|Chapter One|

I'm gonna hate this place to no ends, Aisha affirms internally.

Huffing, she crosses her arms as she glares up at the dark silhouette of the building in front of her. It's about one in the night and the sky appears a dark shade of indigo with white little stars scattered about the scape and barely visible. The building is not more than two storeys high and is of a probably hue of white which appears to be faint grey with the little light from the streetlamps illuminating it up.

"Aisha," her mother calls from somewhere behind her. Turning, she finds Tulika Medhi, her mother, holding a bag out for her to take from the taxi.

Nodding, she grasps the bag and slings it over her shoulder. "Hand me Nitya's bag as well," she suggests to which Tulika smiles warmly before holding the second bag out to her daughter.

"Why don't you girls go ahead and check the house?" Pranjol Medhi, Aisha's dad, suggests as he flips his wallet open to pay the taxi driver. "Don't be too loud though. The owners might be asleep and it's an odd hour to disturb them," he adds.

Nodding, Aisha takes Nitya's hand in hers as she leads the way into the silent compound, their footsteps the only sound surrounding them.

"Don't hold my hand," Nitya speaks haughtily. "I'm grown up now."

"Oh my, you're right," Aisha nods sarcastically. "Eleven years on this planet does qualify you as a grown up."

Taking the steps, the girls pass the first floor and upon reaching the second floor, Aisha lets go of Nitya's hand as she attempts to put the key into the door whilst balancing the bags in her hands.

"Lemme do it," Nitya sighs as she swiftly snatches the keys from her sister and neatly unlocks the door. Opening the door wide open, she looks at her elder sister with a smug smile.

"Whatever," Aisha rolls her eyes before marching into the house.

"Hey, you're supposed to say a thank you!" Nitya scowls as she follows her sister into the house.

"Go check your room now before I declare possession over the better room," Aisha tells her sister. The eleven-year-old widens her eyes with dread before dashing through the hallway to glance at the rooms and choose the better one.

Smiling at the kid's innocence, Aisha takes a deep breath before placing the bags down near the couch. She then inspects the place with utter scrutiny, ready to mark every flaw in the room which she could find.

The walls are a faint shade of peach.

But I like the walls of my home which are faint lavender, Aisha affirms.

The lighting is bright with built-in lights and false-ceiling.

Too flashy, Aisha states internally.

The furniture is new and modern-designs flaunt themselves around the entire place.

We have ancestral vases and furniture that is no match to these.

The place is filled with the cold Bandra air and the faint sounds of honking cars and city traffic reaches Aisha's ears.

I miss my home, my Guwahati. I miss the peace.

"Aisha!" Nitya's voice reaches her, breaking her out of her thoughts. "I chose my room!"

"Shush, Ni," Aisha whisper-shouts, following the voice and standing at the doorway of the first room along the hallway where she finds her sister happily perched over the bed with a wide grin.

"Girls, get to bed now," Pranjol, their father, calls from the living area. "We can unpack tomorrow morning."

"Okay, deuta," Aisha responds from where she stands at Nitya's doorway before turning on her heel and strolling over to the second room.

Pushing the door open, she walks in before closing the door behind her. Pulling the clip off her hair, she lets her dark brown tresses to fall over her shoulders and back as she glances around the place. The lights are already on and the room is painted in sky blue and ivory, making it a calming view. There is a study table and a bed along with a wardrobe and closet. A door is situated on the far end and Aisha assumes it to be an attached bathroom.

"Absolutely disappointing," Aisha speaks to herself rather stubbornly. It's as if she's trying to keep her resolve strong: that she hates it here, in Bandra.

Sighing, she throws her cardigan off and hangs it over the study chair before switching the lights off and climbing into the bed and pulling the sheets over her, not bothering to get changed. Pressing her lips, she keeps gazing up at the dark ceiling overhead as she lets her mind drift off into its own chain of thoughts.

She recalls the last day of the third month of the year, the day her father received that call.

"Guess what?" Pranjol asked Tulika with a suppressed smile.

"They agreed on a raise in salary?" Tulika guessed as the family continued with their dinner.

"They are getting me transferred to Maharashtra, Bandra," Aisha's father announced, grinning from ear to ear and his brown eyes gleaming with joy.

Tulika paused with her dinner as the words processed. "Oh," she uttered, not knowing how to react.

Aisha knew what the matter was. For Pranjol Medhi, the chief mechanical engineer at Fox Tech, it was a big success to have got an opportunity to work at the branch in Bandra. And it meant he'd be taking his family with him, for he was never the type to leave behind his three precious angels.

