Waking up Bhawani realized that she had been drooling over her books. Looking around she saw neither  Prabir nor Bhargavi.

While taking her books upstairs to her room, she slowly peeked in to see if Bhargavi was asleep beside Ms. Nalini, and disappointedly walked away not finding her.

She found Prabir ironing Parul's school uniform quietly, in his room while Mr. Banerjee slept peacefully.

It was five in the morning, the cooing of birds soothed her ears as she started her day, packed her bag, took a shower and got dressed in her school uniform. Somehow, she felt peaceful and decided to spent some time in the garden reading a book before going to school.

Hearing some soft whispers, her legs unintentionally carried her to the Puja room, which had been locked for years. Astonished she glanced at the open door. The sweet smell of the incense sticks dragged her inside.

The room had been cleaned up. A huge picture of Lord Shiva, Maa Parvati, Lord Ganesh and Lord Kartik was placed in the centre, on the white wall,with a slightly smaller picture of Goddess Kali on the right and Maa Durga on the left. A splendid idol of Shree Radha Krishna occupied the centre of the room. The auspicious aura emanating from the room was so breathtaking, that Bhawani had not perceived the presence of another person in the room.

The sound of the spark of a matchstick, as Bhargavi lighted the lamp, took her out of a reverie, and she noticed Bhargavi seated on the floor, with damp open hair, crooning a Krishna Bhajan.

"Unbelievable!" Was the only word that Bhawani could utter in her bewilderment. She was about to leave when Prabir walked in smiling.
" Isn't it peaceful and relaxing?" He smirked.

"How is Di here? And...and from where did she learn that Bhajan?" Bhawani asked him softly. Grabbing her arm, Prabir gently ushered her outside and whispered,"Bhargu has been spending time in this prayer room for a couple of days now. She learnt this Bhajan when I had taken her to a Radha Krishna temple."

"Yes! I had locked up this room for years, as Maa used to spent most of her time here praying for us...me, Paru...Baba. I was astounded as well, when Bhargu pleaded me to unlock this room, and cleaned it up herself.

When questioned, why she had started to suddenly believe in these Deities, she had looked into his eyes and said, "Earlier this made me feel embarrassed as deep down I felt it was silly or pointless, there's no one coming to save your ass when you are in need, no matter how hard you pray.

Now, I know everything that happens, happens for a reason. There's a great master plan. Our fates are already decided."

With a quizzical look on his face, Prabir had then enquired," And why do you think so?"

"When I was stabbed, I prayed...I wanted to live...for you, I couldn't abandon you...knowing that maybe you would go insane, even if you managed to survive and I...was saved.
Therefore, now I feel that it is not silly or pointless to pray and beg for God's mercy. Yes! There is a divine power that rules this world." But he let these words remain a secret to him alone.

The first time Prabir entered the Puja room was on hearing a loud sound. He had rushed in to help Bhargavi thoughtlessly, who had fallen from a chair trying to fix a bulb, at a height that was impossible for even him to reach standing up only on the chair.

The next time, he entered the Puja room was with a stool, to fix the bulb.

He was dragged into the Puja room impulsively the third time, by the mellifluous voice of Bhargavi singing a Bhajan. The older memories, of his mother praying and singing in that room, though didn't evade his memory space completely, the new and fresh memories created made it endurable for him to walk into that room more often.

Giving up on her idea of reading a book in the garden, Bhawani sat down beside her sister listening to the Bhajan.

In her rush, Parul had totally forgotten about her necktie and Prabir had to chase after her with the tie in his hands till the bus stop.

After having her breakfast, Bhawani was waiting for her sister in the drawing room while she spoke to the nurse who would be attending Ms. Nalini. Scooting downstairs, in a hurry Bhargavi heard Prabir calling from the kitchen.

"There's a rule in this house. Nobody leaves without having breakfast," he said.

"Well! Umm... Bhawani will be late for school, I'll come back and have my breakfast," she whispered.

"You still have time. Come on," he pleaded.

"I don't follow rules, I make them," she replied back smiling. 

Pulling her ear gently, "Enough!" He said, dragging a chair."Sit. Sit."

Placing a bowl of cornflakes, he stood behind her chair and fed her carefully, bending over as a father would feed his one year old.

Bhawani stood awestruck, at the entrance of the kitchen and absorbed this sight in disbelief. How in the world was her sister letting someone pull her ear or pamper her like a child all of a sudden was beyond her understanding.

Bhargavi was turning slowly into a completely new person, she did not maintain the poker face as usual, but smiled and laughed out loud more often; was always bubbling with energy and excitement, and her confidence and exuberance had no match. Right now, she wasn't outraged or furious at Prabir,but had a mischievous smile lighting up her face.

