Ishita ~

It was around 5:00 a.m.

A girl holding tight to her blanket full of sweat taking deep breath

"oh! my god, again that nightmare," She thought.

She slowly put her feet on the ground and walked towards the bathroom.

"Pata nahi yeh sapna kab chhodega mera peecha."

(I don’t know when this dream will stop haunting me.)

She gently washed her face under the running water, and after brushing her teeth, she slowly removed her clothes one by one. She turned on the shower and let all her sorrows flow away with the tears in the water.

"I am cursed" she thought.

She wrapped a towel around her body and slowly stepped out. She opened the wardrobe, took out a kurti, and after wearing it, picked up her guitar. She sat on the chair in the balcony and started playing. The melody she played was amazing!

"Hearing the melody, her cousin Saanvi sneaked into the room, who just came to Hyderabad. She slowly approached Ishita and,

“Bhoo! Ha ha ha ha! Di, aap dar gayi? Maza aaya?”

("Boo! Ha ha ha! Di, you got scared. Wasn’t that fun?”)

Ishita gazed at her for five seconds, widening her eyes as if scolding her for her actions.

"Acha didi, ab gussa mat ho, chalo bhi."

("C'mon di don't get angry")

Ishita smiled at her

"Mujhe pata tha ki aap iss masoom chehre wali ladki pe zyada der tak gussa nahi kar sakte."

("I knew you couldn’t stay angry at that innocent-faced girl for long.")

Ishita pressed her hands gently against her cheeks.

And asked her when she came? - in sign language.

(Ishita can't speak)

“Di, main abhi abhi aayi hoon aur aate hi aapke paas aa gayi. Pehle toh socha tha ki aap so rahe honge, main kya disturb karoon, par fir aapke guitar ki awaaz sunayi di, toh maine socha chalo, di ko pareshan karoon.”

("Di, I just came home and immediately came to you. At first, I thought you might be sleeping, so I didn’t want to disturb you, but then I heard your guitar and thought, let me bother you a little.")

Then, a woman who seemed to be in her late - 50s came inside.

She said,

“Saanvi beta, aap kya kar rahe ho? Huh, aate hi aise manhoos logon ke chehre nahi dekhte jo padha hote hi aapne mata-pita ke liye kala saya ban kar aaye?”

("Saanvi, beta, oh my darling, you should not look at the faces of those unfortunate people who have become a dark shadow for their parents’ lives.”)

"Mom!! She is not a dark shadow and definitely not unfortunate for anyone. Please! stop taunting her"

"Wah!, ab toh apni khud ki aulad se hi sunna baaki hai. Ab tu itni badi ho gayi hai ki apni maa ko samjhayegi?

("Wow!, now the only thing left is to be lectured by my own child. You’ve grown up so much that you’re going to start explaining things to your mother?")

As Saanvi was about to say something, Ishita stopped her by holding her hand tightly.

“Come downstairs quickly, I’m waiting and so for you Ishita. We have a lot of work to do, today,” she said, watching Ishita hold her daughter’s hand firmly.

Saanvi said, “Di, you shouldn’t have stopped me. You never oppose anything, and when I was taking your side, you stopped me.”

Ishita gestured,

“She is your mother, and I don’t want to come between your bond with her. We should go downstairs before she comes back again.”

"Di you are so patient"

Then they both came downstairs.

“Saanvi beta, I made all your favorite dishes today. Come, let’s eat together.” While taking her to the dining table.

Ishita stood there like a little child without a mother but then Saanvi returns and took her to the dining table and pulled chair for her. But her mother didn't like it. So, she took Ishita aside and murmured softly, so only Ishita could hear,

“Kuch kapde mere bathroom mein rakhe hain, aur suno haath se dhona, color mat nikalna warna tu janti hai. Saanvi kuch hi din ke liye aayi hai. Agar galti se bhi use kuch bola to, tu janti hai kya hoga. Chal, ab ja. Oh main to bhul gayi tu to bol hi nahi sakti par tu samajh to gayi hogi.”

She said this while holding Ishita’s arm tightly.

