*GLOSSARY*

Nutei - Grandma
Nu - Mum
Mocha - (first) older brother

★

In the years that followed, Gaius and Reishel remained devoted to the 'Warm Hands' charity project. With every approaching Christmas, Gaius and Reishel's would scoured stores, their eyes bright with excitement and anticipation, searching for the perfect gifts to pack into the charity boxes.  The mystery of not knowing who would receive their carefully chosen items added an extra layer of excitement The tradition had woven itself seamlessly into their holiday joy, adding a special sparkle to the festive season. Four years later, when Gaius was eleven and Reishel eight, their home echoed with the joy of two new additions. Nicholas and Raven welcomed twin girls, Parmoi and Warmoi. Reishel, overwhelmed by the sheer cuteness of her baby sisters, had ran crying to her father that they were too cute and she loved them just too much. From that day on, the number of gift boxes packed in the house for Warm Hands increased to four.

Year after year, the kids grew up. Gaius, the calm and collected family boy, resembled his father in both build and character, but with a touch more adventurous and impulsive. Perhaps because his father was away from home so often, he spontaneously took it upon himself to help his mum and Nutei take care of his siblings. One of the reasons why Reishel would shut her mouth the moment he tells her to stop talking back to their mum. He carried that authority as an older brother with ease. He rarely spoke, but when he did, his words carried weight.

Reishel was the gutsiest one of the siblings, rarely afraid of anyone or anything. Unlike Gaius, she would talk back to her mum whenever she was scolded. The youngest pair, Parmoi and Warmoi, the beloved princesses of the household, charmed everyone with their cheerful laughter and endearing smiles, casting a perpetual festive aura upon the house. Reishel, in particular, reveled in her obsession for shopping matching outfits for them and dressing them up like dolls.

*

On a particular Tuesday, the Ronglo siblings began a new school year after the summer break. Sixteen-year-old Gaius started his eleventh grade, thirteen-year-old Reishel started her seventh grade, and the five-year-old twins started kindergarten.

Gaius and Reishel woke up early in time, for discipline was a religion worshipped without excuse in their household. Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Ronglo, now a forty-six-year-old father was stringent regarding time and punctuality. The twins, however, were allowed to sleep in longer.

While Raven and their helper, Rani Didi, prepared breakfast, Gaius and Reishel would wake up the twins, help them clean up, and get them dressed in their school uniforms. Then, they would bring the twins downstairs to the table, where Raven and Nicholas (who would already be set and slick in his office uniform) would feed them.

Nicholas had recently been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and posted in Manipur for the first time in all his active years. He could've stayed in camp since that would put him at a less risky position, but he took the risk to stay home with his family. Every morning, security came to his house to escort him to work.

Reishel soon appeared at the table in her freshly pressed uniform, trim and sharp, her dark, straight hair pulled up in a neat ponytail with a bow of the school's white ribbon resting over her hair-tie.

"Good morning, Colonel!" She greeted with sass and an accent as she dropped her schoolbag in her chair, a teasing smile on her face.

Nicholas rolled up his penetrative eyes from Warmoi's food to catch his older daughter smirking at him.

"Reishel?" Raven warned.

Nicholas never liked being teased about his rank, taking his job very seriously. Reishel rarely did it, but occasionally, when they were alone in the comfort of their home and family, she loved pulling at her father's leg. She just couldn't resist it sometimes.

"What?" Reishel shrugged at her mummy, and smiled at her Pa.

Gaius wouldn't even dare to. He respected his father and his job more than anyone in the family. While Raven occasionally addressed her husband by his rank, it happened only in their private moments, when they were alone and their defenses were down, when they were on the verge of making love.

But Reishel always had her way. Nicholas could hardly get mad at her. Her brilliant smile and her daring guts always had him laughing instead of angry.

He smiled and said, "Have you breakfast, Reishel."

"Thanks, dad," she returned with the same accent and settled on her seat with style.

"Where's your brother?"

"He's still in his room."

"Nu!" Gaius called from the stairs. "Nu!"

"Yes!" Raven replied.

"I've outgrown my uniform again!" He exclaimed, frustration evident in his voice. "My blazer and trousers don't fit anymore!"

Reishel bolted out of the table to catch the sight of her brother struggling with his clothes. As she expected, he was right there at the top of the stair, his trousers barely covering his ankles and stretched taut across his behind and thighs. Reishel shrieked out laughing at the funny sight.

Gaius frowned at her, hating being laughed at.

Reishel returned to the table giggling. "Go take a look, Rani didi. You'd die laughing."

"Didn't he iron his uniform yesterday?" Nicholas asked his wife.

"He did."

"He didn't check?"

"He probably thought it would still fit since he'd only wore it for a month or two. Then summer break happened."

"He's growing very fast."

"Nu, I can't go in these!" Gaius lamented from the stairs.

"Can't one of your men make a quick dash to the school store?" Raven turned to Nicholas.

