Chapter- 11

The stars were once the only solace, Ekansh survived five years of distance from his home, trying to stay in touch with his mother and be strong for himself... but on the days when they weren’t there and disappeared into the deep void of the night sky, he found himself at a loss, drowning in the silence that echoed too loudly within him, just like now.

There wasn’t a single star scattered across the pitch-black abyss, only the moonlight that fell faintly yet coldly on his face as he stood in the balcony.

With a shaky breath, Ekansh picked up the painting brush. His hands moved restlessly on the canvas, colours spreading, clashing one after another. There was no softness or control as he drew, it was rough, unrestrained, and agitated, mirroring his emotions, his inner turmoil.

Painting wasn’t his hobby or passion, it was simply his way of pouring out his emotions, his thoughts into the canvas, giving form to the chaos he could never put into words. The last he painted was on Eshita’s birthday, at the reality of his situation where he couldn’t even wish his sister on her eighteenth birthday... and he painted his emtions instead, every memory, every smile, every piece of her he was forced to live without.

Ekansh was aware of the truth, that he should turn back, go and talk it out with his sister, tell her that he was still the same brother she grew up with, he was still the same brother who would fight the whole world just to see her smile, still the same protector who never let a single tear fall from her eyes, but was it justifying? Will it be enough? Wasn’t he wrong in the first place to leave without telling his whereabouts?

Eshita was right. He completed his duty as a son, but he failed as a brother, failed to stand by her when she needed him the most, failed to shield her from the storm he himself left her in, and failed to be the home she kept waiting to return to with hope and faith lighting her heart.

And that stopped him whenever he thought to turn back and pull his child into his warmth, the changes he witnessed in Eshita were all because of him. He could blame his father and get away with half-truths and convenient justifications, but how could he shrug away what he was seeing? Eshita’s outburst gave him a reality check, but it also stripped away every illusion he had been hiding behind.

Virendra stepped into the balcony quietly. He had knocked earlier but didn’t get any response and walked in, only to find his son standing before the canvas, lost in a storm he couldn’t escape from.

He knew Ekansh chose paints to escape, to pour out what words failed to carry, just like Eshita chose writing poems to escape the silence that suffocated her from within. Both his children had their own ways of coping, which was painfully beautiful.

The night was indeed long. Unable to sleep after everything that had happened, he came to talk to his son. His gaze fell on the painting, which clearly reflected chaos, dark strokes clashing against each other, a broken silhouette standing between shadows, as if torn between holding on and letting go.... a mirror of Ekansh himself.

Without a word, he placed the warm coffee mug he brought with him, on the tea table.

Ekansh spun around, startled as he heard the noise. He was so lost in his own world that he didn’t hear when his father walked in. Blinking out of his daze, he wiped his hands on the towel and set down before Virendra, straightening himself, forcing a sense of composure he didn’t feel. His anger, his blame, or anything he was feeling for his father, could wait, for now h needed to calm down and deal with his own turmoil first.

“Why did you walk away from there, Ansh?” Virendra asked, breaking the heavy silence. He came to talk and mend the distance between them, which was drifting, and he had to stop that before it was too late.

Ekansh stared at the moon, a hollow look in his eyes, “Because I didn’t have any answer to the question she asked.” He answered quietly, “Waise bhi Esha ne sirf sach kah, mujhe aaina dikhaya. Aapki maan kar main chala gaya, dad, lekin uss bachi par ek bojh chod kar gaya. I lost my mother, but she too lost her mother. Jaise mujhe apne emotions samajhne ke liye, unhe control karne ke liye space aur time chaiye tha, waise hi Esha ko ek emotional support chaiye tha, usse sambhalne ke liye. And what did I do? I binded her in vows that were never hers to keep, never hers to follow. Yet she did... and the result is I ended up hurting her, ignoring her.”

Virendra shook his head slowly, a poisioning pain crawling at his chest, “This is not on you, Ansh, you know...”

“I know that, dad.” Ekansh cut him off. He looked at his father, “But still it doesn’t change the truth that I walked away first. Without any explanation. Kaha, kyun, kab... I didn’t say anything. Bs apna faisla suna diya. Yeh bhi bhool gaya ki meri bhen ko uss samay sabse zyada meri zarurat thi. She was... she was just twelve, at an age where emotionally a child is still learning to understand loss, to hold onto love, not to break under the weight of it.”

“So now what do you think you will do? Drown in guilt or mend what your father broke?” Virendra probed.

“I am not guilty because that’s what I was supposed to do... I did what a son should have done, but I failed as a brother and that’s what’s eating me alive. I am just...” Ekansh trailed off, unable to express his own turmoil clearly, stuck in a web of conflicting emotions.

