New Beginnings

10- Subtle changes

Having changed into my nightwears, I laid on the bed and was scrolling through my mobile, as I wasn't feeling too sleepy.

Suddenly the lights went out, startling the hell out of me.

"Aaaaaaa", I screamed out because of the suddenness of the situation.

"TRISHA, TRISHA, Trisha are you okay?" Twins asked from the other side while banging the door.

Groaning, I stood up and went to open the door with the help of mobile's flashlight.

"Sorry, I got scared as the lights suddenly went out", I said sheepishly.

Both of them looked sleepy, my scream must have woke them up.

Upon hearing me, the tension in their faces vanished and they both took sighs of relief.

"You idiot, you scared us", one of them said.

"Oops! But why did the lights went out? Some huge fault must have happened, right?" I asked while turning to look outside the window, as if I could find something.

"Fault? It's nothing. Electricity here, is the owner of her wish. Comes and goes whenever she wishes", one of them said chuckling, talking about electricity as if it was a girl.

"Oh!" I replied stupidly.

"Stop talking nonsense, Rishi. Trisha, are you okay? You aren't scared of dark, right?" Raghav asked.

Upon hearing him, it was clear that the electricity dialogue was spoken by Rishi.

"No, it's nothing like that. I was just startled", I said hoping they wouldn't figure out that I was lying and in reality, I was shit scared.

We received electricity and water facilities for 24/7 in city while here, it came and went according to their wishes(as per Rishi).

"Of course, of course. Why don't we camp out Raghav? You know like we did when we got scared in childhood. I mean...I am not saying Trisha is scared but we can still do that,right?" Rishi suggested cheekily.

Looking at their expressions, it was clear that they knew that I was scared but were just pretending for my sake.

Coughing out, I too joined in their pretend game and further asked, "Camp sounds interesting. What should we do?"

"Well nothing much. We would just get under blankets, with lots of snacks and torch. Either we would discuss about future pranks or made out some funny creative stories", Raghav explained, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Under the blankets?" I asked a little awkwardly.

"That's what we did in childhood. We don't have to do it that way. Umm...how about we sit in the doorway. You in your room while we will be in our room. We would be close enough to talk and away enough to not get uncomfortable", Rishi said, easing my mind.

Raghav too nodded along with me, liking the idea instantly.

Even though we were cousins, we were still strangers for each other. Yet they seemed to understand my nervousness without me spelling it out.

"You wait here with your blanket while we both will bring the snacks from downstairs", Raghav said and they both turned towards the exit door.

"Both...both of you?" I asked biting my lips in nervousness.

They stopped in their tracks and turned around, looking at me with raised eyebrows.

It was so dark and I was looking at them through flashlight and they weren't helping with their identical expressions. It was enough to creep me out.

"Gu...Guys?" I called out stammering.

Looking at my scared expression, they both bursted into laughter.

"Oops, don't worry. Raghav you stay with her. I will go and bring the snacks", Rishi said and left the room, still laughing.

I scratched my head in embarrassment. Raghav gave me a soft smile and sat down on the floor, motioning me to do the same.

Rishi came within few minutes, hands full of various packets of chips and ice cream.

We spoke about our childhoods. Their pranks, me getting full attention from being an only child and what not. Few things where interesting, while others were simply astonishing.

I don't know how but the topic changed from childhood memories to my problem with looking at Aunt's face.

"I really tried but whenever I see her, my mom's face is the only thing I can see", I said looking down, feeling ashamed.

"Why don't you try to find any differences?" Raghav suggested.

"What differences?" I asked confused.

"Even though, their face is identical, it doesn't mean their personality would be too", Raghav said.

Rishi continued the explanation, "Just like us. Raghav and I look the same but our clothing style, talking style, the way we think is totally different.

In the same way, you should search for the differences. Notice that subtle changes. The more you notice the difference between them, the less you will see Aunt's face in our Mom. We can call your Mom as Aunt, right?"

"Of course. You don't need to ask me. I mean you must have called her Aunt whenever you met her, right?" I asked.

"We never met your family", Raghav muttered, sounding a little angry.

"Oh! You also didn't know about us, just like I didn't knew about you all?" I questioned curiously.

"We knew about your Mom. We just never saw them in person. Do you seriously don't know, what had happened between our parents?" Raghav asked, looking shocked.

"No one told me anything. Can you tell me?" I asked hesitantly, testing waters, not knowing what their reaction would be.

"It's not like you would believe that our Mom was innocent and your whole family was wrong. Whatever we say, would be a waste. Why would you believe us over your family?" Raghav snorted.

"Just like you believed whatever your Mom said and assumed that my side of family was wrong", I counter backed.

I didn't knew the whole story. Nor I would ever receive my Mom's version but it was a given. The twins believed their Mom; my Aunt and if my Mom would have told me about the story, I would have definitely believed her side of story.

For us to properly select a right side, we needed to know both sides of the story.

Noticing that things were getting heated, Rishi intervened.

"Let the past be in the past. Our fights and discussion won't bring justice. So let's end it here. Can we continue with the main topic?"

Raghav and I nodded, heaving a sigh.

"Trisha, Can you think of any difference between the two? We can't help you in this, as we have never met your Mom. Only you can find the differences", Raghav said and I started thinking.

We all sat in silence while I pondered over it.

"OH YES!" I yelled out in excitement.

"Sshhh. Mom and dad are sleeping", they both said while pointing their fingers to their lips.

"Sorry sorry", I whispered, holding my hands in a surrendering position.

"What did you find out?" Rishi asked, whispering too.

"Mom is...", I started in a whisper but then stopped making a 'yikes' face and spoke again but in a normal voice.

"Mom had an aura of elegance while Aunt feels homey. To give an example, Mom is like a coffee while Aunt is hot chocolate", I finished with a smile.

They too had wide smiles. Looks like our happiness was contagious, electricity decided this moment to grant us with its presence.

Cleaning all the mess, we had created, we went to our beds to get some sleep.

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