“Dhruv, come here…Do you think….. that flying creature could be a fairy?”

“No…of course not, it’s just a butterfly Rishi, You are still so kiddish, How many times have I told you that there’s nothing called magic?”

“If you don’t believe it, I can’t help it, but the selections are nearing..”

“What selections?”

“Oh…., so now Mr. Dhruv Aggarwal is interested…I see”

“No, no, just want to complain to mom that you are going for something without telling her…”

“Oh no, you wouldn’t do that”

“Oh yes I will”

“Dhruv, I’ll kill you if you do”

Rishi and Dhruv lived in the I.T. Capital of India, Bangalore. They had an independent house with a lovely garden.

Delicate creepers, green and leafy, grew along the garden gates, curling up some of their baby tendrils into swirls. Pink, Red and Orange Bougainvilleas bloomed all along the parapet walls. It was such a wonderful sight to see all this at once. Fresh, green grass shot out of the garden ground, covering it like velvet. Carvings of artistic ingenuity adorned the wooden furniture in their house. There were 2 floors which could be accessed by using the lovely spiral staircase near the kitchen.

Rishi and Dhruv shared a room on the first floor. Rishi had an avid interest in writing poetry, making up stories, drawing pictures and reading storybooks, whereas Dhruv was an extrovert who loved basketball and tennis.

Though these boys were twins, excepting their looks, they were seriously two sides of a coin. Both of them were extremely sweet and got along very well without any fights except when it came to magic, as seen in their arguments. They spoke excellent, fluent English though their mother tongue was Hindi.

 Rishi was eagerly waiting for the selections and was continuously persuading his twin brother Dhruv to believe him. Rishi said, “Wait and see, when we get selected, you won’t believe your eyes!”

“Oh! Really!” said Dhruv. “Let’s see! And what is this selections? You still aren’t telling me!

“So? Why should I?”

In India, it was April 1st. Their mother had a puja room in which Rishi sat and fervently prayed to the lord to get selected to go to Calypso.

 Dhruv watched him for some time, got fed up and ran to play with his Nintendo DS. After Rishi finished praying he ran to his room and said “Hey Dhruv, let’s play something”

“I am playing” said Dhruv. “I am playing with my Nintendo DS.”

“I know, but that is a one-player game dude! I am getting bored….. Let’s play something together.”

 “Why were you praying for so much time?”

“Because I believe in magic dude”

“I am not sitting and believing all that crap.”

“Fine, suppose we get selected to go to Calypso, then you won’t doubt me.”

“Calypso? What the….?”

“Leave that alone. Now please, please, please could we play something?”

“Fine, Whaddya wanna play?” asked Dhruv brusquely.

“Nothing, if you are angry with me, I don’t want to play anything with you.”

“Suit yourself; I am going back to my Nintendo DS.”

“Do as you wish, I am playing on the swing, Bye!”

They both stormed off in opposite directions, Dhruv muttering under his breath “Magic, Magic, Magic, Who put that nonsense into my brother’s head? Are we babies to believe in such things. After all, we are 13 years old.”

Rishi ran to his tree house on his favourite tree. He remembered the first time how he had persuaded his father to build it for him. It was his birthday and his parents wanted to give him some gift which would keep him happy.  So he had said, “Papa, Papa, Will you build a tree house for me?” He was only 6 years that time.

“Sure” said his dad. “When do you want it ready?” asked his father.

“I donno” he had replied sweetly. “But I want to play in it very soon.

He was so innocent in his childhood; he was still innocent now.

He still had his tree house even though 7 years had passed. He always chose to go there if he wanted to relax, or think deeply about something. And now, he really did. He wanted to know why his brother did not believe in magic. He racked his brains for an answer but how would he know? He just thought it was silly of his brother to not even believe what his own brother says. He thought…. why doesn’t Dhruv step out of reality at least once? Can’t he imagine anything? After all, he is my brother, Why is he so different?

After a sufficient amount of thinking and relaxing, which seemed a long time to him, he climbed down the tree and ran into his house as he was feeling hungry.