“Bhai, you never told me that you knew about Tara,” Mishti says while resting her head on her brother’s shoulder, who has come to visit her yet again, taking all the risks and under the disguise. 

“I got to know the same day I started searching for you. You remember we had installed that microphone and camera at the place where you worked?”

Mishti nods.

“Those told me everything I needed to know.” 

Mishti’s mouth open in a ‘o’ at those words, realisation dawning upon her. 

“Did you confront her?” she asks but her brother shakes his head.

“I didn’t. I don’t know why she betrayed us all, Chutki. But absurdly, I’m glad that she did. Since she had come into our lives again, I had been suffering from the guilt about saying those words to her all those years ago, of hurting her. But now everything is even. She hurt you. And nothing is more painful for me than seeing you hurt. So, she has hurt me just the same. We are even; I don’t need to feel any guilt for it.” Her brother says, tilting his head to put a brief kiss on her head under which she smiles, though it dies within a few seconds.

“But, Bhai, I really thought she was our friend. Do you not wonder about the reason why she did all that?”

“I do, Chutki. Her life hasn’t been the easiest. She told us about the debts she must pay.  Maybe it was because of that, because of money. Or it could be entirely something else. I don’t want to make assumptions. I have tried contacting her as well for the same reason, that and because she is the only evidence that we have to take you out from here, get you free from the wrong charges that have been imposed upon you, but I couldn’t reach her. Maybe Raghav would know something about her.” Mihir says, shrugging and Mishti hums.

“Raghav Bhaiya must have been so heartbroken.” Mishti wonder out loud and this time it is Mihir’s turn to hum. 

“You can never know enough about anyone, Chutki. Not even the person you like. You never know how they would react in a particular situation even if you put your whole heart in loving them.” Her brother says and those words strike a nerve, making her remember things that she doesn’t want to. “Raghav too must have had some expectations from her, expectations that she couldn’t stand upon. But I’ll try to get in touch with her again. If she’ll feel even an ounce of guilt for doing what she did, she will come back.”

“Yeah...” Mishti agrees, and just as she does, she hears footsteps from behind, both her and her brother stiffening in their places.

They had selected the spot after a long research and deliberation, at least Mihir had. There is no way an official would know about the attic in the farthest most of the prison. 

“Just say that you got hurt and I was bringing you to your cell, alright?” Mihir whispers in Mishti’s ear to which she nods. 

The footsteps keep getting closer until they are just behind them.

Mishti gulps, as she waits for the officer to confront them.

“Mishti!” the chirpy voice comes instead, making her turn around immediately and release the hitched breath.

“Raima! What are you doing here?” she asks, most part shock and a hint of confusion in her voice as she sees her cellmate standing there with a grin on her face.  

Mihir looks less shocked and more suspicious.

“I followed you guys. I told you I wanted to meet your brother!” she says, quickly coming around to face them.

“It’s ok, right?” she asks, her face morphing into a small pout seeing which Mishti immediately nods.

“Y-Yeah. Bhai this is Raima, m-my cellmate and Raima this my brother, Mihir.” She says, letting a slightly forced smile crawl up her lips. 

Her brother doesn’t bother doing even that. “Hey.” He says with a straight face.

“Mishti told me about you.” The girl says excited and Mishti has an urge to facepalm.

“Oh, now did she?” Mihir asks glaring at his sister who is busy hiding up her face. 

“Yes! And I told her how handsome you are.” Raima further says, having no filter on her tongue whatsoever, catching Mihir off-guard for a moment, though he recovers quickly. 

“I – thank you. But I’d like to talk to my sister some more….in private if you don’t mind. And I expect you to not tell anyone about anything you’ve witnessed right now….?”

“Oh, yeah. You don’t have to worry about that. You guys carry on. Bye Mishti, bye Mihir!” The girl exclaims and Mishti see her off with the same forced smile. 

