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"Happy birthday, my dear." Inaya felt herself captured into a tight, warm hug. "Hope you have a happy year ahead."

"Thank you," She replied to her mom, smiling through her sleepy haze. She glanced at her dad leaning against the door with a smile.

"Is there anything you would like to know?"

This question was a birthday tradition. It had stemmed from the fact there were many things she didn't know about her family. Once on her 11th birthday, she had asked her mother why she didn't have a grandfather like the other kids in her school. Her mother had broken down and her father had scolded her for trying to poke her nose on things that she wasn't supposed to.

The next day, her mother had regretted not answering her honestly. After all, honesty was a policy she followed with a vehement passion. So, every birthday, her mother would ask if there was anything she'd like to know. Each time, Inaya would refuse, owing to her father's words. 

Inaya pressed her hand on her ankle and stared at it, "Not...immediately."

Her mother nodded slowly, a slow grin lighting up her aged, tired features. The hints of a pretty youth still lingered in the creases around her eyes and lips. "I'll wait for your questions, then."

Inaya nodded. With a pat to her head, her mother stood up and headed out of the room. Quickly, her father followed her mom out, a joke or quip at the tip of his tongue, ready to spilt out. 

There were many things Inaya had to make peace with, in her life. Her family was her mother and father. She didn't know any other relatives. If they did exist, she was probably better off not knowing them. Based on her mother's easy grin turning surly every time they were mentioned even in passing, she had surmised that much. 

Inaya also knew her father didn't adore her as much as her mother. Somewhere in her heart, she knew she was loved by him too. She often found wads of money in her purse slipped in by her dad. But, he never made an effort to bond with her. 

In her previous school, there had been an event for dads and their children to participate in. Inaya had informed her father about it and he had promised to come. In the end, however, he never made it. Her friend's father participated with her whenever he could, to ensure she wasn't completely lonely. 

When Inaya had arrived home, she found her father peeling oranges and laughing with her mother about some inside joke. They had many of those. Inaya simply shrugged her bag off and left it where she usually did. Then, she went into the bathroom. A few tears had slipped out. She never mentioned it.

To be fair, Inaya understood. Her mother had nearly died in childbirth. It would've been a regular, easier birth had her mother been able to admit herself to a good hospital. Due to the scarcity of money on their end, her mother had been rushed to a smaller, shady hospital. The doctor had messed up some part of the birth process. Her mother had lost a lot of blood and had ended up nearly dying. 

Despite the sixteen years that had passed by, Inaya knew her birth was a sore spot for her dad. When her dad's mother was still alive, she had told Inaya that her mom had sacrificed a lot for her dad. Their love had been something straight from the movies. 

Their subsequent life wasn't.

Inaya slipped out of bed and noticed no mattresses lying down. She glanced around the room to see if they were folded somewhere else. Upon not finding them anywhere, Inaya padded out of her room and found the mattresses lying near the tattered sofa. 

"Mom, why are the mattresses there?"

Her mother pulled her hair into a neat bun as she smiled at Inaya, "Dad and mom have decided to give you some privacy and let you have the room to yourself."

"But there's only one room..."

"We'll sleep out in the living room." Her mom shrugged, "Don't worry about us. You should focus on your studies right now. How's your school going?"

Inaya's mind wandered off to the first two weeks she had spent running around in school, "It's not bad."

Her mother frowned at her, pausing her movements, "Is anyone bullying you?"

To Inaya, it felt like her mother's love and care was making up for the slight lack of it on her father's part. Her mom and her had somehow a close relationship without much effort. It made it easy for her mom to sense if anything was amiss with her. 

"No. In fact, I'm part of this group of friends..." Inaya sat down on the stool and stared at her mother, moving around the kitchen. Inaya didn't have to get up at 5 in the morning, since her school had sports day and required all the students to report only at 1 in the afternoon. But they would have to stay back a little late into the evening. 

"Tell me about them."

"There's a girl. Her name is Kavya. She is very bright and preppy. She's always popping here and there, and she's quite friendly."

"That reminds me of a friend I had in school..." Her mother sighed, with a sad wistful smile. Her father turned around to glance at her, before going back to cutting onions. "I wonder how she's doing now. Continue, dear."

"There's this boy named Prakash. He's closer to Kavya and he's quite serious about his studies." Inaya smiled, "I don't much about him but he's always scolding Kavya when she's distracting us from studies."

"Are you guys like a study group?"

Inaya nodded, with a smile. "It's very fun studying with them."

"That's fine but don't get carried away, alright?"

"I won't." Inaya smiled. After a pause, her mother glanced at her, "What? Is there only two other people in your new gang?"

