Helpless, Pranav nodded.

Seeing him still coughing once in a while, he got up to fetch him a glass of water.

The boy was cautious but he accepted the glass.

After drinking, he said, "I don't want to go back."

"Then don't." Pranav remembered a few more bits. He did not want to face anyone back then too.

That was why he had tried to kill himself.

But unfortunately, he was rescued before he could die.

He did not say anything regarding that matter. It was better not to trigger this little him.

"Let's wash your wounds."

The boy then searched for the scratches. He had really forgotten about them. They reminded him of what happened just then.

"The rain stopped..."

Pranav stayed silent.

"How did I get here? Did you bring me here?" He asked older Pranav.

He thought he was kidnapped but somehow he knew there was no threat.

Another fit of coughing ensued.

Pranav remembered what happened more or less. Not the details, but what his welfare home aaya said.

She had apparently found him bleeding and pale without life. He was holding a glass blade loosely, she said. She said she rushed him to the hospital as soon as she could. She cried before him asking why he did what he cut himself. She took pride in her career and care taking and she said she would be dejected if something happened. She asked why and what happened.

At that point, he still remember what he had been through. But he did not know how to explain.

"You just appeared here."

The little boy looked confused.

"You look exactly how I remember I looked. Trust me." Pranav tried to touch the boy.

This was him. Thinking about the aaya's words and seeing the past literally was a bit too much. He was controlling his tears.

He did not remember much, but he definitely remembered how he felt. Because every now and then, he still felt those particular feelings of distrust and insecurity.

He wanted to comfort the boy. He wanted to give him a hug. He did not have anyone in that moment. He had been desperate. But this time, it was different.

"I know... I know what that man did to you."

The boy looked at him shocked, disgusted and moved his broken body away until he hit the wall. "Don't come any closer!"

Pranav sat where he was.

"I said I am Pranav. Now 31 years old. I don't know why you... came here... from the past. I just want to comfort you, give you hug."

He again moved closer to the boy.

The boy inched away until he was cornered.

Once Pranav held his resisting little body, the boy went limp in his arms. He cried and cried until his throat was hoarse and fell asleep.

He placed the boy on his mattress and covered him with the only shabby rug he owned.

That night he lay awake on the cold floor with the worst insomnia he had ever had.

He was also quite surprised that he hugged another person, albeit someone who he did not know could be considered a person. Ever since that incident, he was averse to skin touch. He really did not have any motivation for living. At 31 he was a broke construction labourer with nothing to his name. He never had a girlfriend, nor did he ever dream of a family.

His was doing more or less better recently, thanks to Dee. And his boss and one or two co workers he had lunch with on the dusty site. But was it really worth it?

Looking at the boy, he wondered: "Should I have let you die?"