Blooming Flower ✔️

Chapter 10: Heart to Heart

"Mere sohneya, sohneya ve, ve maahi mera kithe naiyo dil lagna," (My beloved, my heart doesn't attach itself to anything except you) I sang, like a goat, as Ananth and I drove to Target to get some food for home. I couldn't get enough of this song, because it was just like someone's rubbing silk across my ears. It just reminded me of times when things weren't as complicated, because I wanted those times to come back. The music, lyrics, and everything was just so comforting, and somewhat nostalgic, even though the song was released last year.

"Shut it, Jaya," Ananth snapped, as we crossed the intersection to get into Target. I cleared my throat, and then start to sing a little bit louder just to annoy my brother a little bit. He rolled his eyes and hit my arm a little bit, as he turned into the parking lot. I chuckled, as he tried to find a parking spot for the both of us.

"You are so annoying," he groaned, as he parked the car and got out of it. I chuckled, as I got out of the car to help my brother get some of the groceries.

Ananth always had a tendency to forget half of the grocery list, and 99% of the time, it would be the half that I actually remembered, so he always dragged me along despite the fact that I loved to annoy him with my beaver-sounding singing. I grabbed a bag, and started to walk inside Target to look for the things that my mom wanted.

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    "I don't get why she's trying to be nice, Jaya. She's such a bitch," Ananth confided, as we compared the prices for the pasta sauces.

I gave him a shrug. "Isha's a weird person. Just ignore her. She probably just wants to torture you to get information that she can degrade me on." Ananth gave me that slightly reassuring smile, reminding me that he wouldn't do that, like ever, as he placed the cheapest pasta sauce in the cart. "Jen was smart. She realized that Isha was a total bitch before going on the wrong side of things. She got herself out in time. Pretty amazing, huh?"

Ananth chuckled, as he examined the nicest looking pasta sauce. I still chuckle at how Jen and Isha could ever manage to be best friends at a point. It was like putting Tom and Jerry in the same room with serrated knives and expecting them not to slit each other's throats within the next 30 seconds. I kept that smile on my face as Ananth and I continued to shop for groceries.

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    "Mom, I'm going to Manish's place in an hour. He wants me to help him pack some things for Seattle," I told my mom, as I put the groceries away.

My mom took a plastic case and then pushed it over to me. "Okay, Jaya. Give this to Manish on your way. Sandhya Aunty told me that Manish contracted another infection a few days ago, after he yelled at you. It subsided, but he hated having it."

I shuddered, thinking about the infections that he gets with having a donated kidney. I took the box, knowing that it was probably filled with things to make him feel better after dealing with the nastiness of infections. I let out a deep sigh, thinking that he may have awful infections when he's in Seattle.

That is, if he planned to go.

I looked at my phone, and saw that the time read, "5:23." Manish wanted me to be there at 5:30, and being the only person in my family who doesn't run on Indian Standard Time, I decided to leave now instead of at 6:30. I took the box, and swiftly trotted out of the house so I could give him his food and help him out.

    By that time, infections weren't uncommon when it came to Manish. I mean, we were talking once every one or two months. Three if he got really lucky. But, knowing the circumstances behind them made me feel very uneasy. They were a result of his lowered immunity because the medications he was taking so that his body didn't reject the foreign kidney inside of him.