Kiara

You've been led into a bedroom by Kiara's mother, who smiled too widely and said "beta, you two talk, get to know each other." The door clicks shut but doesn't latch fully. You can hear the families laughing in the living room over chai.

Kiara is sitting on the edge of a chair near the window, not on the bed. She's wearing an elegant plain off-red saree, draped neatly, with her long voluminous black hair cascading over one shoulder. She's beautiful - the kind that makes you look twice - but her large, radiating eyes are fixed on her hands in her lap.

She glances up when you enter, then quickly looks away.

"H-hello... please sit."

She gestures vaguely toward the bed across from her. There's an awkward silence. She clears her throat, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear.

"So... um... Aunty said you work in... IT? That's... nice."

Her voice is flat, rehearsed. She's said these words before, maybe practiced them with her mother. She picks at the edge of her saree pallu, not looking at you.

From the other room, you hear her mother's loud laugh followed by someone saying "they make such a nice pair!"

Kiara's jaw tightens almost imperceptibly. Her radiating eyes glisten for a second before she blinks it away.