Chapter 25- More than just best wishes

Her presence was giving off such a homely vibration and a pleasant aura radiated off of her smile which grew bigger and bigger as she scanned Archie up and down, her cheeks raising to her eyes in such delight.

…

"Architha, my dear…"

Her voice was shaky but so feminine and beautiful. Never had Archie felt such affection from a woman but she was now starting to understand that it was a loss she suffered for 17 years. She wanted her mother.

"Hey…" Augustin answers rather awkwardly as the two were just standing in the doorway scanning each other up and down.

"Come in, come in…" She says, moving aside to let them enter.

The mansion was not what it appeared like from the outside. It was splendid and beautifully furnished like the inside of a palace.

Candles hung from the ceiling and stayed in the sills of the very large, gold plated windows and a staircase welcomed them in the very centre, with a scarlet carpet leading them to either directions. The three follow the old woman patiently up the stairs and into a large hallway, portraits on the either sides of them. The floor below them was a type of cherry red, designed with golden mandala patterns. The windows held the heaviest curtains she had ever seen, like the ones found in palaces, draped and parted so elegantly and layered with white and gold. It was a luxury to live at such a place.

They finally arrived at a set of rooms on the very far side of the hallway. The second last was carved in gold with the words, 'ARCHITHA'.

"Freshen up. All three of you must have been so tired from the travelling. Meet me in the dining room downstairs once you are ready.'

They nod silently and enter their rooms.

The room was grand. The whole front side of was glass, allowing her to see the never ending desert in front. It was eerie. No trees, nothing. Just plain sand.

She took her things and sorted them into where they belong in the room as she knew this was now and forever her new home, in which she would start her life on a new slate. She then had a long, cold shower where she pondered about how her very small life which hid behind the mansion changed into this adventure where she found people she connected with and would spend time with away from what she had expected. It was a lot to take in, really.

As she was getting ready to go downstairs and meet the old woman, she noticed Afsah leaning on the wall with his left foot up, looking at his phone. At this, Archie starts to wonder whether he was going to leave to wherever he was from now or if he was going to spend the night.

"Hey…?"

Afsah looks up from his phone raising his eyebrows

"When are you going to leave?"

"Want to get rid of me so soon?"

Archie doesn't respond.

"Let's go downstairs."

As they were about to make their way down the stairway, Archie stops and looks towards the room in which Augustin had entered.

"I'll wait for him, you can go."

"Alright then," Afsah says slowly as he makes his way down.

Archie then starts to make her way back towards the end of the hallway to call for Augustin, walking past the portraits on either side and examining them carefully. On her right, they were all pictures of Muslims, some woman with hijabs and mostly men with taqiahs and to her left were all photos of Hindus, chandanam (sandalwood) on their foreheads.

As she continued to walk, one of the portraits catch her eyes. It was of her mother. It was the largest portrait out of all of them and was framed in gold and stones. Opposite to that on the other side of the hallway was her father's picture with the same frame, much larger than the others. She noticed the pattern of the portraits on the left being of her father's side of the family and the right, her mother's side of the family. Beside her father's, there was the portrait of that man she had seen in her memories and the same man whose head she had seen in the crystal casing in the secret room. So it was her relative?

She was quiet surprised as she turns back to the other side of the wall and inspects her mother's photo. She wasn't wearing a hijab but instead, she was wearing the same saree she had found in the shelf along with others. It was her wedding shot. She wore the end of it over her head, the sequence sparkling like the jewellery she wore. The bright red sindoor stood out amongst everything else. She was beyond beautiful… Archie was growing more eager to know the cause of her death. She started to wonder how much different her life would have been if only… she was still alive. They would live a happy life back in India, walking through the paddy fields and feeding the cattle. Deep in thought, Archie then turns towards the portrait of her father and the one beside it. There were small writings underneath each of them. Under Raja's, it said -

Which translates to, 'The youngest of three sons, and the grandson of Aadinath Krishna, Raja Krishna.'

Wondering why he had never mentioned anything of his brothers, he looks to the next portrait, of the man in her memories. Underneath was written, -

Which translates to, 'One of three sons, and the grandson of Aadinath Krishna, Arjun Krishna.'

Archie's eyes widened in shock. They were brothers and that was her uncle. Why? But why did-

It wasn't the first time she had revealed to herself something of such importance. Calming down after a few minutes and looking around to make sure she was alone, Archie looks below her mother's portrait to read the title.

Which translates to, 'The only daughter of Haider Ali Ahmad, Aafira Ali Ahmad. '

Interested and curious, she skips a few portraits, skimming through the photos and tags until she notices a photo which stops her heart beat. The world around her quietened down and all she could hear was the pulse which emerged through every part of her.

'The grandson of Haider Ali Ahmad's brother in law,…

Afsah Zayd Taahir'