101 ways to repel a marriage

Chapter 28

She still did not know what happened between Sushi and Thomas but she understood that whatever had happened it was too hurtful for him. Too hurtful to the extent that Thomas did not even share the same space as she and Sushi did except for the classes. He would just flee away from the canteen or college garden or anywhere where She and Sushi were, once his eyes fell on them.

Shahma had actually tried talking to him a few times but all she got was cold shoulders as he simply walked away and that was the story of how Shahma lost her recent friend.

She checked out his info and found that he had only one Facebook Aunt . Even without clicking on the profile and looking at the profile picture closer, she could say that the beautiful woman was Aunt Anna.

She entered aunt Anna's world with just a click.

Aunt Anna's profile was also something that she never expected. She never expected a celebrity writer like her to use another name for her social media account. Her Facebook name was 'black Dahlia'. For some reason the name intrigued Shahma.

Shahma looked at her wall picture. It contained a few white texts  in chiller font against black background.

"Love them but trust not!"

Aunt Anna had only seventy friends. Shahma had expected at least  a few ten thousands . Aunt Anna was breathtakingly beautiful and that factor alone could gain a few thousands. Moreover she was a writer and that could earn another few thousands.  It seemed that Shahma's calculations were wrong.

Shahma scrolled down the page. There were many quotes. Some were romantic. Some were mysterious. Some were humor. There were a lot of photos of Aunt Anna with Thomas....those when he was a baby, when he was a little boy, a teenager and his college days. She did not know that she had checked out all her quotes and photos until she reached the end of the page.

Her first post was with a picture in which she stood near a building. The building was very old and was not in it's complete form. It was covered under vines. Shahma could only see four broken window and a destroyed roof.

"Only the walls and they heard me scream. The walls kept silent and they kept enjoying it...or rather me as a whole ~Stella"

For some reason Shahma felt the words to be familiar. Like she had heard it somewhere. She felt drawn to the familiarity of the words. She scrolled upwards.

Aunt Anna had posted many quotes with the building's photo. Shahma noticed that all those posts were posted on the same day every year, 28th February.

'With your hands you wipe my tears
with your words came true my fears~Stella'

'I could build a castle with the words that describe my pain, but then again, I would be all alone in it~Stella'

'I am not afraid of when I would die, I am rather afraid of how much more I have to live~Stella'

All those Stella quotes felt very familiar to Shahma. Stella must have been a character from Aunt Anna's book and familiarity to those words suggested Shahma with the idea that she must have read the book but she could not remember reading a book written by someone named Anna.

A. Elizabeth...the quotes were from the book named 'wilted before spring' by A.Elizabeth.

She remembered that book well. It was a very dark and depressive book with unexpected events. It was popular during her eighth grade and she had bought it with the money she got from her relatives on an Eid. Her mother had warned her that she was not going to finish such a thick book but her mother was wrong. She had finished it in just two days.

It started as a sweet romance but ended as a dark themed book. It was filled with so much depression and hopelessness that Shahma decided to never try another book by the author. The book was more than what a fourteen year old girl could read with betrayals,rapes and suicidal thoughts.

She ran to the store room.

The book was covered with dust as she took it from an old shelf with many books. She opened the book and read just the first page of it. Stella was a character in her book.

Shahma went back to her room and googled about 'Anna Elizabeth'

Yes, she was right. Aunt Anna was the writer whom she herself had declared as forbidden for her.

She felt the urge to have a talk with Aunt Anna again. Shahma wanted to know something but she herself was not quite sure what it was about. She had to meet Aunt Anna.

She took her phone and unblocked Aunt Anna. She did not know if she should send Aunt Anna a message or not. She wanted to know more about the writer and her objectives but she was a little afraid. She was not afraid of Aunt Anna's words, she was afraid of her own decisions. She was not afraid of being influenced by Aunt Anna, she was afraid of letting herself be influenced.

Shahma kept the phone on her table and lied down on her bed as she sighed deeply. The book was just beside her.

She took it and started reading it again.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Shahma grew even more eager when she saw the caller ID. She made one last prayer to Allah, requesting him for the call to be from a happy Sushi.

Her prayer was not accepted and she knew it when she heard Sushi's broken voice.