Ishita was making notes, while books were spread around her on the floor. Savita was warming up the chapptais on the pan.

"ishu, zara dekhna, dhai jamaane ke liye doodh hai..." commanded savita, as ishita walked to the second-hand mini fridge.

"maa, dodh bilkul bhi nahi bacha hai...subha ki chaye ke liye bhi nahi hai.." remarked ishita.

"beta, phir jaldi se jaake salim chacha ki dukaan se le aa zaraa.." said savita, as ishita complied.

She grabbed her purse, as her gaze fell on the red case. She opened it to find only a fraction left of what she had before. She recounted, buying kerosene, from the dealer right near the pharmacy she used to work at.

"ishu, kya hua beta?" asked savita, as ishita came back to earth.

"huh?"responded ishita.

"jaldi kar, band karne waale hi honge woh dukan.." ordered savita, as she continued to heat the chappatis.

Ishita quickly grabbed the left over cash and rushed to the shop, in the middle of the chawl.

***

"chacha zaraa 2 litre tonned doodh dedo." Stated ishita, as she placed her hand on the counter.

Her glance fell on the amma's house nearby. The old lady lived alone before for seven years, and was always seated outside by her rocking chair outside. But today, it was kavita, brooming the house.

"bada bura hua, nahi?" reamarked salim chacha, as ishita, who should have been infuriated, found it hard to feel so for kavita. Sunil's mistakes are not something she should pay for.

"amma ke paas kab tak rahenge yeh?" questioned ishita, as she grabbed packets of milk from the counter.

"arre, woh toh usne pure mahine ke liye jagah dedi hai..sab kuch theek hoti hi kiraaya bhi denge, bas ration nahi istamaal kar sakte uska..hairaani nahi hui mujhe itni jaanke, conjussi kit oh missale deti hai yeh aurat!" retorted salim chacha.

Kavita looked tired and overworked. As much as it surprised her, she found it in herself, to find pity for her.

She immediately left after paying the money, but she had already passed her home on the way. It seemed like she was going a place other than home.

***

Dushyant was in a dhabha, far away from his home, it's as if he never planned to go back. He sat alone, with a plate of food, from which he ate.

"ye lijiye aapke paise.." said ishita as she handed over the money, and received the packed food. She was about to leave when her gaze fell on dushyant.

"hey..." greeted ishita, as dushyant looked upto her.

"aap thik hain?" asked ishita with genuine concern, as dushyant just nodded in agreement.

"toh, akele dinner kyun kar rahe hain, yahan iss tarah?" asked ishita.

"saath khaane ke liye koi nahi hai..." replied dushyant bluntly, as ishita just sat next to him.

"kyun, ghar jaiye, apni family ke saath khaiye..." suggested ishita, as dushyant scoffed.

"woh bhi akele khaane se alag nahi hoga..." responded dushyant, as ishita raised her brow.

"mom ke accident se pehle, dinner saath mein karna zaroori hota tha sabke liye..family time tha, sab apne-apne din ki baatein karte the, ajeeb se vacation plans joh bante the par kabhi bhi implement nahi hote the..." reminisced dushyant, as a smile came on his face, which faded away soon.

"mom ke accident ke din, pehli bar dinner table se koi gayab tha...aur bas, shanti thi...mom toh aa gayi par, woh shaanti nahi gayi...ab woh shaanti dinning table pe hi nahi, pure ghar mein hai." Confessed dushyant, as that one bite of chapatti he had taken out for ten minutes now, still remained in his hand.

"main jab choti thi na, toh main bahaut puchti thi mummy se, ki papa kahan hai...sabke ghar mein sake papa hai, mere kahan hai...mummy hamesha keh deti, beta woh bahar gaye hain, kahi door...aa jayenge. Saal bitte gaye, papa nahi aaye...ek din, maine zid pakkad li, ki mujhe batao papa kahan hai, ghar kyun nahi aate woh. Mummy taalti gayi, main zid karti gayi, phir mummy ne zor se chanta lagaya aur kaha, dobara mat poochna. Humari padosan, karuna aunty ne dekha, woh phir mummy se baat karne aayi..." narrated ishita.

Karuna closed the door, as she made sure ishita wasn't around, as she grabbed savita. But they both were unaware, that ishita was in the bathroom, listening to everything.

"kyun maara usse, tujhe kya lagta hai, kab tak chupa payegi usse?" asked karuna.

"jab tak ho sake...nahi pata chalna chahiye usse..."stated savita.

"dekh, jo hua, bura tha...par haq hai uska jaane ka..." insisted karuna.

"bachi hai woh...6 saal ki bhi nahi hui abhi.." argued savita.

"badhi bhi hojayegi toh kya, asaan hoga sunna! Par ek baat hai, agar usse kahi aur se pata chal gaya, toh tujhse naraaz rahegi woh.." warned karuna.

"iss sab mein meri galti hai? Galti uski hai, usne meri pehli do bachiyon ko mujhse cheena, kachde mein phaink aaya unhe...pata hai kitna ladke bachaya usse, warna phaink aata usse bhi woh! Sadkon pe raatein bitayi hai uske saath maine, pure-pure din kaam karke, mere khoon paseene se bana hai yeh ghar...bas paida nahi kiya usse maine, maut se bachake ek zindagi di hai..ek achi zindagi. Meri beti ko kabhi zaroorat nahi padegi uski, usse itna kaabil banaungi ki usse aise aadmi ke bachon ki maa na banna pade, aur aise chaul mein dobara pair na rakhna padein.." proclaimed savita, as her eyes moistened and karuna was silenced.

"woh dusri shaadi karke, apne ghar reh rahe hain....beta bhi hai unka, aukaat nahi hai, par private school mein padha rahe hain usse. Sone se pehle, hamesha uske sar pe haath firte hain pyaar se, mujhe, kachde mein phenkne jaane se pehle do second bhi nahi socha." noted ishita as she broke down into tears.

Dushyant, hesitant at first, kept the plate aside, and moved closer to her. He reluctantly placed his hand on her shoulder, as he pacified her. It felt like she had been hurt since forever, as he saw her cry. He placed his other hand, on her other shoulder, almost giving her a side-hug.

She looked upto him, as their eyes met. she had never told this to anyone, yet it didn't feel out of place that he knew.

He found in her someone, who was in way more pain than him, but still had such a good heart.

It was the start of something new.

Author's note: so, now it is revealed, why ishita burnt down sunil's house. Her reason to resent him, is a mirror to the society we live in. We talk about these ideas of equality, but the truth is, we treat our girls like something disposable, like garbage. While guys, they get opportunities, to make something of themselves in society. Sadly, it's not the story of one chawl, it's the story of people like even me and you. the thing is, that despite of savita persevering this, which is so heroic, this still managed to break ishita. Just proves that, even if this gender inequality didn't kill you, being alive means living with the scars of the system you live in. It's something we all should give a thought to.