There was a glitch that is why I'm reposting.

Naina had been restless and irritable since she had heard of Vishakha's return.

Log bas dekhte hai meri ye hasi
Jiske paas ro saku aisa koi aas paas nahi

Mummy, Delhi me apne husband aur unke baccho ke saath rehti hai aur Papa... Jab mai bahut chota tha tab hi guzar gaye.

Memories of Sameer came flashing back to her. She was feeling rage rearing it's head inside her. A strong need to set the wrongs right. She wanted to do something and not being able to do anything made her grow even more restless. She knew she was on the right side. So, there was nothing to fear.

She ran to her desk and began scribbling a letter.

Vishakha ji

Waise ji kehne ka man toh aapko kar nahi raha. Apne hi bete ki shaadi me sirf khana khane aayin hain aap? Kyu? Jab Sameer aapka beta hai toh wo aapki zimmedari hai na par nahi aap toh chali gayi Delhi aish karne. Nayi family bana li aapne bina ye soche ki jo baccha peeche reh gaya  uska kya hoga?

Maafi maangiye jaakar Sameer se. Waise toh aap usko shakal dikhane layak bachi nahi hain.

Shubhchintak.

Naina re-read the cold, harsh truth in the letter and felt a sense of satisfaction running through her veins. The same satisfaction she had felt when she had decided that running away from home  was the best decision to secure her life, to keep it's reins in her hand.

Impulsiveness and recklessness were Naina's weakest point and both of them were guiding her while she made the choice to sneak out of her house full of guests, find and wake Shefali up and then drive up to the Maheshwari house where she would quietly place the letter.

"Naina hum abhi waha kyu jaa rahe hain?"

Shefali had asked a million times but Naina refused to answer. Shefali didn't ask anymore because she trusted her friend.

There was no Sameer or Preeti this time to talk sense into her. Nothing could stop her. She walked out of the car.

"Naina? Andar kaise jaayegi tu?" Shefali whispered but some sort of mad determination had taken over Naina. She climbed the low wall surrounding the house's garden and stepped inside. The main door of the house was firmly locked. She wanted to open it but that could make a noise. So, she simply, slowly began sliding the envelope inside.

She got up after sliding the envelope completely and went back after finishing her task, full of self righteousness.

No one spoke a word on their way back home. Naina bid Shefali good bye and began climbing the stairs back to her home. The door to her home was still open. Dim light was radiating out of the house.

"Rakesh se kam se kam se pooch lete Anand." Tauji's voice was audible way outside the house. She walked closer.

"Kyu? Unhe kya fikr hai Naina ki? Meri beti hai wo, maine paala hai usse. Yahan tak ki documents me bhi wo meri hi beti hai." Anand said.

Naina's heart was pounding against her  chest. What was happening?

"Ne Waah!"

"Bhagwan jhooth na bulaye aaj mai kuch nahi sunne wali bhabhi ji."

"Theek hai mat suno par Rakesh ke lakshan Naina me saaf dikhte hai."

Naina did not want to believe a word of what she was hearing.

"Rakesh Bhai sahab kahan hain? Wo kyu nahi aa rahe agar unhe itni hi fikr hai?" Anand questioned.

"O bai! Tum dono kitna bhi cheekh chilla lo, Naina Rakesh ki beti hai aur -"

Her eyes fell on Naina standing outside, dumbstruck. What did she just hear? She saw the elders staring at her so she went inside and walked past them. It was a bad dream. She was going to wake up laughing at it tomorrow, yes that was what was going to happen.

She wasn't anyone's daughter but Anand and Bela. How could she not be their child? Where did this even come from?

She threw her slippers off her feet and went to sleep. It was a bad dream. It had to be but even if she tried, there was no sign of any drowsiness in her eyes. It was as if she had forgotten how to sleep at all.

She was numb. Her eyes were blank, lifeless. Some part of her soul, some part of her being had died. It won't come back to her.

Rakesh bhai sahab ki beti.

But she wasn't. It was all a nightmare. She felt her eyelids getting heavier and slowly she fell asleep.

The next morning when the sun pricked her eyes she wasn't ready to open them. She had been dreaming bad dreams and that was it. That was all. She'd wake up and laugh it off. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to convince herself but in vain. She clearly remembered how she had eavesdropped on the conversation that changed how she felt about herself.

