TODAY

After breakfast, I clean my plate and go to my room. My brother's nightwear is on the ground. What the hell is with this boy! But I still pick it up and hung it on the rope tied inside the room.

Yep, my room is the typical Indian room with 2 big wardrobes that contain a mix of my amma, Arun and papa's clothing with just 1/4th of it being mine, a bed enough for 1 person, 3 cloth tubs under the bed, one study table to the side and 2 ropes tied across the room for undergarments to dry.

Crack!!!

That's it!

There goes the peace of the house.

I run out of the room to check what's happening, and if somebody got hurt, I enter the kitchen to see my amma and dodda standing facing each other. Two ancient beings clashing, clash of the titans!

Amma's eyes are red, my dodda's eyes, even though calm, have lots of frustration in them. And then, standing in between, is me turning my head everywhere to check if something happened to the woman standing in front of me.

"Are you-"

"Shut up and get out! Don't interrupt", screamed Amma. I just walk away to my room, not knowing what to do next. I wish I had gone to college. Arun is so lucky that he has classes today.

I mean, I'm not a nerd, but I'll do anything to escape this house drama.

While everyone goes to school and college to meet friends, their crushes, or simply to hang out, here I am wishing and literally praying to go to college just so I could escape 6 to 7 hours of home drama. Something called peace of mind is what I want, and at home, the concept does not exist. The mere thought of a quiet environment is a concept so foreign that sometimes it feels like the marketplace is more peaceful and quieter than home. Now God knows why they had an argument and what it is about, but I'm pretty sure whatever it is, they will be like the world's best mother-daughter duo ever existed in the world in half an hour. So, using my non-existent brain cell in this matter is like me eating soil directly in the name of getting nutrition. If that even makes sense.

Thinking too hard in any situation or condition always causes stress, which results in me being sleepy, and now I am feeling so sleepy that my eyes just don't want to stay open...

Half an Hour later:

I wake with a sudden urge to answer, "Krithika!!!" Amma is calling for me.

I wake up from bed and go to her, "Yes, amma?"

"Your father called, he said that in an email from your college, you have classes in one week. So, check what you want for it, make a list and let me know. We could go to shopping for those things."

"Okay". Aren’t I calm now, but only I know that I am practically screaming, jumping, dancing internally. I'm so happy right now. But what's there to check, though? Whatever it is, I'll see it later. My father does not live with us; he is a hardworking agriculturist after he left the managerial post in the construction company. His love for land had him turn towards his acres of land in his hometown, where I am not comfortable living. It's not exactly the place; rather, it's the people over there.

Papa's side of the family doesn't exactly feel like family but rather an alien family for me. It feels like they don't remember mine or my brother’s existence until we stand in front of them physically. All their talks feel like we are both being directly compared to my cousins, no matter the topic. But they sure keep in mind to compare us on topics that we fell short in.

Cunning people, I say, but can't directly say it in front of my papa. Even though he knows, he turns a blind eye to them. Being the elder son, it is not his advice or suggestion that runs the family show; rather, it's his siblings who have more command. Just my papa being soft works in their favour, but they are also scared of him and rightfully so, because when in anger, he is not a man to be reckoned with. His anger clouds his mind to the extent that he forgets the relationship between him and the person who has wronged him. He screams at the person to an extent where the person feels too small to even lift their head high for weeks to come. Just an insight into my Papa's anger, but for me, he will never raise his voice nor allow Amma to raise her voice in front of him.