Echoes of Silence and Facades: A Tale of Healing and Unspoken Bonds

Nalini

"Welcome home, beta!"

Home. This word doesn't fit here. Nothing feels like home anymore. The very thought of it brings back too many sad memories. I've given up on the idea of having a home.

Mara and Mina are trying so hard to make me feel welcome and comfortable. Their hopeful eyes seem to believe that a change of place might bring back the old Nalini. But how can she return? She probably died that dreadful night.

"Your room is upstairs. I had it painted baby blue, just the way you like it," Mina said. "I even placed white lilies on your desk and added a swing chair to your balcony. Everything is just how you like it."

As Mina spoke, Mara gently stroked my hair. "Come on, let's check out your room," she said with a smile.

I followed them upstairs. The room was just what the old Nalini would have loved. Everything matched perfectly, fresh and bright. I placed my jar of fireflies on the side table. It was a small link to my past, a reminder of the times we collected fireflies together. Mara and Mina's faces softened when they noticed the jar.

If I wasn't so scared of my own voice, I would have thanked them. Instead, I hugged them both tightly, hoping they could feel my silent gratitude for their love and acceptance.

"Well, I hope you like your room now that it's been set up for you," a deep voice drawled from the doorway.

"Adhi, stop!" Mara said, giving him a stern look.

I vaguely remembered Adhiran. He used to come with Mara and Mina to Mangalore for summer vacations when we were kids, but he never played with me. He always had a friend with him, and after a few years, he stopped coming. He stayed in Mumbai during vacations while Mara and Mina came to Mangalore.

Now he was leaning against the doorway, brown hair falling into his eyes, a smirk on his face. He didn't look too pleased. Oh no! Had they made him give up his room for me? I didn't want to take his room by force.

"Adhi is just being a brat," Mina quickly explained. "He's happy in the other room. He's been nagging us for years to move there for more privacy. He shifted more than a year ago when college started, so he could sneak in and out without us knowing. The balcony there is lower, so he doesn't even need to use the main door. Convenient, right, Mr. Adhiran Mehta?"

"Mom, I was just kidding. You know me," Adhiran said hurriedly, making me smile inwardly. They were cute.

Mara placed an arm around my shoulder. "Adhi, you remember Nalini," he said firmly.

Adhiran stared at me, initially annoyed, but then his expression softened with concern. "Yeah, I remember her."

Mara continued, "You two are in the same college. Show her around on Monday. The college officials know about Nalini, but I want you to be there for her. She's new here and needs our help to get comfortable. Understood?"

Adhiran sighed and muttered, "Crystal," before walking out.

I had a feeling he'd heard these orders before. They were repeated now for my benefit.

"I'm sorry about him," Mina said. "He's been so moody lately, and we don't know what to do about it."

Even if I spoke, I wouldn't know how to respond.

She squeezed my arm. "We'll let you get settled. Unpack, relax, take a nap if you want. If you need company, I'll be in the kitchen cooking dinner. Feel free to explore the house. Make yourself at home, baccha."

There came that word again: home.

Mara and Mina finally left me alone and went down the hall. I stood in the pretty blue room, surprised by the unexpected feeling of safety. I thought the comfort of safety was a long-lost idea for me.

"So you really don't talk?" Adhiran's voice broke the silence. I turned to see him standing in the doorway.

I didn't want him to dislike me or be annoyed by my presence. But I wasn't sure how to convince him I'd keep to myself and not bother him or change his life.

"Shit, this is not gonna be easy. You're-" He paused and let out a laugh that didn't sound genuine. "This is gonna be worse than I thought. The least you could have done is help me out by being ugly."

Excuse me.

Adhiran frowned. "Just don't draw attention to yourself in college. You don't know the people there, but I do. And trust me, you don't want to be around my crowd. Mom finally got the daughter she never had, but it doesn't make things easier for me. I have a life, you know."

I simply nodded. I was sure he had a life, like everyone else in college. Not everyone is a social recluse like me. I wasn't always this way, but then life happened.

I had no intention of being in his way, but I could see how my arrival and taking over his room might seem otherwise. And now his parents wanted him to babysit me at college too.

But I'd prove he had nothing to worry about. I quickly grabbed my backpack, pulled out a notepad and pen, and started writing.

"What are you doing?" he asked, clearly confused.

I wrote:

Promise I won't be in your way. Won't expect you to help me at college. Just let your parents think you are, and I'll go along with it. You can take the room back if you want; I'll settle in the guest room downstairs.

I handed the notepad to Adhiran and let him read it. When he finished, he sighed deeply and handed it back to me.

"You can keep the room. Mom was right; I like the other room better. I was just being an ass and giving you a hard time. Don't think about it. And I will help you at college. I'll be there if you need me. Also, you're family, and my family calls me Adhi."

He smiled and went downstairs.

He said he'd be there, but no, I'd try not to bother him. Him and his family were being super sweet and nice to me. I didn't want to become a burden on them.

I lay down on the bed, thinking about the changes in my life, and before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep.