sixteen
2163 Words
“Surprise!”
El came home, tired and happy at the end of the exams, and walked in through the door to the surprise.
“Pa! Ma!” El called out. She stood frozen for a couple of seconds, before running over to her parents.
“Wash up,” her mother said. “Get changed. Let’s go out. Have fun.”
“Yeah,” El replied.
And that was exactly what they did. Just the three of them. First stop was shopping. They weren’t looking to buy anything in particular. It was a pleasant enough day for the outdoors. They went to the old city market. The market was first opened two centuries ago, with the blessing of the then king of the region. The king’s favourite queen loved jewellery. The king invited craftsmen to setup stores in the capital. The market was designated for this purpose.
In the two centuries since, the market had been shut down many times, and reopened many times. And a lot of the stores today were in the families of the craftsmen and artisans who accepted the then king’s invitation. The tradition of the market withstood time and survived.
El’s mother loved the pearls here. The best pearls in all of the world were available in the market. People from across the world visited the market to buy pearls.
El loved the bangles. Especially the lacquer bangles that were made in the same way as they were centuries ago. The traditional bangles were another thing to survive in the market.
El and her mother were always ready to go to the old market for pearls and bangles.
And El’s father loved the traditional snacks that were sold in the market. There was no fancy packaging. The snacks were prepared and served simply, as they had been through the ages. People loved the snacks with their tongues and their stomachs, rather than their eyes.
El’s mother bought a pair of pearl necklaces that the mother and daughter would wear together. El bought a dozen bangles for herself, and insisted her mother get another dozen for herself.
And while they were enjoying her father’s favourite spiced bread, a recipe mentioned in books from like a thousand years ago, her father initiated the conversation.
“Your uncle called us. Told us you’d been weird for weeks. Wanted us to come much earlier. We didn’t want to disturb you before the exams. Put it off, until today. So, you want to tell us what’s going on?”
El knew she should have been prepared for the questions. It wasn’t just her uncle. She was sure her parents noticed too, heard it in her voice every day on the phone.
She was stumped. She gave herself the time to really think. And her parents were patient.
“There is something on my mind,” El said. “There’s this boy in my class.” She paused to look at her parents. And when she saw them freeze, she let the smallest smile leak onto her face. And then, she continued. “I think I like him.”
“You like him?” Her mother asked.
“Is he nice?” Her father asked.
Is he nice? El froze. Bee was definitely nice. He was probably one of the nicest person she knew. That was why she became friends with him. That was why she couldn’t ignore him. That was why she couldn’t help fall for him.
Bee was also terrible. The most terrible a person could be. The coldest. The most heartless. When he ended the relationship, when he shut her out, he was entirely unaffected. And then, he could waltz into her life with such ease. And leave just as easily. He broke her heart a million times, into thousands and thousands of pieces. And he never, not once, gave her an explanation.
“Is he nice?” El repeated. “Yes. He is nice. When you meet him, you will like him too. You will say that he is so very nice too.”
Her smile grew. As her eyes misted. That was exactly what her father said in the previous lifetime after meeting Bee. He believed that Bee would make her happy. What would he have said if he knew Bee had broken up with her already? Years later, he hated Bee, and insisted she forget Bee and move on with her life. When she remembered the look on his face, the sorrow and the pain and the anger he was trying so hard to contain inside of him, when she remembered the tears welling up in his eyes, and when she remembered that she was the cause of it, she felt like her heart was squeezed. She gasped faintly. Stifled the cry. Secretly wiped her eyes dry, as she looked away. So, when she turned back toward her parents, none of what was in her head showed on her face. And then, continued.
“I don’t want to like him.”
“Why?” Her father asked.
“Why?” She repeated.
“You just said he is nice,” her father said.
“Yes. I did. He is nice. He is also terrible. And I hate him. Because I hate him, I don’t want to like him. It’s so hard.”
Her parents were silent. Her father patted her head. Her mother took her hand.
“I will be fine,” she said. And she meant it. “I just need some time. I will be fine.”
“Let’s go to a nice restaurant for dinner,” her father said. “There’s this new restaurant. Rajat uncle, you remember him? He told me about it. Supposed to be very nice. He said it’s a must visit. Let’s go?”
“Yeah,” El said, nodding.
They didn’t immediately leave. The spiced bread made for a light snack. And was great with hot tea, which her parents had, and the cold soda, which El had. Then, they walked slowly back to the car.
They had driven over. It was a five hour drive from their city to this. A comfortable drive on the newly laid highway. Harvey, El’s father, enjoyed road trips. Fiona, El’s mother, wasn’t as fond, but she didn’t complain much because she wasn’t the one driving. This would also be like nice road trip for the old couple, a holiday for themselves, which they fully deserved, since their daughter was going on a holiday too with her friends.