"No, there's two more. All of them are childhood friends and they are quite a tight-knit group. I'm surprised that they took me in."

Her mother laughed, "What are you, an abandoned puppy for someone to take you in? The way you word things is always so funny."

"Wouldn't I make for a cute puppy, though?" Inaya laughed. 

"I suppose you would." Her mother giggled along, "Now, tell me about the other two."

"There's this girl named Devika. I haven't met her yet. She's quite close with all of them and they mention her often. But she's studying abroad." Inaya paused as her mom made an impressed expression. "There's this other boy..."

"He's quite studious too." Inaya continued, as the image of his small smiles in her direction lingered in her head. "And he's...very handsome."

Her mother stared at her. Her father did, too.

"Arun, doesn't this remind you of us?"

Her father nodded, through the teary eyes the onions had produced. Inaya glanced between the two of them before remembering the question she was supposed to ask. 

"Actually, can I ask a question? For my birthday?"

"Shoot, darling."

"How did you and dad meet and fall in love?"

Her mother mocked a playful glare, "You met one handsome guy and now you're asking all these questions. What did I tell you, Inaya? You should focus on your studies."

"I don't like him like that." Inaya protested, refraining from telling her mom that she had a small crush on him. It was after all a teeny-tiny crush that she shared with many other girls in the school. Probably.

"Alright, alright. I'm just teasing you." Her mother sighed. Her face, suddenly, seemed so much older than Inaya remembered. "I was born into a financially well-off family. My dad and mom were quite rich. I used to study at this prestigious school."

Her mom smiled, as if to herself, "I used to be terrible at studies and absolutely detested it. I liked shiny things like jewelry and dresses more than boring, old books."

"I just can't imagine you like that." Inaya mumbled, in awe.

Her mother let out a laugh, "You're used to seeing the current versions of your mom and dad. But we weren't always like this, you know? Your father used to study at the school neighboring mine."

Her father cut in, "It was a school for delinquents, to be fair. Only the poor kids studied there."

"Don't sound so proud of it." Her mother shook her head, laughter spilling out. "Back to the matter, I saw your dad through the window of my school. It was love at first sight. Your father was a very handsome man. In fact, you inherit a lot of his features."

"No, no." Her father quickly stepped closer to his wife, "You were really quite pretty. I was stunned, that day. I kept waiting outside of your mother's school, every day, hoping to get a glimpse of her."

"And finally, he did." Her mom smiled, "We ended up dating. My school found out. Then, my parents found out. I kept rebelling against their attempts to stop the relationship. Finally, they disowned me. They had two other children other than me, who were doing better than me in life. Perhaps, they thought it was a waste to keep me around, who only brought shame to their pristine reputation."

Inaya rubbed her wrists, "Can parents really do that? Can they abandon their own children?"

"They could. Plus, I was eighteen, then. I wasn't even a minor"

An uncomfortable feeling settled in her chest. Perhaps, if she wandered away from her priorities, her parents would abandon her too...?

"No." Her mother patted her head, as if she had read her thoughts. "No matter what you do, I would never leave you. That's not what good parents do. That's not what parents who truly love their children do, okay? Don't take what I said too seriously. My parents were obsessed with wealth and quite obnoxious. They weren't good parents. Even if you did something wrong, I will remain in your life as your guiding light, as long as I can."

Inaya nodded, the uncomfortable feeling vanishing from her chest. 

"After all, your dad and I have made a promise." Her mother smiled at her father. He smiled back. Inaya wondered what promise it was. Nevertheless, she had already prodded enough. She was still scared of prodding too much. She hated making her mother cry. She rarely ever gave her any reason to be sad, after her 11th birthday. 

"I'll get ready for sports day."

"Alright, we'll be heading to work, okay? Lock up the door when you leave and break a leg!" Then her mother contemplated it, "Don't take it literally."

Inaya laughed, as she shut the door behind her. Shaking away her thoughts on the heavy morning she had, she headed into the bathroom. 

She had to head there, bright and happy to cheer for her friends. 

—

[ behind the scenes ]

many years later,

Inaya's hand trembled as she glanced at old photographs of her mother and dad. It was half damaged from dust. Her mother's young, carefree face stared back at her. In her mind, the aged, wrinkled version of her mom haunted her often. Committing her younger version to memory, Inaya hoped she could instead remember her mother when she was happy instead of when she had left everything behind suddenly and departed. 

A tear slipped out of face and dripped down her face, as Inaya clutched the photograph to her chest. 

—

a/n: don't get comfortable with the temporary happiness in volume 1 :)