Clouded Crossroads

30: Hidden Talents

Jiya

"Jiya?..." a flushed but quiet voice echoed, breaking the silence. I know that voice anywhere, conscious or unconscious. My eyes widened, as my breath became shorter and shorter. Unknowingly, I clenched onto Vihaan's shirt firmer and firmer. The air felt frantically hot.

"Relax," his voice tried soothing, untangling my hands. "We had to face this someday. Why can't it be now?"

Holding my shoulders, he put me to the side, walking towards my distressed-filled mother.

"Aunty..." Vihaan started, surprising me how steady his voice was. "We might have--"

"I don't think this is the place to talk."

~~

"How long?"

"Things just deepened gradually over time. But we've known each other for about 2 years."

"Can my daughter answer please?" He dipped his head at her stern voice. But he nodded, giving me a look of assurance from the side. We were all seated in the room, the tension feeling suffocating.

"T-two years. Exactly what h-he said, Mumma." I felt like I was being choked.

A pause later, she continued. "Don't you feel like you made a mistake?"

I didn't know what to say. Whenever I made a mistake, I would always cry. But today - right now - not even a single tear made its way down. "I made the mistake of not telling you."

"Yes, but--"

"But I really love Vihaan. That can never be a mistake."

A stifled cry startled the dead silent atmosphere. Instinctively, I looked at Mumma, but her face reflected the same confusion. We looked in between us, to see Vihaan shielding his face in the grasps of his hands. With all the wonders in the world, I would have never expected Vihaan to cry -- especially in a situation like this.

Suddenly, he leaned into my mother, with a small cradle. "I never had someone stick up for me this way. If Jiya's gone too, I don't know what I would do."

A painful gap filled the air. And after what felt like eternity, my mother did the unthinkable and rested her hands on him. "You're a good boy who I just don't know enough. But I love you both. I guess that's why I was so disappointed that nobody told me this."

I jerked up. "Mumma, from now on, no more secrets between any of us."

She nodded, still embracing him. Embracing our relationship.

~~

I led him out the door as he quickly wiped his face on my shoulder.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." He looked me in the eye. "You?"

I smiled in reply. Vihaan stepped out the door, clearing his throat. "I knew that fake-crying talent I had would be useful someday."

He winked as I processed his words in confusion for a moment. A gasp escaped my mouth, as my whole perspective changed on what happened moments ago. The door immediately shut on his face.

"Hey!" I heard his muffled voice, chuckling. "But it helped, right?"

He'll never change. But even I couldn't help but laugh.

I feel like a kite, free and burdenless. A kite that knows everything would be okay.

Vihaan

Shaking my head, I turned around to leave but their voices from inside their room made me freeze on the spot.
Barely making out the muffled voices, I put together the words.

"Jiya, you're still not off the hook about this. But we can talk about this another day. How is it going with your fashion designing? Are you finding opportunities? The time I gave you will be here sooner than you think."

A solid pause later, Jiya spoke up. "It's harder than I expected."

"In that case, you know the deal..."

The rest was too muffled to catch, but I was already racing down the aisle.

~~

Spending most of the night researching, I finally made progress. Something that would be perfect for Jiya.

"Hello...is this S&M Designers?"

Having a partner means helping them grow and soar to the sky. And I could give Jiya the whole universe. 

🌱

But does Vihaan really have that talent? 🤔😏