No one POV

Charlotte streched her limbs once she reached out of the airplane. It has been , after all, a stressful journey with neither some good sleep nor peace. It was brighter than inside the plane and she could hear the announcements and people speaking different languages.

As she was rubbing her eyes to adjust with them to the sunlight , she spotted a figure of her mother few feet away. Perplexed, she rubbed her eyes once again.

Sure enough, it was her mother no…it was her aunt. As soon as she spotted her, her aunt yelled her name coming over.

“Hey Charlotte. OMG! Look at you . You look just like Bhavya, your cousin. Almost like twins. Your mother had called me and said about how you are travelling alone and asked to pick you up. Come on , you will enjoy your stay here”

Charlotte nodded following her aunt outside the airport.

“And I am sorry you cant see your cousin because she must be in America right now”

“What?” Charlotte exclaimed . And then her aunt aka Bhavya’s mother explained how Bhavya ended up there after which she offered a trip to church as it was Sunday.

Reluctantly Charlotte agreed after so much of convincing. She was in no mood to visit anything. The only thing she wanted to do very badly was…Sleep.

After reaching the house, she ate Dosa with chutney and to her it was delicious. Kind of. And the next thing she knew, she was being dragged to church.

At the church she could barely hear the sermon leave alone understanding it with her heavy eyes, face resting on her hands, sitting in Indian style. Even the language was Telugu , something which she is hearing for the first time. It was a really,  really long three hours. As soon the sermon was over, few children, almost her age came towards her.

“Praise the Lord” they greeted to which her aunt replied the same.

“Eyala Bible School ki enduku raledu?” one of them asked particularly directing the question to Charlotte.

To which Charlotte stood still bending her head in confusion.

Her aunt replied  “Tanu Bhavya kadu. Ame thana cousin Charlotte. Thanaku telugu artham kadu. Bhavya vere chotiki poyindi”

“Oh...” the girl replied “ You both look so identical. We all have literally mistaken you for Bhavya. Asalla nammale potunanu cousin ante. Acham twins lekkana unnaru” .

After which she went home and fell flat on the family bed. It was really surprising to her that her unknown cousin didn’t have a bed of her own. Leave alone a room. It’s okay now but she would be literally dead at night sleeping with the family. Uhm… a family which she got to know in less than a few hours. This is going to be a really long week.

She got waken up hours later by none other than her aunt , the next thing she knew she was facing an identical girl and her(charlotte’s) mom in a video call sitting in HER living room in HER house.

***
Bhavya looks around once she reaches the airport to find her aunt who was supposed to look like her mom as in the photo album. Finally, she does and goes near her to catch her attention while she is clearly searching  for someone.

Her aunt turns around to find Bhavya and after the formalities, they reach the house.

A poodle greeted them excitedly but after sniffing Bhavya it growled as if ready to attack. Bhavya went behind her aunt in fear and the aunt started patting it to stay calm. Bhavya went inside quickly once she got the chance but the poodle continued growling in low tone. The house was bigger than hers , but she didn’t mind. After her bizarre experience with the girl in the plane, she couldn’t sleep at all . Now, she is as tired as much she is excited. Noticing it , her aunt leads her into the guest room.

After a shower, she lays down the bed and sleeps straight for eight hours. At  6’O clock, waking up she follows a smell of something delicious yet unique. It leads her to the kitchen where her aunt is making her pancakes.

The kitchen was all marbled and not to mention tidy. She ate the pancakes no good than like a pig munching its food.

“You must be awfully hungry” her aunt laughed. To which our Bhavya just nodded in response while chewing the food.

However, her aunt continued “I can’t believe it ended up like this. I was actually imagining me and Charlotte surprising you and your mom...”

“So that’s her name.Mari Mee peru enti?” (So, what’s your name) Bhavya said still chewing the last pancake.

