Rivannah

Secrets and Sonder

Vikram^

Aditi had given her a brief tour of the town on her scooter. Riva didn't have a lot of experience with the vehicle, but she sat still as Aditi drove her past prime places and local markets, pointing out spots and giving her lots of information.

True to her word, Aditi didn't even take the roads that offered a view of Pratham Palace. Prathampura had the calmness and charm of a forgotten town. Riva liked that. Their kingdom, Bhawanigarh was loud and boisterous because it was the capital city of the entire state.It was always bustling. That's why quiet Jai Mahal at its outskirts was such a haven.

They ended the tour and Riva was pleased to see that her stuff had arrived. Aditi helped her take  all the luggage to her room upstairs and Ambika had a quick word with Man Singh.

" She can go to college tomorrow. Yuvraj talked to the Dean, he doesn't know Rivannah's true identity, but he knows to keep his mouth shut. To everyone else, she's Riva Rathi." Man Singh explained.

" All right. She's adjusting to this place very well." Ambika smiled, fondly as she looked at the two girls struggling to carry a huge box upstairs , " She's a sweet and sensible girl."

" I wouldn't underestimate her." Man Singh said, shuddering as he remembered the morning's events ," She'll keep you on your toes." 

He did a namaste to her and Ambika returned the courtesy.She watched him clamber into the huge car parked outside her house. She firmly dismissed his words. 

Age was making Man Singh blabber nonsense.

                                                                                                 *

The next morning, she found Aditi in the kitchen, making the breakfast.There were vegetable peels strewn haphazardly over the counter, along with various utensils. The place reeked of something burnt, and Aditi coughed as she opened the window to let the smoke out.

Ambika clutched her heart in shock and hurriedly placed her hand on her daughter's forehead. 

" Are you ill?"

" I'm not," Aditi shrugged her off, " today is Riva's first day at college and I wanted to do something special for her. She'll be downstairs in a few moments.Have a taste?" She shoved a spoonful of upma into Ambika's mouth.

" You forgot to add salt , you silly girl. I think you added sugar instead." Ambika fought the urge to spit out.She gagged and swallowed it reluctantly.

" Oops." Aditi shook her head in regret, and scrapped the entirety of the upma into the dustbin, " I'll just buy some kachori from Ramlal. I really am a hopeless case, aren't I ?"

" You're not that bad." Ambika lied to keep Aditi's spirits.

She was an enthusiastic girl and was always bouncing around.She couldn't keep her focus on one thing at a time, no wonder her food came out disastrous. But Aditi was young and still had time to improve herself. Or so Ambika hoped.

" I should go check up on Riva." Aditi said, sneaking away before her mother makes her clean the mess she made. Aditi wondered why she tried at all...she didn't have the necessary hand and eye coordination for cooking.She almost barged in Riva's room, before remembering that she should knock first.

" Hey, Riva? Are you ready? College starts in twenty minutes, and if we're late I won't get a good parking!" Aditi knocked raptly.

The door opened and Riva stood in front of her. Aditi thought Riva was exquisite without trying, she was tall, shapely and her heart shaped face and long dark hair complemented her light coloured eyes. She had something special about her, perhaps the certainty and confidence that seemed to be in her very bones.