"You are right. It may be better to let them be separated rather than keep them together by force." Mounika said.

Jasmine remained silent for a moment and then said. "Ever you try to know why they hate each other and accuse each other all the time?"

"I tried. But I could not know."

Jasmine got off from the rock and said "It may be little hurting to you. But I have to say this. If it is true it may not be possible to stop them from taking divorce."

"I already hurt a lot. A little more hurt does not do any damage. Just tell me what do you want to say." Mounika also got off from the rock and said. A strange fear gripped her heart.

"Generally one of the strong reasons that the parents decide to take divorce is that they are in love with someone else and want to live with him or her. Either your mom or dad or most possibly both may be in love with someone else and want to live with that person. That is why they are so much desperate to take divorce."

Mounika did not say anything. It took some time to her to digest what Jasmine said. Then tears were started flowing down on her cheeks.

"I know it is hurting. I should not have said it like this. Sorry." Jasmine hastily said putting her hand on the shoulder of Mounika.

"It is hurting of course." Mounika wiped off her tears with the back of her right hand and said. "But it is important to know also. I never have thought in this way. But there is a possibility."

There was silence once again and it had broken by Jasmine. "When you talk to your parents next time try to know about this."

"I don't think that they will tell me about that even something like that is there with them." Mounika's voice was still sorrowful.

"They have to. If it is true they need to let you know about that sooner or later. Just say to them that you do stay with them if there is someone else to be their wife or husband in future."

"No, I just cannot." Mounika burst into weeping. "I cannot say like that with them. Moreover I just cannot bear if they say they are in love with someone else."

Jasmine hugged her and said. "I know it is hard. I know it breaks your heart like this. But I still said it. Just because.........." She paused for a moment. "I have decided to solve your problem. I do go to any length if I have taken a decision to solve a problem."

"But what if they are in love with someone else?" there was fear and anxiety in the face of Mounika.

"I hope and pray god that it would not be so." Jasmine said. "Something deep inside me is still telling me that there is nothing like that with your parents. Just do in the way I said."

Then they both heard the lunch finishing bell distantly and both of them started moving towards their classroom.

***

"Now it is your turn. You have to come to my home." Jasmine said to Mounika.

"Why not? I really like to come to your home." With a smile Mounika said.

On the evening of that day Jasmine took Mounika to her home. "Mom, my friend Mounika. I have taken her to our home to introduce you and dad."

"You did a wonderful thing." Malathi smiled. "Hearty welcome into our home Mounika." Malathi said.

"Thank you very much aunty." Mounika also smiled.

"You both just sit and talk. I go and fetch something to eat." Malathi said.

"I don't want to eat anything. I am not feeling hungry now. If you stay with us I shall feel so happy."

"Nothing doing. You must take something in our home." Saying so Malathi went inside.

"Your house also is quite in order." looking around carefully, Mounika said.

"Not as much order as your house is in." Jasmine said. "Anyhow this much also is done by my mom. I never bother much about keeping things in order and neat."

"It is really difficult to believe that you don't bother for neatness."

While they both were talking in themselves so, Malathi came there with coffee cups and snacks and handed them over to Mounika and Jasmine. Then she too sat in a chair nearby.

"Jasmine often says about you. She said that you are a very intelligent girl. You are really appearing like that." Malathi said.

"Jasmine is an expert in telling lies." Mounika laughed. "I am an average in all the things. It is Jasmine who is intelligent and hardworking."

"Alright. Alright. For the present we do stop deciding who is more intelligent and hardworking between us." Jasmine intervened and then said again looking into her mother's face. "You just don't know but Mounika's mom keeps the house so neat and beautiful. I really very much impressed seeing their house."

"I also keep our house neat and beautiful, am not I?" with a frown Malathi asked.

"You also keep the house good of course. But I have seen some specialty and peculiarity in Mounika's house. Mounika said all the credit for that should go to her mother."

"What is the specialty and peculiarity?" the frown on Malathi's face was deepened.

"She put wonderful paintings on the walls. She kept wonderful dolls also in the cupboards. So it appeared so good to me." Jasmine said.

"Oh, dear." Malathi nodded her head helplessly. "I don't know anything about paintings and dolls. I just can keep the house clean and in order."

"Aunty, you have kept your home so neat. You just don't bother with what Jasmine has said. I just have said that she is an expert in telling lies. Whatever she has said about my house is not true. You have kept your house more clean and order than my house also." Mounika said.

There was some silence and Mounika broke it.

"How long it takes to uncle comes to home? I want to meet uncle also." Mounika said.

"Our dad shall come at any moment and you can talk with him at any length of time."

"If the uncle here means the father of Jasmine, it is I and I have come to home."

Both of them turned back and there was Sundar stood with a smile on his lips.

"Oh, its wonderful dad!" Jasmine went near to him and put her both hands around his shoulders.

"Jasmine made a big remark to me on this day. She said Mounika's house is kept more neat and in order than our house." Malathi said.

"Is she said so? Why she has come to such an opinion?" looking into the eyes of his daughter, Sundar said.

"I did not say that our house has not been kept neat. I just said that I have been impressed by the Mounika's house. Everything else aside, first let me introduce my friend Mounika to you." Jasmine said.

"Mounika about whom you often say to us." Then he looked towards Mounika and said. "I am very happy to meet you Mounika. I know that you and Jasmine are very close friends."

"In fact Jasmine has so many close friends in the school uncle. Everyone enjoys her company. I am just one among them." With a smile on her lips Mounika said.

"Will you please shut your mouth and try to be reasonable." Jasmine irritated by that praising.

"Alright, both of you just go on talking. I will be here just in seconds." Releasing himself from the hold of his daughter and going away from there, Sundar said.

While Mounika and Jasmine were talking, Sundar finished to be fresh up and came there. Malathi went inside and took coffee and snacks for Sundar also. While he was consuming his coffee and tiffin, the topic of meditation in Rose Garden came up.

"Meditation is a very interesting thing. Your principal is indeed doing a very good thing by managing a meditation class weekly once for each standard. He is not as worse as you people are complaining." Sundar said.

"Most of the times he is just mad. Uncle, you just don't know how he beats the boys. Sometimes we do feel that we are so lucky born as girls."Mounika said.

"It is very bad thing beating the students." Sundar frowned. "But I heard about the school and principal all the positive."

"Because very few people are thinking that beating the students is a bad thing. Most people do take it as something necessary to maintain discipline among students and make them study hard. But it is absolutely wrong." Jasmine said with firmness.

"You are hundred percent right." Malathi nodded her head. "I too never can agree with those who beat the students whatever may be the reason. If I have known about this principal in full before, I have not had my daughter joined in this school."

"Generally principals in the schools are in such a way. Just because the principal is cruel in the school we need not avoid it. Sometimes little beating also would be quite helpful." Sundar said.

"But this principal would not do little beating. He beats the students just like anything. You have to see while he is beating someone." Mounika said again.

"How can we get a change in people like these? How much I hate those teachers who beat the students severely." Malathi said.

"In fact I am also feeling in the same way." Sundar said. "But I am listening that this school produce very good results every year. After confirming myself that there would be wonderful future for our daughter if she studied in this school, I have joined her in it."

"There is no problem when it comes to girls." Mounika said. "He just scolds the girl students if they do mistakes. He would not beat them at all. And what you have said is also true. Our school is producing very good results every year. More and more parents show interest to join their wards in our school."

They four talked some more time like that and then Mounika said bye and went to her home.

(..........to be continued)

(I hope you enjoyed it so far. Please don't forget to rate and review it. I update the next chapter as early as possible.)