"yeh mera ghar hai." stated dushyant, as ishita found it hard to believe. 

"ishita beta, kaun hai!" exclaimed neelu from her room. 

"naam kya hai tumhara?" asked ishita, as dushyant sighed in disbelief. 

"maa! main hoon!" yelled dushyant from the door. 

"dushyant, beta?" called neelu from her room, as ishita's face turned red. 

"i am so sorry...please aaiye..." apologised ishita as she let him in. 

he walked inside, rolling his eyes. 

"dushyant! aa na idhar!" called neelu, as dushyant, who was walking to his room, stopped. he looked at his mom's room reluctantly. 

"jaldi mein hoon maa, kaam hai kuch, shaam ko baat karenge!" exclaimed dushyant, as he immediately went back to his room, and ishita stood there, perplexed. 

                                                         ***

ishita walked into neelu's room, as she stood with a cordial smile, by the door. 

"woh, thake hue the...thoda aaram karna chahte honge..." consoled ishita. 

"baat woh nahi hai..." detested neelu, as ishita walked closer to her. 

"nahi, i am sure, woh aapke paas baithte agar baith sakte..." insited ishita. 

"main ab maa nahi ho uski, ab main woh cheez hoon jisse dekh kar usse dekh hota hai bas..." stated neelu dryly, as ishita rubbed her shoulders. 

"jab dukh aata hai na kisi pe, mushkil ho jaata hai usse pyaar karna..." commented neelu, as ishita sensed how lonely her life must have become. 

                                                              ***

"haan,aa raha hoon, mil gaye paise..." said dushyant to the receiver on the other end of the call. 

"arre time lagta yaar, kavin, thand rak..." he responded as kavin got impatient down there. 

"nahi jaala raha tera petrol, yaar! phone rak, abhi aata hoon!" hung up dushyant on the call, as he realised he might need to ask ishita to lock the door behind him. 

he hesitantly walked to his mom's room, as he stood by the door. 

"uhhm, woh, main jaa raha hoon, darwazaa band karlo.." said dushyant, pointing to ishita, only to leave immediately. 

ishita glanced at neelu, who signalled her to go, as ishita just felt bad for her. 

                                                         ***

ishita reached the door of the appartment, as dushyant stood there, waiting for the lift. 

"uhh, please don't mind, but, you could have atleast said hi to her..." said ishita to dushyant. 

"excuse me?" responded dushyant, as he wasn't exactly expecting to hear something in english from her. 

"miss karti hai, aapko....it won't hurt you to sit with her for two minutes..." suggested ishita, as dushyant scoffed at her. 

"how is that any of your business?" he questioned, as ishita just shot him with a glare right in the eye. 

"sorry...that i thought it was my place..." uttered ishita, of what might seemed to be an apology, but her insincerity discredited it completely. 

but this was just another one of those times, where someone thought they should remind them who she is, where she comes from, and how that makes her of a lower status then them. 

she locked the door and got inside, as dushyant got inside the lift while rolling his eyes. 

                                                            ***

dushyant stepped out of the society, as he seated himself behind kavin, on his bike. 

"itna time kyun lag gaya.." asked kavin, as he started the bike. 

"maa ki attendant...." murmured dushyant. 

"huh?" responded kavin. 

"arre woh humare kaam karne waali ke beti nahi rakhi thi, unki attendant..."reminded dushyant. 

"haan-haan, bataya tha tune, uska isse kya lena dena?" questioned kavin. 

"ab woh mujhe naseehate de rahi hai, ki mujhe apni maa se kaise behave karna chahiye.." replied dushyant, as kavin wheezed. 

"koi baat nahi, do-teen ho jaane do, samajh jaayegi, ki usse kya karna chahiye kya nahi..." assured kavin, as the bike started. 

"seriously.." added dushyant, as they drove away. 

                                                  ***

"toh sab thik thak haina?" asked savita, as ishita closed the door. 

"haan maa, bahaut achi hai aunty." responded ishita. 

"maine kaha tha na, ache log hain, karle kaam...woh pharmacy se toh zyada hi mil raha hai..." assured savita, as she got inside neelu's room. 

"namaste didi." greeted savita, as ishita stood by the door. 

"arre, aa gayi tu..." said neelu, as she tried to sit straight. 

"ji, aur, kaisa kaam kar rahi hai yeh?" asked savita. 

"arre bahaut achi hai teri beti, padhai puri hone do, ek dum badiya doctor banegi..." replied neelu, as savita looked proudly at her daughter. 

"meri toh yahi  jaydaad hai didi...." remarked savita, as she looked at her lovingly. 

"chal woh sab thik hai, pehle bartan karle, aaj zyada hi ho gaye..." ordered neelu, as savita nodded in agreement and left the room. 

"chaho toh batiyalo thoda, apni maa se jaake..." suggested neelu, as ishita shook her head in no. 

"ghar jaana toh hai saath mein shaam ko, tab karlenge baatein..." replied ishita. 

"acha beta, phir zara, meri kamar dekh legi, bada dard rehta hai yahan.." said neelu, as ishita immediately moved to her. 

                                                              ***

kavin and dushyant snacked on the chowmein, as they were seated on kavin's bike. 

"waise ek baat pucho dush?" requested kavin. 

"saale paraaya hai kya tu, aise permission le raha hai, puch!" exclaimed dushyant, as he continued to eat. 

"dushyant, yaar, i know it's a difficult time for you, par zaroorat hai tere gharwaalon ko teri, especially, your mom...i mean, ek accident ne unki life itni badal di hai ki she doesn't know ki woh dobara chal bhi payengi ya nahi...." advised kavin, as dushyant stopped eating, and instead fiddled with the chowmein. 

"doctor ne kaha tha ki unke dobara chal paane ke chances are 2%..." stated dushyant bluntly, but you could sense the pinch of hurt in his heart. 

"and, nahi hota mujhse yaar, roz pretend karna ki sab thik ho jaayega....kitna avoid karenge ki yeh bhi ek reality hai!" argued dushyant. 

"aise toh unke na bachne ke chances doctor ne 99% kahe the..." pointed kavin. 

"and i'm thankful...atleast mom hain toh hum sabke saath....shouldn't that be enough?" questioned dushyant. 

"funny, how you express your gratitude, by having three meals of the day with me, rather than her..." muttered kavin, as he continued to eat. 

meanwhile, dushyant still couldn't get the doctors words out of his head. 

"it's a miracle she has survived...but unki pair ki muscles bahaut buri tarah damage ho chuki hain....unke dobara chalne ke chances bahaut kam hai...." 

                                                               ***

author's note: so, a story brought by your demand, how are you finding it so far? please don't forget to vote and comment. love ya!