Chapter- 6

Ekansh walked into his father’s room as the latter had called him earlier. His father had left for the office in the morning, but now it was afternoon and he was back home. Ekansh was yet to catch up with his father, for the time they had lost, for the impending talks, for his observations on what he had been seeing for weeks, and so on. But he wasn’t getting the time, or better yet, he had been so busy trying to help Ekta relax and fit into the new world that he had begun to ignore anything and everything else.

Ekansh looked at Virendra, who stood on the balcony rail, the sun hiding behind the clouds, providing shade but not protecting from the direct heat.

“You will get a sunstroke that way, Dad,” he said, stepping into the balcony.

Virendra snapped out of his trance. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t realize when Ekansh came. He had been the one to ask his son to come, there was a conversation they desperately needed to have. In the morning he had meetings lined up and couldn’t wait, as cancelling them wasn’t an option given the responsibilities resting on his shoulders. However, his heart had remained restless the whole day.

Virendra had been noticing the changes in his daughter. Eshita was retreating slowly. The hesitations and resentment that should have been directed only at him, because he had wronged her the most, were now hitting his son too, and that was his last straw.

He couldn’t let his children go their own ways. He couldn’t watch them break apart like strangers. The Sehgal siblings were known for their unity, their unshakable loyalty toward each other. He couldn’t let his children drift so far apart that even love wouldn’t be enough to bring them back together and hurt each other.

“I haven’t been a good Dad, Ansh.” Virendra’s voice shook ever so slightly as he began.

“What are you saying, Dad?” Ekansh cut him off, confused. “Who told you that you aren’t a good dad? You should ask me and Eshu...” He trailed off as realization hit him.

The few pieces of the puzzle finally fit back into place. He turned his father to face him gently.

“This is about Eshita?” Ekansh’s tone laced with concern. “I have been noticing you walking on eggshells around her. Aap usse baat karne se pehle bhi hichkatee ho. And she keeps avoiding you, ignoring you. Why, Dad? What is going with you and Esha?”

“It’s all because of me, Ansh.” Virendra held his gaze. “Back then, when I stepped out of the station and read your message, I panicked and drove home rashly. However, by the time I reached, you were gone. I checked every room, every corner of the house, but tu kahin nahi tha. Police se madad lene ke baad bhi I wasn’t able to find you, and that hit me harder. I lost my wife and then suddenly I lost my son too.”

Virendra kept his hand on Ekansh’s shoulder, as if trying to hold himself while telling the truth, “Sab kuch haath se phisalta ja raha tha, mujhe kuch samajh nahi aa raha tha mujhe kya karna chaiye khud ko blame karun, ya khud par gussa karun that I let my emotions play with my mind and said those words to you in anger.”

Ekansh listened to everything intently. But suddenly his heart began pounding in his chest, his instincts whispering that whatever he was about to hear wouldn’t be easy to accept.

Virendra looked away. He couldn’t look in his son’s eyes and confess what he did. He glanced at the horizon, distant. “In search of controlling my emotions, I forgot that I had a twelve-year-old daughter who needed her family to hold her. Who needed her father the most... especially when she lost her mom and her brother walked away. The little girl was trying to understand what suddenly happened in her life. But the father who was supposed to become a protector for his child chose to be a villain.”

Virendra paused for a heartbeat before continuing, “He yelled at his daughter for crying and asking about her brother again and again. He scolded her at even the slightest mistake, punishing her naming it discipline, commanding strict consequences. He was harsh with her when she scored even a few marks less in her exams. At the age where she was supposed to be playing with her friends and enjoying her life, the father handed her files of accounts, the list of staff members, asking her to arrange his meetings, sending her to high-class grooming classes. In a way, he became a dictator in his daughter’s life.”

Virendra turned, facing Ekansh, who now stood shocked. “The father who was supposed to protect and nurture his daughter made her the target to control his emotions and get a grip. Your father made your sister walk through hell, Ekansh. The man you worshipped and always kept on a pedestal… Tune mujhe pita hone ka samman diya... mere ek kehne par tu ghar se bina kuch pooche, bina lade chala gaya. But I am the same man who did injustice to your baby sister.”

