Sameera comforted the girl for the last time, before trying to leave. The girl held the end of the drape of Sameera's saree, pleading with her to stay with her.

"I am so sorry dear, I wish I could stay," Sameera apologized, before gently trying to remove the girl's finger. However, the young girl had clutched Sameera's saree in such a tight fist that it seemed impossible to remove her hold without hurting the girl.

"Please," the girl pleaded in a broken voice.

Sameera's heart broke looking at the crying girl. She couldn't stay or else all the elements would be put into danger, but she couldn't leave the small girl alone either. Hence, Sameera came to a compromise.

"Dear, I promise I won't leave until the help arrives. But I can't stay here. Look over there, can you see a huge board," Sameera said, pointing at the advertising board they had hid before.

Receiving a small nod from the girl, Sameera continued, "I will stay there and look over you from there. I promise you will find me there until the end."

"Pinky promise?" The girl asked, raising her pinky finger.

"Pinky promise," Sameera said, interlocking her finger with hers, before saying, "However, you also have to promise me that you won't tell anybody that my friends and I are standing there or about the fact that we were here. Can you keep this secret for me?"

The girl bobbed her head earnestly. She acted like she was catching Sameera's words in her fist and then moved to put them in her frock's pocket, before whispering, "Secret safe."

Sameera smiled a little. Caressing the girl's face for the last time, she stood  up and grabbed Avan's hand, to go to their hiding place where the other elements were waiting for her.

"You gave away our cover," Ahana accused as soon as Sameera came within earshot. They all had seen Sameera showing the girl their hiding place.

"Doesn't matter. We are leaving anyway," Gyaan said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"No, we aren't," Sameera said, shocking everyone.

"What? Why?" Ahana asked, her voice getting louder by each second.

"The girl is scared and I promised her that I wouldn't leave."

"The ever so helpful Sameera, who cares about everyone but us," Ahana taunted, throwing her arms in air, not even knowing what all Sameera had sacrificed for their sake.

"Ahana, you are crossing a line," Neer said in a low yet stern voice, stopping her twin before she could utter something that she would regret later.

"Sorry about her," Neer apologized instead of his twin, before saying, "However Sameera it is true that your actions have put us in a problem. That man over there has been deliberately injured. It is going to be a police case. If they find out we were the ones who found them and called the ambulance, then we might also get investigated. If not as suspects then definitely as witnesses. And then it wouldn't take long for our identities to come out."

"I know what you are saying, but I didn't find it in me to leave the girl alone in that state. I have requested her to not say anything about us to others. But I also know that we can't completely believe a small child's promise. So if you all want, you all can leave. I will stay here alone and face the consequences," Sameera said, increasing Ahana's temper.

"Are you for real?" Ahana asked, her tone deadly. "Or is this some sort of emotional blackmail?" She huffed.

"I am being serious. Please leave. I won't feel bad or hurt. I understand where you all are coming from and what you all are trying to warn me, but I seriously don't find it in me to leave the girl behind. Though you all don't have to suffer the consequences of my actions. So just go," Sameera insisted.

They all just snorted in response, before sitting down on the ground, with their knees up to their chest and their back against the advertisement.

Sameera shook her head with a smile, looking at the family she had made. They all were far from perfect, but they were always together whether it was in happiness, in pain or even in each other's stupidness.

Sameera pulled her head out, to wave at the young girl, reassuring her that she was still there, before moving to sit beside the elements.

★★★★★

They all waited until the ambulance came. The people who came to help looked here and there for some eye-witness, but to no avail. The girl kept quiet as promised. Upon asking who called, she lied, "I ran towards the road and asked a passing uncle to call. He went away after helping me." She even went as far as to give a description of a man that didn't match any of the elements.

"The girl is smart," Gyaan muttered.

"I told her to say this," Avan giggled.

"Smart boy," Ahana praised, ruffling his hair.

Sameera looked out slightly and caught the eye of the young girl for the last time, before she climbed on the ambulance van. The girl blinked her teary eyes at Sameera, not knowing how else to thank her without giving their presence away. She prayed that Sameera was able to see her actions from that far, and her gratitude was conveyed.

Elements sighed in relief and came out of hiding, once the ambulance had gone away.

"Finally!" Ahana muttered, before warning everyone, "No more helping others."

"Yes, Ma'am," they all said in unison. before bursting out in laughter.

"Oh Look, there's a bag," Avan said, noticing a bag lying around the fallen bicycle.

Ahana and Neer glanced at each other, before running towards the treasure. Avan too ran behind them, yelling at them to wait for him. Sameera slowly followed behind, not having energy to run, while Gyaan dragged his feet forcefully towards the bag. He knew what they all were thinking and was dreading the outcome.

What looked like a bag from afar, wasn't really a bag, but a huge cloth wrapped in a way that worked like a bag. The twins hurriedly opened the knot and found some clothes inside it, probably given for laundry/ironing.

"Aren't we just lucky?" Ahana said with a wide smile, looking at the three shirts, three pants, two indian dresses and four sarees inside the bag.

"We aren't taking those," Gyaan said firmly.

"Why not?" Ahana questioned, rolling her eyes. "We can take it as compensation for saving their lives."

"We can't, because it isn't given to us. It might not even be his. He must have been just delivering it and can be put into a lot of trouble for losing it," Gyaan tried to make her understand.

"What's with all this righteousness?" Ahana huffed, trying to hide her panic. The menstruation cup had used that very moment to slide a little and remind her of the existence of the stolen good.

'If he was reacting like this for something they had found coincidentally, what was he going to say when he found out that she had actually stolen something with whole planning and plotting.' Ahana gulped at the thought of it.

Before her face could give away her panic, she resorted to her most trusted weapon. A weapon that had gotten her out from most of all the uncomfortable situations with Gyaan- their banter.

Looking him dead in the eye, she spoke with a confidence that wasn't even there. "Mr. Most knowledgeable person, if you are forgetting we are in trouble too. So instead of thinking about a stranger, let's think about ourselves first.

"Anyways, he isn't going to come back for this bag any time soon.  Sooner or later, someone else is going to pick up this bag. And it is not going to help that man either. So why don't we just help ourselves?" Ahana asked with folded hands.

"You are just making excuses to justify your wrong deed," Gyaan scoffed, before saying firmly, "I am not stealing these."

"Then don't," Neer said, causing Gyaan to smile.

"Good," Gyaan said, nodding his head appreciatively.

"But we are going to," Neer continued, making Gyaan's smile drop in an instant.

"Seriously?" Gyaan yelled, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"You don't have to wear these clothes if you don't want to. Stay in the same clothes you are wearing until they tear off and then wear leaves for all I care. But we are taking these," Ahana said, scowling at him.

"These aren't even your size," Gyaan said.

"This is about survival and not fashion. The size doesn't really matter," Ahana retorted back.

"The sarees don't even have a blouse or undercoat," he tried again.

"Obviously! Because no one gives them for ironing," Ahana huffed.

"I can wear a shirt as a blouse," Sameera said, and Ahana whooped in joy. She high-fived Sameera and showed her tongue to Gyaan.

"There's nothing for me," Avan pouted.

"Don't worry, I will create something for you out of these clothes," Sameera said reassuringly.

"So it's decided," Neer announced, before closing the knot and picking up the bag.

"Let's leave before anyone sees us," saying that the elements started walking, ignoring and leaving a baffled peacemaker behind.