Rithvik always wins every game. Dhun could not understand this. She was smart for a ten-year-old, and she was sure he was cheating in some way. How else could a boy win every single game they play? When they play hide-and-seek, he always wins by never being caught and running to the main point of the game...

This time too, the kids were playing the game 'name, place, thing, animal'. The rules are simple. You select a random alphabet, and everyone has to write a name, a place, a thing, and an animal or bird starting with that letter.

This time the alphabet was 'U'. That was a tough one. There were not many living things which's name starts with U.

"Unicorn", Malavika said.

"Unicorn is not an actual animal." Dhun scorned.

"I know. But there I no other animal starting with U. And who knows, maybe there is a Unicorn." She smiled.

"There is an actual animal. I have written 'urchin'. Urchin is a real animal." Dhun sai back. The others had not written a name. Then Dhun turned to Rithvik. "What about you?"

"Urial," He said.

"What? There is nothing named that."

"There is..."

"There so isn't."

"I can bet you. Go check the internet. It is sort of a deer, moose thing."

With her urge to prove him wrong, Dhun jumped down from her chair and went to the school library computer. And indeed Rithvik was right.... There was an animal named 'Urial'. "And you knew this all along?" She asked Rithvik in a tone of disbelief. She was sure he was cheating. But how? They all were just sitting on the school grounds only, waiting for their parents to come to pick them up.

"Does not matter." Rithvik shrugged. "I am awesome. You... - a loser."

Dhun scowled.

"How do you win every game?" Dhun asked.

Rithvik just smiled and put his hands in his pocket and walked while whistling a tune. He was just too annoying for Dhun. But what can she do... He is her best friend.

"You never even loose once in rock-paper-scissors...." Dhun followed him. "How the hell is that possible?"

"Secret," Rithvik said.

"What?"

"Say 'please', I might consider telling you."

"Huh! In your dreams... Donkey."

"Oh! I did not know people can call others 'donkey' when they look like a monkey themselves." He pulled on Dhun's hair. Dhun grunted in anger and kicked his leg. Now, this turned into a full-on physical fight, which the teachers had to come to resolve. Later when Dhun's mother came, she had to listen to the grievances of the teachers, standing there with a baby in her hand.

She turned to both of the kids. "God, you guys... You are not six anymore..."

"He started it."

"She started it. She called me 'donkey'."

"Dhun...?" Her mother turned to Dhun.

"He called me monkey..."

"Monkey," one-and-a-half-year-old baby boy in Dhun's mother's hand crooned. He was Dhun's younger brother. "Whatever...." Dhun's mother asked, wiping her forehead. "Where is Roli?"

"No idea," Rithvik said.

"I am here..." came a voice and little Roli walked up to them. Roli was Rithvik's younger sister. She was two years younger than him.

That evening when Rithvik and Roli were in Dhun's house, eating the pancakes Dhun's mother made for everyone, Rithvik moved closer to Dhun and said, "You are lucky to have such a mom."

"Why?" She asked. "You have a mom too."

"She does not make pancakes. And is never around much." That was true that Rithvik's parents were never around. Both of them were doctors. And the job kept them busy. They rarely saw their kids and hence Rithvik and Roli were always at Dhun's house. It helped that they were neighbours.

One day there was an urgent knock on Rithvik's house door. This was a time when their parents were in. Rithvik who was watching TV went to open the door. Dhun was standing in front of the door, looking very panicked. "Rithvik... Is your mom around. Or your papa."

"Yeah, what happened?" Rithvik has never seen her so unsettled.

"Ma fell down in the bathroom." She said. Rithvik's mother Sameera comes out of her room hearing this, "Oh, my God..." She says. "Please come, aunty," Dhun ask.

"Yeah. Yeah... I am coming." Sameera rushed to the door. Rithvik tried to follow his mother, but Sameera hand a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "You stay here."

"But..."

"No..."

And Sameera was gone, and Rithvik stood there at his apartment door, impatiently staring at the door on the opposite side.

He stood there. In a while, two paramedics came with a stretcher and carried Dhun's mother away. Dhun's father who had the baby in his hand saw Dhun running along with the stretcher.... "Dhun... you stay here."

Sameera was giving instructions on the phone to her hospital already. She took a look at Dhun and then at Rithvik. "Rithvik... Take care of Dhun." She said sternly. Rithvik nodded. They carried her off... and Rithvik held Dhun's hand. She turned to him. "It will be okay." He told her. "She will be okay."

But she was not okay. Dhun's mother died that day. She had hurt her head badly. Doctors could not save her.

At the funeral, Dhun was sitting in a corner of the room where her mother's dead body is placed, looking at that pale face that will never smile at her again.

Rithvik came and sat beside her.

"This is so unfair," Dhun said. "So unfair... If only she had not slipped and fallen. If only there was no soap on the ground."

She began to cry. Rithvik put his arm around her. But then... he was thinking too. "Wait... there is a way."

"What?" Dhun asked, who was crying.

"There is a way." Rithvik jumped up. "Come with me," he extended his hand to her.

"What?"

"Come." He pulled her along.