Ekansh staggered back. Shock would be an understatement compared to what he felt. Every fibre of his being shook violently, making it hard for him to even stand and breathe after what he had just heard. The remaining pieces of the puzzle finally fell into their place.

How could he be so ignorant of his own sister’s silent suffering? How could he not see the pain behind those hazel eyes… his mother’s eyes? The day Eshita came to Shimla, she had tried to call their father by name and he had scolded her, too stunned by her reaction, too worry about the vows he might be breaking. But now… it was as clear as crystal.

The silence, the urge to bring him back, her constant pestering, the dangerous aura blurring the lines between wrong and right, even the tension he had been noticing… everything was right before his eyes, and he had been too busy ignoring his baby sister’s feelings.

Rage collided with his guilt, uncontrolled and overwhelming. He glared at Virendra fiercely. “Aapne kaha tha aap Esha ka khayal rakhenge, Dad. Is this how you took care of your daughter? Of my sister!” he snapped.

For the first time in his life, the son who had always respected his father, the son for whom his father’s words were set in stone, the son who had never raised his voice at his father no matter how many arguments they had in the past… today his voice rose, not just in anger but in hurt too.

Virendra felt the waves of fury radiating from his son and it hit the right part of his heart. He had expected nothing else.

“Apologizing for something that is beyond forgiveness will mean nothing, son,” Virendra’s tone was gentle. “All I can ask you is… be there for your sister. Be the brother you are. Teri zindagi mein Ekta thi, meri zindagi mein…” he let out a deep sigh, “I found one way or the other to rely on something and move on. But Esha… she didn’t have anyone. I can’t interfere in her life knowing how much she hates me. But you can fill in for where I failed, son. Don’t let your sister lose herself in the loneliness I forced her to endure.”

Ekansh couldn’t believe any of it. He was away, he struggled, but he forced himself to survive with the hope that one day their family would reunite and the misunderstandings would clear up. He fulfilled his responsibilities as a son, but he failed as a brother. He gave his father the respect and obedience he deserved, but he forgot to give his sister his loyalty, the one thing that mattered the most between siblings.

Ekansh slipped down onto the chair, palming his face, tears swimming in his eyes. An elder brother’s failure was the same as a father’s failure, the name of the relationship could be different, but the instincts, the protectiveness and responsibility, couldn’t be.

Ekansh felt stuck between the two roads he found himself standing in the middle. On one side, he could apologize to Eshita and talk it out with her, but he knew even the slightest mistake from his side and his apology would sound like pity, something Eshita would never want.

The other way was… he could slowly start to mend what was broken. It would take time, but he would be able to let his sister know that she didn’t have to suffer in silence, he was there for her. However, the fear of crossing the lines held him back. Esha was eighteen now, not the twelve-year-old sister he had left behind. She had grown up and was now mature and responsible. He couldn’t impose himself on her. What if she didn’t like it? What if she got offended and the distance between them increased? That was the last thing he wanted.

Ekansh didn’t know how to reach out to his sister without hurting her pride or reopening the wounds she had spent years trying to hide.

“Ansh…” Virendra trailed off as Ekansh rose to his feet abruptly.

“I need to be left alone, Dad,” Ekansh murmured quietly, walking away.

Virendra stared at his son’s retreating figure sadly. He heard the anger beneath those words and knew he had lost his son too. Some mistakes don’t have forgiveness, only consequences.

However, he felt a strange sense of relief. The burden he had been carrying on his shoulders had finally lifted, even if it cost him distance and hate from both his children. At least he didn’t fail as a husband, fulfilling the promise he had given to his dying wife that he would take care of their children… and he will, till his last breath.

Ekta hid behind the pillar as Ekansh walked out of Virendra’s room. She had come looking for Ekansh, wanting to ask him if her school had emailed her results, but she wasn’t prepared to hear what she just did. How could a father make his own daughter a scapegoat to deal with his emotions?

But then again, her own father had been worse than Virendra. At least Virendra was trying to mend what he had done, whereas her father… she didn’t even wish to ponder on that.

Ekta walked back to her room silently. She knew her brother might need some space. The answer to his sadness, his silence, and even the half-hearted smiles she has witnessed for years... she understood them all the day she met Eshita in Shimla.

