation again and then would go back to trying to sabotage Prachi. Riya knew that she had a bit of an anger issue. So she had to execute this apology strategically and calmly.

Prachi and Shahana had looked at her weirdly all day, they probably thought that she was possessed or something because she wasn't bothering them. While auntie er- Ms. Anuradha had given her a surprise hug the moment she saw her, making Riya's day ten times better, and making all of Riya's worries melt away in an instant.

Riya's thoughts came to a halt as she found the nameplate she was looking for. Riya rang the bell, and a girl who had grains of flour in her hair opened the door.

"Uh, hi, I'm looking for a girl called Drishti Sood." Riya awkwardly told the stranger.

"You're okay." the girl said smiling softly in relief, none other than Drishti Sood herself.

"You're Drishti Sood?" Riya said more like a statement than a question.

"The one and only. Please come inside, you're probably still recovering from the accident. It can't be good for you to stand in the sun." Drishti said leading Riya inside her home and telling her to sit on the couch.

As Drishti left to get water for Riya, Riya looked around the house. The house was small, the walls were empty, no family photos or decorations on them, and Riya could hear water dripping from the roof. However, the house was homey in its own way.

"Thank you for saving me, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be sitting here. Thank you for staying with me at the hospital, my dad told me that you stayed with me the whole time, even though you didn't have to. So thank you I don't know how I could ever repay you." Riya said once Drishti came back with water.

"Well like I told Mr. Mehra, you being alive and healthy is enough of a payment for me. I wanted to save you and I did just that. I don't want anything else." Drishti said smiling at how similar the girl sitting in front of her sounded to her dad.

"You're so sweet. Hey, you know what you should come to my house for Diwali. Anuradha auntie would love to meet you because you sound just like her, she's always talking about how helping others is a reward on its own. I think you and auntie would become fast friends. Plus my dad wanted to meet you but he had work so he couldn't make it." Riya said hopefully with a bright smile.

"Well, I'm not sure.." Drishti said trailing off mid-sentence.

"Oh, I'm sorry I forgot that you probably want to spend Diwali with your family." Riya said worried that she had offended Drishti.

"No, it's not that, I just don't want to impose." Drishti said not wanting to get more in detail about her family. She didn't want to tell a random girl that she had no family. Well, no family wasn't true, she did have a father, but he wasn't worth talking about. And she wasn't ready to share her life's story with this girl, at least not yet.

"I promise you won't impose, my family has a big celebration where everyone is welcome. If I can't do anything else for you, at least let me invite you into my house as a guest and serve you." Riya said making a pouty face similar to Pragya's.

"Okay, I will." Drishti said smiling at Riya's attempt to look cute.

"Really?!" Riya asked standing up to give Drishti a surprise hug. Drishti was surprised at first, but then she hugged Riya back. During the hug, both Drishti and Riya felt as though they had found someone that they had lost.

"Sorry, I get huggy when I'm happy." Riya said breaking the hug.

"I can see that." Drishti said lightly teasing Riya, making her smile embarrassedly.

"Okay, so I'll see you at Diwali, here is the address for my house. Thank you once again." Riya said making her way to the door.

"Wait, I never got your name." Drishti said stopping Riya from leaving.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Riya said mentally kicking herself, as she turned around to face Drishti again.

"Don't worry about it, it happens." Drishti said thinking back to the time that she had done the same thing to the girl's dad.

"Riya Mehra." Riya said extending a hand to shake Drishti's.

"Drishti Sood, but you already knew that." Drishti said smiling, shaking her hand with Riya's. Riya chuckled softly at that.

"Okay, bye now. See you at Diwali!" Riya said excitedly.

"See you at Diwali! Take care." Drishti said walking with Riya to the door and waving goodbye.

When Riya left Drishti thought about the interaction she just had with her, smiling softly. Drishti thought about Riya's relationship with her dad, how concerned her dad was for her at the hospital, and how they both had the same ideals of giving back to people who had helped them. Drishti wondered if she could ever have that kind of relationship with her own dad, knowing that it was a long shot.

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Next up: Diwali...!🎆

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A.M.🙃