Pendulum

One

"You will marry him. It is your duty to this family—your dharma."

The light spilt in through the curtains in my room, and I blindly reached for the clock on the side table.

"Happy Birthday, Firdaus."

I froze, before bolting upright to look at my best friend who was sitting right in front of me.

"What are you doing here, Maia?"

She wore a wounded expression, before replacing it with her usual smile.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she sighed.

I giggled and rushed to give her a hug, wrestling with the quilt to free my legs. She smelt of vanilla, because of her perfume, and I had missed her so much. She swayed with me from side to side, as I buried my face into her neck—when my mother walked in with a smile.

"Happy Birthday, beti," she whispered, giving me a kiss on my head.

"We have a gift for you," Maia added.

She placed a small velvet box on the mattress, and I smiled at the both of them. Running my fingers over the wine red velvet, I pinched it open. A necklace. It was a simple choker, a row of diamonds that would lay perfectly against my collarbones—it was something I would have worn, I had never gravitated towards ostentatious jewellery.

"Thank you, it's beautiful," I breathed.

"Why don't you get ready and come meet the others who want to wish you?" my mother suggested.

"I'll help her out," Maia volunteered.

I nodded and reached for my mother's hand—squeezing it before letting go. The door shut on us, and Maia let out a sigh.

"What?"

She raised her eyebrows and shrugged at me. I crossed my arms, waiting for her to say something—because I was starting to have a bad feeling about why my mother had left me to get ready with her. That meant that there was something she didn't want to talk with me about, she didn't trust herself enough to keep it under wraps around me—I knew every single expression of my mother's, she couldn't hide anything from me even if she tried.

"Maia." She looked at me with unease, her eyes darting around the room as if she was debating whether spilling the beans would be a good idea. I placed my hand under her chin, forcing her to look me in the eyes—she refused to give in. Clearly, my mother had taken her word to keep whatever it was under wraps until further instructions. I sighed, ripping the quilt away from my body as I got off the bed, feeling the cool marble tiles under my feet. Before Maia could get a word in, I shut the door to my bathroom as quickly as possible.

Despite her unconditional love for me, I knew that her loyalty to my mother would never waver—after all she had been nothing less than a mother to her throughout the years. Maia's mother had always been too busy with leading the textile business with her husband to truly nurture her daughter, and the money they raked in could never compensate the lack of love and affection she truly deserved. It was miserable watching ten-year-old Maia greet everyone with a smile—it seemed like only I could see the emptiness in her eyes wherever she went, which is why I had to fill her with love, from me and everyone around me. It was hard not to like Maia, she won hearts with her eyes closed.

As I made my way to the dining hall, the smell of glorious food led me in—they'd made my favourite food. Pausing near the entrance, I took a deep breath, plastering on a winning smile as I caught sight of the table nearly filled with guests. Uncles and aunts from the neighbouring kingdoms had flocked over to see how I had turned out, and it felt like vultures descending upon raw meat. Eyes raked all over me, taking in every single detail before masking their curiosity with smiles that looked more like grimaces.