No matter what Ekta’s first impression of Eshita might have been earlier, one thing was certain, her heart went out to that girl.

Eshita stepped into the house tired and exhausted. She wasn’t lying when she said Vanya needed her help with an assignment. Eshita wasn’t going to college or attending the classes because she wasn’t interested in what she was studying and luckily her father hadn’t asked her about it yet. And her bhaiya… she didn’t think he even knew what was going on in her life, so expecting anything from him would be like squeezing honey out of a stone.

Her feet froze as she found Ekansh sitting on the couch with his laptop. She glanced at the wall clock. It was 11:30 at night. Since the Mehra siblings stayed a few blocks away from their mansion, she sometimes stayed late at their house before returning. She wasn’t expecting her bhaiya to be waiting for her. It was new, as her father never did that, he just called, asked, she replied, and he commanded her to be on time. That was all. After all, his guards were there to protect her.

“Aap soye nahi?” she asked, unable to hold back.

Ekansh looked up from the screen and sighed, running his hands through his hair. “I was waiting for you. Ho gaya tera kaam?”

Eshita shrugged casually, launching herself on the couch. “Yep. Par aap mera wait kyun kar rahe the? I messaged you that I will be late. You didn’t see that?”

“Khana khaya tune?” Ekansh asked, changing the topic. He had been calling her so many times, but she simply sent him a plain text that she would be late, why, what, how... no explanation, nothing. He still again tried calling her, but she just didn’t pick up. Ekansh let her be, trying to understand her, suppressing his anger, telling himself that Eshita wasn’t a kid anymore; she could make her own decisions. But it was harder than he imagined.

Eshita shook her head. “I am hungry. Kya banaya hai?”

“Paneer pulao.” Ekansh moved toward the kitchen. “Go fresh up and come. I will serve the plate till then.”

Eshita looked on as Ekansh walked away. She was testing him, trying to get under his skin, but the calm reaction wasn’t something she expected. At least a little bit of scolding for not receiving his n number of calls and simply texting that she would be late without any justification... she had hoped to see restrained fury, not this unnervingly calm reaction.

Eshita rose to her feet, walking straight into the kitchen to test how far her bhaiya would go with his calmness. She was dying to see how much control he had learned in those five years of distance.

Walking up to the sink, she washed her hands. Her brother was a neatness freak, and above all, their mother had never let them enter the kitchen straight when they came from outside, the germs and hygiene theories. In Shimla, she had seen her bhaiya follow the same rule. Now he would snap and...

“Sit. I have served your plate,” Ekansh said, pulling the chair for her.

Eshita spun around, shocked. Wow! That was an unpredictable reaction. Shaking away her thoughts, she stepped forward, taking her seat. Just as Ekansh tried to move away, she held the hem of his kurta and wiped her hands playfully on the fabric.

However, Ekansh simply ruffled her hair and went to sit back on his seat. Eshita swallowed. Something didn’t feel right.

“How was your day?” Ekansh asked as silence stretched.

He was never hesitant to talk to his own sister. Once they could have countless conversations for hours non-stop, but today the irony was such, they had words and even questions, but didn’t know where to begin from. Eshita wanted Ekansh to take the first step, and Ekansh wanted to create balance between giving her space and being the protective brother she once had.

“Accha tha,” Eshita mumbled, stuffing the rice into her mouth. They tasted amazing, it was her bhaiya who made that; she could recognize his cooking anywhere. But the lack of love was glaringly obvious. In Shimla, he had made her favorite dish every single day and night, making sure she had the meals she loved without ever asking twice, yet not once did he feed her, except for that one boiled potato.

Was the distance between them so big now that even that small gesture felt impossible?

Ekansh noticed the sheen of tears and rose instantly. “Kya hua? Zyada teekha bana hai?” he asked, reaching out to taste the water.

His sister preferred extra spicy food. Even the sandwich he had made in the morning, he had ensured it matched her taste, even if it meant repeating the same step again while preparing differently for both her and Ekta. He didn’t mind that. So the sudden tears worried him. Did he accidentally add extra chilli…?

“It’s fine, bhaiya,” Eshita muttered quickly, blinking away the tears.

