Caught in the Act

Silent Hearts

Late afternoon, the next day.

Nora stood at the kitchen door, arms folded, eyebrows raised, watching her sister for quite some time.

Nora: "My sweet little sis, what have you been up to in the kitchen for the last two hours?

I know you love those cooking videos online, but seriously... what kind of crazy recipe is this?"

Zara (grinning): "I'm making Busted Pakoras. Spicy Indian fritters, thank you very much."

Nora: "Wait—what? Busted Pakoras? What even is that? I've never heard of such a thing in my life! You better explain the name and the recipe before I throw you out of this kitchen." (half-mocking anger)

Zara: "Well, since our little banana-eating stunt this morning backfired right in front of Adam Rahman, I invented a new snack to mark the occasion."

Nora looked stunned.

Zara (dramatically): "But wait! Before the recipe, you need to hear the whole story."

Earlier That Morning…

Zara and Nora had gone out for a morning walk and a bit of light grocery shopping. Just as they were crossing a street, a motorcycle skidded to a stop in front of them. Zara instantly lit up, waving her hand like she saw a celebrity.

Zara: "Hey there, Mr. Biker Adam! Fancy seeing you here!"

Adam removed his helmet, blinking in confusion. Nora chuckled and said:

Nora: "Hello, Mr. Adam! I'm Zara and this is my sister Nora."

Zara (laughing): "No, no! I'm Zara, and she's Nora."

They both pointed at each other, confusing poor Adam even more. The guy looked like he was about to short-circuit.

Adam narrowed his eyes.

Adam: "Miss Zara—whoever you are—what's the point of confusing people like this? And seriously, Miss Cheater Zara! Using your twin privilege to prank me? Bravo. You and your sister Nora completely fooled me. Honestly, you should be reported."

Shaheen (popping up from behind): "Adam brother, file a fraud case on them. Immediately."

Zara: "Hey, Pet Shaheen—as Nora calls you! What's up? How's Nadia?"

Adam (frowning): "Wait, who's Nadia?"

Shaheen (even more confused): "Yeah, who is Nadia?"

Zara (smirking): "Only Pet Shaheen knows that!"

She giggled. Adam realized she was messing with them. Shaheen, on the other hand, was still trying to figure out whether he was dreaming.

Zara: "Anyway, I'm Zara Khan, and this is my older-by-fifteen-minutes sister Nora Khan. Identical faces, different people. And hey—twin perks are real. Don't judge, Mr. Adam!"

Adam smiled for the first time. These girls had really done a number on him. Something about this Zara girl—he couldn't figure her out. She was kind of... endearingly mischievous.

Seeing him smile, Nora frowned.

Nora: "Okay, Mr. Adam, I apologize. We didn't mean to trick you. I just couldn't say no to her. She's the naughty one, always pulling me into trouble."

Shaheen: "Before all that, please clarify—who's Nora and who's Zara?"

Nora (smirking): "What do you think, Pet Shaheen?"

Shaheen: "You've officially fried my brain. One of you calls me Pet Shaheen, and the other just Shaheen—that's the only clue I have!"

Zara: "Exactly. We love confusing people. But, Mr. Biker, how'd you even know we were around here?"

Adam: "We keep tabs on our neighborhood, Miss Twin Terror." (mock serious)

Shaheen: "Adam brother." (narrowing his eyes)

Adam: "Okay, fine. Truth is, Shaheen called me this morning and said, 'Adam brother, if you want to die of confusion, come to the market immediately. Zara elder sister's pulled off a next-level prank!' So of course, I came running."

Zara (batting her lashes): "I'm sincerely sorry for fooling you." (huge toothy grin)

Shaheen: "You don't look sorry."

Zara: "It's all Pet's fault! If not for him, we wouldn't have been caught."

She stuck out her tongue and waved him goodbye. Nora and Zara walked away laughing. Adam just watched them go.

Later that day, after they shared the story at home, everyone had a good laugh. Even Adam's mom said she wanted to meet the twins. As for Amir, he quietly walked off to his room, smiling to himself.

Lately, he'd been thinking about Nora a little too often. Maybe... just maybe... she was starting to grow on him. He still remembered how he first noticed her—arguing passionately with a vegetable vendor over tomatoes. There was something strangely charming about her fire. He didn't know her name back then, but he kept asking around—until finally, someone told him.

Her name was Nora Khan.

Back at home…

Nora: "Alright, Your Highness. Spill the recipe for these 'Busted Pakoras.'"

Zara (dramatically): "Fine, fine! Here's how it went — first, I cooked a pack of ramen noodles. Then I started beating egg whites like I was making a cake. Halfway through, I thought, hey! Noodles taste plain — so I mixed them into the foamy egg whites with a dash of sugar. Then I added chopped onions and green chilies. But it still looked weird, so I threw in some rice flour. Still weird — so I added gram flour, turmeric, chili powder, coriander, cumin, ginger-garlic paste, and salt. Fried it all up, and ta-da! Busted Pakoras!"

She finally paused for air. Nora stared like she'd just witnessed a crime.

Nora (horrified): "Oh dear lord. Only you could create such an abomination. I'm not eating that."

Nora: "Why do you act like such a menace, hmm?"

Zara: "Because I'm the younger twin! It's in the job description. Mischief keeps the soul happy!"

Nora: "Alright, enough. No more essays on 'The Joy of Mischief.' Now go fix the disaster zone you've created in the kitchen."

Zara (grinning): "Fine, I'll almost fix it!"

Nora bonked her lightly on the head.

Nora: "Less drama, more cleaning."

They cleaned up and carried the pakoras to their room. Zara dipped one in ketchup and took a big bite.

Zara: "Mmmm! Delicious! Come on, sis—just try one!"

Nora turned green. No thanks.

Instead, she packed a few and delivered them to their landlady. In a few weeks, the landlady's daughter Isla was moving abroad with her husband. She'd offered to hand over her cooking blog "Isla's Kitchen" along with leftover baking tools and ingredients to the girls.

Isla was a friend of Zara's cousin, Ryan, who had helped them settle in this neighborhood and rented them his aunt's old one-story house. Ryan covered their expenses at first, but the girls didn't want to rely on him forever. That's why they were now job-hunting. They'd even asked Isla to help find tutoring gigs.

Isla had shown them around and helped a lot.

Days passed.

One Friday afternoon, Nora and Zara decided to stroll through the local park. They found a bench, chatted, clicked pictures, laughed like only sisters can. They never needed anyone else. They never needed a crowd. Just each other.

Zara rested her head on Nora's shoulder, still talking.

Suddenly, a peanut vendor's bell rang.

Zara jumped up, eager.

As she handed the peanuts to Nora, Nora suddenly stopped smiling. She looked past Zara and said:

Nora: "Uhh. Zara? Who's that little kid holding onto your scarf?"

To be continued...