Trials and Tribulations by Fire

“Hurry up, we are already late.” “Yeah, coming, why don’t you take the car out and wait for me near the gate?”  “Ok.” Sandhya aka Sandy locked the front door of the flat and checked the door. It held. She then locked the grill door and checked the huge padlock. She did that out of habit. A habit steeped in her middle class upbringing. That was then, before, she had tasted stupendous success and became the face of the largest cosmetics company. Sandy took the lift and hurried out into the front porch of the building with her small hand luggage. Louis Vuitton. Always. She was going away to participate in a fashion show in Paris. Sandhya Roy D’Costa, a Bengali by birth, world citizen by choice, had married Sam D’Costa when she was nineteen. Sam was a racer. He had now retired from the sport and managed an Audi showroom. He was a car enthusiast and had powerful friends in the city. Due to his celebrity status, he also had a lot of clout. Sandy was going to Paris for a fashion show. A

“Moti bhains!” A shrill voice pierced the evening stillness making Navneet jump out of her skin and reverie. A dull ache started from behind her left ear and threatened to spread throughout her head.   She turned her head sharply to locate the source of the shrill tone and found a fast receding thin frame clad in track pants and t-shirt running in the opposite direction. It was Shruti Yadav, her neighbor, her classmate and a constant source of irritation. Navneet continued walking towards her house. She also decided not to take the shortcut through the park anymore from college to reach home. Shaking her head to clear the jarring echo, Navneet aka Navi, started walking faster. When she reached the wrought iron gate of her house, she opened it and let it bang against the wall till it rattled, making, Koyla Ram, the dog, jump and hide behind the rose bush. Navi looked up at the sky and said, “I just wish one day she grows so fat that she can’t get inside her house. Then sh