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Samar’s POV

It had been a few days since the accident.

The house was back to its usual routine now.

Everything looked normal again.

But I knew it wasn’t.

Kittu had almost forgotten about the incident. She was walking around, talking the same way, laughing loudly as ever.

Yet, there was this strange softness in her now. As if that one mistake had taken away some part of her stubborn pride.

She had lied to me.

She had tried to act smart.

And she almost got hurt because of it.

And now… she was trying to make up for it.

Every day, without fail, she would appear in front of me with something in her hands.

Sometimes a glass of milk. Sometimes cut fruits.

Sometimes badly cooked rotis that looked like they had fought a battle before reaching the plate.

“Bhai… khake dekhiye na” she would say, eyes shining with hope.

(Bhai...try this)

Most of the time, it was barely edible. Sometimws the salt was too much, the sugar was missing, the dal was too watery, the sabzi burnt from one side.

But I still ate it anyway.

Maa, on the other hand, had no such patience and it reached a point when snatched the spoon from her hand and would throw her out of the kitchen.

And slowly kittu's craze for cooking or you can say almost burning the kitchen along with food also slowly ended.

And then there was her.

My baby.

Lately, she had been living up to that promise she had made to me.

“Main sab bataungi, Aapse kuch bhi nahi chhupaungi.”

(I will tell you everything. I won’t hide anything from you.)

I thought she meant important things. Big things.

Serious things But no.

She meant everything.

She would come to me in the evening like a little storm, grab my face in her soft hands and start talking without taking a breath.

"Kittu ne aaj Seema aunty ke kheto se peru tode...unhone toh bas hame dekh hi liya tha ki ham waha se bhaag aaye."

"...or pata hai aaj hamne doodh wale ko doodh me paani milate dekha tha...hamne maa se keh diya..unhone bohat daant lagayi usse."

"Fhir aaj na ham chaath par kapde dalte waqt gir gaye the..par hame chot nahi aayi...dekhiye...."

(Kittu plucked guavas from Seema aunty’s fields today… she almost saw us so we ran away from there.)

(And you know, today i caught the milkman mixing water in the milk… i told Maa, and she scolded him a lot.)

(Also, today I slipped while putting clothes on the terrace… but I didn’t get hurt....see.)

Her words would tumble out, one after another, pure and unfiltered.

Sometimes it made me laugh.

Sometimes it made me wonder how someone could be this open…

I told her once “You don’t have to report your whole day to me.”

She just looked at me, cheeks puffed, lips pouting like an offended child.

“It’s better than your anger." she said softly.

I found myself laughing every time she said things like that. This little girl was suddenly afraid of my anger? She hadn’t even seen one percent of it yet at least not the part meant for her. And i would make sure she never knows.

I have many other better ways.

She had this habit of standing too close when she talked, as if she needed all my attention or else her words wont reach my ears.

Her fingers would tighten on my shoulders, her brows knitting with seriousness even while narrating the most useless things.

And somehow… I never got tired of listening.

Kittu’s madness was loud. I was used to it.

But this girl’s innocence was something that melted me every time.

Her little anger, her soft complaints, the way she tried to fix things between me and Kittu without even understanding what truly happened… it was all so painfully pure.

Sometimes I wondered how someone like her ended up in this house, in my life.

--

I was sitting in the verandah, packing boxes of fruits and vegetables that were to be sent to the next village.

The harvest had been good this year. The fields looked rich, full, and proud  like Bauji when he watched them.

So instead of selling everything here, we were transporting the extra stock to the nearby village.

The quantity was huge.

Which meant I had to go myself.

Ajay was with me, and a few workers I had were loading the crates onto the trunk of the truck. I chose to sit at the back with the boxes, Ajay alone wouldn’t be able to handle everything.

The truck was almost ready.

Maa and Bauji were also coming along. There was a wedding in another village on the way, so I would drop them there.

They will return tomorrow night.

I checked the last of the crates, adjusting the ropes, making sure nothing shifted.

Then I looked toward Kittu.

She stood beside Piyali, her hands folded in front of her like she had already prepared herself for my scolding.

“Kittu, dhyan se rehna. Main raat tak aa jaunga. Koi masti nahi” I said firmly.

(Kittu, take care. I’ll be back by night. No mischief.)

She nodded immediately.

She would stay at Piyali’s house till I returned. I couldn’t let those two stay alone at my house at night. Both were innocent… and both were disasters together.

One minute they’d be laughing. The next, doing something that would make me regret leaving.

The workers left, i won't take them with me. They have been working since morning to help me pack all the boxes so I had sent them home to rest after having a talk with a few of my known worker at the village who could help me with there once i reach.

Ajay was talking to the driver. Maa and Bauji settled in the front seat.

Everything was ready.

Kittu left with Piyali’s parents inside the house.

And Piyali was about to follow them too.

I lifted my head slightly, a small gesture.

She stopped.

Then slowly, she walked back toward me.

I crouched down on my knees on the trunk so I could reach her height. She looked up at me, biting her lip nervously.

I tilted her chin up gently.

And placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

My girl.

She melted instantly, she always does at the slightest touch my mine. eyes closing, face relaxing.

I glanced around once, making sure no one was watching.

Then I leaned forward and gave her a quick, smooch on her lips.

It was strawberry flavour today, the lip balm she used.

She froze.

Then looked at me with wide eyes.

“Dhaant!” she whispered, hitting my arm lightly, holding my hands away as she looked around in embarrassment.

(Hey!)

I smiled.

“Jab tak main na aau…ghar par hi rehna kittu ke sath. Aur aate waqt kha kar aaenge toh hamare liye mat banana” I told her softly.

“Ab jao andar.”

(Until I come back… stay at home with Kittu. And if we eat on the way, don’t cook for us...Now go inside.)

She nodded, her chubby cheeks turning pink, and slowly walked back.

I watched her till she disappeared inside, her hand waving at me from the doorway.

I waved back.

Then

“Oye hero! Jana hai ki nahi? Ya yahi rehna hai raat bhar?” Ajay shouted from behind, climbing into the truck.

(Hey hero! Are we leaving or are you planning to stay here all night?)

I smacked the back

of his head and took my seat.

“Maa-Bauji baith gaye aram se?” I asked.

(Did Maa and Bauji sit comfortably?)

Ajay nodded.

The truck engine started.

And we began our journey.

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