"Really, really you can do it like that?" looking hopefully into the face of Jasmine, Mounika asked her.

"Just trust me. I don't know myself why but I am feeling that I can solve your problem." Taking her right hand into hers and squeezing it gently Jasmine said.

"I am feeling so happy now." Hugging Jasmine and kissing on her cheek, Mounika said. Her hand was still in the hands of Jasmine.

"I am happy that you trusted me and out with your problem like this." Jasmine said. "We have to follow many a step to solve your problem."

"I just do in the way you ask me to do." Freeing her hand from the hands of Jasmine, Mounika said. "I don't know and I cannot say why but I have got complete confidence on you."

"Thank you for the trust" Jasmine nodded her head. "Alright. Time is almost up. We may better go into our classroom now." Jasmine stood up.

Then they both proceeded towards their classroom.

***

"Why parents want to take divorce sometimes?" in the evening, while she was doing homework and her mother was reading a book, Jasmine asked her.

Malathi closed the book and looked at Jasmine "Why you have asked this question?"

"First tell me the answer. Why sometimes parents want to take divorce?" Jasmine was persistent.

"There may be variety of reasons for that. You are too young to understand." Malathi said still looking curiously at Jasmine.

"What should happen to their children?"

"It is really very difficult question to answer." There was a troubling expression in the face of Malathi. "They have to choose to stay either with the father or the mother. If the children are too small, court permits the mother to keep the children until they become enough big."

"It becomes very difficult to choose between father and mother. Why parents don't think about their children before they take divorce?"

"You are asking all the difficult questions to me and I cannot answer them." Malathi smiled. "After answering this much to you, now I am entitled to know why you are asking all these questions."

Then Jasmine told about Mounika's problem to her mother.

"It is very bad that her parents are trying to take divorce" immediately there was a sad expression on the face of Malathi.

"I promised to her that I do try to solve her problem and see her parents not to take divorce at all." With a small voice Jasmine said.

"My god! How you can do that? You are too young to venture to do any such type of thing. Even elders also cannot interfere with the affairs of husband and wife. How a small child like you can do that?" Malathi became aghast on hearing what her daughter said.

"But I gave word to her and I cannot go back now. You know my weakness."

"But Jasmine this is too much...." Malathi was trying to say something more, then Sundar came there.

"It seems that you both are in some serious discussion." He said.

"Yes, we are indeed in some serious discussion." Then Malathi said about Jasmine's friend Mounika and the rest. Sundar's face became serious by the time he finished hearing.

"What is this Jasmine? You should not have made such a promise to her." he seriously said.

"But I have made the promise and I need to keep it." Jasmine was also serious.

"This is not something that a small child like you can intervene. It is entirely elders' matter"

"But if the elders lost their minds and forgot about their children, children like me should interfere. I placed myself in that Mounika and thought. I just cannot bear even the thought that my parents are separating like that." Jasmine was still serious.

"But this is something no outside person can interfere. Moreover you are just a child. It may create problems to you and take a bad name to us." Sundar said.

"I shall see that there shall never be bad name to you and no problems to you." With firmness in her voice Jasmine said. "But I cannot go back on my promise."

Malathi and Sundar looked into each other's faces. Jasmine solved problems of her friends in before also but never got a bad name to her family. They knew very well that Jasmine was very intelligent and she always would be careful.

***

"Do both of your parents like you?" Jasmine asked Mounika.

Jasmine and Mounika were on the same rocks under the same tree. That was the big tree and they were the convenient rocks to sit. That place was indeed comfortable to them to sit and discuss.

"Very much. Both of them like me very much in the equal measure."

"But they don't like each other."

"Yes, that is the problem." Mounika said sadly. "They don't like each other. Moreover they hate each other."

"What your parents are doing now?"

"My father is a bank manager and mother is a commerce lecturer in a government junior college."

"For how long they both are like this?"