Frustrated, he ran his fingers through his hair, “I don’t know. Main sab kuch waise hi kar raha hoon jaise karna chaiye...”

“Par vo nahi jo Esha chati hai,” Virendra pointed out calmly.

Ekansh looked at him, confused.

“Your sister wants you to be yourself, Ansh,” Virendra added. “Tu khud apne aap se puch kya tune khud ko nahi badla hai hai itne saalon mein? Because the son I knew would have taken matters into his own hands long back, setting everything right. But now... you hesitate to even scold your own sister when she’s wrong. You see her mistakes, but you can’t bring yourself to reprimand her...”

“She has grown up, dad. She is not a child...”

“She is still a teenager,” Virendra’s tone firmed. “At an age where emotional security is needed... where words have to be said, no matter how much love exists in actions. She was twelve when everything fell apart. She didn’t get time to process the loss of her mother... her brother left her, making her feel abandoned... and her father distanced himself.”

He leaned forward, resting his hand on Ekansh’s, “Today she needs reassurance from her bhaiya she knew, not from the brother who suddenly feels like a stranger to her. You only said, Ansh, emotional support is important, but emotional expression too. You have become someone else from home. Your sister is still at an age where she can falter, but you have to be the one to tell her that you are there.”

Ekansh listened, silently... the weight of those words settling deep into his chest.

Virendra rose to his feet, “Don’t repeat my mistakes, son. I am regretting them all with each breath I am taking, hoping if I can undo what I had done... but the truth is, I can’t.”

He held his gaze, “Ekta aur Eshita do alag log hai, Ansh. Maa-baap kabhi bhi apne do bacchon ke sath ek jaisa vyavhaar nahi kar sakte. Na hi bade bhai-bhen apne choto ke saath. All you have to do is fit in the mould of what they need from you as needed.”

He walked away quietly. He came to hear his son and help him, and he did just that, leaving behind a subtle message too. Virendra had noticed the softness Ekansh dealt with Ekta; somewhere he was doing the same with Eshita, something she wasn’t used to. His children fought back, talked, argued, but still, at the end of the day, fed each other and made up. But today they were dancing around the edge, and he wanted to bring an end to it.

At some point in life, siblings start to look up to their elder brother or sister for guidance, for support, not because of conflicts between parents or family pressure, but simply due to the generation gap and difference in emotional understanding.

Ekansh took a deep breath and rose to his feet. His father was right, he should take matters into his own hands. They had stayed apart and suffered, now they were together under the same roof, and if he still failed to bridge the distance between them, it would be on him, not on anyone else.

With determination in his steps, he stopped before Esha’s room, pushing the door open, but it was locked from inside. Ekansh contemplated; his hand rose hesitantly to knock on the door, but he paused. Slowly stepping back, Eshita never used to close the doors of her room, back then, they barged into each other’s rooms as if they owned it. Today, she could do the same with him, but he found himself trapped in the reality that his sister was not a child anymore, she was grown up and needed privacy like any other young woman.

Waiting for a moment, he turned to leave. He could talk to her in the morning. Anyway, the lights of her room were off, she might have slept.

According to Ekansh, what he was doing was right. He hadn’t just left his sister behind, he had left his twelve-year-old sister behind, who was like a child to him. The age gap of ten years made it easy for him to always see her that way. So today, when he came back and found the little girl he once knew grown into an independent young woman, his inhibitions didn’t stem from indifference or distance, they came from respect, from care, and his mother’s teachings that a girl’s space and boundaries should always be respected.

But he forgot that before anything else, she was still his sister who needed him, not just his respect, but his presence.

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Golden rays of the morning sun fell onto the Seghal mansion. Through the curtains, gentle shadows casting a soft glow on the marble floors. A new day arrived with the taint of yesterday’s incomplete conversations, tensions that lingered in the air, and unspoken words hanging heavy between the siblings.

Eshita stepped into her father’s study, dressed in her casual loose T-shirt and black jeans, her hair tied in a messy bun, a few strands framing her face, her perfume lingering through the air. Her face was blank and void of any emotions as she opened the drawer and took out the envelope from it.

Eshita stared at it for a long moment, her heart pounding in her chest. The ache in her heart refused to lessen, especially after all that happened yesterday. The whole night she wasn’t able to sleep; the urge to take sleeping pills and wrap herself in a slumber was tempting, but she needed time... to pause, think, and decide.

She even noticed her Bhaiya’s shadow. For a heartbeat, a hope rose in her heart like a candle lit in the dark, but with a heavy gust of wind, it faded away when he walked away. And that made her more determined and easier for her to take the step she needed. It would be better for her and her Bhaiya too, before the misunderstandings between them went any deeper and she said something she wouldn’t be able to take back.

