The mall was huge, she had expected it to be large but it was gigantic. She was not a stranger to malls, Rajahmundry did have its share of malls, but not of this magnitude. And despite her determination not to gawk like a village bumpkin as shown in the movies, her attention kept wandering. The polished floor reflected the bright lights and the wafting fragrances of perfumes mingled with the aroma of the food to create a heady concoction of smells and sights.

She had not been keen on visiting a mall, even the thought of buying dresses did not cheer her up. It brought back memories of the day she had been going shopping with her parents, the day of the accident.

Then there were minor reasons. First, she was sure she did not have enough money. Strange how she had never bothered about it when her parents had been around, though she had been given a credit card to use there were few occasions that she used it. Both her parents had insisted on financial discipline. She still did have that card but was not sure if there would be any way she could pay the bill when it did become due.

Which made her think about her future, what would she do? Whom could she ask?

Secondly, even if she did spend on the card and her uncle helped her pay it, there was the question of where and how she could go. Hyderabad was a strange city and Jubilee Hills did not seem connected through public transport. She had not seen a single bus and even autos were few and far between.

And then her grandmother destroyed one excuse.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

One fine morning, when Gāyathri was wandering about the house, trying to avoid being seen by any members, she had been caught by her grandmother. Her grandmother was wiser than she gave her credit, or maybe she was getting careless.

Her skin prickled with irritation, a bit of anger too. All these years, they had simply ignored her and her mother, and now they thought a gift would set things right? She refused to reach out to take the envelope, it would tantamount to betrayal.

Gāyathri blinked that thought away. Betrayal was too strong a word in the light of the kindness she had received, but still it would be like letting her mother down. She hoped her grandmother could read the dissent in her silence, but then she was surprised again.

"Look at me, Gāyathri. I know you are angry with us and I can understand it. But then certain issues made it difficult. I cannot give you any reasons which you will accept but I also cannot stop reaching out to you now. You might not believe me now. It is sad that you have come to us in such sorry circumstances but maybe we could start now. I can never make up for all that lost time.

I never got to see you grow up and I missed so many of your birthdays.

Please, could you buy something for yourself? I wanted to buy you a gift, but I am not sure what girls of your age would like."

Gāyathri hesitated, the sincerity in her grandmother's voice was convincing but then anger burnt too. What possible reason could there be for refusing to accept them? That question bounced in her head with increasing urgency and she clutched the edge of her tunic with her right hand. She was not going to give in so easily.

I am not sure, Na..." Gāyathri pressed her lips, hoping her slip had not been caught. She tore her eyes away, unable to watch the melancholic understanding that seeped across her grandmother's face.

"You have been here for three weeks. Is it too soon to expect you to call me Nannamma?"

There was no correct answer to that question. Conflicted and confused, Gāyathri kept silent, anything she said would either be an unconvincing lie or a painful truth.

The touch of her grandmother startled her, drawing her eyes to where those leathery fingers rested on her arm. Papery skin yet kind, hesitant yet assuring, that gentle touch cracked her resolve.

A movement near her door caught her eye and drawn to Chandra's presence. He shook his head and she did not resist when her grandmother tugged her arm free. Nor did she pull her hand away when her grandmother placed a paper cover in her hand.

Years of pent up resentment warred with the fledgeling affection, and regret flooded her as she watched her grandmother walk away without a word. Her gaze shifted to Chandra, who had bent to say something to her grandmother but did not move from the doorway.

Gāyathri waited for a few minutes before she strode over. "Why did you sign to me to take the money? I am not convinced I should be taking it. She says she is feeling sad because they were not around while I was growing up but then it was their choice. I am sure Nanna would have loved their involvement and amma would have minded. And after all these years, she thinks that"—

"Shh. You could be right. Maybe she is feeling sorry because she has lost her son and now regrets what happened. You agree that she is genuine now?"

Gāyathri nodded, wondering why it was that she listened to Chandra. He contradicted her, had an answer to all her arguments and she allowed herself to be persuaded. Just two weeks of staying in the house and a half a dozen interactions, but he simply knew how to convince her.

