20. Ma

funnily enough, even though the nights seemed everlasting, the thoughts wouldn't end when the sun came out

I woke up to a startlingly loud sob. Groggily, I untangled myself from the sheets, the white dress from last night clinging to my body. The rattle of the newspaper guy's old cycle echoed up through the window as he cycled past us. Trying to rub the sleep from my eyes, I followed the feminine sobs down the stairs.

Khammi appeared distraught. Dressed in a simple cotton kameez, she sat on a tool near the base of the stairs, trying to muffle her sobs with her pink dupatta. The moment she spotted me with her bulging watery eyes, making me yelp, she launched up from her seat and pulled me into a crushing hug, her wailing jumping a pitch.

Mortified, I scrambled away from her, wondering what the hell was happening. The clock hanging on the wall above the couch said that it was 7 in the morning and it had brightened outside, but nobody had remembered to turn off the glaring light.

Consi