Next Morning
Raghav woke up to see Kabir sitting and staring at him.
Raghav jumped up –"Kabir! You're up this early? Did you even sleep?"
Kabir shook his head and gently touched the bandage on Raghav's head. Raghav winced in pain.
Kabir immediately pulled his hand back and held his ears apologetically. Raghav gently put his hands down –"But why didn't you sleep?"
Kabir, tearing up –"Bhaiya... I thought you'd die..."
Raghav wiped his tears and said –"And why did you think that?"
Kabir –"There was so much blood…"
Raghav laughed –"Silly! I have a lot of blood in me. This much bleeding won't kill me. I'm not dying anytime soon."
Kabir looked into his eyes –"Promise, bhaiya?"
Raghav playfully smacked his head –"Of course, idiot! Should I write it down and sign it?"
Kabir shook his head, then Raghav squinted and asked –"By the way, why did you hide my chocolates?"
Kabir looked around sheepishly. Raghav caught his ear –"You'll never change! I was going to give them to you anyway. You know I don't like sweets. Give half to Siya and keep the rest."
Kabir nodded, but the moment Raghav left for his bath, Kabir said –"I'm not giving a single piece to that lizard! She already stole all my books and broke my toy yesterday. No way!"And started munching the chocolate.
When Chandrika ji entered the room and saw Kabir eating chocolates, her temper flared. She slapped him and said –"Look at this! Eating chocolate without brushing! Kabir, why do you start mischief first thing in the morning? Did you even brush?"
Even while getting scolded, Kabir kept eating chocolate. When Raghav came out from his bath, Chandrika left Kabir and turned to him –"Son, how are you feeling? Does it still hurt?"
Raghav –"No mom, I'm okay now. But please make something for me, I'm really hungry."
Chandrika ji –"Yes! You haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon! Come downstairs, I'll make breakfast. And you, Kabir, go to dad and get ready quickly!"
Kabir didn't react, but Raghav dragged him along and said –"Don't worry mom, I'll drop this monkey off to dad."
Chandrika went down while Raghav took Kabir to Aman ji and tried waking him, but he wouldn't budge. So Kabir said –"Let me try!"He climbed on top of Aman ji and started pulling his hair –"Dad, wake up! I need to get ready for school!"
Aman ji jolted awake, scared, and Kabir tumbled off the bed. Aman pulled his ears –"What kind of wake-up call is this, Kabir!"Then noticing Raghav, he signaled him to come closer and asked –"Son, are you okay? Should I call the doctor?"
Raghav –"No dad, I'm absolutely fine. Just take care of this monkey—he's driving mom crazy."
Aman ji patted Raghav's cheek –"My brave son!"
Then scooped up Kabir –"And you little storm! Wait, I'll show you!"And the two began wrestling playfully.
Raghav smiled and walked back to his room.
Two days later, on December 31st, both children's birthdays were celebrated together.
Chandrika ji had decorated not only her own house but also Yamuna's house. A large cake was ordered, and the entire neighborhood was invited. Some of Aman ji's friends also joined the celebration.
Chandrika ji personally dressed Siya. She wore a pink princess frock with a matching hairband, and a small 'Om' pendant around her neck.
Raghav dressed himself and also helped Kabir get ready, as Aman ji was busy with the preparations.
When Yamuna ji arrived after preparing all the food, her eyes fell on Raghav and Kabir, who were looking a bit oddly dressed—they had simply hung the ties around their necks without tying them properly.
Yamuna ji walked up to them and said –"What have you both done? Why do you look so strange…?"
Raghav, loosening his tie, replied –"Mom, you put it on for us…"
Yamuna ji fixed his tie. Just then, Kabir saw chocolates and tried to run toward them, but Raghav firmly grabbed his hand.
Yamuna ji straightened both of their clothes, then did the "nazar utarna" (warding off the evil eye), and lovingly said –"You both look so handsome... May no one cast an evil eye on you."
Kabir quipped –"If you keep looking at us like that, your own eye might cast the spell!"
Raghav glared at Kabir, while Yamuna ji burst into laughter. Raghav then went off to join his friends, and Kabir went straight to the food.
Soon, everyone started arriving at the party and began wishing Kabir and Siya a happy birthday while giving them gifts.
Both children were happily busy gathering their presents.
At exactly midnight, everyone sang the birthday song, and Siya and Kabir cut the cake together. They first fed their parents, then fed each other's parents, and finally, both walked toward Raghav together.
Raghav looked at them uncertainly, and Aman ji said while smacking his forehead,"Here we go again… another fight between the two is certain today!"
But Raghav stepped forward and took cake from both their hands at once, stuffing his mouth full, which made everyone burst into laughter and applaud.Aman ji smiled and said,"Raghav saved the day. Otherwise, a tsunami of tears was guaranteed tonight."
Raghav gifted both of them a sports car toy, which Aman ji had gotten for him.
Raghav always gave the same gift to both of them so they wouldn't fight over it.
Both kids happily began playing with their new gifts.
Yamuna ji invited everyone over to her house for food and began serving with the help of others.
Raj ji, after serving food to everyone, came over to Raghav, who was sitting alone on the swing.
Raj ji said gently,"Come on, son, have some food before it gets cold..."
Raghav looked around hesitantly, and Raj ji, understanding what he meant, added,"Siya and Kabir have already gone inside. You should come too."
Raghav held Raj ji's finger and walked with him.
After all the guests finished eating and left, only family members remained. Kabir and Siya were still playfully fighting over food from each other's plates.Raghav sat next to Kabir, and Raj ji served him food. Kabir's eyes now shifted toward Raghav's plate.
He smiled at Raghav, and Raghav offered him a bite.Siya also came over and sat near Raghav. He fed her too.But Kabir wasn't satisfied with just one bite—so Raghav kept feeding him one morsel at a time, while Siya insisted that she wanted only Raghav to feed her.
In all this, Raghav wasn't able to eat himself.
Raj ji, seeing all this, picked up Siya in his arms, and Aman ji took Kabir into his lap, following Raj ji's signal.
Only then was Raghav able to eat. But Chandrika ji's face showed signs of concern.Noticing this, Yamuna ji asked her, but she just shook her head and quietly went to the kitchen with the dishes.
Yamuna ji followed her and asked,"What happened, Chandru? I've never seen you this worried before..."
Chandrika ji, lost in thought, replied,"I'm scared when I think about Raghav, Yami..."
Yamuna ji:"Why? What happened to Raghav?"
Chandrika ji:"I'm afraid because he's too good... afraid that he can never say no to anyone...Didn't you see? Even though he was hungry, when Siya and Kabir insisted he feed them, he never once refused...If Raj bhaiya hadn't picked Siya up, he would have just kept sitting there silently...This is home, Yami. Everyone here is family. But the outside world... it's full of cruel people.How will my innocent son survive out there...?"
Yamuna placed her head on Chandrika's shoulder and softly said,"You're overthinking, friend... Raghav is just 14 years old.At this age, who really knows the difference between right and wrong?With time, he'll learn everything...Don't stress unnecessarily... And besides, Siya will always be by his side."
Chandrika ji smiled slightly,"Maybe you're right... I'm just overthinking. And yes, Siya is there to take care of everything."
And both women began smiling and laughing again, just like before.