“ I am surprised your mom didn’t tell. Its Amruthi .But mostly everyone here call me Amara. And it’s really nice hearing telugu after so many years. So where was I, yeah , but it finally ended up with Lotte in India and you here. ”

“Pancakes icchinanduku thanks. Avi chala ruchiga unnai. Mee vanta koda amma vanta lekkane undi. Ginnene kadagamantara?” (Thanks for the pancakes. They were delicious. Your cooking is just like my mom. So, do you want me to wash this plate?)

“Did you even hear what I said?”

“Umm…Kind of”

To which Amara facepalmed and shook her head but suddenly lit up. “ You still haven’t seen Lotte ,Have you? So why not video call them. She must have reached there.”

“Umm..okay”

But Bhavya was thankful as she didn’t have to wash that plate.

“And yes, put that plate in that dishwasher” her Aunt said leaving the room.

But the problem was, she didn’t know how to use it or where it was so she ended up washing it , groaning at her luck. Generally guests in India were not allowed to wash their plates. After doing which she searched for the living room. She didn’t notice it carefully at her first sight because it seemed so strange and new but this time she did. It was definitely more decorated than hers and framed photos were adorning it.  The persons in it seemed identical to herself and her mom, and some unknown man who must be her uncle.

“Take a seat” her aunt said patting the empty seat beside her in the sofa “Oh! They picked it up”

****

Video call

Amara: Hey Akshaya! Your daughter has reached here safely and what about mine?

Akshaya aka Bhavya’s mom:  Yeah, she too. Currently, she is sleeping.

*Bhavya sits down beside her aunt*

*All the chit chat about their previous days and memories take place. Bhavya listens closely as her mom never mentioned about her childhood days*

Amara: …Yea, it was so much fun then*after some pause*Why don’t you wake up Lotte?

*Her mom leaves and comes with Charlotte who sits beside her*

Amara: See, you both look for yourselves. Everyone is confusing you both as each other just like both of us.

Akshaya: Yeah! Remember those days when we went to each other schools. We literally switched ourselves but no one noticed. Not even Mom.

Amara: Yea!
Hey! I got a brilliant idea. What if you both do the same. You both can go to each other school since you are staying for a week.

Akshaya: Of course! It would be fun. No one would see the difference.

Bhavya and Charlotte: What!

Amara: It would be super fun. I can’t wait.

Akshaya: Me neither.

*call got cut due to power cut at Akshaya’s*

“I think this is enough for today. Why don’t you sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day” her aunt said closing the laptop.

To which Bhavya nodded “But can I call Charlotte once? I need to say her how to behave as ME!”

“Sure dear. I will be in the kitchen. Call if you need any help” saying which her aunt left to do her mysterious work aka dinner.

Bhavya opens the laptop and calls her home. Thank goodness she learnt how to use computers or laptop in her school. All tough it seems weird but Bhavya is excited about it. She always wanted to study in an American school. She did read few novels about them and knew most things about it. But the reason to worry was Lotte. She can literally ruin her reputation at school.

The later picks up the call. It seemed like they turned on the investor back home.

*Video call 2.0*

Charlotte: So umm… Bhavya , CONVINCE MY MOM TO LEAVE THAT CRAZY IDEA. Your mom is more stubborn than my mom, she wouldn’t budge. You should help me.

Bhavya: Ok calm down and speak slowly. Your English is way fast to understand.

Charlotte:* facepalms* Tell …no convince my mom to leave that silly idea.

Bhavya: You need not really speak so slow like you are instructing a toddler. Speak in medium pace.

Charlotte: DID YOU UNDERSTAND OR NOT? Leave about my pace, we have a serious problem here.

Bhavya: Okay, but I think I want to attend your school.

Charlotte: NO freaking way!

Bhavya: But…

*Call cuts off as power came back and invertor went off*

Bhavya giving up, goes to bed after eating dinner and doing her prayers.

A\N So I hope you enjoyed reading it. Tomorrow aka next chapter is going to be when they both attend each other schools. Hope you all are excited and thanks for reading, commenting and voting my book
- Sparkle_980