Talk of the Town

31 //

See you soon :)

Miraya has been staring at the message for more than ten minutes. What does Soon mean? Three more days passed without a call from Shray. And Miraya was slightly worried and greatly pissed at him.

Fiya steps into Miraya's office space. "Hey," she says.

"Is something wrong? Do you have any problems with the story you are working on?" Miraya asks.

"No, no," she says and pulls out an invitation card from behind her back. "I am getting married."

"What?"

"I am getting married to Ashraf. The engagement is on January 30. It would mean a lot to me if you came. And also Shray," she added the last part quietly.

Miraya was surprised. She hadn't even known Fiya was deciding on marriage. That was how distant they had grown. "Congratulations. I mean, I am so happy for you. And of course, I'll come. I am not sure about Shray but I'll try getting him to attend as well," Miraya says. If he picks up her calls, that is.

"Thank you so much," Fiya says and she could catch on to the notes of excitement in her voice. "And Miraya, I am sorry I wasn't very understanding of you during the scandal. I feel very guilty for not being there for you."

Miraya waves her off. "That's okay. I could understand that you felt left out so it's partly my fault. I would have honestly told you everything if I knew what was happening in my life. But I was very confused. It was too chaotic to explain and that's why I didn't." She adds, "I guess it still is messy."

"You don't owe me an explanation or anything, Mira. I am sorry I behaved like a kid. Only last week, Ashraf sat me down and knocked some sense into me. I've been trying to find the right time to apologise but I bailed on it every time because I was a little scared."

Miraya laughs. "Am I that scary?"

"Sometimes, yeah," she says, wearing a sheepish smile on her face.

"It's nice to talk to you again casually," Miraya says. "Maybe we should catch up—"

Priscilla interrupts her. "Miraya, Mrs Nandhini is calling for you."

Miraya gives Fiya one tight hug before grabbing a pen and a notebook and rushing into Mrs Nandhini's office.

"Come in," she says.

Miraya takes a seat.

"Lakshmi wanted to do a piece on the pearl and gemstone jewellery market in Andaman. She was very excited about it but poor thing, she fell sick last week. She booked tickets to Andaman this week but her father passed away yesterday. She asked me to pass it on to someone else. Are you interested?" Mrs Nandhini says, not looking up from her binders.

"Um, yes. But is Lakshmi okay? Should I check up on her?"

"She is fine, just grieving. Her father was her only parent but he was sick for a while. The doctors had told her to expect it but his death came too soon. I went and checked on her myself yesterday and paid respects. You don't need to worry about it," she says.

Miraya nods. "So, when is the flight?"

"Tomorrow. Lakshmi has sent me the basic research she has done about the markets and the artisans. I will forward you that. Look into it. I'll also pass on the ticket details."

"Okay, sure. Is that all?"

"It will be a two-day trip so you've got to be sincere and smart. Of course, you take your time to be a tourist but also remember you are there for work. You know how this works, right? I trust you will do justice to Lakshmi's idea."