Walking side by side on the road taught me two things.

One, people could not see him. They were not able to, in fact,  he was the one who had to narrowly avoid the people walking into him.

Two, we are going to be very competitive. Why you might ask, it's because, we're both the elder siblings and we have both learnt to be independent, which implies, we are going to argue about keeping the other safe.

As we walked back home I saw him being curious about the food stalls.

" What are those? " He asked, looking at the gol gappas.

" That? That is gol gappa. It's like sooji or aata puri, fried. Then you fill aaloo and chana in it and have it with dhaniya pudina paani and imli chutney. " I said. Now, if any one is a student, they know.. You can't eat anything from outside before the exams. If you want to be healthy during exam season, you have to be health conscious.

Delhi especially. If I want to have healthy, I'm better off eating this at a  Kaleva store. Which is exactly what I did.

Calling an auto, I sat in.

" Kitne log madam? " (How many people maam.)

" D-ek hi bhaiya." (T-one only)

As we sat in, somehow since he was too tall to fit in the auto, I asked him, " Can no one see
you? "

" Krishn told me, that no one can see me unless I want them to. I have chosen to only appear to you and your friend when we find him. Which is why I ask. Where is he? " He asked, yet again. He had piercing brown eyes. They would go from curious to deathly scary in seconds.

Now.. I don't know what to do. Should I tell him?

" Uhh.. You might not like my answer. " I said, inchimg away even though there was no space in the auto. Which scared me more.

" Why. " Hard eyes staring into mine.. I am scared.

"He'sgonebacktoyourtimeasyouhavecomehere. " I managed out, in one breath.

" What? Repeat. Clearly. "

" He has. He has gone back to your time, while you are in his. " I answered. If you can't notice, my voice was shaking..

" I see. " He said and turned around to face the outside.

" Uh.. Yudhishthir? Hello? Please don't go silent on me. " I implored as we reached Kaleva.

Paying the auto wale uncle off, we walked in. To say his mood instantly changed would be an understatement. He was beyond happy.

" What do you want to have? Sweet or spicy? "

" I want to have that Gol Gappe. That thing on the street. Can we find that here? "

" Oh yes. Wait I'll go order. "

Now, I knew Bheem ate a lot, but did he too? It looks like it. They all had big muscles and heavy muscle mass.

" 5 plates of Gol gappe please. "

The shopkeeper looked at me  funny.

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"Right. So you break the top of the poori with your fing-"

Poor him, did not estimate the amount of force he used.

"Oh no! No no.. Nor that much force. Hold on. " I said, showing him again.

Now, even though he used less force he covered more surface area with his fingers and we inevitably had the same result.

So this time I was like, " Wait. Give me your smallest finger. You hold it, and gently pop. If you need more, you make space around it. Tada. " I said happily, holding his pinky finger with one hand and the gol gappa in another. What I did not realise was how close I was to him. Or that he wasn't even looking at the gol gappa. He was looking at me.. It was weird. His talk with Sakha Krishn had brought some weird change into him. He was more, soft if it makes any sense.

" Ahem. Well that's that. Now you put the aaloo in. " I said, moving a few steps back.

" Ok. But after that how do you get the water in it? " He asked.

" Well, I like to dunk the whole gol gappa in the water. It's better that way. " I said, following my words.

" Now, you stuff it in. " I mumbled, mouth full of the gol gappa as some of the pudina paani ran down my face.

He tried. It was hilarious. He did manage to get it in, but he bit on it before taking it in completely and it spilled down his face.

I must have snorted with laughter because he looked up as if he'd seen a pig around.

"Here. Wipe it with this tissue paper. " I said, handing it to him. His hands were sticky from the chutney and paani.

" I can't do it. It's sticking to my hands. " He said laughing.

" Wait. Wash your hands there. That will do it. " I said.

When he came back, he tried and although this time he did manage it in, it still spilled. On reflex, I wiped it with the tissue in my hand.

He looked up. I did too. Well. We were staring alright. I am eighteen. I have only one guy friend. He's like my brother. I haven't spent time with other guys anyways.

So this was new. I don't know if I am against it or not.

He cleared his throat and I backed off.

" Ahem. We'll finish then leave for home. Dadi will kill me if I miss dinner again. " I said, voice squeaky. Why is my pitch so high...

We did walk out of the shop satisfied. Ladoo and Jalebi in hand.

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That night as I finally sat down to study, the Royal in my room had decided.

" Look Sagarika. We need to be smart. I don't know when I will leave here. You can't sleep on the floor everyday. I can. You sleep on the bed, I'll sleep on the
floor. " He said.