When Prabir walked away with the empty bowl, Bhargavi stood up and ran up to him. "Can I request you something?" She asked feebly.

"Hmm. What is it? Tell me. Chocolates?" He quizzed softly.

"C..can you make me a portrait of Ziko?" She asked hesitantly and gulped hard.

Swiftly pulling her in his arms, Prabir murmured,"I will try." Before releasing her from his hold, he searched for her eyes and asked,"After the exams are over, will you pose for me Bhargu? I want to paint you."

Though shyness had never been her temperamental trait, looking thoroughly bashful and shy, she frisked away without a word, making him laugh. For her it meant, she could gawk at him for a long time, doing nothing else, while he sat painting her portrait, frowning, concentrating and working hard and each time, she moved deliberately when he asked her not to, only to irk him, she would be chided like a little girl.

While Bhawani watched them enviously, unable to listen to what they were talking about. A strange feeling hit her, almost crippled her from within.

When Bhargavi left the kitchen, Prabir saw Bhawani standing frozen at the entrance like a statue carved out of stone, and her distraught features gazed up at him.

Shaking his head, he waited for them to leave, trying to discern what could have distressed Bhawani.

Nearly, biting through his bottom lip, he raced outside the kitchen, grabbed his shoes and ran outside barefooted.

"What? Where are..." Mr. Banerjee sighed watching him leave and sat down patiently on the couch, waiting for him to return when he got no response.

******
"Di can we walk faster? Please!" Bhawani insisted on their way.

"You are not alone. Don't be scared. We don't have to run," she assured her.

The road was empty with a few bikers passing now and then. They heard a loud car honking, turning around Bhawani saw, it was a white sedan and reacting on an unknown impulse, she pulled Bhargavi closer to her.

Prabir carefully, observed this from a distance. On the contrary he had imagined her trying to push Bhargavi before a moving vehicle.

"Di! Will you be able to pick me up from school?" She asked sadly.

"We'll see. Either me or Prabir will be here to pick you up, you need not worry," she said smiling.

"I sometimes don't feel like going to school, because I don't want to face Ishaan. No matter how many times I apologise, he will never forgive me for what I have done.
And I don't want to go to the coaching institute as Mayank... Though I understand that just... like me...he too keeps looking for ways to apologise, like saving a seat for me in the class or helping me stay steady and not fall down in a jam packed moving bus and feel all embarrassed about it.

You know the first time, I took a bus...it was so crowdy, I couldn't find a place to sit and there was nowhere I could even hold onto. When the bus started with a jerk, I just landed on a fat man's lap. Mayank pulled me up and apologized to him, instead of me. He held onto me for the entire time till we reached the institute. I sometimes really wonder, would he have been like this today...had Keya Di still been alive?

Di. I have tried my best to forgive Mayank, but it seems pretty darn difficult. Maybe, Ishaan feels the same way about me. How would he forgive me, when I am unable to forgive myself for what I have done? "

All the while, Bhargavi listened to her patiently, then embracing her, kissed  her on the cheek.

"Gosh! With every passing day, you are becoming more and more like Prabir Bhaiya," she said giggling.

"I don't know what or how Ishaan feels about you or if he will ever forgive you. What I know is...you admitted your mistake and apologized for what you did. There's nothing much you can do about it now.

What you can do however, is zoom in and focus on your studies and career."

"Ishaan never loved me Di. You were always right...from the start. I am so sorry. Now, that you know ...that...I pushed Maa down the stairs that day, still you don't hate me. Do you?" She bawled. 

"You silly girl, now stop crying. What will your friends think?"Bhargavi said tenderly wiping her tears, as they had almost reached the school's gate.

Embracing Bhargavi, she sniffled,"I love you Di."

"You want me to talk to Ishaan?" Bhargavi quizzed softly stroking her hair. "I can explain him the situation."

"No Di. There's no need," she said rubbing her eyes dry.

"Come here," Bhargavi said pulling her in her arms and kissed her softly all over her face. "I know I am no substitute to Ishaan's love but for the time being..." She said and ran away as Bhawani chased her screaming, "Di?!"

Finally, Bhawani walked inside the school gate as Bhargavi, frantically waved at her like an excited child. Turning around she saw Prabir beaming at her.

"Why are you following me like a shadow? Now, don't tell me you were missing me."

"No. I was worried. I noticed the distraught on her face, before you both left, when you walked out of the kitchen and called her. To me it appeared as if it was envy, jealousy.

Anyways, you seem to be extremely happy today? Out of the blue, you seem to be enjoying giving hugs and kisses."