("I’ve kept some clothes in my bathroom, wash them by your hands. Don’t let the colors fade, otherwise you know what are the consequences. Saanvi is here only for a few days. If you say anything wrong to her, you know what will happen. Oh, I forgot that you can't speak but I think you got my point. Okay, now go.")

Ishita went into her chachi’s room and entered in her bathroom. Then she started washing the clothes. Whereas Saanvi waited for her, refused to eat without her.

Five minutes later, Saanvi walked into her mother’s bedroom, ignoring her mother’s instructions as she searched for Ishita. She finally found her in the bathroom, quietly washing clothes.

“Di, what are you doing? And why? I was waiting for you downstairs and you are washing clothes by hands, Why?”

Then her mother came from behind and said,

“Maine hi bola tha use. Mujhe ye kapde kal pehne hain. Inka color nikal jata hai, isliye maine Ishita ko bola tha.”

(“I was the one who told her. I have to wear these clothes tomorrow. Their color fades easily, so I told Ishita to wash them because I knew only she could do it without ruining the color.“)

“But why didn’t you get it dry cleaned?,” Saanvi asked.

“Because I have to wear them tomorrow. I have to go somewhere. Okay, no more arguments. You’re coming with me, Saanvi. Behave like an obedient girl and come downstairs right now!”

She then grabbed Saanvi’s hand and pulled her downstairs, while Saanvi felt a deep sadness for her sister.

Ishita, “Mujhe aur nahi rahna is narak me!, ”

Ishita fumed inside.

(“I don’t want to live in this hell anymore”)

Ishita came after an hour, and after eating, she went to sleep.

Vikrant ~

A man stepped out of the bathroom. Water poured down from his hair, sliding over his chest. Veins bulged, clearly visible on his chest, neck, and hands.

Then he wore a black blazer, black pants, and a crisp white shirt, he descended the stairs with authority and stepped into his luxurious Mercedes, trailed by a convoy of Audis. An hour later, he arrived at his company.

{It was a huge building with several cabins.}

He stepped out of the car, buttoned his coat, and walked toward his cabin. Everyone greeted him, “Good morning, Sir.”

He entered his cabin, unbuttoned his coat, removed it, rolled up his sleeves, and opened one of the files on his desk.

Then a man, about 6 feet 1 inches tall, entered. He was wearing a black shirt and black pants, with his sleeves rolled up. He was Varun, Vikrant’s younger brother. A hacker sharp enough to break through any digital fortress.

Varun, “Bhai, lagta hai aapke dushman kuch zyada hi utsuk hain marne ke liye.”

(“Brother, it seems your enemies are a bit too eager to die.”)

Vikrant, “Kyu? Ab kya kiya un haramio ne?”

(“Why? What have those bastards done now?”)

Varun, “They’ve been persistently trying to breach our data security. It’s been non-stop.”

Vikrant, while looking at the files, asked, “Which enemy are you talking about, Ahujas, Shinghanias, or who?”

Varun, “The Sengar's” he replied. Seems like they’re pulling out all the stops to get to our data.”

Then a man in his late twenties came inside.

“Don’t worry, my friend will handle them. By the way, I found one of the culprits. He was trying to get company's confidential information by bribing and threatening one of our employees. The employee told me everything, and my team caught him. For now, he’s locked up in your dungeon.”

Vikrant in his cold voice, “Good work, Vihaan. Main uss kutte ko dopahar ke baad dekhunga. Apne log safe rehne chahiye, wafadar insaan aaj kal milte nahi. Aur jo hume dhokha dega… wo fir is duniya me dikhte nahi.”

(“Good work, Vihaan. I’ll deal with that bastard after the afternoon. Our people need to stay safe; loyal humans are hard to find these days. And anyone who betrays us… won’t be seen in this world again.”)

"Aaj to kisi ke shamat aane wali hai."

Varun fumed inside.

"By the way, I’ve tightened up the cybersecurity, " Varun said.

("Today, someone is going to face their doom.")

Vikrant replied with simple, "Hmm..."

Spoiler - They are gonna meet tomorrow!!

Thankyou for reading ~

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