My Lovely Family

author pov:

Yaazhini arrived at her own dress shop, which is the number one brand in India. There are many branches all over the country, with the main branch located in Chennai. From there, she oversees all her branches. She entered her cabin and without wasting any time, took out the pendrive given to her by Dheeran. 

She inserted it into her system and tried to turn it on, but the system didn't start. Frustrated, she pressed the power button repeatedly and slammed the keyboard in irritation.

"Riya... Riya!" she shouted.

Within seconds, a girl in formal uniform appeared before her, looking worried.

"Maam..."

"I asked you to service the system yesterday, and it still hasn't been done. Is this why I pay your salary?" she yelled.

"Sorry, mam" Riya said, bowing her head.

"Keep your apologies to yourself. I want this system working properly within two hours." With that, Yaazhini left her cabin.

Riya exhaled deeply and stepped outside. Immediately, the workers in the shop gathered around her.

"What happened? This is the first time I've seen mam this angry," one girl said in astonishment.

"Yes, mam is usually so sweet and calm. I don't know what's going on," another added.

"Enough gossiping about mam behind her back. Everyone, get back to work," Riya said firmly.

Everyone immediately returned to their tasks.

Yaazhini's pov:

I gazed at the setting sun the entire sky was a dull orange and red. From the rooftop on the fifth floor, everything looked beautiful and peaceful. Birds were flying back to their nests, their chirping filling my senses. Their sounds somehow eased my tension, but a pain still lingered in my heart. I looked down at the pendrive in my hand.

I desperately want to see what's inside it. That person risked his life just to get this to me. I hope it will be useful in my search. I hope it holds the answers I've been seeking for over five years.

To break my thoughts, my phone rang. I looked at the number—it was unknown. I answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hello, excuse me, did you really think you're a beauty queen?" a mocking female voice said.

"Who is this?" I asked calmly.

"Yeah... now you've even forgotten me after eating a whole plate of pongal and vada at my house" the girl said seriously.

A small smile escaped my lips, which I quickly suppressed.

"Yes, I remember. Because of that pongal and vada, I had digestion problems today... too much oily food" I replied with a fake stern tone.

"Ohhh, now you're complaining about my mom's cooking? Wait, mommmmm!" she shouted in a high-pitched voice, calling her mother.

I moved the phone slightly away from my ear because of her shouting.

"Yaazhini, Yaazhini, what's wrong with your stomach, dear? Is the food too oily? Oh, sorry, maa drink some jeera water it helps with digestion," her mother said in a caring tone.

"Maa, I was just joking with her. Actually, I really liked the food you prepared for my lunch" I said hesitantly. I truly missed the food made by my Dheeran Amma.

"Amma, don't you have any sense? She's making negative comments about your cooking, and you're just pampering her. If it were me, you'd definitely break both of my arms. This is too much maa" Ishu complained about her mother.