“Toh teri aankhon mein aansu kaise?” Ekansh asked, sitting back.

Eshita shook her head. “Nothing. I think it might be the spice or something. Anyways, aap yeh sab chodo aur batao aap abhi tak soye kyun nahi?”

Ekansh sighed. “I was waiting for you.”

Eshita shook her head. “Don’t do that, bhaiya. Mujhe aadat hai. Main kabhi kabhi Vani ke ghar hi so jaati hoon. That girl is crazy. She can’t differentiate between fixed cost and variable cost. Usse samjhate samjhate mujhe neend aa jaati hai.”

Ekansh stiffened. He remembered what his father had said, how he had made Esha learn things she was only supposed to learn after coming of age. The fact that she knew such tough financial concepts even better than Vanya should have made him proud of her sharp mind, but instead it filled his heart with a dull ache, because Esha hadn’t learned them on her own; she had been dictated to learn them long before she was ready.

Whereas him… he had gotten everything at the right time without any pressure or burden. He had the freedom to choose what he wanted to study, what he wanted to become, and how he wanted to live. Everything that was given to him so easily was the same thing Eshita had been deprived of.

Eshita’s smile faltered slightly. She had been expecting to see the gleam of pride shining in her bhaiya’s eyes, or at least hear a teasing remark, but the stiffness didn’t sit well with her.

“Bhaiya?” she called out hesitantly. “Kuch hua hai kya? Why do you look so tense?”

Ekansh leaned forward, holding her gaze. “Main jab yahan nahi tha tab tu kaisi thi?”

Eshita froze. The spoon almost slipped from her grasp.

“Main jab se aaya hoon, I didn’t get a chance to talk to you,” Ekansh continued. “Even when you came to Shimla, I never asked how you were. That time I had my reasons, but today… I think I have been so busy in my own new world always focusing on Ekta, trying to reassure her, trying to make her comfortable that I forgot I have one more sister. The one that doesn’t just have my heart, but my soul too.”

Eshita’s eyes fogged with tears. Has anyone ever experienced that sizzling hot weather where you are standing under the burning sun and suddenly the clouds gather and rain pours?

In the beginning it’s just a few cool drops, lowering the heat, but slowly they spread, cooling the air and soothing the earth that had been burning for too long, and that’s exactly what Eshita felt with just a few choices of his words.

She blinked away the tears and looked at her brother. “I am fine, bhaiya. Pehle nahi bhi thi toh ab hoon. Aap jo wapas aa gaye ho. We will fix everything… We will be as we were together. And I will be the same… stupid, smart, but still your silly sister.”

Ekansh nodded, reaching out and resting his hand on hers. “We will, Esha. Whatever happened, I can’t change it, but I promise I will fill in for the years you lost because of me and Dad. I promise, baccha, I will never let you feel alone again.”

Eshita blinked, startled. She could hear the truth behind his words, and that made her gut twist. “You… you know…”

“Dad ne mujhe sab bata diya, Esha,” Ekansh cut her off gently. But the edge in his tone was clear. He was still angry with his father. It would take him time to come to terms with what Virendra had done. Ekansh had made his fair share of mistakes, but his father, he didn’t just break the promise he had made, he also placed the weight of his grief on a child’s shoulders, and that was unacceptable to him.

Eshita stilled. With that cooling breeze of rain came the harsh stormy wind, shaking her out of the moment that had felt overwhelming earlier, leaving her feeling exposed and uneasy now.

She quietly rose to her feet, moved to her brother’s side, and hugged him to hide the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes again.

She wasn’t looking for sympathies or the freedom that every teenager dreams of having. She was simply looking for the grounding reality that she belonged, that she mattered. The actions and love shining in her brother’s eyes were enough, but years of yearning and endurance made her want more.... more than just what her bhaiya was offering. She wanted him to be himself, but... not all wishes come true. She had to be happy with what was given to her.

Ekansh wrapped his arm around her shoulders, while with his other hand, he caressed her hair in a soothing manner. He would learn to balance. He would learn to stand by her without smothering her independence, and fill in the void that years of distance had carved between them. He accepted his exile but not at the cost of his sister’s smiles to be snatched away. But he was determined to undo the mistakes and he will.



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