Author pov..

When Divya heard this, she froze in shock.

For a moment, she couldn't understand how she was supposed to handle Vaibhav.

He was holding her tightly, crying uncontrollably, his grip firm as if letting go would shatter him completely.

Gathering all her courage, Divya spoke softly, trying to calm him.

"Be strong... nothing like that has happened.Everything will be fine, bhaiya. Please don't cry like this."

The moment the word bhaiya left her lips, Vaibhav loosened his hold.

Tears continued to stream down his face as he looked straight into Divya's eyes.

Fear was clearly visible in her gaze, and noticing it made something break inside him.

"Go from here," Vaibhav said quietly.

Divya felt confused. "Bhaiya, are you okay?" she asked with concern.

"Yes, I'm fine. Go," he replied firmly.

"But... the food-" she tried to say.

"I've already eaten. Take the plate with you," Vaibhav interrupted.

Without saying another word, Divya picked up the plate and walked out of his room.

As soon as she left, Vaibhav ran a hand through his hair, muttering to himself, "Shit... shit... shit."

He took a deep breath, trying to control the storm of emotions inside him."You can't break down like this without thinking, he told himself. You have to be strong. If not for yourself, then for Maa... for Ishani".

His jaw tightened as reality hit him hard."Papa is gone now. All of Papa's responsibilities... I'll have to carry them alone"

Divya went into the kitchen and quietly placed the plates aside. She was still in shock.

Vaibhav's behavior kept replaying in her mind, leaving her confused and unsettled.

She didn't understand what had come over him.

After a moment, she walked toward Ishani's room.

Ishani was sitting on the bed, her face pale and drained, dried tears clinging to her cheeks.

She kept staring in one direction, not blinking even once, as if her soul had gone numb.

Seeing her like this made Divya's heart ache deeply.

Divya sat beside her on the bed and said gently, "Ishani, come on, try to sleep. Otherwise, you'll fall sick."

Ishani asked in a faint voice, "Bhaiya... And  Maa eat their food?"

"Yes, they did," Divya replied softly.

Ishani only nodded and slowly lay down on the bed.

Divya covered her with a blanket and then lay down on the other side of the bed as well.

After some time, sleep finally took over Divya.

But Ishani couldn't sleep.

Her eyes remained open, heavy with pain, yet she kept trying to force herself into sleep somehow.

In another room, Malini kept crying endlessly.

She hadn't eaten anything.

Even when Rani tried to feed her, she refused.

Rani then tried to put her to sleep, and after much effort, Malini finally drifted off.

Looking at her, Rani folded her hands and whispered, "Oh God, what kind of sorrow have You placed upon this family? I can't bear to see them like this. Please make everything right."

With that silent prayer, Rani too lay down and fell asleep.

On the other hand, Rahul couldn't fall asleep.

The image of Ishani crying kept haunting his mind. Seeing her in tears hadn't felt right to him at all.

That scene kept replaying again and again, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push it away.

His heart felt restless, heavy with thoughts he didn't know how to silence.

Unable to sleep, Rahul decided to distract himself.

He picked up his books and started studying instead.

His exams were coming up in just a week, so he thought it would be better to focus his mind on his studies.

After reading for a while, his eyelids began to feel heavy.

The words blurred, his thoughts

slowed, and sleep finally took over.

Soon, Rahul too drifted into a quiet sleep.

Slowly, time began to pass.

The Pathak family returned to their daily routines, each absorbed in their own responsibilities.

Still, they made sure to cook food and send it to the

Awasthi family every day.

Malini's condition was not stable enough for her to cook in their house, meals were prepared only once a day, and even that felt like a burden now.

Ishani rarely stepped out of her room. Most of the time, she stayed inside, lost in silence.

Vaibhav buried himself in his practice and studies, trying to distract his mind.

Every evening, Divya, Rani, Rahul, and Deepak went together to visit Ishani, Malini, and Vaibhav.

Yet their grief was far deeper than what anyone could see.

They were present, but emotionally, they were shattered.

One day, Vaibhav went into Ishani's room.

She was arranging her books, but her thoughts were somewhere else. It felt as if she wasn't really there like her body was present, but her soul was lost in another world.

Vaibhav walked closer and called out, "Ishani... Ishani."

She didn't respond.

He called her two or three times, but when she still didn't react, he gently held her by the shoulder and shook her slightly. "Ishani!"

She finally snapped out of it and said softly, "Yes, bhaiya... what happened?"

Vaibhav's voice broke as he spoke, "How long will this go on, Ishani? Look at yourself-what condition you're in. Maa doesn't even step out of her room, she doesn't eat properly. And we still have to perform Papa's tervi. Everything has fallen on me. I can't handle this alone anymore. Please... take care of Maa. I'm begging you."

At that moment, Ishani truly realized how much burden had fallen on her brother's shoulders.

Their father's tervi was still pending, their mother was broken beyond words, and Vaibhav-already exhausted-must be growing weaker seeing both of them like this.

Holding back her tears, she said, "It's okay, bhaiya. I'll handle everything. Don't worry. You go and prepare for the rituals."

Vaibhav looked at her with tired eyes

and said gently, "baccha, everything will be fine... with time."

Ishani nodded slowly.

"Yes, bhaiya."

Ishani slowly began taking care of her mother.

Malini's condition remained fragile most of the time she was unaware of her surroundings, as if she had lost all sense of reality.

