A/N: Again an OS on Kabir's teenage years but in third person limited.

To be honest, this incident isn't anyway connecting to the first TSOUHD book, but more is following the lines of TSOUHD#2. But anyway, it's KaIsha, so I'm sure you all will like it. Happy reading! :)

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One Shot #19

The Cute Surprise for Kabir

I'm sorry, Bir. I know I promised you that we'll spend this summer vacation at my house but now I'm unable to keep this promise. You know na, my maternal aunt's just gave birth to a baby boy and it's very necessary for my family to stay by her side in this blissful yet hectic phase of her life.
I know how much you were looking forward to this vacation, but unfortunately we'll have to let it go and wait for the next set of holidays.

Yours friend forever,
Aarav.

Kabir read the letter for the 100th time. He was upset.
For the past one year, he had awaited his summer vacation. He hadn't been home for past one year and had spent his vacations in his boarding school instead. Reason: his parents were busy and he just didn't wish to be alone in his house with his GM who still needed time to recover from her husband's and her granddaughter's death.

But last autumn, Aarav—who had come to visit Kabir—had promised Kabir that next he'd come to pick Kabir up from his boarding school and they'd spent their summer holidays together at Aarav's place.

Alas, Kabir was meant to spend his vacations alone, even this time.

"You're gonna stay here, again, alone when almost all of us are leaving?" asked one of Kabir's classmates while packing his bags.

"I suppose yes, any issues?" he asked, trying to restrain his annoyance from seeping into his words.
He went and lied on his bed.

"Well, no. But don't you like being home, with your parents, grandparents, and siblings?" his classmate asked, his curiosity heavily covering his words.

It was no secret that Kabir was the most introverted student of his boarding school. He hardly ever interacted with anyone, preferred to keep himself busy in his own company and avoided getting into any trouble. It was tough for people to believe the reason as to why he was like this. And to increase their inquisition, Kabir's parents—Shilpa and Karan—never visited him together. Either it was his father who travelled to Dehradun from Delhi to meet him, or just his mother. But never together did they ever come.

"I ... no," he answered, a little upset. He turned on to his left, and pretended to be asleep. His classmate didn't question him anymore.

He indeed felt disappointed, forlorn and woeful, but like his nature, kept it to himself. He skipped the dinner as well, citing a severe headache and spent the entire time lying on his bed with a photo album that his mother gave him when he was leaving for his boarding school.

The photo album had pictures of his parents, him, and his deceased sister. His mother had arranged the pictures in a chronological order, starting from Kabir's birth to the last day of Samyra's, Kabir's baby sister.

A smile broke on his face as he went through the album, for umpteenth time this evening. He missed home, miserably and inconsolably. But he couldn't bear to live in that empty house, which though was a home yet ironically never felt like one since his sister passed away two years back.

Clutching tightly the album, he fell asleep.

The next morning, he watched how his classmates and other schoolmates ecstatically waited for their parents to come. Soon, parents began to arrive and the school turned emptier. But Kabir wasn't remorseful, he rather busied himself in playing a mind involving game of rubik's cube. It was his favourite game, and stress-buster too.

However, when he was done solving all the five cubes that he owned, he couldn't decide what next he should do. So, to pass his time, he began arranging his clothes, stationery and other stuff in his cupboard—not that it wasn't already organised.

When he picked up his books to arrange them in an alphabetically order, a chocolate wrapper fell down from one of the books. Slightly bemused, he picked it. He wasn't one to store wrappers, but when he saw which wrapper it was, his lips curled into a small smile.

The purple wrapper was of the chocolate he had shared with his Little Kitty, two years back.

Instantly, his eyes turned to gaze at the bedside table of his. On the top of the table, rested an enchanting photograph of his sister with his Little Kitty, stuck in a black photo frame. The photograph was clicked when their families had gone on a family vacation, and the two giggling girls— in matching blue tees—couldn't stop getting clicked together.

It was his farewell gift from Aarav.

"Aww, Bir, you're missing me. Hehe."
Is that Little Kitty's voice? he wondered.

