Plane Ticket To You

Chapter 25

📍MUMBAI, INDIA

LUCIA

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, suspicious of the way that Elias hadn't spoken two words to me about our destination since we'd left.

"Hey, If you are allowed to do it, so am I."

"Okay, but I was taking you to my grandparents in China. And unless you have Indian relatives here, this whole thing is looking pretty fishy."

"Trust me," Elias said as we trailed through the colorful, busy streets of Mumbai. "You're going to like it."

A ringing emitted from my phone, and I took it out from my pocket.

"It's not Aaron, is it?" Elias asked, fists clenching. "I swear to God, if he tries to contact you again..."

"It's not him. He hasn't tried to contact me in a long time. It's... it's my brother."

"Don't pick up," Elias said quickly.

I looked up from my phone, raising an eyebrow. "This is getting really suspicious. In fact, it's playing out like a perfect horror movie. You try to isolate me from all outside contact, and then-"

"Ah." Elias stopped in front of an almost obsolete gray building that had black Hindi characters painted on the front. "We're here."

I walked past him, opening the door and walking inside hesitantly.

The interior of the building so contrasted with the gray outside that I gasped. Yellow lighting from various candles placed around the room created a soft glow. A table was set up in the center, with a table already set with steaming plates of Indian food: tikka masala, chutney and rice, naan, and chicken vindaloo. 

And there, sitting at one of the places, was Orion.

I ran over to my brother, and he received me with a hug. I felt tears of joy prick at my eyes.

"Hey, little sis," my brother said, smiling widely.

"How did you-- what--" I spluttered, looking over at Elias.

"I arranged for Orion to meet us here," he explained. "I remember that in Thailand you said you wished he was here with us, so..."

He stood in the corner with his arms crossed, genuine happiness in his eyes as he witnessed our reunion. In that moment, I loved him more than ever. 

But I couldn't show it. Not with my brother here.

But maybe... now that Orion was here, we could finally tell him. We could tell him about our relationship, and all would be well. 

"Well, there's lots of food," Elias said, walking over to us. "So eat up."

"Lucia, I missed you so much," Orion said as we sat down. "You can't even imagine. It got kind of lonely, not having someone to nag me all time time." He winked playfully. "Even Mama doesn't have the same level of nag ability that you have, dear sister."

"The pleasure is all mine," I deadpanned. "I love that you came all this way to visit me, but what about Nadine and Jas and Penny?"

"They're all safe at home with Ma," my brother answered, voraciously digging into the naan and vindaloo. "For some reason, Jas and Penny seem to only listen to Nadine. Which makes sense. She's great with kids."

"I believe Lucia has something to tell you," Elias said suddenly, nodding to me.

I knew he was talking about my new journalism pursuits. I dug around in my bag for Xialin's business card, unable to express in words how excited I was.