On the other hand, Vaibhav was busy preparing for his father's tervi, with

Devnath helping him manage all the arrangements.

A few days later, the day of the tervi arrived.

The rituals were performed properly and peacefully.

As people left, they offered words of consolation "Bhagwan sab theek kar dega." And gradually, the Awasthi family began to return to a rhythm of life.

Malini, too, started realizing that she still had her children.

They were her responsibility, and she alone had to take care of everything.

Without saying much, she silently began looking after both her children, gathering strength for their sake.

A month passed since Randhir's martyrdom, yet happiness had not returned to the house.

Sensing this heaviness, Divya came up with an idea.

The entire Pathak family agreed with her.

Divya brought the whole Awasthi family into the hall and made them sit down.

Malini asked softly, "What happened, Divya beta? Why have you brought us all here?"

Divya smiled and said, "Please wait, aunty. You'll understand soon."

Vaibhav didn't say anything. He simply came and sat down quietly.

Ishani asked, "Why? What's going on?"

"You'll know in a moment," Divya replied.

Suddenly, the hall lights went off.

After a few seconds, soft lights turned on in one corner and two clowns appeared.

They were Deepak and Rahul in disguise. Music started playing..

Gun gun guna

Gun gun guna gana re

Rahul and Deepak began dancing.

Ohh mayusi ke chonge utaar ke phenk de na saare

Candle ye shaam ke phoonk raat ka cake kaat pyaare

Watching the clowns, smiles slowly returned to the faces of the Awasthi family.

Ishani burst into laughter when she recognized Deepak and Rahul in their clown costumes.

Hmm hai sar pe tere uljhano ko jo ye tokre

La humko de de, halke ho ja tu re chokre

Jo teri neendein apne naakhun se lein

Woh dar saare jalte choolhe mein tu jhonk re

Even Malini began to laugh.

Neither of the two could dance properly, but their silly movements only made it more endearing.

Seeing them like that, Divya also entered wearing a clown costume herself.

Zindagi ki ration pe gham ka quota zyada hai

Black mein kharidenge khushi ka pitara re

Gun gun guna re

As soon as Vaibhav saw Divya, the corner of his lips lifted slightly not a full smile, but something close to it.

Slowly, the entire Pathak family entered the hall, all dressed as clowns, dancing together.

Seeing them all, the Awasthi family couldn't stop laughing.

The Pathak family pulled them into the dance, and soon everyone was dancing together, happiness filling the hall even if only for a little while.

Vaibhav stood there quietly, watching everyone.

Seeing them happy brought him a strange sense of peace.

As the song ended, the dancing stopped.

Divya then spoke softly, "Aunty, Ishani, bhaiya... please keep smiling like this. Randhir uncle is right here with you. If he sees you sad like this, he will feel pain too."

Ishani, Vaibhav, and Malini stood silently, her words touching their hearts.

Then Malini said with folded hands, "Thank you. You all have done so much for us. If you weren't here, who would have taken care of us in such a difficult time?"

Devnath replied gently, "No, behen ji. This is our duty as neighbors."

Still emotional, Malini said, "Even then... thank you, bhaisaab."

Rani quickly stepped in, smiling through her tears. "Enough now. No more sadness. No more tears. Come, food is ready everyone should eat."

Malini hesitated, "Oh no, this wasn't necessary..."

Rani replied firmly yet lovingly, "It was necessary. For everyone. Come, let's eat together."

The Pathak family and the Awasthi family all sat together for the meal.

Rani and Divya moved around, serving food to everyone with care and affection.

Divya teased playfully, "By the way, Dadi, you're looking extremely cute today."

Nirmala Dadi smiled proudly. "Yes, I know. Even when your Dadaji was alive, he used to say the same. He would call me Madhubala."

Everyone burst into laughter hearing that.

Dadi added, pretending to be serious, "This is not something to laugh about.

Dev beta, tell them your father used to call me Madhubala, didn't he?"

Devnath smiled and said, "Yes, Maa, he did. He had no choice, actually... because you kept him properly scared."

The moment he said that, the room filled with laughter again.

Malini, laughing softly, said, "Nirmala aunty, you really do look like Madhubala."

Dadi lifted her chin proudly. "Did you hear that, Rani? From today, Malini is my only daughter. In all these years, you've never praised me once."

Rani replied instantly, "Maa ji, there should be something special to praise first only then can I compliment you."

The children laughed again.

Dadi pointed at Devnath and said, "What about him? Isn't he anything special?"

Rani said calmly, "Maa, please eat your food."

Nirmala Dadi sighed dramatically. "I had only one son, and even he stays tied to his wife's pallu."

Rani smiled mischievously. "Just like Papa used to stay tied to your pallu, right, Maa?"

Dadi raised an eyebrow. "You won't understand this now. When Rahul gets married, then you'll understand when he'll be tied to his wife's pallu."

The moment the word wife was mentioned, Rahul's heart started pounding loudly.

His ears turned pink with embarrassment.

Divya noticed and immediately said, "Oh Mummy, look at your favorite son he's blushing!"

Everyone turned to look at Rahul.

Confused and flustered, Rahul said, "No... I'm not blushing."

Seeing his condition, everyone burst out laughing again.

Slowly, the conversation continued, laughter filled the house, and the sadness began to fade away.

For the first time in a long while, the home felt alive again warm, light, and happy with everyone together.

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