He took Dhun to his house, where there was nobody. And he took something out of his pocket. A tiny shining object. It looked like a pocket watch. A really old one.

"It's a pocket watch," Dhun said.

"No. Time turner." Rithvik held it up to her. "You always wondered how You always wondered why always win at games, right. This is the reason why."

Dhun looked at the old watch and blinked at it. Obviously, she did not believe it the first time. She was a logical person.

"Rithwik please, I am not in a mood to be in one of your pranks right now. Is this the time for it? Can't you see my mom is dead?" She cried.

"That is it. If you use this, she does not have to be dead. God, why did I not think of this before." He stomped the ground. "I could have saved aunty."

"What the hell are you talking about."

"I am telling you. This thing is a time machine. A time-turner. Like the one from Harry Potter. Or any other sci-fi fiction."

"Are you asking me to believe in that?"

"Yes. I know it is unbelievable. I am telling you you can turn back time. I have been doing that for all this time. All the time."

Dhun blinked at him, still not able to believe him.

"Look, this watch, my grandfather gave it to him before he passed away. He said his grandfather gave it to him before that. Even he did not know the origin of the watch. Maybe it's been in our family for generations. This watch can manipulate time. Its user can go back in time, or even pause time."

"Pause time?"

"Yeah. How do you think I have been winning at Name-Place-Thing. I can pause time and go look up names of animals and things on the library computer. But that is not important. It can make you go back in time. You can go stop your mom from slipping and falling."

"Huh?"

"But only one person can use it at a time. Since I can't come into your house and stop your mom from falling, you do it. You go..." He thrust the small pocket watch into her hand.

"Rithvik..."

"Come on... what are you waiting for? Go... Go save your mom."

Dhun nodded urgently. She looked at the watch. And at Rithvik..."How does it work?"

"You just have to think of the time you want to go back to and turn the dial."

Dhun takes the watch in her hand. And turns the dial in her hand. And she takes a deep breath and turns the dial.

Rithvik and his family watched Dhun's father, Dhun and the little baby get into a cab. They were leaving. Rithvik watched the car moving away. Dhun looked out of the car's window. Rithvik wave bye to her with a kind of disappointed and sad face. Dhun waves back with a little bit too sad a face.

After they are gone, Rithvik's family walked back in. "I still can't believe she is dead." Sameera wiped her eyes. "Such a gem of a person."

Rithvik felt sad too. But double sad since Dhun is moving away from the place, to a distant city. He had to lose two important persons at once.

After Dhun's family left their apartment was not occupied for a while. It remained empty, reminding the neighbours about the death and the loss. Rithvik's performance in class and other activities was now considerably coming low. His parents could not understand how their brilliant son suddenly became so stupid. Initially, they assumed that it was because Dhun left.

But when it went on, he got occasional scoldings and stern words.

Four years later, there came new occupants to Dhun's old apartment.

Fourteen year old, Ansh was helping his father unload their luggage. "Dad, my bicycle." He said urgently. "Let me see it first."

"We are unloading other things right now, Ansh." His father told him.

"Yeah, but I want to see if it is not damaged in the transit." He was proud of his new bicycle. He did not want even a scratch on it.

On his constant insist, his father let the movers hand the bicycle to Ansh. With a smile, Ansh began to inspect if there is even a scratch on it. He was satisfied with the condition.

He looked around the apartment building's compound. There was enough space to drive it around a circle. He hoped on the bicycle and began to ride it. As always he began to show-off and ride a bit too fast.

Twelve-year-old Roli was coming in through the gate and Ansh did not see her and crashed into her. She fell to the ground and scraped her knee. She was wearing a dress that day, so the knee was bleeding.

"I am so sorry," Ansh said getting up. "Are you okay?" he went to Roli.

But she just gave him an angry look. She got up and walked away, pretending that she is not in pain, even when she was limping too much. Ansh felt terribly sorry.

Later Rithvik and Roli saw that Ansh and his family are moving into the apartment opposite theirs. They stood at their door and watched. Ansh's mother noticed them. "Oh, are you our neighbours? What are your names? And how old are you?"

"I am fourteen. She is twelve." Rithvik said.

"Oh, that is wonderful. Our son is fourteen too." She said. Ansh grinned at Rithvik Roli nervously thug on Rithvik's T-shirt to have a private talk. "Rith, don't be friends with him. He hit me with his bike."

"Well, you must not have been careful then." He lightly hit her head.

Rithvik turned back to Ansh. "Hi, I'm Rithvik Ahuja."

"Ansh Patel." They shook hands,

"Nice bike. Geared?"

"Yeah...."

"Cool. Can I ride it?"

"Sure...."

"Let's go down then..."

"You are not supposed to leave me alone," Roli complained to Rithvik.

"You are twelve. Old enough. Go watch TV or something." Rithvik snapped at her.

"You can join us," Ansh offered, trying to compensate for the accident he caused.

"No thank you." She just scowled at him and disappeared into the house. Ansh turned to Rithvik with a troubled expression. "Sorry I..."

"Never mind. She is like that only. Let's go..."

So they went down to ride the bike, and since then they became best of friends.