Anamika is the first one to wake up early in the morning. Not finding Ruhana beside her, she walks out of the room, only to find her sitting in the hall, reading the newspaper. Anamika sits beside her, resting her head on her shoulder. Ruhana smiles and pats her cheek, greeting her for the day.

“Good morning, Di,” Anamika says, her tone sleepy.

“Good morning, hmm, toh ab mood kaisa hai?” Ruhana asks as she looks at her.

“Am okay, Di. Bas ab aap koi aisi baat mat karna jisse mood off ho jaye,” Anamika says, tilting her face to look at her.

“Arey, maine kya kiya? Maine toh kuch kaha hi nahi, Anu. Tu ye gussa chhod de. Vo kya hai na main kuch plan kar rahi hoon,” Ruhana says, her tone laced with thoughtfulness while Anamika watches her with great interest.

“Aaj Sunday hai na, toh main team lunch plan kar rahi hoon. Maine abhi sabse baat ki, sab log free hi hain. Ab hum ye toh nahi keh sakte ki hum puri chhutti enjoy karenge, lekin jab tak koi case nahi aata, tab tak hum apna day off enjoy kar sakte hain, isliye hum sab lunch ke liye milenge. Tu aayegi na mere sath?” She asks her, as Anamika glances at her.

“Han, kyun nahi, bas aap unko mat bulana,” Anamika says, obviously, pointing towards Suhanika.

“Anaa! Ye kaisi baat hui? Jaise tu team ka hissa hai waise Suhani bhi iss team ka hissa hai. Vo teri behen hai, Anu, aise nahi karte hai,” Ruhana tries to explain.

“Lekin unhone jo kiya hai na, wo galat hai. Agar Suhani Di uss din zidd na karti, toh aaj mumma aur papa hamare sath hote, lekin nahi, unko toh usi din ghar wapas aana tha. Issey achcha hota ki hum Alibaug jaate hi nahi,” Anamika says, her tone laced with anger.

Of course, five years have passed by that incident. Yet, Anamika thinks that it was all because of Suhanika that they travelled in the bad weather and the mishap happened. Of course, Suhanika was at fault for requesting their father to drive through, but to some extent, it was their dad’s decision to drive through the rain, as he had experienced difficulties in after-rain situations. However, it’s life and you never know how things  change in a milli-second. And the same happened with them.

Ruhana looks at her, her reasons are obvious of being upset with her sister, but it’s not right, after so many years. Yes, losing a parent is a big loss, but at the same time, you can’t blame someone, who’s not rightly responsible for the accident.

“Anu, ek baat kahun? Tujhe jaisa lag raha hai, vaisa hai nahi. Maanti hoon, cheezein galat hui par tum bina baat ke Suhani ko blame kar rahi ho,” Ruhana explains, her tone soft yet understanding.

“Bina baat ke? Di, aap sab jaante hue yeh keh rahi ho? Aapko maine kaha na ki yeh sab unki wajah se hi hua, na wo zidd karti aur na hi wo accident hota,” Anamika says, her tone loud.

“Achcha, ek baat bata, uss din agar mausam saaf hota aur phir accident hota, toh kya hota?” Ruhana poses the question, while Anamika just stares at her.

“Tu mujhe kyu dekh rahi hai, Anu? Mujhe batao agar uss din mausam saaf hota, aur agar Suhani zidd bhi na karti, kya tab accident nahi hota? Are you so sure ki Suhani ki wajah se hi wo sab hua?” She asks, her tone firm.

Anamika downs her gaze, somewhere in her heart, she knew that Ruhana is right. The events of that day bubble in her mind. She trails down the memory lane.

They were in the restaurant relishing their meal, and after that they’re all set to leave for home. Anamika and Suhanika are happy — their life was going to change aftermath.

“Mumma, cherish this time, phir Didu chali jayegi training pe,” Anamika teased her sister.

“Hmm, iska matlab agli chhuttiyon mein teri behna nahi hogi hamare sath?” Their mom, Ragini asked.

“Aur kya? Inko hi police mein jaana hai, Mumma! Huh! Pehle busy thi, aur ab zyada busy ho jayengi, phone bhi nahi karengi, dekhna,” Anamika continued teasing her sister, earning playful slaps in return.