“What are you doing here?” A deep voice came from behind.

Eshita jumped, startled, turning only to find her father. She tried to hide the envelope behind her back, but he noticed it already.

Virendra stared at the envelope and back at his daughter. He could clearly see where this was going.

“Don’t do this, Esha.” His voice came out weak.

Eshita raised an eyebrow, unaffected. “Why? You wanted to send me away. Ab jab main khud he taiyar hoon jaane ke liye, toh aap hi rok rahe hain? What’s wrong with you, Dad? Aapko toh khush hona chaiye, main New York jaane ke liye maan gayi. I will learn new things there, gain new experience for my life. Ab achanak aap khud hi mana kar rahe hai. Quite strange, no?”

Virendra sighed deeply. Yes, he was willing to send her away, he was the one who signed those application forms, he was the one who made all the arrangements for her departure without hesitation, but all because he wanted to cope with his emotions, get a grip on his fear and helplessness, each time he wasn’t getting any information about his son’s whereabouts. His anguish rose, and he was starting to push his daughter further in his selfishness. He forgot that he was making his child walk on a path that was lonely and isolating, so he decided to send her away, but he forgot sending her away will only make everything even more worse.

He looked at Eshita, “Esha main...”

“Ek wada aapne bhaiya se maanga tha, Dad.” Eshita cut him off, holding his gaze steadily, “Aaj ek wada aapki beti aapse maang rahi hai. Don’t interfere in my decision! You wanted me to forgive you. Fine, I will... let me go and I will forget everything you did and forgive you, moving on.”

Virendra shook his head firmly, “Agar teri maafi ka matlab yeh hai ki mujhe meri beti ko khona hoga humesha ke liye, toh mujhe teri maafi nahi chaiye, Eshita. I can repent for my whole life, but forgiveness that comes wrapped in choices and your sufferings... I don’t need that ever. Main saari zindagi iss dard mein nikaal sakta hoon yeh yaad karke ki tu mujhse nafrat karti hai, lekin main tujhe iss ghar se nahi jaane de sakta. I can’t let you repeat the same mistakes I did.”

“But I want to, Dad.” Eshita’s eyes flashed, “I want to repeat all your and Bhaiya’s mistakes to understand what actually went wrong. I am not doing this for you all. I am doing all this for the peace of my mind. At least then I will try to understand you both better. Kyun ki aap dono toh mujhe waise bhi nahi samajhna chate. So it will be easier to coexist together where we don’t keep hurting each other with expectations.”

She paused for a moment, “Anyways, you got your son back. Take care of him and make him your heir... and Bhaiya well, he has a new sister in his life. He can also focus on her more freely and without hesitation. I think that girl is everything Bhaiya ever wants in his sister. Agar koi best sister rakhne ka award hua na, I am sure Ekta will win it. Infact Bhaiya khud hi de denge usse wo award. Mujhe toh ab vishwas hi nahi hota that he missed me... after God sent a new sister in his life... Aisa lagta hai jaise mere aur Bhaiya ke beech ka kaanta ban gayi hai vo ladki... she just came in between us like a wall and...”

A gasp escaped from behind.

Virendra and Eshita looked back only to find Ekta standing at the door, the tears in her eyes gave away she heard everything clearly.

Eshita let out a self-directing laugh, “Wow! Just wow! What a timing, girl. You know what... turn and run to bhaiya. Tell him what I am barking, and I would love to see his reaction. He will...”

“Eshita, bas!” Virendra’s tone sterned.

Eshita flinched back, she froze, her words died down in her throat. Her emotions were all over the place, she just ranted, letting out every bitter thought she could combine and lost control over her own words. She looked at Ekta. The hurt in the girl’s eyes was as clear as day. She had fucked up.

“Ekta, I....” She trailed away as Ekta walked away. What a mess she was creating, pushing everyone away from herself.

Virendra quietly passed the glass of water to his daughter. Everyone has their own way of venting out, so do she. What Eshita did was nothing new, she always spoke her mind without any filters. Those who knew her would understand her and never take her words to heart, but those who didn’t know her, just like Ekta, would take them as rude and hurtful. He just hoped Ekta wouldn’t go to Ekansh after whatever happened. He wanted to end the misunderstandings, not stretch them any further.

✨✨✨

Eshita’s giggle echoed through the house, her laugh light and carefree, so unfiltered it filled the air, spreading warmth in every corner, as if brightening the walls of Sehgal mansion for the first time in years.

