Divulging Remorse ✔

Chapter 27

Riya would be the first to say hello to the night and by the time her sister was back, she'd be fast asleep. This was their routine throughout the week, although thankfully, weekends were a whole lot lighter. There were only two things which hadn't moved an inch about Riya though; one was sleep. The other, of course, food. 

She quickly cut the green and yellow peppers in julienne and threw it in the wok with the chicken that sizzled in the seasonings and herbs when she heard the door lock click. It would be her mom, she thought. 

"Assalamoalikum!"

Nope, it was Arshiya to her amazement. 

"Walikumassalam. How come you're home early?" She was slicing tomatoes while working up a pan for grilling tortillas to pull together a fajita wrap. 

"I think you're late today," Arshiya said, giving her a sideway glance as she put her bag and books on the sofa in the living room. 

Riya realized, she was about an hour late, she was possibly imprisoned by that earring, far too long in the car. A strange kind of emotion had gripped her heart, a kind she couldn't really justify to herself. Today, she was on cloud nine, but she didn't think anyone could tell that. It was under the surface and mixed with slight anxiety. She was thrown upwards into something she'd started to love; her career. On the other hand, a mountain of guilt had pushed her down, so down that, it was kind of taking over everything else that had been coming out so great. 

"I've got something amazing to tell you, Riya!"

"Me too!" She exclaimed, her face finally started to show some hints of how elated she was.

"You first", they both chorused at the same time and giggled about it. 

"Alright, I'm talking first," started Arshiya impatiently, "I was called into Dean's office today."

Riya gave a quick stir in the pan, wiped her hands on the kitchen towel and joined her on the dining table where she sat peeling a banana. 

"He handed me a letter and made me so nervous, I thought I had failed in the mid-terms, but when I opened it, I couldn't believe what it was." 

Riya shifted on the chair curiously, folding her arms, she urged, "Say it already, Arshiya!" 

"They're offering me a scholarship in Turkey!" She squealed with laughter, got up and dragged Riya to her feet too. 

She twirled her around continuously until they were in the middle of the living room and when Arshiya felt dizzy of too much happiness bubbling out of her, she stopped. That's when she noticed Riya's gloomy face, instead of what she had been expecting, there was a sudden change of expressions. 

Arshiya should have known better, that place had given nightmares to Riya for months, "Hey, I didn't mean to-" 

Riya held her hand, her lips stretching into a wide gaping grin. She instantly pulled her little sister into a bear hug, "When will you stop making me proud, Arshiya?" 

When they let go after a moment of giggles and a tear or two, Arshiya cheered, "Your turn."

"I got promoted."

Arshiya squealed again and started jumping on the sofa. Riya pushed her to stop, but she pulled her up too and they both fell in a heap on to the fluffy cushions, laughing until their stomach hurt. 

------------------------------------------

The next morning, she left earlier than she was expected at work. On the way, she stopped at Mishkat's house, dropped the package at the door and rung the door bell, forgetting to take her finger off from it. When she made sure that someone was dragging their drowsy steps to get the door, she quickly got into her red Chevrolet Spark, reversed it and made a sharp turn to exit the lane. She saw Mishkat poking her sleepy head out of her bedroom window from the upper-floor and she swiftly raced towards the highway.