My Perfect Lady

When she spoke, it was but one word. Her voice was rather cold.

"When?" she asked.

Miya shrugged.

Becky sized up the girl in front, her eyes red and cheeks puffy from the intense smoking. She watched as Miya stared at the desk, while making small circles with her index finger on its surface. The girl"s most obvious habits still hadn"t changed. She was undoubtedly nervous.

Becky also looked at the stick that she wasn"t smoking as rigorously as she herself was. It was still Miya"s first drag. Some characteristics of her were so apparent, and yet, the girl before her had clearly changed in many major ways.

She wasn"t smoking like a pot, for one. The other, she was denying Becky an answer. She had never done that before. Fifteen… no, was it thirteen? Yes, Miya had said so. Thirteen years ago, when this brat was only fourteen, she had never ever hidden anything from Rebecca. Becky herself had been only nineteen.

They had been close friends then. But now…

When Becky saw that Miya wasn"t going to answer, and going by the girl"s secretive nature that she had embodied even back then, she sighed. Then taking another whiff, she called slowly, "Miya."

Miya responded with a mellow, "Hm?"

"Is it something I do not want to hear?" Becky"s voice was stern.

Miya nodded silently.

It was exactly then that Rebecca let go of the topic. But it was all too much for her to handle. Distracted, she looked away, and her gaze fixated on Miya"s boy.

She didn"t mean to address Miya in particular, but the words came out instinctively.

"I can"t believe you gave birth, you punk. How did you even manage? You"re like an ant of some sort."

Somehow, the words made Miya roll her eyes. The mood between them lightened too.

"You"re the second person to ask me that. It wasn"t natural. Cesarean. And I"m not hat small."

"You are. And, oh. Did it hurt?"

"Like h.e.l.l."

Silence again.

This time, however, it was Miya"s turn to question.

"Sis Becky," she began after a small puff, "How"s Adrian?"

Adrian was Rebecca"s little brother. He was junior to Miya by two years.

When Becky heard the name though, she gave out a bitter laugh. She then turned around, threw the stub in an ashtray, and lighted another cigarette.

"We"re asking questions with the same answers, Miya darling," she said in a snide voice, "He died too."

Miya gasped.

Becky"s eyes became redder, and she stared daggers at the table.

"It happened right after you left."

The news shook Miya. She trembled at the words, and her eyes welled.

"I"m sorry," she choked.

"Don"t be," was all Rebecca said.

This time, the quiet was deafening.

Miya was hesitant, but her heart was in the pit of her stomach. Her next words were barely even a whisper.

"Uncle and Aunt?"

"Same."

Miya"s stopped breathing. She fell back into the chair and looked at the ceiling with dazed eyes. How? How in the world had that happened?

Rebecca was still glaring at the table.

"It was during the riots. Some of the mad civilians got them. And Adrian too."

"B-But –"

"He was freakishly strong. I know. He was trying to protect me."

Miya didn"t say anything anymore.

Thirteen years ago, Miya had been lying on the street, hungry, ragged and severely wounded. That was when a few children had begun to throw stones at her, calling her names. She had been unable to get up, but getting beaten up was not her feat. She had therefore stood up on trembling legs, and had caught and thrown back the stones that came her way. Her target had been much more perfect than theirs.

The brats had quickly run away, but Miya had almost pa.s.sed out.

It was in that state that Rebecca had first found the girl.

Becky had been the troublemaker of her family, the odd one out, and the disappointment of all. She had been watching Miya from the sidelines back then, and had been contemplating on whether to help, when she had seen the girl get up and attack the other kids.

That was when the bond had formed.

Becky had taken an immediate interest in Miya. She had even picked up the girl and brought her back to her own house. Miya had been unconscious, and to this day didn"t know how Becky"s parents had blasted her ears off for bringing home a suspicious girl like Miya.

However, things had got better. Becky promised them that she would behave as long as they took care of the girl. Her parents had agreed. A few days later, they themselves had developed a soft spot for the weak little girl.

Miya swallowed, as she remembered how Becky had ignored her for the first few weeks. She hadn"t even given Miya a chance to thank her. She would just come into her room, give her food and wordlessly walk away. It was when Miya was crying one night, that the short haired, impish looking girl had stood by the door and watched her like a hawk.

