I woke up , with sunshine seeping right into my eyes , through thin white curtains, as i rubbed my eyes and for a second i thought i was kidnapped. I took in the sight of the room, but then the memories rushed back in my mind and i remember what happened.....we came back.
I went to the bathroom, to take a quick shower and get fresh up. Surprisingly all the necessities were there, i dont know why it surprised me .....maybe it was welcoming, and lets be honest i have never been welcomed, atleast not in a few years. I did my skincare and changed into something presentable, a white top and sky blue jeans, brushed my hair and put on a minimal makeup and stepped out of my room into a long corridor, and starting taking all the details of the house, which will be my house .....for the summer.
The corridor smelled faintly of lavender, with beige walls, having framed abstract paintings . Black paint splattered all over the canvas. The red carpet beneath my feet with beige tiles seeping from beneath. And then my eyes fell on the middle wall ,infront of the staircase leading downstairs. The wall was filled with framed photographs.
I walked towards it and my eyes took in the photographs,i recognized all of them.the three frames on the top had Myra khala's family , the second Hina khala's family and third was our family, i recognised the picture, it was when we went to bali two summers before, Ayan ( my little brother) was one and the most cutest baby alive,i was a bit tanned in the picture. my dad was looking at my mama and my mama was looking straight at the camera, but i can see the conversation between them, through their eyes. Its fascinating how they can say a thousand words, without saying anything and love without stopping anytime. beaneath it,it was all of us in one frame. it was when i was two, my eyes looked puffy and my two front teeth showing from my toothy smile.everybody looked young. nana and nano was standing in the middle,nana looked powerful and nano looked beautiful.
The next frame was of Rayn, he was only in his boxers, and had an annoyed expression on his face, with the unmade bed in the background. Maybe he just woke up and someone took his photo. Then there was the whole cousin group photo ( without me), then my baby pics, which surely is taken by my aunt Hina. Some were my nana's photos with the prime minister, then of Isa and Layla,and at last there was a picture so weird that a laugh escaped my mouth. It was Izyaan, in boxers ( i wonder if thats what boys in this house usually wears), he was jumping on the bed i guess, making the photo a bit blurry but enough to make out his face. He had messy brunette hairs and dark midnight eyes, there was a sprinkle of slight blush on his cheeks., his features, were carved so delicately, almost like being sculpted by an angel...
"Are you in love with me?"I whirled around, startled by the voice....voice of smoke and wine .
"Sorry....what?!"i looked at him wide eyes, almost as if i have seen a ghost or something, and he chuckled.( is he making fun of me. )
"You heard me!!...I am Izyaan by the way", his hand reached out, open and expectant.. and i just stood there awkwardly, like god...why that picture of him is even on that freaking wall, it should have been illegal to frame pictures in boxers.
I also offered my hand in return, after like two days.(just kidding)
"Lina" , i said, surprised by the amount of politeness in my own voice.
"Lina", he repeated, my name on his tounge sound so.....beautiful, i just noticed his accent and its not typical. He speaks with a delite blend of australlian twang and american ease.....which sounds so posh.
" I am your cousin fr-"
" I know you're my cousin from America", he said, with something , almost like a smile.almost.
"Hmm.."
"Hmm? wont you say oh my gosh Izyaan, i never thought that my cousin is this handsome that i dont want him to be my cousin anymore." he spoke in a mock light voice, teasingly echoing the way i would have sounded.
"what!!?!"
"Do you have a hearing problem or something....anyways my mom is calling you downstairs for breakfast."
Before i could nod or be offended by his insult , he was gone in a heartbeat, just like a shadow slipping away. Wow! on my first day here, i met the rudest cousin, kinda self obssessed too and i know it....i just know it that i would hate him so damn much.
**************
I was sitting with my family on the breakfast table. It was a very large dinning room, with large windows starting from ceiling till the floor and sunshine seeping through white curtains. The polished beige tiles, beneath red royal carpets, and a crystal chandlier hanging above my head. High backed, royal blue , velvet chairS lining the dining table in a perfect symmetry, the table was made for more than twenty people to fit. The walla also were beige with framed classical art. A faint scent of sandalwood and roses filling the air, a complete aura of wealth and power.
Everybody was busy in their own conversations while i sat there not able to decide what to eat and what to not.
"Lina, you should try halwa puri"
I made a face so strange that it makes her laugh.
" just try it lin lin , you will love it" she said, calling me by my sweet nickname.
