The bus stopped at the Suva bus stand. Aastha hurried diligently amongst the passengers, as she was getting late for her tuition class. She was a part-time tutor, giving tuition to secondary school students in maths. It was one of her favorite subjects from school days. Aastha is a beautiful young girl, aged 23 and lived in a flat at Nasinu. She attained her degree in Mathematics from University of South Pacific, and was a loyal analyst at Ministry of Education.
She was ten minutes late to her class and apologized to her students about it. Her class comprised of 20 students, more than half of the students were weak in maths but they were hardworking and consistent. Aastha was an excellent tutor and assisted all her students at every point. She is a young girl full of happiness and charms. Soon after her tuition class, the phone rang. It was her mother, who had been ringing since long time ago. "Yes Ma, I was busy so couldn't answer your call," said Aastha. "Acha! I called you to remind you to get vegetables. Make sure you don't forget," replied her mother. "Yes, I won't. I'll hung up now," replied Aastha. Buying vegetables was one of the hardest things Aastha did not liked. "The market must be full of people at this time. How am I going to carry piles of vegetables!," Aastha bluffed to herself. She passed by many stalls and chose the best veges. By the time she reached abode, she was exhausted and jumped into the bed.
"Aastha, I forgot to tell you something. Kabir called me today. He was asking about you," said her mother. "So? Why are you telling me, Ma? You know so well that I don't want to hear about him! ," exclaimed Aastha. "Why shouldn't you don't know, ahh? He's a nice boy, educated and will keep you happy life-long," replied her mother. "I'm not interested in marriage now. Please, Ma," said Aastha. "Then when? Tell me, ahh! I dont know what's wrong with this girl," replied her mother. Kabir is a young handsome boy, Botanist by profession, aged 25. His parents are really religious and had bought a marriage alliance for Aastha and Kabir. But Aastha denied, saying that she is not interested. Kabir has a simple nature and is a great believer of Lord Shiva. He had just attained his Post-graduate in plant biology months ago.Aastha had a dream of accomplishing so many great things in her life. Marriage was the last thing she would want to think about but education was her first priority.
She had one elder sister, Ankita, and a younger brother, Parjeet. Ankita had married two years ago to doctor and she is a marine biologist at KulaEco Park in Sigatoka. Parjeet is aged 21 and a final year student at Fiji National University, studying Civil Engineering. He was dating a girl of his age but she belonged to a different culture. Parjeet is the youngest amongst his sister's but had been like a protector to his sister's. He would oppose anyone saying bad about his sister's and is dearest to Aastha.
"Di (sister), its 1 in the morning now and you're still awake. Take some rest," said Parjeet to Aastha. His sister smiled in despair and replied, "Just marking the last set of tutorials of my students. Don't worry, Bhai (brother). By the way, why are you awake? Aye! Chatting with your girlfriend nah?." Parjeet blushed then shrugged. "No, I was doing my assignment and forgot about the time," said Parjeet. "Oh I see. How's studying going? I'm so proud of you! Do you know that," said Aastha. Parjeet hugged his sister tightly and said, "yea, I know that. But I'm more proud of you. Hahaha."
"Only if others had same mentality like yours," said Aastha in a low voice. "What happened Di? Don't tell me, you and Ma had an argument again over that Kabir!," exclaimed Parjeet. Aastha nodded with eyes full of tears. "Relax! Everything's gonna be alright. I'll talk to Ma. Don't take her words to heart, okay? Now please sleep," replied Parjeet in a soft tone.
The following morning, Parjeet woke up early and saw his mother cooking in the kitchen. He brushed his teeth and had a quick hot shower. "You woke up early today. You have an early class?," asked his mother. "No, Ma. My class is at 11am. Ma, I wanted to talk to you about something," replied Parjeet. "Yes, go ahead. What's the matter, Son?," asked his mother. "Ma, Di was upset early this morning. She was awake marking some tutorials. But that was just an excuse. I could see so much of pain in her. Please don't force her in anything," said Parjeet. "Ohh! She instigated you now. Ahh, don't tell me what's right and wrong, okay? Look at her age. She's 23 and that's an ideal age for marriage. You and Aastha belong to the same boat! Only Ankita understands me," replied her mother in furious. "Calm down, Ma. I'm just telling you to give her some time. Maybe an year and perhaps think about marriage after that. So you will do the same thing to me as soon as I get 23?," questioned Parjeet.
Mrs Singh blazed her anger on Parjeet like a burning fire. "Don't you dare put a finger on your mother like this, Son! Daughters are meant to be married and belongs to her husband's house, not to her parents," replied his mother. "Sorry Ma, my intention was never to provoke you but I feel that...." Just then Mrs Singh interrupted him saying, "no more arguments now. I hope it's clear now, Parjeet." That was the worst morning ever for Aastha. She left for work without having breakfast with Prajeet. Upon boarding the bus, Aastha questioned her younger brother, "Why did you talk to Ma like that? Can you imagine how hurtful she must be right now?" The young brother looked at his sister and said, "I respect Ma and I talked to her in a calm tone. She was the one who got ignited like a bomb. Sorry nah!"
"Shut up okay! Make sure you say sorry to her," replied Aastha.