When Miya had almost pa.s.sed out from the tears, Becky"s soft, urgent voice had found her.

"Hey, missy," she had said, "Want a drag?"

Becky had taught Miya how to smoke. In fact, her worst habits and her best attacks had come from Rebecca. A few weeks later, Rebecca had begun to teach Miya a few moves and self defence tactics too. It was one of the reasons she had taken Miya in – she had claimed that of all, she couldn"t watch girls get harmed without kicking some a.s.s.

They had spent most nights smoking, talking of nothing in particular, and yet, being good friends. During that time, they had also met Kasu.

Becky"s parents never came to know of their habits, they were too busy by themselves. Rebecca"s father owned a publishing house of his own, while her mother directed doc.u.mentaries on various social issues. Her little brother Adrian, was a bookworm who had dreamt of being a script writer one day. It was a family of nerds.

And only Becky stuck out in it like a sore thumb.

It was from Becky"s parents that Miya had also learnt to read. She had begun reluctantly, but the world of fiction had quickly drawn her in. She had improved within weeks, and the old couple were more proud of this child they had found than their useless daughter.

Strangely, Becky had never felt the least jealousy.

However, Miya had been staying there for only a month, when riots broke out in the entire country. She didn"t understand it back then, but it was a result of communal violence that several people were killed. When the situation had turned grave, Becky"s parents had thought of leaving the country. They wanted to take the girl too, but she didn"t have a pa.s.sport. And they didn"t have enough time to get her one.

The plan had been to send her to an orphanage, and once they were overseas, they would formally adopt the child.

Miya was only fourteen. And as much as she had liked those two adults, she knew enough of the world to not trust their words. She had run away. Becky had helped her escape, because she too wasn"t sure if her parents would act on their words. It was more of a case of "out of sight, out of mind" for them.

The throb in Miya"s heart deepened, and something twisted painfully inside her chest. She didn"t know the riot had got them. They were good people.

Especially little Adrian. He had been such a devoted little boy, with the quirkiest of face and the strangest of smiles.

One question, however, still lurked inside Miya"s head.

"How," she blurted out, "did you get here? It"s Country S. Didn"t you take over uncle"s business?"

Rebecca"s eyes were bloodshot. Miya didn"t know how many cigarettes she had smoked till then. She wanted to ask her to stop, but couldn"t.

That was Becky. She might have changed, but Miya recognized the look of wild disobedience in her eyes.

Becky slurred when she spoke.

"A distant uncle of mine took me in. He said he"d train me for the business, and take care of it in my stead till I was p-prepared. I don"t know what happened… maybe it was the shock. I just wanted to run away. From everything. But I also wanted to preserve what my family had built. To ease the agony, I got into drugs."

Miya closed her eyes, as if the words had physically hurt her. What had happened next wasn"t too hard to guess.

"That uncle turned out to be an a.s.sh*le. He got the business transferred in his name. I signed the papers when I was stoned. Then he told me to pack my bags and come here. Apparently, this is the largest public library in the world. And father had invested a share of money in it when it was being made. The government officials" permission was no big deal. I was the daughter of one of the major investors, and n.o.body gives a jack"s a.s.s about this place anyway. So, here I am."

Miya didn"t know what to say.

She didn"t even know what was worst. The fact that Becky had been so viciously betrayed, or the fact that she seemed to have given up without a fight. She even seemed resigned to her fate.

That wasn"t a trait of Becky at all.

Time indeed had changed.

Miya"s first cigarette had finally burnt out, and she watched Becky with a mix of emotions. The woman was beautiful, a beauty not everyone was bestowed with. And she belonged to a good family background. Yet, there she was, with dazed, scarlet eyes and an expressionless face, smoking like a d.a.m.ned chimney.

Sighing, she got up, and decided to go feed Ben. Later, maybe she"d try to coax Becky into finding a solution to such turn of events.

Just when she was about to walk out though, Becky began to sn.i.g.g.e.r. Then in a small voice, she said, "Do you look down on your elder sis, Miya?"

The question took Miya by surprise.

She was firm in her answer though.

"No."

"And would you hate me if I said I"m glad what happened to Kasu?"

That made Miya smile.

"No," she said again.

Then turning around, she walked outside to Ben.