Dushyant, had been pacing back and forth in the bed, unable to sleep. He just got up, and headed to the balcony, to get some fresh air, thinking maybe that would help. 

He rested his hands on the railing of the balcony, as his glance fell on the playground. A fond smile came on his face, as he reminisced of a time when he and kavin would play here for hours together. Kavin would tell at his home that he was going to study with dushyant, meanwhile dushyant would go off with the  excuse of running a small errand, like fetching stationery. they would play football for hours, which kavin used to hide in his bag that was supposed to carry books. 

"main bhi tujhe kitna bhola samajhta tha, par tu..." nudged dushyant to kavin once. 

A part of him wanted that time back again, maybe that is why he was drawn to going to that playground at this time of the hour. 

                                                                            ***

sameer opened the door to purvi's room to come inside. 

"haan beta, ab bolo, kya baat karni thi.." said sameer, as he closed the door behind him. 

"mera bhi kaam abhi khatam hua, warna pehle hi baat ho jati..." stated sameer. 

"kaunsa kaam, office ka, ya woh aapka side business?" questioned purvi as sameer raised his brow. 

"nahi, par side business bhi nahi keh sakte, resources toh saari office ki hi lagti hai...baaki woh black money aapka kahan hai..." remarked purvi, as sameer scoffed. 

"oh, toh raha nahi gaya tumhare bhai se, tumhe batana.." responded sameer. 

"nahi, unhe batane ki zaroorat nahi padi, aapke laptop ki files hi kaafi thi...waise apne apna password abhi bhi wahi rakha hai, joh 5 saal pehle tha..." replied purvi, as sameer was shocked. 

"khair, kaam ki baat pe aate hain, aapne jinn logon se paise churaye the, woh ab apne loans nahi pay kar rahe hain, right?" confirmed purvi, as sameer nodded in agreement, still shocked. 

"aur aapke paas unn sab ke against kuch bhi nahi hai, filhaal?" confirmed purvi again, as sameer nodded in agreement, still trying to comprehend the situation. 

"mere paas unmein se ek ke against kuch hai.." claimed purvi. 

"aur woh information main aapko dungi, par uske badle mein, aapko meri ek shart manni padegi..." conditioned purvi, as sameer just looked at her with plain disbelief, he couldn't believe he was talking to his daughter right now. 

                                                                   ***

dushyant reached the playground, only to find ishita, sitting on a swing. her gaze was fixed on the ground, as the swing moved to and fro, because of her feet dragging around. 

dushyant stood by the empty swing next to the one she had occupied, as she looked upto him, after her glance fell on his shadow. 

"uhmm, thik ho tum?" asked dushyant, as she just nodded in agreement and looked away.  dushyant could clearly sense something was wrong, as he sat on the empty swing next to her. 

"maine dekha aaj subha aunty ko, woh guard se keh rahi thi ki kisi ghar zaroorat hoon kaamwali ki, toh unhe bhejdein...." informed dushyant, as he looked at her, and she looked back at him, only to avert her gaze back to the ground. 

"maa ke teen ghar chut gaye hain, kaam nahi mil raha kai aur..." informed ishita. 

"ghar meri tankha ke kaaran chal raha hai...naukri khone ka risk nahi le sakti main..." stated ishita, as nothing further had to be said for him to understand what happened this morning. 

her eyes moved a little to her side, to get a glimpse of him, as his gaze was fixed on the ground, she immediately looked away, before he could look at her. 

                                                                          ***

"kiski information hai tumhare paas?" questioned sameer. 

"hai sabki, par sirf ek ki dungi, baaki ki information tab, jab aap badle mein kuch kar sakte ho." stated purvi. 

"purvi, aisa kya chahiye tumhe ki  yeh sab karne ki zaroorat padhi tumhe!" exclaimed sameer loudly, as purvi kept her demeanor in check. 

"toh aap mante hain, ki information ke badle meri baat manenge?" confirmed purvi. 

"thik hai, ab bolo!" exclaimed sameer. 

"sunil, ki dusri shaadi hai kavita se, par usne apni pehli biwi ko divorce nahi diya hai...legally, uski wife abhi bhi, uski pehli biwi hai." informed purvi. 

"par, yeh sab..." attempted sameer to comprehend. 

"itni information kaafi hai, aapke liye. agli payment ki due date jaldi aa rahi hai, toh iss baar pay nahi karna chahte ho, toh isse jaldi use karo, faltu sawal mein time waste mat karo." commanded purvi. 

"aur tumhari kya shart hai?" asked sameer. 

"aap aur maa mere aur kavin ke beech dobara nahi aayenge, that includes, kavin ke life mein interfere na karna." stated purvi, as sameer scoffed.

"pata tha mujhe! iss ladke ke kaaran hi yeh saare log loan nahi de rahe hain..." stated sameer. 

"nahi papa, woh mere kaaran hai..." corrected purvi, as sameer had another shock for him to recover from. 

                                                                             ***

"toh yahan, iss waqt, kyun?" asked dushyant. 

"jab life difficult ho jaati hai, toh you really miss easier times....i really needed that today." remarked ishita.

"me too..." agreed dushyant. 

"woh ghar dekh rahe hain.." pointed ishita to an appartment on the second floor, as dushyant nodded in agreement. 

"maa kaam karti hai wahan, unki beti anushka aur main, ek hi school mein the. toh bus hum dono ko yahin chode deti thi, maa wahan kaam karti, aur anushka aur main, tv pe gaane lagake, zor-zor se gaate unke saath...woh hamesha english gaane hi sunte thi, toh uske kaaran meri bhi english improve ho gayi. hum saath mein hi khaate, bahaut baatein karte the, phir jab maa dusre ghar kaam karti, hum dono tab tak yahan khelte ghanto, jab tak uske  parents office se naa ate. phir baarwi ke baad woh bahar padhne chali gayi, ab saal mein ek baar kabhi phone aata hai.." recounted ishita. 

"i'm so sorry, agar kavin se main roz na mil paon aise, i just can't imagine..." commented dushyant, as ishita scoffed. 

"aap isliye toh nahi aaye honge, obviously..." remarked ishita, as this time she glanced at him. 

"meri maa, unki yeh haalat ek accident mein isiliye hui, kyunki woh mujhe bacha rahi thi...lekin mujhe guilt bas iss baat ka nahi hai, ki , it should have been me...but, agar woh meri baarein mein yeh ek baat jaanti, toh, woh shayad kabhi mere liye apni jaan na deti...and, i, really don't think, main jaisa beta raha hoon unke liye,  mujhe nahi lagta, main aisi maa deserve karta hoon..."  confessed dushyant. 

"kyun dushyant?" asked ishita, as he looked down, before he uttered another word. 

                                                                          ***

author's note: ok, i know, maine kaha tha, aage jaake itna suspense nahi hoga, but kya karein? aadat se majboor hoon. but the good news is, ab sirf ishyant ka drama hai, kavi ke issues resolve ho gaye hain kaafi had-tak, toh unke kaafi lighthearted moments rahenge, which would be a delight for me to write, and for you to read, so stay tuned.