Mihir doesn’t bother doing even that once again. However, as soon as Raima goes from there, he explodes.

“What were you even thinking, Chutki? You told her about me!”

Mishti holds her brother from his arm, a helpless look gracing her face.

“I’m sorry, Bhai. But she had seen you with me. I didn’t have a choice. She was asking about you.”

“You could’ve told her anything but my actual identity. What if she –”

“She won’t, Bhai. She has been helping me till now. She has become a good friend of mine. She is very sweet and smart.”

Mishti reassures and Mihir takes his time to agree, biting back the doubts resting on the tip of his tongue. 

“I’m sorry, Bhai...” Mishti says resignedly, and it is then that the tough exterior of her brother cracks, a smile crawling up his face. “It’s ok, I believe you. Plus, I have no doubts that she is smart, she knows when she sees a handsome face!” he says and break the tension in the atmosphere just like that.

Mishti giggles. “Yes, my Bhai is the most handsome in this world.”

“And my sister is the cutest.”

“Ruhi would beg to differ.” 

Mihir huffs out a laugh at that, shaking his head as he does. “She’ll understand, but for now…” Mihir’s face morphs into that of seriousness suddenly as he turns towards her, looking at her intently. “I’ve been wanting to ask this for a long time, Chutki.”

“What, Bhai?”

“Do you remember the vase that you had sent us that day? The replica of it?” Mishti hears him asking and gulps, not liking the direction where they were going from here.

“Why did you do that, Chutki? Why didn’t you just send the real vase? I know that it doesn’t matter now and even if you would’ve sent them that, the agency still would’ve betrayed us but…. I just want to know. The reason. It was for the first time I couldn’t understand my Chutki’s state of mind, you know.” Mihir says, and Mishti inhales in a shaky breath, nodding. 

But there are no words on her tongue.

She doesn’t know how to answer that.

How to answer that question without getting reminded of Samrat, the man that she had seen two days ago in that feast.

The man that had seen her after three months and had tried to follow her as soon as she had stepped out of the hall. 

Mishti was barely able to hide herself, seeing from behind the wall as that man looked around for her left and right.

She remembers his face; perplexed, hopeful, desperate, and so expressive. Absolutely unlike the day she was being taken away.

Mishti doesn’t know why he was looking for her now when he hadn't bother doing that for the past three months.

She doesn’t even know if she has the right to feel this way, to get her heart broken expecting something from someone who is nothing more than a stranger to her, to feel betrayed when it was her who had done that first.

All she knows is that she doesn’t wish to talk about him.

So, she doesn’t.

“That vase was bought by Daya sir, Bhai. It held immense importance for his son. I didn’t want to hand it over to the agency. You have seen what they did to our orphanage when sir handed it over to them, we wouldn’t want the same happening with anything else ever again, even if it was an inanimate vase, right?” Mishti speaks out, ignoring the truth yet stating it implicitly. Mihir smiles, his hand caressing her head.

“Yeah, Chutki. We wouldn’t.”

*

Mishti has just seen her brother off with a promise to meet again a few days later. He can’t come here daily; his disguise isn’t that good, the authorities would realise. But that leaves him with only one option – to get his sister out of here and Mishti is sure he would. 

Currently, she is at peace with her life. This one hour that they get out of their cells to spend under the night sky is a time that she enjoys thoroughly. This is the time that makes her realise that prison air isn’t even that different from the life outside. 

Or maybe this serenity comes from the fact that she has already finished her punishment. At least the one for the crimes she actually did, for the hearts she actually broke. The guilt is lifted off her chest and all that remains there is a tranquilly beating heart.

Though the same heart starts rabbiting incessantly when Mishti yet again hears the noise of some footsteps behind her. This time she doesn’t get to turn or to react when a hand comes to cover up her mouth from behind, the other encircling around her waist, taking her to the side. She tries to pull away, flailing her legs and eyes wide and teary. But no one listens, no one sees.