"No. I'm not happy to be honest. I actually learnt this from you.
If I scare her away, instead of being friendly, she won't come to me with her problems and I won't be able to help her at all.
Growing up, as a child, I too wished I could talk to someone...share my problems, but the way Maa behaved, it...shredded all my hopes."

"May I know the reason why you are unhappy?"

"It's all because of you."

"Me?"

"Yes! You. From the morning, you have been running marathons, first it was Paru's school tie, now it was concern for me.
I wanted to have my breakfast with you and Uncle, but you had to butt in... as obvious with your absurd rules.
Last night, you didn't sleep at all and how many cups of coffee did you have, might I remind you? Do you know how caffeine might impact your health? Everything is extremely important and urgent, except your health. If you continue like this, soon you will start hallucinating," he couldn't help giggling as she kept on scolding him almost half of the way back home.

"Bhawani gets only hugs and kisses while I get only scoldings, this is not fair Bhargu," Prabir complained making a sad face.

Grabbing his face, she kissed him hard, startling him. She didn't care if people were watching or what they would think of her or them. Spontaneous and impulsive nature was what made her so special.

Unexpected and without warning, she had filled his life with love, warmth, colour and sunshine replacing dismay, cold, darkness, and misery.

"What a brave heart my love is to kiss me on the street," Prabir smirked mischievously.

A cold strange glance was shot at him by Bhargavi. "Prabir. I can't dismiss your fears totally.
A murderous rage, a homicidal rage, it isn't something we should consider lightly. This is one of the reasons, I decided to inform Shekhar about her condition. At least warning him was necessary, we don't know how she might react to certain situations.

What you noticed...the distraught on her face, I noticed too before leaving the kitchen. Interpreting the kind of emotions, that might have caused her to portray those facial features,I assumed it was hatred. It was the exact same look, that I had seen the day, when she had slapped me.

Probably, there's a part in her that hates me. And this hatred is very deeply rooted, engraved in her subconscious mind. She knows and understands pretty well, that she only needs to mess with you, in order to hurt me and I'll be so broken and devastated...and that I'll be nothing without you. She might try to use you as a tool to control or manipulate me."

"Why will she hate you? I heard she told you just a few minutes ago that she loves you. And even during the session, she confessed before Dr. Menon that ..."

"Yes! That's true. She loves me. But it is also true that the hate inside her... is burning her alive. There are plenty of reasons why she hates me.

Firstly, I have been extremely dominating like my father. It's in my blood. If she wanted a toy, we couldn't afford, instead of explaining to her our situation or telling her that we would definitely buy it for her the next year, I would straight away tell her 'you can't have it. Is that clear?'

And if she still pleaded, Maa would slap her for being arrogant, stubborn and ridiculously call her mean and selfish. Though I protected her from getting beaten up, I never coaxed the little girl for the harsh things Maa told her. A child demanding a new toy, is no sin.

Secondly, I have never been a good listener to her. She was scared of being left alone, but we left her alone many times because Maa had to work, and I too took up tuitions after school for younger kids. When I returned home, at times I found her trembling, shaking like a leaf and instead of understanding her, I used to make fun of her. She used to tell me, she saw something...a dark figure, a silhouette, moving around in the house, but I never paid attention.

I was never as mature as you Prabir, I never understood that as she child she needed a father's care and protection, like...you knew that Paru needed a mother's love, gentleness, care and affection. I believed that if I could grow up without a father, she too would.

Maa and I, both could give excuses that,grappling with so many issues, still we worked hard, to ensure that she had a comfortable life. But, we never really thought that she needed us, our time, our attention. We have unconsciously plunged her into this darkness," Bhargavi said concerned.

"I don't think Bhawani hates you, though she might be scared to lose you. It was obviously clear on the day she was drunk and said that you don't love her. It's a bittersweet relationship Bhargu.
She has been giving cues since, a long time ago that she's in some kind of fear...a fear that you don't love her anymore. 

I never told her that you were stabbed, and I hid you in my room. You should have seen her face Bhargu, she almost believed that you would never come back home. When you weren't receiving her calls, and she couldn't reach you...I had seen her turn dull, lifeless.

Whether you are dominating or not...a good listener, it doesn't really matter. It's not enough of a reason to hate someone.

The more I think about it, she needs greater care."

They abruptly had to stop the conversation, reaching home where Mr. Banerjee shot a sharp quizzical look at Prabir.

Author's Note:

Huh! A long chapter it seems.

Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.
                                - Sigmund Freud

Now could you guess the reason of the distraught noticed on Bhawani's face?
Was it fear, rage or envy or something else?

Hope you enjoy reading!

Happy Reading!!