“Mumma, aisa nahi hai. It’s just that, if I get selected, mujhe wahan ke rules ke hisab se rehna padega naa,” Suhanika said, her tone sincere.

“Of course, aur beta, rule follow karna toh achchi baat hoti hain na, Aur mujhe pura yakeen hai, meri beti ka selection toh ho hi jayega,” Neil had said, his tone reassuring.

“Papa, aap toh har cheez ka rule book nikaal sakte hain, aap rehne do, huh, har jagah rules lagate ho,” Anamika chides her dad playfully.

Neil laughed, emphasizing on rules that should be followed. His daughters, Suhanika and Anamika, continue bantering while Ragini watched them with a fond smile. Anamika didn’t fail to notice her.

“Mumma, aap bhi kuch bolo? Aapko Di ko aur mujhe, kisi ko instructions nahi dene?” She asked.

“Nahi baba, main dekh rahi hun meri bachchiyan badi ho gai hain, ab main kya hi kahun, tum dono ab khud ko sambhal sakti ho,” Ragini said, her smile never fading.

“But, we will also need you, Mumma,” Anamika hugged her mom, her tone babyish.

“Haan, Mumma. Aur vaise bhi hamari zindagi badlegi, usme aapka bhi haath hai, agar aap log nai hote, toh hum apne sapne kahan pure kar paate,” Suhanika spoke emotionally.

“Aur kyaaa! Bas ab hum ghar jaayenge, and life will change,” Anamika chuckled.

Meanwhile, it was announced that there’s a forecast for storm, and that the travellers should plan a day ahead. Both Anamika and Suhanika’s mood tampered, they wanted to go home, but their mom suggested that they stay back for one more day. Of course, they had their own home, so, it’s not a big deal. However, Suhanika didn’t like the idea. She felts that they had such forecasts throughout their stay at Alibaug, and that it won’t be fulfilled now.

“Didu, ruk jaate hain na, abhi 4 baje tak wait karte hain, aur agar storm aur baarish nahi aayi toh hum chale jayenge,” Anamika suggested.

“Haan, Neil, she is right. Infact, main toh kehti hun, aaj bhi ruk jaate hain. Apna hi ghar hai naa, ek din mein kya jaata hai?” Ragini asked, her tone concerned for her family.

“Ragini, mujhe lagta hai, hume chalna chahiye. Aap toh jaanti hai  baarish ke baad driving mushkil hojayegi,” Neil said.

“Par Papa, wo forecast?”Anamika asked.

“Mujhe nahi lagta kuch hone wala hai, Anu, tujhe yaad hai jiss din hum yahan aaye they, us din bhi forcast tha , kuch hua? Nahi, isliye hume nikalna chahiye, hum time se ghar bhi pahuch jayenge,” Suhanika explained.

“Han, beta, abhi toh mausam saaf hai, let’s go,” Neil said and they started to leave.

They started driving and eventually, the car sped up on the smooth road. After driving for three hours, they stopped by a roadside dhaba, to have some tea/coffee and snacks. As they began to relish their snacks, it started to drizzle. They got back into the car and started driving. However, the rain only escalated, making it hard for Neil to drive.

The night took a wild turn as the rain didn’t stop, and at the same time, Neil lost his control over the car. In the midst of saving them from a collision with a truck, he lost the control leading to a fatal crash. Suhanika and Anamika were on the back seat, and so they survived with minor injuries, but their parents couldn’t survive.

Surely, the life changed for them.

Anamik jolts out of her reverie, her eyes are teary. She looks at Ruhana, who’s intently listening to her.

“Di keh rahi thi, zindagi badal jayegi, aur dekho, uss ek accident ne hamari zindagi badal di, sach mein, phir bhi aap kehti ho ki unki galti nahi hai?” Anamika says, her tone blunt.

“Unhone hi insist kiya aur pata nahi Dadda ko kya hua, jo unhone maan liya, huh,” Anamika makes a face.

Meanwhile, they hear a familiar voice, say something, that leaves Anamika stunned yet enraged.

To Be Continued.