Where the Secret Lies Read Online Free

and sweat
lurked in the heat, becoming prominent as they came away from the highways and
onto single, narrow roads. Arianna doubted the cars would be able to fit let
alone drive. She closed her eyes as the car trundled through.
    Soon they arrived at uncle and auntie’s house. Their two
children, Khushboo and Gaurav stood in front of a large two-storey house with
what liked like half the neighbourhood. Their cousins held orange and yellow flower
garlands.
    ‘Welcome!’ Uncle bellowed as
they got out of the car. ‘Everybody, meet my sister-in-law, my brother and my
beautiful nieces!’
    A chorus of hellos and welcomes
followed from the neighbours and then Khushboo and Gaurav came forward with the
garlands, adorning Arianna’s parents with them. Tianna and Arianna looked at
each other and burst out laughing. Their mother shot them a warning with her
eyes and they laughed louder. Khushboo came to Arianna with a garland.
      ‘No thanks Khushboo,’ said Arianna stepping
back.
    Khushboo leaned into her and
whispered.   ‘Sorry, Ma and Papa made us
do this. I told them you would not like it but they said it is to welcome you.
Sorry – again.’
    ‘Go on then,’ Arianna said. She
bowed her head as Khushboo happily adorned her with the garland.
    ‘You next,’ Arianna turned to
Tianna.
    ‘No way!’ Tianna went to stand
with their father.

 
    Arianna’s grandmother, otherwise known as Ba stood in the
doorway. When Arianna last saw her, she was tall, now she seemed small. Ba
embraced her son, Arianna’s father dearly, tears streaming down her eyes.
    ‘Beta , you finally came home,’
she said.
    ‘Ma.’ Arianna’s father cradled
his mother’s face to his chest and they hugged a long time. Ba took her
daughter-in-law into her arms and the girls next. Arianna’s mother beckoned her
daughters to touch Ba’s feet. It was a mark of respect.
    Through her tears, Ba touched
their heads and blessed them.
    ‘Wait here,’ she said.
    Everyone waited until Ba
shuffled back with a dish made of stainless steel. It held a divo – a divine
flame. Yellow and white flower petals scattered the base.   Ba circled the divo around the family and
threw the petals over their heads.
    ‘Now you are blessed properly,’
Ba said. ‘Come into your home.’
    Mr. Shah immigrated to London
from India in the late seventies with Mrs. Shah. After Tianna was born, the
family visited India three times. Ba never wanted her eldest child so far away
from her and cried every time they left for London.
    Now she sat with her son on the
sofa, happy. Her youngest son, Arianna and Tianna’s uncle, joined them and
Tianna took a snap on her camera of a proud mother with her two sons.
      ‘I am glad you are finally here,’ said
Khushboo. ‘It’s been so long since I last saw you.’
    ‘It’s been quite a while,’
Arianna agreed accepting a chilled cola from auntie.
    ‘You have grown into a pretty
lady,’ auntie set the tray down and sat beside Arianna, taking her hands into
hers. ‘You have such intense eyes; keep safe from evil spirits,’ auntie dotted
Arianna behind her ear with a kohl pencil.
      ‘Ma always keeps one with her. She is so
superstitious,’ Khushboo laughed and auntie slapped her playfully on her hand. She
picked her tray up and went to serve the others.
    Later Khushboo took Arianna to
her room. She showed some of her stunning painting works which she had framed
and hung on the wall. Sheer white muslin
      draped from the
canopy over her spacious queen sized bed. An assortment of flowers fragranced
the room and a large cuddly bear sat in a corner. Arianna fell in love.
    ‘You are sharing with me,’
Khushboo said. ‘Won’t it be exciting? We can talk late into the night, watch
DVDs and listen to music. It will be damn good!’
    Arianna could not help but enjoy
her enthusiasm. ‘So what do we do now?’
    The family just finished lunch
and everyone was preparing for an afternoon nap – a normal practice due to
humidity.