After 2 weeks a few more guests started to show their faces at our doorstep. With those guests came their children. More and more kids.

No matter how hard I tried, my eyes always landed on her small figure. I think she was unable to grow as tall as 5 feet. She could barely reach my shoulders. But the fact that she reached the middle of my chest did some unexplainable things in my heart and well.... there.

If I was not wrong, she was 18 years old. An adult. However, it would be easy to deceive anyone given her height and her behaviour. She mingled with a group of kids very easily. But wait a minute...

Why does that group of kids have only 2 girls and 5 BOYSS?!!

"Stop staring at her and help me arrange the guest rooms, you moron!"

Within a day, my little chutki had turned mean towards me (not complaining though) and ordered me around a lot. But I didn't want to leave that little adult out of my sight!

Despite my rebellion, I was dragged to the other house just beside our main house to clean the rooms for guests. Since it was getting boring, I decided to spark some conversation.

"Chutki, since when Anu is living here and how come I don't see her parents?"

"Aha look at the romeo trying to investigate about his Juliet," she smirked at me. "Well, her father has started staying abroad so they decided to settle back here. And as for her mother, she's living at her father's home nowadays. So, Anu is alone here with her grandpa."

"Alone? How does she manage to live by herself? Back at Jaipur, I couldn't sleep peacefully if I was left alone." I shivered at the mere thought of being alone. "Doesn't she.... feel lonely?"

"Lemme warn you bhai. From the time we've spent together, I got to know that she doesn't give a fuck about boys and boyfriends. She has got plenty of confessions from boys in our locality. But boy, does she have a cold heart. She rejected all of them."

Chutki was finished with dusting, my job was to mop the floor but despite it being dirty, I just sat on it and listened to her intently.

"Since you know her so well, do you know what kind of guy she prefers?" I questioned.

"I do," she sneezed. "Before that, would care to explain why the fuck are you sitting on the floor so carelessly??"

She threw an empty bucket at me. Luckily, I dodged it.

"Geez, I got it, I am mopping the floor. See." I said as I quickly stood up and started to move the wet mop to and fro.

Rolling her eyes at me, she continued.

"Once I overheard her telling her chachi what kind of guy she wants to marry."

My ears perked up at that sentence and I stopped mopping to give her my full attention. It seemed my attention was not less than any headache for her since she gave me a very dark dangerous glare. I started mopping again without uttering a word.

"She said she prefers taller, older, muscular and richer guy." I despised how she emphasised that word.

Moreover she was already done with dusting. This girl would seriously win her in-laws' heart.

"May I know why did you say richer instead of richer?"

"Come on yaar Abhay. You know the differences between our financial status and the personality that her mother possesses would leave no chance for you. Never in a million years with your current situation would she be ready to give you their daughter." She took another mop and started helping me.

I didn't say another word after her lecture. Sure, they were rich enough to travel to another country but I had known them before they achieved this feat. If not her mother, then her father would surely say something in my favour.

Anyway, God has given me one more chance at rectifying my love life. It was worth giving it a shot.

______

Around 7 pm, Anu came again. It was like she was already a part of our family. She would come and go whenever she liked. I even got to know that she always followed Chutki everywhere and would often have a sleepover here. It made it easier for her since she lived right in front of our house.

I was already having fun with my cousin sisters when she appeared at our doorstep. I resisted the urge to go to her and simply waited for her to come to me. And she did.

After torturing me for a whole minute.

Now, it was my turn to torture her. I grabbed her, turned her back to me. With one hand across her collarbone, I started tickling her, leaving no space for her to escape.

"Bhaiya leave me right now, or I will never ever speak to you!" She shouted. As I loosened my grip on her and she ran away from me.

She was right in front of my room when I caught up to her and slammed her to the wall, caging her between my arms.

"What did you say just now?" I raised my eyebrows at her.

She lowered her gaze for a while then stared right back at my soul.  There was no hesitation whenever she locked eyes with me. Never.

"First of all, stay away from me," she attempted to push me away.

"No."

"Get away!" She started to wiggle her fingers on my waist. "Don't you get tickles??"

I simply smirked at her.

What she did next was unexpected. She squeezed my sides with all her power making me jump up at my spot. Shocked and in pain, I held my sides. That's when she ran away from my confinement.

She looked back at me, stuck her tongue out to mock me.

Cute.

With that, I went to dad to ask him about Arun, my second elder brother. He was already in town. But look at his carelessness. He should have been here, helping in planning the event. However, the busy prime Minister didn't have it in him to think about her one and only sister.

"Abhay beta," Mom came out of the kitchen. "Have you discussed the expenses with your dad?"

"Not yet. But I am going to him right now."

"No need to go anywhere. We'll be at your room after we're done with guests. Ok?"

"Hm."

From her expressions and the way she talked, I could guarantee what kind of conversation was going to unfold. I must relax my mind till then.

I went outside to roam around our colony. It didn't deserve to be called a colony, to be honest. Other than our house, there were only 5 houses around here. 3 of them belonged to Anu's family. Though I decided to roam away from my house, I sat outside and started to observe her house as I lit a cigarette.

Even after so many years, there wasn't change to her house. Meanwhile, her uncle and other relatives' houses seemed a bit different. They did some exterior design, making it look a bit modern. Anu's house, on the other hand, seemed antique.

I was startled when I saw Anu coming out of her house. She hadn't noticed me staring in her direction when she opened the outer gate. Her face seemed expressionless yet she was humming some sweet song. A few feet away from her house, her eyes landed on me and she smiled at me.

Her face changed when she saw me. I was sure about it! Before her face was dull but when our eyes met....

God, am I being delusional?

"Abhay."

Mom's voice came from inside.

"Coming." Here comes the disaster.

I looked at her once again before going inside.