"Yes, but..."

"It is not easy for the old to accept their mistakes and make amends. And I will tell you a secret, only if you do not ask how I know."

Her curious eyes met his twinkling ones. Once again she was stunned as to how he reminded her of her father.

"I think she has been keeping aside some cash as a gift for you, for all the past years, so I think it is not as if she is taking pity on you and giving you money this year. This is the first time she did get a chance to give you a gift, so you should accept it. Think it over, if you are still angry with them, do not spend it but if you buy something using show it to her, she will be happy."

And that is how, a week before her birthday, on a Saturday, she found herself in the mall with Lavanya.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Lavanya was not her choice of companion. She would have preferred to go alone or if insisted, might have agreed to Shanta coming with her. However, Lavanya had offered to accompany her and her grandmother had insisted.

Lavanya was a perplexing puzzle.

Karthik and Anusree were adorable, as long as she accepted them as kids and not as her siblings, that was still a hurdle she had to cross. Chandra was wonderful and she looked forward to his company, which surprised her too, for she was still not sure how he fit into the family. She was slowly accepting her grandparents, Uma atta was a tolerable relative and she returned Vani atta's antagonism with equal fervour. It was a comfortable equation, each relation slotted and labelled.

Lavanya did not fit into any of the boxes, she confused and confounded her. And also raised uncomfortable questions. She knew her father loved her mother, how had he then agreed to marry someone else, especially one who was younger than her mother? The more bewildering question was why Lavanya had agreed. But as with her parents, there were none she could ask and her limited interactions did not allow her to glean any further insights.

Even as she checked out the shops and the wares, she would glance at Lavanya from time to time. Despite her determination to dislike her, Gāyathri felt a grudging respect sneak in. Lavanya was so different from her mother, yet she inspired her. Gāyathri could not help admire Lavanya's sense of dressing and the elegant way she carried herself. Unlike her mother who...

She bit her cheek, it was a betrayal to even consider that Lavanya was better than her mother in any respect. And yet, it was difficult not to be swayed by Lavanya's gentle persuasion, and she finally decided to push her animosity to the back of her mind and enjoy the shopping trip.

The experience, as anticipated, was different from the ones with her parents but unexpectedly, an enjoyable one. Lavanya had a good eye for fashion and colour, with the advance of being quick in her selections. Though Gāyathri wanted to disagree on principle, she soon gave up, Lavanya's choices were too marvellous to be ignored.

In a matter of an hour, Gāyathri was done with shopping and was thrilled with the dresses. She just could not wait to be back to her room and call Suma, it would be fun showing them off. Maybe she could get a couple of dresses for Suma too. And one for Shanta? It would be a wonderful gift for a girl who had been kind and wonderful company.

The moment that idea struck her, she rejected it. A couple of excuses popped up; it would be troubling Lavanya who might not be interested in spending some additional time helping her pick dresses for her cousin. And might object to buying one for Shanta, who was the help. Further, she wanted to buy some casual wear, but Lavanya might think of her to be cheap. That irritated her, why should she bother what that woman thought of her? She would buy what she liked.

Before she could voice her request or continue her silences, she heard Lavanya speak, "There is a little shop that has a wonderful selection at quite reasonable prices. Would you like to check them out? You could also pick a couple for your cousin, and your friends too, only if you want to. Just a suggestion."

Gāyathri stared at Lavanya, there was no sarcasm, just gentle understanding. her indecisiveness evaporated and once again she was struck by the other woman's perceptiveness. She nodded and was rewarded with a warm smile.

As they walked, Lavanya kept up the chatter, "I love the tops he has in his store. I usually buy at least half a dozen whenever I get a chance. Great quality and perfect length. You can pair them with jeans, or leggings, or palazzos or even those kalamkari skirts which are the rage these days."

Gāyathri gave into the moment, she could continue hating the woman later, for now, just for a couple of hours, she was going to enjoy her shopping trip.