I sighed. Five minutes. Five minutes of uninterrupted chemistry is all I want.

" You don't need to do that. I brought the air mattress. I'll sleep on my bed, you can sleep on that. No one needs to sleep on the floor. " I told him.

" Ok. But what is that. "

" You'll see. "

Suffice to say, he was satisfied.

He slept, hitting the hay as soon as he was on the mattress.

Me on the other hand... I had a long night of physics and maths to look forward to. Yay me.

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I woke up about 7 in the morning to the same ruckus as usual in the house.

" Sagarika! Have you seen my english notebook? " Mini shouted, barreling into the room.

" How would I know where you keep your stuff. Check in the kitchen. You were making maggi yesterday. " I said, fighting the urge to send her away with a flying slipper.He was still sleeping. I had just woken up. I did not want to deal with this early in the morning.

As she left he asked suddenly, " Does she not call you Jyeshtha, or Jiji? "

" No. She doesn't. She doesn't even call me didi unless she needs something. It's fine actually. I don't really care. "

" But that is disrespectful. She should adress you with respect. " He said flummoxed.

I had to laugh at that. Respect? My sister? Me? Even if Narayan himself came to me... Wait that doesn't work. He did come to meet me. Not the point.

" It's better than fake respect. Atleast she is upfront about it. " I told him brushing it off. It did hurt, but it's ok. I'd rather she not be forced to call me something.

"Sagarika! Come here! " My dadi called.

" Aayi! " I replied.

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" You know very well that Mini does not know how to use the stove. Yet you let her use it? "

" I wasn't at home dadu-"

" Exactly. When are you? You don't care about what she does or where she is do you? All you care about is your friend. That AJ. Arts student. Worthless. If he had to study he should have taken commerce. Bank mein to kaam karta. But no. You don't care about us. When we grow old and die, then keep looking after your sister. Wait. You won't be home will you. Leave her to die then. " He said, walking past with anger.

I had promised myself the last time this had happened. I wouldn't cry in front of them. It's a weakness. It's something they should not see because they don't have solutions for it. They see it as an excuse to avoid being scolded. But damn it's hard.

I walked back into the room. Yudhishthir was in his own way excited about his new discovery, my phone.

" Oh look. It moves when I swip my - what happened to you? " He asked, phone kept on the table, eyes softening.

" Me? I'm fine why? " I managed. I apparently did not realise that one traitorous tear had made it's way out.  Stupid tear. Couldn't wait till the washroom?

" You are crying. " He stated softly.

" Yeah. No shit Sherlock. " I said annoyed. I sighed. " I'm sorry. I did not mean to take out my anger on you. "

I sat on the bed holding my head in my hands. One by one those traitorous tears made it's way out.

" What's wrong. Why do you weep? " He asked, now standing in front of me.

" Nothing. I'm fine. I'll be fine. Don't wo-"

" I may not be of this time, but I understand when the elders are scolded for the faults of the young. What did Devi Minni
do? " He asked gently, now on his haunches in front of me.

" Sh-she used the stove without us knowing. She burnt dadi's pan. They say I should have been home to stop her. Not prancing about. " I managed. Gosh why was this happening. I never cry that much. Generally I just start studying. Matter solved. Maths is an excellent way to stop and start tears. It works better as a stopper if you ask me.

What I did not expect were two hands on my face, wiping the tears away.

" I'm sorry. " He whispered, smiling ruefully.

" What for? You aren't the one who used the stove. " I answered.

" I may not be the one who used the stove, but I was why you weren't at home yesterday. I'm sorry. " He said.

" It's alright. I am used to it. I just start studying. It helps. "

" It helps bury the pain or hide it? Or better yet, does it remove the pain? " He whispered, staring into my watery eyes.

" Bury it. Hide it. No one can see it. That's all that matters. " I whispered back.

" Oh devi. How wrong you are. " He said, wiping the last tear.

He sat on the bed, holding my hands as I cried. I cried that I lost my mom. My dad. My sister who presumably hated me. I cried because I couldn't find my friend. I cried because I could. I cried because someone was there to wipe them away. Someone who wasn't me.. Someone who didn't have to bury it...........

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Any elder sibling here? They know what she's going through. Listening to the taunts of others because your sibling went wrong. Why weren't you there to stop them. Don't you care about them? Don't you love them.....

Anyways... Share your opinions via comments and votes. I hope you look into my page. I have posted an announcement of sorts there. My friend, fandomarcade is a wonderful writer. Please give her stories a go.

Much love
Radhekrishn ❤