"kyun dushyant?" asked ishita, as dushyant looked down, while his foot made a little circle on the ground. 

"kuch hai aisa, joh nahi bataya kisiko bhi...uhmm, jiss din maa ka accident hua tha, hum meri maasi ke ghar jaa rahe the, stage 4 breast cancer hai unhe, maa milna chahti thi unse before it was too late...but uss din meri bike kharab nahi hui thi, maine bike kharab hone ka naatak kiya tha...main nahi jaana chahta tha unke paas, darr lagta tha unse mujhe..." admitted dushyant, as ishita got puzzled. 

"aisa kya kiya tha unhone?" questioned ishita. 

"jab main chota tha, hum naani ke ghar bahaut jaate the summer vacations mein, maasi bhi apni beti ko lekar aati thi...kabhi-kabhi, maa purvi aur unki beti ko khelane lene gayi hoti thi nani ke saath, main aur maasi ghar akele hote the, woh mujhe, bahaut ajeeb tarah se touch karti thi, mujhe bilkul acha nahi lagta tha, main mana bhi karta tha, cheekta bhi tha, koi help ke liye nahi aata tha...woh zabadasti meri pant utarwaakar..." he confessed, only to stop, when he broke down in tears, left unable to say anything. 

ishita rubbed his back, as it seemed like, it was something that had been haunting him his whole life. 

"main, nahi thi mujhmein himmat, unhe face karne ki...baar-baar unke shabd aate the dimaag mein, ki kisiko ko bataunga kya hua toh koi nahi manega...sab hasenge mujhpe...toh maine plan kiya tha, ki beech raste mein kahi drama karunga bike kharab hone ka, mechanic ko bulane ke bahane thoda time waste karunga, maa papa ko bulalegi, joh uss waqt apne friend ke saath the, aur phir hum ghar chale jayenge, aur agli baar, as planned, mom papa ke saath hi jayengi. mujhe nahi pata tha, ki yeh sab ho jayega..and mom ke accident ke do din baad hi maasi expired...i just, i couldn't face her, yeh sab unki life mein mere kaaran hua tha..." admitted dushyant. 

"dushyant..." called ishita softly. 

"i wanted to tell her i was sorry, but i didn't think she would believe me..." stated dushyant. 

"i do believe you..." responded ishita. 

"and, i know your mom would too, and she would forgive you, she loves you..." assured ishita. 

"actually, tumhe maafi mangane ki zaroorat nahi hai, tumhari galti nahi hai ki tumhare saath yeh sab hua, you were just scared and who wouldn't be?" comforted ishita. 

"nahi ishita, what i did was still wrong, ab main bacha nahi hoon, mujhe bata dena chahiye tha maa ko..." detested dushyant. 

"doesn't matter dushyant, tumhare saath baar-baar hua tha yeh, saalon tak, tumhara darr jayaas tha, bas saal bitne se woh darr thodi chala jaata..." insisted ishita. 

"you don't think maine galat kiya?" he asked, in such a soft voice, as if he was a little child. 

"nahi, mujhe lagta tumhari maasi ne jo kiya galat tha, and bhagwaan ne unhe saza dedi...tum safe ho, aunty safe hai, tum dono relationship acha hai, tumhari maasi ek painful beemari ke kaaran mari, bina apni behen se mile aakhri baar, joh tab marne waali thi almost jab woh unse milne aa rahi thi, shayad yahi bhagwaan ka insaaf tha." explained ishita. 

"you know, i'm glad maine tumhe bataya..." replied dushyant, as ishita smiled, which he reciprocated. 

                                                                      ***

purvi opened the google drive folder with all of her and kavin's photos, she gazed at the one where he had her arms wrapped around her and was planting a kiss on her cheek. she selected it as her walpaper, as now, it was not something she would need to hide. suddenly, her phone rang, as the contact name flashed, 'kavin'. she immediately picked it up. 

"hello." received purvi the call. 

"yaar tumne kabhi notice kiya ki hum kabhi bhi ek actual date pe nahi gaye?" questioned kavin, as he lied down on his bed. 

"kaise jaate, tum bas bhaiya ke bahane hi toh ghar aake mujhse milte the..." replied purvi, playfully. 

"hmm, ab tumhari aadhi bani chaye peena toh date ho nahi sakti..." remarked kavin jokingly. 

"hey! maine bilkul seekha hi tha chaye banana uss waqt..aur by the way, tum bhi jhooti taarif he karte the har waqt. " defended purvi. 

"hmm, woh toh phir bhi naak band karke pee sakta tha na! jab tum baking ka shauk chad gaya tha na...tauba-tauba..." recounted kavin. 

"acha, toh woh jo tumhara birthday cake banaya tha woh itna chaat-chaat ke kyun kha rahe the?" questioned purvi. 

"haan, toh 10 jale hue cake khaane ke baad bhi, itni encouragement di thi maine, tabhi toh woh cake bana!" exclaimed kavin. 

"seriously." rolled purvi her eyed. 

"nahi waise tum itni ziddi thi uss waqt, ki agar main burayi bhi karta toh bhi banati rehti, taaki ek din mujhe kehna padein ki main galat tha...tum dono hi bhai-behen aise ho." replied kavin. 

"main bhaiya jitni toh ziddi nahi hoon..." claimed purvi. 

"arre, sahi mein, kahan!" remarked kavin, ironically. 

"acha, itni buri hoon na main, abhi phone katti hoon..." threatened purvi. 

"arre nahi, ruko!" stopped kavin. 

"acha baba, sorry.." apologised kavin. 

"sorry se kaam nahi chalega. ab main 15 saal ki nahi hoon, ki bas mere bhai ka bahana banake mujhse milne aajaoge, ab mujhe proper date pe leke jaoge.." stated purvi. 

"galat boyfriend pakad liya phir tumne, agar aapko pata na hoon, mere jeb zaroorat se zyada tight hai.." informed kavin. 

"achi date ke liye zyada budget nahi chahiye hota hai, haan creativity zaroor chahiye hoti, woh toh maine bhi dekha hai bahaut hain tum mein." replied purvi. 

"dekha, tareef karlogi, gussa karlogi, kuch bhi karke baat manwalogi.." retorted kavin. 

"idea toh tumne hi diya tha..." pointed purvi. 

"ok, ok, fair...be ready to be amazed." said kavin. 

"always my pleasure." hung up purvi on the call. 

she placed the phone close to her chest, as a smile came on to her face. 

                                                                     ***

author's note:so, as promised, kavi will have lighthearted moments, which will be fun for me to write, and more fun for you to read. there will be more of these ahead, so stay tuned for that. secondly, i would like to address the topic of sexual assault of minor boys, that was depicted in this chapter. i have been just shocked really at how whenever women are arrested for assaulting and raping minor boys, it is mocked. minor boys and girls are both equally preyed on by pedophiles, and though the number of girls might be higher, the boys affected by these crimes not only face the shame that comes for a victim of such a crime, but also, the societal stigma, where boys are just expected to be tough, which is a very toxic belief, and often these criminals will use it as an excuse to shut them up. moreover, sexual offenders, almost always in case of minors, is someone known and loved by them. it's not a stranger who offers candy to children who might be a danger to them in most cases, it would be someone who was supposed to love and protect them, someone they trusted. finally, if you are a minor, i understand why you would not feel comfortable talking to an adult if something like this unfortunately happened to you. but please understand, it is for your safety, only that it needs to be reported. don't be afraid to ask for help, especially on this helpline: 

NATIONAL CHILD HELPLINE -

TEL : 1098

24 HOURS TOLL FREE HELPLINE

stay safe.