SHIKHA She stepped out of the shower. Her hair was wrapped in a blue towel; water droplets barely contained trickled down her neck and on to her bare shoulders. She scrutinized her body which had changed considerably since the last time her sister called her ?scrawny?. But, that was six months ago. Now, Shikha realized with a pang, she had again outgrown her lacy bra for the 2nd time. Which meant she?d have to buy a larger size and soon. Shikha was the thin, quiet one of the two sisters. Neha was the vivacious child who went against all norms of their conservative upbringing. Neha was the one with the love letters from the boys in their school. Neha was the one who got the bluff calls and the flowers on Valentine's day. As for Shikha, she felt like a mere shadow in front of her lovely younger sister. Their mother always remarked how Shikha's big brown eyes did not quite fit into her small, narrow face. Her voluptuous lips often caused surprised looks from strangers. Their sanu ma would lament, if only they could fatten up her cheeks, she would be beautiful. Shikha had long before been de-sensitized to comments about her features and her thin body. She had learned not to care. But, she had also learned to fantasize about an ample body and a perfect boyfriend. Shikha was a dreamer. She was, an escapist who skillfully balanced her imperfect world with a perfect fantasy. Neha, Shikha's younger sister was getting married in two months. To her mother's amazement, Neha had agreed to marry Binod, their father's friend's son, a family friend. Her family had expectations of Neha, to do the outrageous: to elope or to marry a Kuhire. It was, the family's way of bracing for impending disaster given Neha's track record of having dated beyond the acceptable Nepali caste, and color line. Shikha remembered an overjoyed mother rushing to the ?Hare Krishna? temple to offer prayers of gratitude, donations and flowers at the thought of Neha settling down with a ?good? huney khaney, Nepali boy. And, to one the whole family approved of. As Shikha struggled into her jeans, she smiled secretively. Her time would come, soon, very soon. The email she had received from Jeevan assured her of that. **********to be continued**********