Mounika closed her eyes and started thinking deeply. "For a long time in fact. As soon as I have got the knowledge of myself and my surroundings, I have got the knowledge of the differences between my parents also."

"They don't like each other but they like you a lot." Looking into the face of Mounika, Jasmine said.

"Yes" Mounika nodded her head. "It is quite surprising, is it is not?"

"No, it is not surprising." Jasmine smiled and said. "Some parents even they don't like each other, they like their children a lot."

"Here there is one strong positive point and one strong negative point in your case." after a little pause Jasmine said again.

"What are they?" a frown gathered on the forehead of Mounika.

"Your parents like you a lot despite the differences between them. This is the strong positive point. But the differences between them are for a long time back. This is the strong negative point."

"Then are the chances fifty-fifty in my case to win?"

"No. Hundred percent." Jasmine once again looked into the face of Mounika. "I am banking on the point that they both like you a lot. I shall form a plan and tell you what to do."

"I have already told you that I am ready to do anything that you ask me to do." Mounika's face lit up with pleasure.

"Do you have even a vaguest idea why your parents dislike each other so?"

"No. I just know that they dislike each other by their constant quarrels in between themselves."

"We have a long road to go now. From now on observe everything carefully. Do you interfere between your parents while they are quarreling?"

"Sometimes I tried. But that made the situation even worse. So I stopped interfering while they were quarreling."

"Just do the same in future also." For a moment Jasmine clipped her inner-lip between her teeth frames thinking furiously. "With whom you are more attached? To your mother or father?"

"I am attached equally to them both. I feel the intimacy, love and affection on them both in the equal measure just like the way they have them on me."

"They buy everything you want? They do everything you want?"

"Almost. They just want me to be always happy."

"Then" Jasmine paused a moment before continuing. "Why cannot they understand how much you suffer if they quarrel like that? What happens to your future if they take divorce and be separated from one another?"

"That is the thousand dollars question." There was a pathetic expression again on Mounika's face.

"Your problem is not going to be as much difficult as it appears. But I need to think more deeply about it."

They talked some more time in between themselves about the same thing. Then Jasmine got off from the rock and said. "Come. Time is up. We have to go into our classroom."

Mounika also got off from the rock and they both started walking towards the classroom. Before they reached their classroom, they heard lunch-break finishing bell.

***

"Are you thinking that you did a right thing by discussing about your problem with that girl so?" when they both were alone, Ragini asked Mounika.

"I am thinking I did a correct thing." Mounika said "I don't know why but I got confidence on her."

"That Jasmine is appearing smart to me also." Ragini nodded her head. "If she can solve your problem what else we do want?"

Mounika did not say anything to that.

"How is at home? Is the same situation continuing between your parents now also?" Ragini asked her again.

"It became worse. Now they are so desperate to separate from each other as fast as possible."

***

"Once your father and I take divorce and start living separate, you are going to stay with me." Mounika's mother Prameela said. They both were now in their living room. This type of conversation has become routine between them both recently.

Mounika did not say anything to that. She felt a pang in her heart.

"Why not you are saying anything? We both can go along quite well, are not we?" making Mounika turn towards her with her hands, Prameela asked her.

"Dad also is asking the same thing to me. He also wants me to stay with him."

"But your dad is a rogue. You cannot be safe and comfortable with him. I know that dirty person for a long time." Prameela angrily said.

Mounika instantly knew that there would be no use in arguing with her mother.

"I have my homework to do." Mounika got off from the chair she sat and went to her school bag.

Immersing herself completely in her homework gave some comfort to Mounika. After half an hour or so, she heard her father Sudhakar's voice. "Mouni, will you please come into my room?"

Mounika immediately obeyed. Once they both were in his room, he took a packet from his pocket and gave it to her.

"Open it." He asked her.

Mounika slowly opened the packet and saw inside. Her eyes became wide with surprise. There was a wrist watch!

"You have often asked me for a wrist watch. So I have taken it for you." Sudhakar said.

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

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