"Of course, not. They're here on duty. Not to run our errands."

"But how do we get a new set of uniforms for Gaius right now?"

"Go to school in casuals, buy a new set immediately and change in the car."

Raven thought for a moment and agreed. "Right. Gaius?"

"Yeah."

"Wear your casuals and come have your breakfast! We'll get a new set at school."

A minute later, Gaius hurried down the stairs, quickly downing his glass of milk. He ate his eggs, and helped himself to bread and butter. Meanwhile, Reishel opted for bread and peanut butter. Their tastes were polar opposites. Gaius almost never ate anything fried or thick. He loved his food plain and simple and he could eat almost every vegetable raw. Reishel, on the other hand, preferred her food fried and spicy. Sometimes, when the curries were too bland, she would eat only a mouse's portion, as their mother put it. Most of the time, they had to cook two main curries for the children.

Nicholas would often tell them to eat everything and anything their mother cooked without nitpicking, but it hardly worked, although the children tried sometimes because of their father's insistence.

"These kids... We spoon-feed them everything they want, so they start choosing and discarding things without understanding the value of anything," Nicholas would often say to his wife. "When we were growing up, forget about choosing, one boiled egg a month was a luxury."

The first time Raven looked sceptical of his claim, he added, "I'm not exaggerating, Lungthi. Even you were born almost a decade after me. In your time, most of the families had become quite well off. But when Elliot and I were growing up, even your family struggled. No one was rich in the village. All of us were daily wagers and some family couldn't even afford two square meals a day. Compared to that now, we have so much to be grateful for and nothing to complain. The kids should understand this. But since they don't see any of these nowadays, they think I'm simply saying and it goes right through their head from one ear to the other."

When he finally stood up to leave for work, their children followed him to the door as always. He walked hand in hand with the twins, their frizzy heads, almost like Afro, bobbing beside him at either side. No one knew where those tight curls came from. Some joked that maybe Raven ate too many Maggie while she was pregnant.

Nicholas scooped his beloved princesses up in his arms and asked, "Who did I kiss first yesterday?"

"It's my turn. It's my turn!" Parmoi jumped in his arms, excited to be getting the first kiss.

"Okay," he chuckled and pressed deep kisses on their cheeks, first Parmoi, then Warmoi, then he set them on their feet.

Warmoi made sure her papa remembered she'd be the first to get the first kiss the next day by reminding him, "Tomorrow is my turn, okay, Papa."

"Okay. Sanaabi. Have a great day, all of you. Be good in school. Learn as much as you can."

He bent and Reishel kissed his cheek, "Have a great day, Papa."

"You too, Sanaabi," he returned with a peck on her cheek.

Gaius hugged his father because now that he had grown, he found kissing off his ol' man for work weird and awkward.

"Be careful at work, Pa," he said.

"Thanks. You look out for your sisters at school."

"Sure."

Nicholas took a step back and assessed his son. "You sure grew taller again. I bet ten thousand you can beat me by Christmas."

Gaius grinned, not quite believing that could happen so fast. Standing 5'9 at the age of sixteen, he found himself taller than all his friends, teachers, uncles and aunts. The only person he couldn't beat yet was his father, who stood at 6 feet. But Nicholas bet his son would beat him too in a year or so. He never stopped growing.

Raven handed Nicholas his briefcase, and he took her hand in his. They walked to his car, smiling and talking like two turtle doves, lost in their own bubble, as if their children never existed.

"Jai Hind, Sir," said the driver, standing at attention before he opened the door for Nicholas.

"Jai Hind."

Nicholas kissed his wife on the lips and reminded her, as he did every day, not to work too hard and to remember to rest.

"I'll be alright," she'd pat at his chest. "You be very careful."

"I will be."

When Raven skipped up the porch after her husband left, Reishel made a long face, rolled her eyes and mimicked in a squeaky voice, "Take care, Lungthi. I'll be alright, Nick. You be careful at work. I'll miss you. I'll miss you too. Memememe," making fun of their constant romance.

Raven suppressed her laughter and hurried up the stairs to change. She'd be dropping the kids at school.

Gaius lightly slapped at the back of Reishel's head with the tip of his fingers.

"Mummy! Mocha hit me on my head!" Reishel complained immediately.

"No hitting on the head, Gaius."

Nutei Grace sat basking in the sun at the front porch and nursing her sprained ankle as the kids came one after the other to kiss her goodbye on her cheek before they left for school.

"I'll try to return as fast as possible, Darcha. I'll bring a better ointment too," Raven said as she ushered the kids inside her SUV.

"That'll be better. Thank you."

"If you need anything, let Rani didi know."

"I will."

"Bye, Nutei!" The kids waved from their seats as Raven ignited the engine.

***

And that's chapter two. This is a glimpse into their morning routine. Hope you had fun reading this as well 🤗

And thanks for 1K+ reads!

Love, Hermyne

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