The guests start to slowly trickle in one by one. Some of them are surprised by Arjun's appearance, some a little bit freaked out, but it's for the best. I'm just hungry. I really want to get some food first before anything else. But, I want everyone else to get adjusted to this atmosphere before I get anything started.
Mason, Sarah, and Arjun are greeting everyone with a smile and a handshake. Nathan is standing in the corner looking like he wants to die inside. I'm observing everything and making sure no funny business is going on. I need the perfect opportunity for everything to go down the way I want it. And I pray that it's successful.
As I'm waiting for something to pop up, Mason gives me the look. The look that says that he's going to start, and it's a signal for me to get ready for my plan. I inch a bit towards the stairs, so I can get ready to go upstairs and get my things.
"Alright, everyone, can I have your attention?" Everyone's gaze diverts to Mason, including mine, because I'm waiting for the cue. "I just want to thank everyone for spending their Saturday afternoon with us. So, this get together, kind of, is to honor Jyoti. I feel like it's been far too late since we've had it, and I don't think we got to honor her memory properly. The party's idea was suggested by my daughter, Ashmita, who I adopted after Jyoti died. She's the best. Honestly, I think Jyoti would be very proud to see how her daughter grew up. It's a shame that she was gone too soon."
Arjun then steps up, and says, "There's something she always said to me. Tamey kadaca saca cho. Te'o khooba ja shanskaapada laagey che. Temaney havey lavo. I've kept that in my mind. It's kept me grounded." Right when he finishes his sentence, I sneak upstairs and go to find the diaries so that I can bring them down. I look under my bed, and they're in that exact hiding spot, right where I left them. I take them, and run downstairs so that I don't miss one single thing.
I bring them down closer to Mason, and say, "These are the diaries that she wrote before she died. It gives me an insight on her feelings and everything she felt. It tells me everything that she thought, and the relationships with the people around her before she died. Including right before her murder. It honestly brings me closer to her, and it makes me feel a certain connection to her."
I hug the diaries a little bit closer to me, and then go downstairs to get myself some popcorn. I don't underestimate the ability of my stomach to feel hunger, and not only that, but I want to see if this does anything.
When I get down to the garage, I leave one of the diaries in the middle of the table. I look around the garage to see if there's some hidden places where I can hide it to make finding them even harder. I do one in the old bookshelf, another beneath a dish on the opposite end of the table, and the last one behind one of the old chairs. I dust off my hands, grab a bowl, fill it with popcorn, and head back upstairs.
I want to see if there's anything that may have developed while I was busy executing another part of my plan. I start eating a little bit of it, as I head back up the stairs. Mason is busy chatting with other guests, while Nathan is trying to feign small talk long enough for the guest to not think he's a total brat, but short enough to keep his sanity intact. I stand next to Arjun, who's sipping a glass of water.
He takes a little bit of the popcorn, and says, in Gujarati, "You did it?"
I nod. "It's done. Let's hope I'm right. You know what to do, right?"
Arjun nods. "Positive. Oooh, what flavor is this? It's delicious."
I chuckle, and say, "Cheddar jalapeno. One of my favorites. Things can get so boring without spices."
Arjun snickers a little bit, as we continue to kind of stall for time. It's honestly kind of fun, but I'm anxious. I need to know at this moment if what I'm doing is going to be effective. And if it is, then I need to know if I can get a confession out of them.
Eventually, I see Arjun's eyes getting all shifty. I look at him weirdly, and then I realize. He's seeing it happen. "Is it them?" I ask.
He gives me a little bit of a nod. "Wait for a second. Let them disappear for a few seconds, then we'll go and you can confront them. They'll hear us coming and they'll boot."
It takes me everything to not run downstairs and force the confession out of there. But, Arjun's got a point. I can't just lose all my self control and go there. It won't work. Patience is key. After about thirty seconds, Arjun and I tiptoe a little bit to the garage, and make sure not to be so loud. I get out my phone, head to the Voice Recordings app, and make sure that's ready. I let out a huge sigh, and right when we are at the front of the door, he gives me a wink.
"You got this," he mouths, to which I smile. I press the "record," button, open the door, and face the suspect. I look straight at them, and gently drop my camera on the chair right next to me. I see who's standing right at the tables, and immediately say, "I knew it."
I look at the person, who looks like a deer caught in the headlights. I feel shocked, yet relieved, that my suspicions have been confirmed. In the meantime, I have to face Sarah, as she's standing next to the table, with the torn out pages from the diary scrunched up in her hand.
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BOOM. Plot twist! I had someone hypothesize this like 10 chapters prior, and she was right, so I was just sitting there like, "you're in for a wonderful surprise!" So, do you think this isn't what it looks like, or is Sarah really guilty? Let me know in the comments.
Hey everyone! How's it going? So I normally put translations in the main chapter itself, but I didn't want to, because I wanted to keep this a bit of a mystery. So the Gujarati translation is: You're probably right. They look very suspicious. Bring them now. If you were curious!
Other than that, that's it. Hope you guys liked this chapter!
Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all next Sunday with a new chapter of TSOC! Have a great week!
Love you guys,
Shree
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The Secrets of Confessions ✔️
Mystery / Thriller16 years ago, tragedy and betrayal befell upon the Patel family, taking a toll on many of those around them. It particularly affected Ashmita, who will never forget that day for as long as she'll live. Now, years later, Ashmita puts her current know...
