One hour later, Karthik heard Khushi mumbling something.
He neared her to listen to what she was saying.
"Tanya no…no…Tanya doesn't….do…" Karthik gulped upon hearing this.

He cups her cheeks," Kuku Baccha, please open your eyes. See Bhai here ,Bachha. See, I am here. Please open your eyes." He pleaded with his sister to open her eyes.

Khushi slowly opened her eyes and looked at her Bhai.
"Bhai…Tanya. Where is she, Bhai? Bhai, she was burning, Bhai. Where is Tanya Bhai?" She asked Bhai. She was still weak, and upon that, she was scared for her

"She is alright, right, Bhai!" Her eyes were showing hope.

Karthik gulped, looking at the hope in her eyes.
"You please don't take stress, Bachha. Now, only you woke up. You are so weak. First drink this water." He held the water glass near her mouth.

But she pushed it away, "No. Please First tell me she is fine. Then only I will drink water or anything. Please tell me she is fine, Bhai. I saw fire everywhere in that room, Bhai. I shouted for her to come out. Please Bhai, I beg you. Please tell me she is fine." She cried.

He hugged and caressed her hair, and looked at his family who were standing outside and watching everything.

"How should we tell this news to her, Akhil? She is already crying so much." Surekha said with tears in her eyes.

"And, Karthik, he can't do it, Akhil. He is already so vulnerable." She added.

Naira looks at Karthik.

"Baccha, please mere liye (for me) eat something. You need to eat something." Karthik again tried to convince her.

Khushi nodded her head as no, "Nahi. Please, I want to see Tanvi. Please take me to her Bhai. And, Why are you not telling me anything about her? What happened to her? "

Karthik sat silent, "Why are you silent, Bhai? What happened? Please tell me."

"You can't see her," Karthik replied.

Khushi looked at him confused, "Huh? Par Kyun?" (But why?)

Karthik gulped heavily, before replying to her, "Because…because…she had died."

Khushi was shocked to hear this.

"She is no more. Her whole body got turned and by the time they rescued her, she was dead." Karthik replied.

Tears started to flow from her eyes.
"This is all because of me only na, Bhai. I wasn't able to stop her from doing this. This is all because of me."

Karthik and others were shocked, "No Bachha. You are not at all at fault for this. You are not the reason for her death."

"How can I not be the reason, Bhai? I could have saved her, But I didn't." She cried and closed her face.

"No Kuku. Don't ever think like that. Whatever happened, it was not because of you. It had happened because it had to happen. Even if I was there in that situation, I wouldn't be able to stop it. So, please stop blaming yourself." He hugged her.

She cried her heart out, in her brother's warmth.

Being tired of crying she slept in his lap.

After some time police team arrived there,
"We want to interrogate Ms.Khushi. How is she now?"

"She is sleeping now. If you don't mind, can you please come later, officer?" Karthik answered coming out of the room.

"Ok, sure." Saying the officers left there.

Chachu came to Karthik, and asked, "What happened, Karthik? Did she tell you anything?"

Sighing he sat on the bench and replied, "Nahi, Chachu. She was crying so much. She didn't say anything. She is guilty of not saving her friend."
He rubbed his face,
"I don't understand how to console her, Chachu."

Chachu consoled him.

That day afternoon,
Karthik was feeding her soup.
"I don't want to eat anything, Bhai."

"Shh…you should eat. Do you know how weak you are?" Saying he fed her the soup.

After completing it.

He sat beside her, "I want to ask you something."

"I know what you want to ask." He looks at her, She continued,
"Why did Tanya commit suicide, right?" Karthik nods his head.

He cups her face, "Look, Bacha. You can tell me, only if you are comfortable. Otherwise, none will compel you about it."

"Bhai, Bhai….woh…she was a good student Bhai. And a good girl too. She was forced to commit suicide Bhai." She cried

Karthik stunned,
"Kya?" (What?)

"Haan, Bhai. She…her situation made her do this Bhai."

"What happened that much? Please tell me what happened?" Karthik asked, wiping her tears.

Khushi looked at him, "She…She…Tanya was molested."
Hearing this Karthik went numb.

Their family members were also got shocked.

Hearing his sister's loud cries, he hugged her.
"And I have seen it with my own eyes, Bhai. I tried to save her then also." He listened to her.

Just then, police entered the room. Khushi looked at them and gulped.
"Ms. Khushi, we have heard whatever you told us now. If you don't mind, can you please elaborate on what exactly happened?" said the officer.

Khushi looked at her Bhai and held his hand tightly, getting scared.
Understanding her, he holds her and, "Don't worry. Bhai is here only."

Khushi then started, "It was our playtime. I was playing with my friends on the ground. I got thirsty while playing, so I went to drink water. Taps are located near the laboratory on the ground floor. There I saw Tanya…and along with her, I saw…4 ….4,5 boys. They were touching her, and she was struggling to come out of them."

"First, I got scared, but then I saw a brick near the window. They didn't see me then, so I took that brick and threw it at the boys. Then, taking Tanya, we both ran to the laboratory. We searched for the teachers, but there were none."

"After that, Tanya went into the laboratory and locked the door. And when I saw her pouring kerosene on herself, I shouted, begged, and pleaded with her Bhai. But she didn't listen to me, Bhai.
She didn't listen to me. She didn't hear me, Bhai." She broke down in her Bhai's arms.

Karthik is also having tears in his eyes.
He doesn't understand how to console his sister.

"Shh…calm down Bachha. Calm down." He caressed her back.

When she calmed down, one of the officers asked, "Can you recognize the boys who did this to your friend?"

Khushi nods her head.
"Yes, I can recognize them. They are from another section. And they have got suspended up to 5 times, because of their activities. But whenever they got suspended, they came back in 2 days because of their parents' influence."

"And I have seen one of them getting wounded, because of the brick I have thrown." Officers noted everything and left from there.

"I know my Bachha is brave, but not up to this level," Karthik said with a proud smile.

"But I wasn't able to save her, Bhai," Khushi said feeling guilty.

Then they both heard, "Right you weren't able to save her. But you can give justice to her soul."
Karthik and Khushi raised their heads. They smiled lightly looking at Naira and their family.

Naira sat beside Khushi," I am sure, you can fight to bring justice to your friend."

Khushi looked at her brother, who nodded his head," Your family, friends, and most importantly your Brother is beside you. We will do everything, whatever we can. My Bachha trusts me right?"

Khushi nods her head smilingly.

"Then, don't worry about anything. I will do anything for you." Karthik kissed her forehead.

"And we will also." Her friends chorused.

The next day Khushi was discharged from the hospital.

The same day, Khushi recognized the students who molested Tanya.
Officers caught them and pushed them behind the bars.

After a week, Bua Dadi asks about Karthik's father,
"Bua Dadi, don't make him uncomfortable. He will tell us, whenever he feels like it." Naira defended him. Akshara and Naitik also agreed with her.

That evening, Khushi saw her brother talking with someone, angrily.

"I beg you Mr. Goenka, please don't try to interfere in our lives again." Saying Karthik turned back to leave, But rooted to the spot seeing Khushi standing there and looking at them suspiciously.

Here is the 2nd chapter. Please do read it vote and comment.