The only traditional food i know is biryani and nihari , i had never heard of anything else let alone eat it, before i could say that i am good with my omelette she passed me a plate and i took it politely.
The puri was round, made of flour and had a thin paper like texture, with light golden color and was a bit oily ( ok alot oily),the halwa was mainly made up of semolina and the combination was so flavourful , that it is surely going in the list of my favourite food.
I reached for my glass of mango juice when suddenly my fingers slightly brushed with the fingers of.....Izyaan, seriously, this jerk is sitting beside me! and as i noticed, a slight smirk appeared on his face, as our eyes locked, my cinnamon brown with his midnight ones. i immediately pulled my fingers away, my heart thudding so rapidly in my chest that it could escape from my rib cage anytime. I looked elsewhere, anywhere but him. then suddenly someone calls my name , it was Layla.
"Lina! if you're finished , we could head out to the lawn"
She said in between the mufffled voices of everbody, looking at me , a hope in her eyes that i would agree with her. she had beautiful dark eyes, which makes her look a bit chinese, and her facial features were also very delicate just like her brother, her hairs were a darker shade of brown , almost as if they are black, dead staright tied up in a neat ponytail. she had a normal accent unlike Izyaan.
I nodded "yeah!! sure"
She passed a satisfied smile, and stood up from her place and started to head out, i followed after her , as i reached the door, my eyes glanced at Izyaan, who was watching me so intensly that i wonder if he could read my mind...god no!! the last thing i want ,is someone, to read my mind.
************
I stepped outside. The sunshine was mild, but enough to make you sunkissed, with gentle breeze through my hair, and i feel weird.....i feel like....i am home.
" So how is it going....do you like it here?" she asked sweetly, as we stroll, on the footpath.
"Its my first day...so can't say anyth-"
" I know....i know! gosh i am so nervous , i really want to talk to you, but i dont know what to talk about."
I chuckled at her honestly and she elbowed me.
"Just be yourself!", she passed a smile.
" You're so pretty, that it makes me wonder if you will even like me"
"c'mon, i am not that pretty.....but still thanks. and i would love to be friends with you"
She squeled , excited.
"Realy!!! I mean wow!...we would bake together, go on picnics, write letters, go on shopping...and oh!! we would make eachother friendship bracelets."
She seemed nice...too nice to be the sister of that asshole.
"Yeah! i would love to do that"
"How many friends do you have in america? bestfriends? oh any boy-"
I cut her before she could finish the sentence.
"Oh no , i am not allowed to date, and i dont have alot of friends but yeah two bestfriends"
Suho and Zelda.
she nodded.
To be honest i am not friends with anyone in the class, or in the school except those two. we all technically live together, most of the time they are at my house, having sleepovers, and also Zelda lives next door so , she's always found sitting in my tv lounge. Suho's house is where, we all have our mini parties. and whenever a minor inconvenience occurs we just video call eachother, because we can't live with one another.
Alot of boys in our class, teased Suho to be the only guy in our friend group but he couldn't care less about it. A month earlier he went back to korea, to spend the summer vaccation, with his family, Zelda went to Houston to her grandparent's house and i came here. So technically we all are away from our common place, i will make sure to do a video call at night.
As we were talking, someone suddenly came up from behind and wrapped their arms around my waist, lifting me off the ground. Before i could react another pair of hands grabbed my legs. I kicked and squirmed, but it was no use. I started to scream, but all i got in return was their laughter. It was Isa who was grabbing my legs, and when i looked up at the person holding me , i saw his face.....shining no....glowing due to the sunlight behind, making his sillhouette angelic. The person i dread the most, and developed an instant hate for...Izyaan.
Before i could do anything, they carried me straight to the edge and dropped me into the pool with a splash ( woah ! this house also has a pool). my body started sinking in the pool. and it came to my mind that, i had thalassophobia, I cant bear the sight of the water let alone being thrown in the pool. It made me feel like i am drowning, and I feel so sick. but as i am drowning now i cannot hear anything. suddenly the world sleeps down and the voices start to faint , until i heard Layla's voice, light and faint.
"Oh my god!! Izyaan what did you do?"
Then i heard another splash, my eyes were now starting to shut and my ears close, and suddenly i could not hear anything almost as if i am deaf. but then i saw him, his muscular arms cut their way through the water, as he swam towards me, powerful and smooth. His hairs were plastered to his forehed in a messy way that made him look both ridiculous and kind of charming. but then i saw.....worry in his eyes, before the world dived into the darkness.