The Ties That Bind

  Read The Previous Part Here ARJUN “Hello Aai, how are you?” I ask Aai as she opens the door. ‘I am fine Beta. Come in. How was the Amti ?” Aai asks me. Since as long as I can remember, our families have always exchanged meals with each other. Amti is my favourite dish, along with Karanji and Chivda . “Delicious as always, Aai. Thank you so much!” I say. “Has Kiddo come home? We were going to walk around the compound.” “Hi.” Kiddo says shyly as she enters the living room. She has an uncertain and vulnerable look on her face. It breaks my heart. What really happened to her??? “Hey Kiddo. Had your dinner?” I ask her, feeling very, very protective about her all of a sudden. Something is not at all right with her. It worries me. She nods. “Aai, I will be back in a while. Just going for a walk around the compound.” Aai mutters something which feels like ‘Just a walk?’ Kiddo chuckles tiredly and shakes her head. We step out of the house. She walks in silence, her head ...

  Read The Previous Part Here SHREYA I am eleven years old and celebrating Holi with my friends in my building. Arjun is out somewhere. I and the girls are blissfully lost in the celebration when we see some unfamiliar guys entering the compound of our building. They are totally unrecognizable, laden with colours. They start applying colours randomly on anyone who crosses their path. Suddenly I find myself surrounded by them. They are not exactly doing anything offensive. They are just grinning and shouting – “Bura na maano Holi hai!”. But I feel uncomfortable. All of a sudden a warm pair of hands engulfs me and I find myself protectively hugged by Arjun, just when one of the guys splashes some colour in my direction. “Please leave!” Arjun says, still holding me firmly. I am only too glad to wrap my arms around him. The guys raise their arms in surrender and leave our building. “Are you okay? Did they trouble you?” He asks me in concern, drawing himself back from our hug an...

Read The Previous Part Here! ARJUN Is it possible to feel both happy and devastated at the same time? The thought of Abhimanyu coming home fills me with happiness. But his insecurities and doubts break my heart. How I wish I could show him what he has come to mean to me in such a short while! It has only been few days since we met, but I already think of him as mine. I open the door for Kiddo and we step inside the restaurant. It is a regular hangout for us. Both of our families used to dine here very often. The number of times I have held her hand and ushered her in! I look at her, walking gravely by my side, her curly hair all over her face and I smile. How soon the years flew by! We head to our regular table at the end from where we can see the road beside. “What would you like? I am going for a paratha-combo. I am ravenously hungry.” I pass on the menu to Kiddo. She silently peruses and closes it. “I will also have the same.” I place the order with the server. Kiddo smile...

  Read Chapter 7 Here! ABHIMANYU “Are you his girlfriend?” I ask Shreya Didi. Her shocked expression makes me laugh. I like her. She is very friendly and smiles a lot. “No, I am not.” She says and pokes gently at my ribs, making me laugh. “Aren’t you too young to be asking such questions? Where did you get this idea from?” She finally stops poking me and I manage to say breathlessly. “Sometimes we get to watch movies. Some people celebrate their kid’s birthday by taking us to the theatre and showing a movie.” I look at her and grin. “I know all about girlfriend/boyfriend and marriage too!” “Oh great! I will come to you for boyfriend-advice then!” She says and resumes tickling me while I burst into laughter. “What is happening here?” Arjun comes, smiling at us in amusement. He always brings something for the children of the orphanage whenever he comes to meet me. Today he has brought some snacks for all of us. He also helps with the groceries. Last time when he came, h...

  Read Chapter 6 Here! SHREYA It is my 9 th birthday. But I am sitting on a slab in a temple and bawling my eyes out. To celebrate my birthday, my family along with Arjun’s, had decided to visit the new temple that has been constructed at the outskirts of the city where we live. Somehow, I got separated from everyone in the crowd and now I am panicking, finding myself in an unfamiliar place alone. I keep calling out Arjun’s name but to no avail. Through blurry eyes, I see someone running towards me. I wipe my tears and see Arjun running towards me as if his very life depended on it. I break into sobs of relief. He comes and kneels down before me and wraps me in a hug. “I am sorry I let you go, Kiddo.” He manages to say breathlessly while he runs his hand comfortingly over my head which is buried into his shoulder. We stay like that, I hiccupping over my sobs, until my parents and his join us and start comforting me. My sobs finally subside and I get up, holding on tightl...

  Read Chapter 5 Here! ARJUN “I have learnt the basics. When I was in the other home, they made me attend school for a year. I studied till the first standard. There is a kind lady who comes once in a week to teach the kids here. I know the English alphabets and numbers in Maths. I have learnt the alphabets for Hindi too.” Tinu tells me proudly and I do not have the heart to bring his enthusiasm down. At 10 years of age, he should have learnt more. But the orphanage is doing the best with the limited funds it gets every year. I am grateful that there is at least someone volunteering to teach the kids here. Every now and then, Tinu glances at me with what I perceive as surprise and amazement, as if he cannot believe that I returned the very next day to meet him. As if I could afford to not see him again… “I will enquire in schools and get you enrolled soon, Champ.” I smile at him and ruffle his hair, something I like to do. “Only the best for you!” We sit in companionable si...