STORY OF MY LIFE

Arya woke up hearing the thud of her book falling from the edge of her bed. She again spent most of the night reading and fell asleep with her book still in hand against her better judgement. A habit she had had ever since her childhood. She would simply fall asleep over her book almost every night. And for the very same reason, her shelves were filled with books she bought from a second-hand bookshop she frequented. Opening her eyes, the first thing she noticed, as always, was the time on her alarm clock, which said she only had no more than an hour to get ready for work. What in the world is wrong with her? How did she not hear her alarm? Maybe she needs to stop reading so much while she should be resting from her exhausting days. But she did not seem to listen to her advice. Throwing aside the covers, she rushed into the bathroom. Her towel would be waiting for her on the hanger inside the toilet, a habit she developed after a long time of realising her mistakes. She has been a habitual reader. It has been her sanctuary ever since she was young. She liked the idea of getting lost in the possibilities of an imaginary world that a book can offer. But reality always comes back like a b***h ringing the doorbell every morning of her life. She brushed, showered and got dressed at lightning speed and went out of her bedroom to find her mother setting the table for breakfast. She instantly felt bad. Getting lost in a fairy world or enchanted forest was a story to tell, but forgetting her responsibilities as a daughter, like helping her mother on the morning course, was bad. It might weigh heavily on you, especially after a fight. For a moment she stood in her spot just watching her mother moving gracefully from kitchen to dining and back, placing things swiftly on the table. Over the years of getting up early and making breakfast, she must have gotten used to all that. Her mother must have realized that she was standing there watching her because she looked up to find her staring at her. A light blush crept up into her face. "Aren't you getting late?" Without even a smile she dived right back to the kitchen again to get yet another thing, god knows what, from the kitchen. Arya knew why it was like that. It's all because of her reluctance to get married. But in all her honesty, she couldn't understand why her mother was rushing it. She was only turning twenty-three this coming September and she felt like she had all the time in the world before she could get married. This didn't sit well with Lalitha, her mother, who was downright adamant about setting her up with some young unmarried man who had recently hit the jackpot by obtaining an entire electronics shop from his deceased uncle who had no heir. Suddenly, he became very desirable to many families. This said the man was a son of a friend Saraswathy Aunty had, who happened to be her mother's best friend and co-worker. Arya loved the woman dearly and there is a definite reason why she calls her aunty. Mrs Saraswathy is a charming, kindhearted woman and has been in Arya's life ever since she could remember her life in Kochi. But she was currently busy cursing out the woman for even mentioning this suitor to her dear mother. Because of her, her mother and she had a full-blown fight last night and, by the looks of it, there will be no talks of peace anytime soon. Grudgingly, she sat down on the chair. There are no more chores to be done and if she doesn't hurry, she will be left alone by her dear friend Anjali. Her mother finally came back from the kitchen carrying a flask full of warm water and two glasses and sat down on the chair opposite Arya. They both ate silently. Usually, they would both be so chatty over the breakfast table. Lalitha would tell her interesting things that happened at her workplace and Arya would do the same. They would laugh at each other's funniest jokes. Their mornings were always pleasant, but today was an exception. Even though there were always just the two of them, they had always been lively and happy. Being a single parent had certainly weighed down on Lalitha but she was always happy and cheerful about it. Being brought up by a cheerful mother had its perks because Arya inherited cheerfulness from her mother. So you see, this certain gloominess was unsettling for both of them. It was not like they had ever fought before. But they were a different kind of fighting, over silly things which always end after a few minutes, laughing it off with a shrug. Arya could tell the fight they had yesterday was a little different from the usual fight they had before. It was hanging over their heads like a bad omen. Lalitha's grumpy face was saying it all. And the silence was killing them both. When they finished having breakfast, Lalitha grabbed her lunch while Arya texted Anjali to pick her up. Anjali texted back immediately saying she was just outside, so with an awkward sideways glance she yelled goodbye and ran off, not even bothering to close the front door behind her. Anjali was waiting for her in her two-wheeler and Arya never felt more relieved to see her dear friend in her life. With a huge sigh, she got on the back of the two-wheeler without an invitation and, with an even grumpier voice, said, "Let's go". To the playful Anjali, it was more than enough to start her usual nagging. "Oh, somebody's in a great mood today, what happened?" She asked her in an exceedingly joyful voice just to annoy her. Arya frowned, knowing too well that her friend would probably say that she was overreacting if she told her. So she said nothing. But Anjali was determined to get it out of her. "Is this about your marriage?" Arya was dumbstruck by her question. "How did you know?" She twisted in her seat, making the two-wheeler sway a little to the right to where she leaned in. "Hey! Watch it. Don't want to die before I live a little," Anjali scolded her and regained control of her vehicle. "Sorry," Arya said sheepishly and sat correctly. "But how do you know?" "Oh, that's because Aunty came by yesterday to talk about it with Amma. I think they talked for a long time about your future." Arya didn't say anything for a few minutes. Of course, her mother would go talk to Seetha's aunty. They have been living so near for a very long time now and have been good friends. "Did you hear what they were talking about? I mean about my marriage?" Arya asked curiously. Since they had a very serious fight last night, Arya wouldn't be able to extract any kind of information from her mother and she is dying out of curiosity right now. "I didn't hear much since I was tired from work and was about to go to my room to change. I only said a quick hello to her but I did hear enough to know what they talked about, " Anjali paused as she