When they walked into the restaurant, as they were shown to their table, El froze. Her father’s eyes followed hers to a table across the restaurant, to a big party.
“What is it?” Harvey asked.
“That’s him,” El said, pointing with her chin. “The boy from my class.”
Harvey and Fiona stared at the only boy who could be El’s classmate.
“Hmm,” Harvey said.
“What?” El asked.
“He’s not like the handsomest boy in the world,” Harvey said.
“Yeah,” Fiona said. “He’s not tall either.”
“Is he as tall as you?” Harvey asked.
The question triggered another set of memories from the previous lifetime. How many times had the two of them discussed who was taller? How many times did they stand in front of the mirror, next to each other, in others arms? She had always insisted that she was taller. And he always tried proving that he was taller, if only by a finger’s width. But the fact was that they were the same height.
“He is,” El said. “We’re the same tall.”
The answer raised her parents’ eyebrows. And El saw it. But she couldn’t bring herself to feel flustered or embarrassed. It was like the floodgates were opened. And she couldn’t stop from telling her parents about her feelings.
“Are his grades better than yours?” Her mother asked.
“Not before,” El said. “Now, yeah. It’s like he turned a new leaf.”
“He’s smarter than you?” Her father asked.
“I hate admitting it, but yes,” El said. “When he really tries, yes, he is smarter.”
“What’s his name?”
El was staring at Bee. Even under the dim lights of the restaurant, she could see his face as clear as under the sun. She could trace every line and every curve of his features. She could feel his on her finger tips. She could feel his breath on her face. She could taste his lips. She could feel his hands on her. She could feel the warmth growing in her.
She was so distracted, she heard the question, but couldn’t distinguish the voice.
“Bee,” she answered. “His name is Bee.”
“That’s his family?”
She nodded. “That’s his mother next to him. And his father on the other side of his mother.”
“What do they do?”
“They have their own company. A small company.”
“What about the others?”
“That’s Appie. Another girl from my class. And her parents.”
“Is that what’s bothering you?”
“What?” El snapped out. “What was that you just asked?”
Her father shook his head. “You like him that much, huh?”
“What do you mean?” El asked.
“So,” her mother cut in. “That’s Appie. And Bee. And their families. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” El answered. She wasn’t lying. She really didn’t know what was going on right now.
“Wow,” her father said.
“What?” El asked.
“You’re not being honest,” he said. “You do know something.”
“They are close,” El said. “Appie and Bee. They are, like, really close.”
“She likes him,” her mother said. She was looking at the two families, at Appie and Bee.
“Yeah,” El admitted.
“And that’s what is bothering you,” her father said again.
“Not the way you’re thinking,” El said. “Let’s not talk about them. Actually, let’s go to another restaurant. Please.”
Her parents didn’t press on. They quietly left, without attracting attention. And they went to another restaurant. Ate. And returned to her uncle’s place.
The next morning, El saw her parents off. And drove over to Emma’s.
“Wow,” Emma said, after listening to everything. “So, you admitted. That you like him.”
“Yeah,” El said.
“I think it’s fate,” Emma said. “Just think. You go to dinner with your parents. And you see Appie and Bee with their parents at the same restaurant. What else could that be but fate?”
“Undesirable fate, if it is fate.”
“Whether desired or not. Fate it is. I don’t think it’s going to be easy.”
“What isn’t?”
“What you want. Staying away from Bee. I think it’s not going to be easy. When the universe is trying so hard to push you towards him, to make your paths cross. You basically have to face off against the universe, along with your own feelings.”
“Agreed. It’s not going to be easy at all. Unfortunately, it’s not like there is a choice.”
“I don’t know.”
“What? What is it? What are you thinking up in that head of yours?”
“I don’t know. There is something. It’s not clear. Not taken a concrete form yet. But, that’s not what’s important right now. The trip. That’s what we should be thinking about.”
“Yeah. The trip. That’s actually what I want to talk to you about. We must stick together.”
“Of course. We aren’t exactly a part of that gang. Just saying, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“And we’ll try to not cross paths with Bee, while also keeping Appie away from him.”
“So, you want Appie without Bee. After last night, I don’t know how we’re going to make that happen.”
“We have to try.”
“Alright. We’ll try. Let’s remember to have fun. Yeah? Let’s not make the trip absolutely without any kind of fun. That would be horrible.”
“Of course. We will have fun. For sure.”
“Good. Now, let’s watch something. I downloaded a new movie. Supposed to be great.”
Emma played the movie on her laptop. The girls were on Emma’s bed, on their stomachs, hand holding up their heads. The laptop was on a chair in front of them. It was a two hour movie. Perfect length. It would be time for lunch when it ended.
The day was starting to fill itself. The sign of the holidays.
- Writer