Ekansh felt a pang in his chest as he noticed Eshita laughing freely with Vikram. Jealousy was not his cup of tea, neither had he ever seen his sister getting jealous. An emotion that can be good and bad with equal intensity between siblings had never found its way between the two of them.

They always knew they were each other’s priority, with abundance of love and unspoken understanding. The only issue was they expressed it in the form of bickering, never the ever-so-sweet understanding. And that’s what made Ekansh realize, that smile, that banter, was what he snatched away from his sister. He had taken away the ease and comfort she once felt around him.

“Bhai?” Vanya called out softly, settling beside Ekansh in the garden.

“Kaisi hai?” Ekansh asked with a soft smile.

Vanya shrugged, “Bhaiya is being Hitler. He grounded me. And why? Because I drove above the limit of my car. It’s a sports car, bhai. Can you imagine he wants me to drive it at snail’s pace. Bhaiya ko na gaadi aur bailgaadi mein fark hi nahi pta.”

Ekansh chuckled lightly, “You don’t drive recklessly on the traffic road, Vani. It’s harmful.”

Vanya rolled her eyes, “Yeah yeah. You elder brothers and your boring logics. Life mein thrill naam ki bhi toh koi cheez hoti hai ki nahi. Warna saari zindagi aise hi rukhi sukhi beetegi.”

Ekansh hummed quietly, his eyes fixed on Eshita’s smiling face, who taught Vikram enthusiastically about different flowers in the garden she had herself planted. Soon his friend was going to tie the knot with his fiancée and came to invite him for the wedding. Ekansh was grateful that he wouldn’t be missing the wedding at least, unlike the engagement ceremony and many more joyful moments in his families lives.

Vanya followed his gaze and sighed inwardly. Eshita had told her what was going on between her and Ekansh. Truth be told, what Ekansh was doing was incredible, respecting your own sister’s privacy and boundaries was appreciable, but she also understood that there are times a sister doesn’t need privacy; more than that, she needs her brother to assert his rights on her.

If Vanya imagined her bhaiya being so calm and detached rather than the dangerous, fire-splitting titan he was, she wouldn’t be able to survive a day. All Ekansh needed was a little push in the right direction, and she was there to do so.

Once Eshita had helped her and her bhaiya bridge the gap that was nearly impossible, today she wished to do the same for the siblings, bringing them back to where they truly belonged, with each other.

“Waise aapko pata hai... Esha does the same,” She added casually, sipping the tea he made earlier.

Ekansh frowned, turning his attention to her, “What?”

“Arey, driving recklessly,” Vanya said, her tone casual. “You can’t imagine, bhai, bhaiya ko kitni baar iss ladki ko bachana pada hai. Kitni baar traffic police ne pakda hai isse. Ek baar toh gaadi divider se takrate-takrate bachi, warna bahut kharab accident ho jata.” She paused, noticing how Ekansh clenched his fist. She was getting where she wanted.

“You know, one time she locked her class teacher into the washroom,” Vanya added.

Ekansh’s head snapped towards her, stunned.

“Arey yeh toh kuch bhi nahi. Exam ke time cheating bhi kar chuki hai, but pakdi gayi toh madam ne phirse bhaiya ka naam de diya. Bhaiya tried to talk some sense into her but she...” Vanya shrugged, “Eshita Seghal ne kisi ki aaj tk suni hai jo tb sun leti. Abhi kuch weeks pehle ki hi baat hai. Aapse milne aane ke liye she sneaked into admin’s cabin to get college stamp and faked principal’s signatures. Vo toh achha hai Ritvik... humare senior ne sambhal liya, warna college se rusticate ho jati yeh pagal.”

Vanya sighed sadly, “But I hope she will take care of herself now. Ab itna door jaa rahi hai... I understand she wants to leave, but I hope she will keep herself in line or...”

“What do you mean?” Ekansh interjected, his tone barely controlled, “Kaha jaa rahi hai vo?”

Vanya frowned, feigning innocence, “What? Aapko nahi pata? She is talked to the college principal and sent the mail accepting the application for New York University. She is leaving next week for further studies and...” She trailed off as Ekansh finally rose to his feet.

The anger flashing in his eyes burned fierce and uncontrollable, enough to send a chill down anyone’s spine. God save Eshita Sehgal now!




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Was Virendra right to talk to both his children, or did he lack in some way?

Will Ekansh now be his expressive self just as Eshita wants, or not?

What are your thoughts on Ekta? Will she understand Eshita, or will she slowly drift away after everything that was said?

Open for scene request. If it goes with the story, I will add them accordingly, and the previous one I have been asked for too will be added in the upcoming chapters.

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Next Update: Monday!

Thanks for reading!!!

 

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