Page 101 of I Wish We Weren't Related

Reeva shook her head, laughing. “How do you know everything?

“It’s what I’m here for. Your Satya Lama is here to help.”

Reeva put her arms around her aunt and let her head fall on her shoulders. “Thank you. I’m so grateful for you.” She felt her shoulders relax as her aunt stroked her wig. “I just really miss Lakshmi. I’ve been too scared to reach out, but now I’m desperate to fix things. I’ve tried to call and message, but she isn’t replying. It’s stressing me out. I’m tempted to just drive to London and find her. But then I’ll miss the kriya. And I know I always said I’d miss it. But... the closer we get to it, the more it feels like a very big deal to not go.”

“What do you really want to do?” asked Satya Auntie. “What does your heart say?”

Reeva bit her lip. “I guess... my heart wants me to be with Lakshmi. I miss her so much.”

“Well, there you have it. The head is always rational, but the heart tells us what we always want to do.”

“What if I regret missing the kriya?”

“What if you don’t?”

“I do feel that even if I stay, I won’t be able to be present,” admitted Reeva slowly. “I’ll just be in my head. About Lakshmi. About what my dad did. But I feel guilty for not doing my duty to, well, my family.”

“Oh, duty shmuty.” Her aunt dismissively waved a hand. “Duty rips people’s lives apart. You only need to watch one of your mum’s films to see that. The important thing is to follow your duty toyourself—to be authentic to your heart. Not to follow other people’s expectations. Otherwise, what’s the point in life? You’re here to live your life, not anyone else’s.”

“It just feels so hard sometimes. To do what’s right for me.”

“I know.” Her aunt sighed. “I’ve been through it too. But at least then, when you get to where I am, nearing the end, you can look back and be proud you’ve lived your own true life. Rather than people-pleasing and living the life others wanted for you. Or, worse, straddling them both and not really living a life at all.”

Reeva looked alarmed. “That sounds terrible. I definitely want to live my life—or at leastalife.”

“Then off you go.”

“Just... leave? Can I really? I should say bye first. Shouldn’t I?”

“No such thing asshoulds.”

Reeva hesitated. “If I told them, they’d probably try to stop me. Could you tell them? And Nick? I’ll call him on the way as well.”

Satya Auntie nodded. “Of course. Good luck, Reeva. I’m proud of you, you know.”

“You are?”

“Yes. It’s beautiful how important your friendship is to you.”

“Lakshmi’s more than a friend; she’s family.”

—

Reeva raced downthe M1 southbound—again. But this time she was alive with excitement. She knew her actions were irrational, and only Satya Auntie would understand why she couldn’twait till the next day, but she didn’t care. She could not pretend to herself for another second that she was fine with not speaking to Lakshmi. It had been weighing on her for days, and the more time passed, the more she was convinced it was all her fault. Lakshmi was not a perfect friend, and it was true she did often take Reeva for granted, but the way Reeva had handled their last conversation had been downright offensive. There was no excuse for judging a friend. Which was why she was desperate to redeem herself by giving Lakshmi her unconditional blessing to date Lee or literally any other man she ever wanted and, most importantly, to say sorry.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing loudly just as she hit traffic. She answered the hands-free call without looking at the dashboard. “Hello?”

“Reevs, it’s me. What’s your dad’s address again?”

Reeva jolted. “Lakshmi?! Is that you?”

“Yeah, of course. I need the address. What is it?”

“But why? And where have you been? I need to talk to you!”

“Yes, I know we need to talk,” said Lakshmi, like she was talking to a child. “Hence, I need your dad’s address so I can talk to you in person.”

“Uh, why? I’ll text it to you later.”

---