Preeti and Pooja di were not her sisters. Anand wasn't her father and Bela wasn't her mother.

Where did this even come from? She was going to set Sameer's parental issues right and here she had spent a lifetime not knowing who her real father was.

A void had formed where her heart used to be.

She heard a knock on her room's door. Anand was standing there, unsure of what to do.

"Mai andar aaun?" He asked.

She nodded. She knew what was coming, an emotional conversation but she wasn't ready to talk yet. She wanted to fall back to sleep.

"Naina ..." Anand said as soon as he sat down next to her. "Ye baat tumhe kabhi bhi pata nahi chalni chahiye thi aur isse tumhe koi farq bhi nahi padna chahiye kyuki tum meri aur Bela ki beti ho. Bas aur kuch nahi."

Naina nodded.

Anand wanted to continue talking to her but she wasn't responding at all.

"Naina humne tumse ye baat chupai kyuki zaroori nahi tha na, beta. Tum humari beti ho."

Naina nodded, again. She didn't want any explanations, didn't want to ask questions. She just wanted him to go away, for a while. She saw Bela standing at a little distance from the door.

Tu Papa par gayi hai aur mai aur Pooja di Mummy pe.

Preeti's careless answer came rushing back to her mind.

Rakesh ke lakshan Naina me saaf dikhte hain.

She started thinking. She used to get irritable when things didn't work her way. She shouted a lot to put her point forward, her arguement with Anand before running away was a proof. She was used to stating bland truth without thinking how it would affect others. The letter she wrote to Vishakha was fresh in her head.

She wasn't her father's daughter. She didn't belong.

       _____________________________

Pandit jumped his way inside Sameer's house.

"Bhabhiii!!" He called. "Bhook lagi hai!"

"Ghar se khana kha kar aaya kar." Mami answered.

"Toh Naina Bhabhi ki vidai se pehle hi aap Poonam Bhabhi ko mere ghar bhej do." He replied.

"Pandit Bhaiya aap Sameer Bhaiya ke kamre me baithiye. Mai chai naashta lekar aati hu." Poonam walked out of the kitchen wearing an apron and told him.

He rubbed his hand and had almost left for Sameer's room when he noticed an envelope below his feet. He picked it up and read Vishakha's name on it.

"Bhabhi, Vishakha Aunty kahan hai?" He asked.

"Guest room mein." She shouted from the kitchen.

"Okay!" He saluted and left for her room instead.

"Pandit!" Sameer called him. He was descending the stairs when he spotted Pandit.

"Arey bhai! Ye Vishakha Aunty ko dekar tere paas hi aa raha tha mai." Pandit said.

"Kya hai?" Sameer asked. He was standing next to Pandit now.

"Letter hai."

"Letter? Mummy ka letter? Yaha kaun bhejega?"

"Pata nahi." Pandit flipped the letter. "Shubh chintak likha hai."

"Shubh chintak?"

Sameer took the letter from Pandit and opened it.

"Koi seal, koi glue nahi." He wondered.

He read the letter and then re read it, his eyes widening. Pandit thought that he'd burst them by opening so much.

"Kya hai?" Pandit snatched the letter from Sameer and began reading. "Ye tune likha hai?"

"Pagal hai kya? Mai kyu likhunga? Mujhe toh ab koi farq nahi padta. Mera jo bhi parivaar hai wo Ahemdabad me hai. Bas."

"Toh fir? Tu pehchanta hai iss handwriting ko?"

"Naina ki hai." He said.

"Bhabhi?" Pandit almost screamed in shock. "Ye toh zyada hi daring nikli."

"Tu tension mat le. Mai handle kar lunga. Iss letter ko phad de, kisi ke haath nahi lagna chahiye."

Pandit nodded and dipped the paper in a water jug. When the words weren't visible anymore he tore it into bits.

"Paani bhi fek de." Sameer suggested.

"Haan! Haan!" He hurriedly threw the water in a plant pot and sprinkled a little bit on his shirt.

"Aap yahin hain?" Poonam's voice startled the boys. "Toh yahi naashta kar lijiye."

She kept the plates on the table.

"Pani kaha gaya?"

"M-mai pee gaya, bhabhi. Mai pee gaya. Badi pyaas lagi thi." Pandit said pointing to his wet shirt.

Sameer breathed a sigh of relief.

I am really nervous