But for Tulika Medhi, a lawyer at the Guwahati High Court, it meant her entire career. If she moved to Maharashtra, her clients, cases and literally all her hardwork would be left back in Guwahati, where her heart belongs.

"That's great," Tulika smiled through her frown in an attempt to sound excited.

"Girls, get your bags packed," Pranjol said to his daughters with a grin. "It's time to grab the better opportunities in life."

Sighing, Aisha pulls the sheets over her face, trying to ignore the heavy feeling which settles in her heart. Her hometown meant the world to her and shifting to practically the other side of the country meant leaving behind her friends, him, and all the precious memories that she's made in Guwahati while growing up. Seventeen years were not enough in Guwahati and she wants more.

Alas, not everything works out as we plan.

______________

"Shut up already now," Aisha grumbles as she hits the snooze button over her smartphone.

Sighing, she sits up groggily before rubbing her eyes and checking the time. '5:47 am', it says. Cussing at the stupid device, she climbs out of her bed rather recklessly to grab a bottle of water from the kitchen.

The cold air makes a shiver run down her spine. Aisha grabs the shawl from the foot of the bed which she wraps around her little frame as she strolls out of her room. Moving across the hallway, she steps aside a few carton boxes full of luggage as she navigates into the living area. From there a doorway leads her into the kitchen.

"Ash, you're up?" her mother calls from the counter where she's arranging the utensils, her dark locks tied up into a bun.

"Just came to get some water," Aisha clears away that she's not done with her sleep.

"Will you please get the newspaper from the stairs?" Tulika asks her daughter. Pouting with silent resignation, Aisha strolls out into the living room and then walks out onto the doorstep. A cold breeze welcomes her and she wraps the shawl tighter around her.

Now that it's broad daylight at six in the morning, Aisha takes notice of a mahogany front door right opposite to their door. She realizes that it's the residence of the owners, the Deshmukhs, when she reads the gold and black nameplate over the door.

Turning to her left, she spots the newspaper laying a few steps below. Ascending down, she swiftly picks it up but a lose sheet escapes the paper, gliding down and settling over the bottom of the stairs where a sharp turn takes the stairs further down to the first floor.

"Damn," Aisha sighs as she skips down to where the sheet lies. Faint footsteps and mumbles of voices reaches her ears from downstairs and she guesses that someone's coming up. Just as she turns and starts heading back upstairs, she feels someone's presence right behind her.

"Whoa!" Aisha yelps when something tugs at her shawl rather quickly, causing her to trip and land on all fours over the stairs. Darting her eyes up, she meets a pair of hazel eyes which are wide with surprise. Whipping her head over to her feet, she realizes that the boy stepped on her shawl from behind, causing the both of them to fall.

"Oh, um...I'm sorry," the guy speaks, pulling his headphones off as he and Aisha both scramble to their feet.

Aisha mutely dusts her trousers, gathering the newspaper sheets from the floor. The guy is probably around the same age as her with dark tousled hair and a slender face. Dressed in red and white sports gear, he looks to have just returned from a morning jog.

Turning, Aisha looks back at the guy with her almond eyes who blinks at her with realization dawning over his face.

"Um...do you speak English?" the guy asks, trying to make weird hand gestures in an attempt to coordinate them with his words.

Those words are enough to flare Aisha's temper. Does he think I'm some illiterate foreigner? She thinks. But then she realizes that the guy thought she was a tribal and that she might not understand him. This makes her even more furious.

"Mujhe Hindi bohot acche se aati hai (I'm pretty fluent in Hindi)," Aisha retorts, making the guy widen his eyes with surprise. "And thanks for making me feel like a stranger in my own country," she adds before turning on her heel and marching up the steps and into her house. Just as she leaves, a second person joins the first guy.

"What happened?" Veer asks his twin, glancing back and forth between the door which just slammed and his brother who now stands at the stairs, fiddling with his headphones.

"I messed up," Vivek mumbles, shrugging.

"You're unbelievable," Veer shakes his head. "I leave you for five minutes and this is what happens."

"Shut up," Vivek retorts. "I'm your older brother, so behave."

"You're only older by seven minutes!" Veer throws his hands up before following Vivek up the stairs to their home, opposite to the new tenants. 

_____________

Author's Note: 

Hey readers!
So here was the first chapter of The Difference! :)

Which character caught your eye the most? I mean I know it's kinda early to ask, but still I wanna know the first impression they made on you. ;)

Oh and Deuta means Dad in Assamese. ♡

See ya at the next update! 
*waves a goodbye*