A/N: This isn't long. Just a short part. No proofreading, sorry for errors! Enjoy! :)

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One Shot #18

Father's Day

"So, Bir, what's your plan for tomorrow?" asked Aarav, as he moved his pawn two squares ahead. He and Kabir were playing chess together, in his room as Kabir had come to play with him.

"What's tomorrow, Avi?" asked Kabir nonchalantly, concentrating more in the game. He was planning his next move, which would make him win the game if it was right.

"You don't know what's tomorrow?" said Aarav bewilderedly, as if Kabir had just done a sin.

"Yeah, I don't know," replied Kabir, disinterested. He couldn't understand what was making Aarav act like he's oblivious to something very important. "Tomorrow's not your birthday, right?"

"No, it's not birthday. I wouldn't even have reminded you if it was my birthday tomorrow," said Aarav. "Tomorrow is father's day, don't you know?"

Father's Day, Kabir didn't know. Though, it was a different story that it didn't even matter. His father was always busy with his work, not that his mother had enough time for him and his 4-year-old sister. The work schedule of his father, made him stay at work till late at nights. Though, Kabir wondered whether it was his father's own decision ... to avoid his responsibilities or his wife.

"Where are you lost, Bir?" Aarav snapped his fingers in front of Kabir, which broke his chain of thoughts.

"Yeah, huh," said Kabir, shaking his head vaguely. "No, I didn't know tomorrow's father's day. I don't have any plans for tomorrow."

"But there's still time, you can plan something for sure," suggested Aarav, ignoring the fact that things weren't fine in Kabir's house pretty much since the time Kabir's mother had resumed her job.

"I don't know," Kabir answered quietly, returning back to the game. Aarav stayed mum, understanding Kabir's predicament. They both continue to play game, till some time later when Samyra came to talk to Kabir.

"Veerji, are we going home now?" asked Kabir's baby sister Samyra, holding her Winnie the Pooh backpack, with sunglasses in her eyes, although there was no sunrays to protect her brown eyes from.

His lips curled into a smile, his sister was definitely the cutest thing he had ever seen. And also, she was his calming factor.

"You want to stay here for more time?" he asked Samyra, making her sit on his lap.

She nodded her head, "Yes, Veerji, me and Chhoti were playing 'Teacher-Teacher'. I want to play for some more time."

"Okay, fine, go and play," he said, making her stand on the floor.

"Thank you," Samyra squealed, kissing her brother's cheek. She jumped happily, her two pigtails making her look even cuter.

"Sammy, come fast na," called Chhoti, standing at the entrance of the room.

Kabir turned to look at the door, and an amused smile came on his face. Chhoti was dressed in her usual tomboy style, but was wearing heels of her mother and her pink dupatta with spectacles of her grandmother on her eyes. Her hair were tied in two pigtails, just like Samyra, and she was looking just as adorable as his sister. He was sure she was the teacher in their role playing game.

"Coming, Chhoti," said Samyra. Waving bye to her brother, she followed Chhoti, who passed Kabir a grimace. It was well known, they didn't share good vibes, despite meeting each other almost everyday.

Some time later, Kabir's GM came to pick the kids up. The kids bade bye to their friends and left for their home. Kabir was unusually silent throughout the ride, which his sister noticed and tried to cheer him up with her silly stories; it worked.

After having their evening snacks, both Kabir and Samyra settled in her room. Seeing the opportunity, Samyra probed Kabir about his unusually dull mood. He didn't first reply to her, but her puppy dog face worked and he narrated his conversation with Aarav, which Samyra patiently listened to.

"Veerji, we can plan something for Dad. We still have this evening, I'm sure even GM and Dadu will help us," said Samyra sweetly, sitting on her brother's lap.

"But, I don't think Dad will even bother to spend time with us," said Kabir, knowing well his father hardly ever stay with the kids. His work mattered more to him, or at least that's what he had always projected.

"He will, Veerji," assured Samyra, blinking her eyes.

"Okay then, let's talk to GM and Dadu," said Kabir, passing his sister a small smile.

Both of them share about their wish to their grandparents, who though worried at first, agree to help the kids, hoping it'll make their father realise how much his kids loved him and how he should be spending time with them.

With their grandmother's help, the kids plan to get their father a 'Father's Day' special cake along with a cool set of fountain pens, which their father was fond of. Once the plan was finalised, they left with their grandparents to shop for the gift and cake.

They came back after an hour, almost at the time of their father's time of coming home. Their mum arrived some minutes later. It was a hard task for Kabir to keep Samyra from revealing anything about their secret planning for their father. All through the evening, Samyra kept seeking opportunities to jump near her father and give him hints about their plan. But Kabir always handled the situation, though Samyra's enthusiasm was hard to hide.

When it was almost midnight, with GM's help, Kabir and Samyra arranged the cake on a glass plate. They also had wrapped the pens in a beautiful wrapping paper.

With exuberance, the kids walked toward their parents' room. Just as they reached their bedroom, before they could even open the door, their parents' loud voices reached their ears.

"SHILPA, ENOUGH! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR A WORD MORE!" their father shouted.

"WHY? WHY SHOULDN'T I?" their mother yelled back.

Their parents continue to fight, the kids stand numb in front of their bedroom door, unable to move. The elder brother that Kabir was, he held his sister's hand and led her to her room. His sister silently followed him, though she was crying profusely.

He settled on her bed and made his sister sit on his lap. He started stroking her hair, trying to calm her down. His sister continued to cry, though slowly she fell asleep.

Kabir made her lie on her bed, still sitting beside her. Their parents were still fighting, he could hear their yells. He felt slightly guilty for accepting his sister's wish to do something for their father, at least then she wouldn't have gone to bed crying. He should've known that no matter what happened, their parents would never understand how much they were hurting their kids with their ignorance and their fights. They'd never realise how wrong both of them were!

Some time later, Kabir left for the kitchen. He didn't know what to do with the cake. He thought to leave it in the kitchen. So, he walked downstairs toward the kitchen and kept the cake on the kitchen slab.

The candles were still lit, so he extinguished them, a few tears in his eyes too. With a heavy heart, he turned to leave for his sister's room. But he halted on his tracks, and turned back once to glance at the cake. Another Father's Day gone without any celebration in their house. Maybe, he and his sister weren't lucky enough.

He sighed and walked back to his sister's room. He sat beside her, she was sleeping, with tear stains on her cheeks. Wiping her tears, he lied beside her. At least he had his sister, if not his parents, whom he neither hated nor ever held responsible for anything. They give him his baby sister, he'd always be glad to them. Always!