rounded a corner and carefully manured her vehicle to the front of their office. When they parked at their usual spot, Arya got off and waited for Anjali as she turned off the scooter. "Then what did they talk about?" " Relax, let me breathe, " Anjali said playfully, which only annoyed Arya further. This is one of those moments when Arya feels like she could hate her friend. " Oh please, cut the nonsense will you?" Arya followed Anjali inside the building. Anjali only smiled as she threw a quick high to their receptionist, Divya, and walked confidently ahead. Arya sulked in her cubicle. Anjali worked in the accounting department, so she had to walk to where the lift was. But she stopped suddenly and turned around to see her friend looking at her with an expression of a lost puppy. "She just said you guys fought over it, that's all." "What? That's it? You made all this drama to tell me this?" Arya cried, outraged. Anjali only smiled back and added. "I like teasing you, that's all, " And she walked away. Arya stared at her friend's back in disbelief. "I am going to kill her, "she muttered to herself. "Kill who?" The question he had jumped. She whirled around to see Ravi with a huge smile plastered on his face. "You scared me, Ravi." She clutched at her chest, exasperated. "Did I? " He questioned. She looked at him with the playful expression on his face that was very similar to the one her dear friend had just given her. Arya didn't comment and walked to her cubicle to start her work. She needed to check her emails and examine new quotes. But Ravi followed her. Sitting on her chair, she started her system and began checking her emails. Ravi stood leaning on the cubicle watching her. "What?" She snapped. To be honest, Ravi is practically her boss. He is a civil engineer who graduated with flying colours and works as an interior designer for this firm. As for her, it is her job to quote prices for the items he requires and oversee his work. An assistant, to be precise. But they both joined at the same time and befriended each other. Ravi treated her as his friend, regardless of her position as his coordinator. So her outburst did not offend him. He laughed his usual easy-going laugh. Arya returned her gaze to the monitor and started working on a proposal. "Did you finish with the proposal I gave you yesterday?" He decided to switch the subject since he noticed she was not in the mood for his usual teasing. "Yes, I did." She grabbed a file from the cabinet near her and handed it over to him. He opened the file to see the prices she had quoted so far. "This is the lowest price I quoted so far." She was watching him going through the file. His almond eyes scanned everything that was written on the paper. All the price quotes she received from various companies were mentioned. After closing the file, he looked at her. Arya leaned in her chair. "So? Is the price okay?" She is still learning about all these responsibilities as a coordinator. As a coordinator, her priority was to assist him with each item's price. Calling the customers on his behalf, and sometimes accompanying him to sites are some other duties. So far, she hasn't made a mistake. "Hmm, this price will be most suitable for this customer. But you don't always have to look for the lowest price. You should always mind the quality of the item we offer. If the item is good, then even if the price is high, we could always negotiate with our customer. And be ready to go to the site with me. We will be leaving in 2 hours." He said all business-like and handed the file back to her. "Okay, " Ravi gave her a lop-sided smile and left. Arya sighed and went back to work. She needed to finish checking her emails and prepare a new quote for other customers before she needed to go to the site. After finishing and looking at the small clock on her table, she realised that it was almost time. She quickly texted Anjali that she was leaving for the site and grabbed her back and left her cubicle. Ravi was also holding his things and reaching for his car keys when she reached his small office room. He smiled at her when he saw her. They both left without waiting a long time. They reached the site in 15 minutes. She got out of the car. It was a small site, a two-floor house. They have responsibility for the interior. "You are here, " an enthusiastic voice of a young man drew their attention. "I was waiting for you, " He was tall and handsome. Arya has met him and his wife a couple of times during the discussion at their office. They were married for two years. They decided to build a house for them and they entrusted the interior design to Ravi. So far, the couple has been very satisfied with the work done. Ravi and the young man, Daniel, shake hands. "Hi Daniel, I hope I didn't keep you waiting, "he said with an equally enthusiastic voice. "No, no, of course not. I just got here, my wife is waiting in the car. She is a bit unwell. You guys go inside. I will go get her." He said and gestured to the front door. They both walked into the front room, which was a spacious living room. The interior was not finished yet but it was taking form slowly. She checked the layouts to conform to the accuracy of their work. Ravi had walked past her to one of the bedrooms to detect the work done and to access the pending works. "Arya, " A minute later he called her. She went to the bedroom he entered a minute ago. "Yes, " She took her note and pen out of her handbag, ready to take notes. "Why is that vase on the table? It should be on the table near the entrance." He pointed his finger and Arya pulled the file open. She checked the accessories assigned to this particular room. "I will talk to them, " She said, and went to talk to the workers. Daniel came back with his wife Jenny at that moment. He was carefully guiding her through the mess on the floor. Ravi smiled at the man as he neared him. "I think congratulations are in order, "he said with his cheerful voice grabbing the couple's attention. "How did you know?" Astonished and wide-eyed Jenny asked him. "Oh!! Come on, anybody could tell, " Ravi said with an easy-going smile. The young mother blushed with embarrassment. But her husband held her close to him. Both shared a smile as they looked at each other. Ravi's eyes involuntarily moved to where Arya was standing. She wasn't paying attention to anything. Ravi still remembers the first time when he met her. He felt an instant connection. And in the past 6 months of working together, he thought that he had grown closer and closer to her. But she was still unaware of his affection. Not that he was showing his feelings openly. He just didn't want to scare her away. With a heavy sigh, he turned his attention back to the young couple. "Shall we discuss the details then?"