He looked around, but realised it was his illusion as he was terribly missing her. He wasn't sure himself why, but since his sister's death, his Little Kitty was too dear for him. Anaisha.

Shrugging his shoulders, he busied himself in arranging his books. But few seconds later, he felt a tug on his shirt. Bemused, he looked down to see who it was but ....

"BOOO" shouted his Little Kitty aka Anaisha.

Terrified—having been caught off-guard—he jumped back and then fell down on the floor. Anaisha stood giggling with her palms covering her mouth.

"Ha ha ... Bir ... Ha ha ... look at ... Ha ha ... your face," she pointed out, laughing so loud that tears began to stream down her face.

Kabir—who just realised what happened—recovered and gazed at her. In her blue denim shorts and a grey sweatshirt, she looked every bit cute as she was. And her fishtail-ed hair, only made her seem cuter and then her glasses.

"What are you doing here, Litt—Anaisha?"
He stood infront of her, with his arms crossed. With his height of 5'10, he easily towered this ten-year-older, who was 4'10 or something.

"Well, I came here to meet you," she smiled, bouncing on her toes. "But I think you're not happy to see me, is that so, Kabirrrr?"

"Hmm ... you're here to meet me, but alone? Big girl already, huh?" he playfully teased her, pulling her chubby cheeks.

She jerked his hand off, and rubbed her cheeks while scrunching  her nose. Kabir laughed heartily.

"I'm not a big girl yet, but I'm also not a little girl anymore," she stated, so firmly that Kabir decided not to pull her leg on this.

"Okay, not so big girl, why don't you sit here," he patted on the bed as he sat down. "But I don't have any chocolates for you."

"I do have a chocolate, for us," she smiled. And from her blue Hello Kitty bag, she took out a bar of chocolate, covered in a similar purple wrapper that Kabir had kept safe for past two years.
I think the name Little Kitty is perfect for her, he thought himself as he saw how her sling bag, hairband and even earrings had a kitty on it. Kitty obsessed, I suppose.

Anaisha broke the chocolate bar in two halves and passed him one. He took it and both began devouring on it. But curious, Kabir couldn't stop himself from asking a question that he found puzzling.

"How come you reached here, and don't tell me you're a big girl. Because as far as I know your dad and your brothers, they are too protective to let you go to school without anyone of them. So who's here along with you?"
He raised his eyebrows.

Grinning sheepishly, Anaisha gestured him to bring his ears closer to her lips as she had to whisper something. Kabir rolled his eyes, it seemed like a national confidential information.

"Me and Aarav Bhai have come here to pick you up, along with your GM and my mom. As they were waiting for the war-den huh warden to come, I sneaked here as I saw you moving towards this room. You're going to stay with us!" she grinned, and pulled Kabir's cheeks, in the same manner he had pulled hers.

But immediately, she let go of it as Kabir had a stuble and it pricked her skin.
"Haww, why didn't you shave? Your cheeks are so pricky." she rubbed her hands.

"Well, that's because I knew a ten-year-old kitten would come to pull my cheeks and I had to keep my defence up," he winked, only to get a scowl from her.
From the window of his room, which faced the corridor, he saw Aarav coming towards his room. His smile grew wider.
So this was a surprise.

"Acha leave it, pack your bags, we're going homeeeee," she sang and twirled around the room before colliding with her brother who lost his balance and fell down.

Both, Kabir and Anaisha, laughed together at Aarav.

Kabir's luggage was loaded in the car trunk and the five of them settled inside. Kabir sat with Anaisha and Aarav in the back-most seat of the Toyota Innovia they had commuted with from the airport.

Even in the aircraft, the three sat together. Anaisha demandingly sitting the middle seat with Kabir and Aarav on the either sides of her.

The journey was fun-filled and Kabir enjoyed it the most with Aarav's and Anaisha's company, without realising that in few years this closeness that he shared with Anaisha was about to cripple down to dust and he'd have to rebuild it from the scratch.

Yet, it was not to be worried about now as these moments were meant to lived, right now and with the two cherished people of his desolate life.