MAFIA INDEBTED (Mafia Series #1)

Chapter 3

Image of Anissa (uh-nee-sa) above :)

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She hurried inside her house and closed the door behind her, closing her umbrella. It had started to rain a while back and thankfully, she was free from work in the nick of time and went running for home.

"Ainnie, is that you?" she heard a voice call her from the kitchen.

"Yes ammi, it's me." She called out loudly and threw her umbrella by the coat stand and proceeded with removing her shoes and wet dupatta. She went straight to the kitchen and was delighted to smell the fresh delicious aroma of curry. "Hmm, smells great." She said and leaned down to kiss her mother's cheek. The old woman in her late forties smiled warmly at her young doctor, her eyes twinkling with pride when she saw her daughter donned in her white coat.

Technically, she was her maternal aunt—her khaala but still, Anissa referred to her as her ammi since her khaala and khaalu (uncle) took care of her like their own since they had no children of their own. Her real parents were lawyers and had three sons. They didn't appreciate when they had a daughter since they were proud and male oriented and decided to give up their only daughter to their childless relatives. Anissa was told about this bitter truth on her thirteenth birthday and she was hurt but she got over it because of the love her parents showed her. She was grateful to them for taking such good care of her yet sometimes, she felt dejected as to why would give up their own flesh and blood so willingly. But alas, this society was male oriented and everyone desired sons more than daughters. This made Anissa incredibly insecure—she didn't understand why people treated daughters unequally. Whether son or daughter, both where capable of the same potential and could accomplish anything on an equal level—this whole issue had made her very sensitive towards gender inequality.

But her parents loved her unconditionally. Her real parents would visit her every now and then but she was very formal with them.

"How was the night duty?" her mother asked her. She groaned and collapsed on one of the seats near the small three person dining table a the corner of the small kitchen.

"So tiring. Sir Farooq is driving me crazy." She whined. And an arrogant obnoxious guy just ruined my day. She wanted to badly disclose this to her mother but she knew better; she was deeply indebted to her uncle and aunt and she had decided long ago that she would no longer burden then with the problems of her life—all that she aimed at now was paying them back for all that they had done for her till now: took her in, cared for and helped her pursue her dreams of medical college. Her uncle was an architect and though his earning was modest, they were very down to earth and lived humbly. Their house was small but comfortable for three people.

Her parents had raised her well—she had a smart and strong character and she valued that most of all—her parents had induced a strong moral sense in her that made her choose her career in medicine. However, people only saw her for her beauty—they didn't appreciate her brains. She was a genius with photographic memory and the uncanny ability to memorize anything and everything. However, it also came with a negative side that she wasn't able to easily forget anything. Anything good or bad would etch itself in her mind and her logic would always override things.

And how could she forget? Especially after her traumatizing incident from two years ago, she couldn't forget anything. But of course, that wasn't what she wanted to think about now and dampen her mood further.

"I'm so proud of you Ainnie, I hope you know that." Her mother said and she gave her a sweet small smile. "I'm going to go and change now. Please call me down once lunch is ready. I want to sleep in." she said and went up stairs to her small bedroom. She sighed and proceeded to remove her coat and throw it in the laundry basket. She glanced at herself in her dresser mirror didn't even flinch when she saw herself—dark circles marring her skin under her eyes, eyes almost soulless now that she didn't have to put up with the world anymore. Her light brown hair was damp from the rain and became unruly. She removed the clip holding her thick heavy locks in place and let them fall on her shoulders.