Abir peeped through the small space between the doors,"Bubbles?"  He   walked in and looked around the yellow-themed room he had designed for his little girl. Finding the bed empty, he took two steps towards the adjacent door when Nanu entered the room.

"Abir beta, she is in your room!" Nanu spoke, "she is busy with some surprise. She let everyone out because she wanted to do everything by herself."

"Thanks Nanu."

He went to this room, found it locked, knocked gently, his daughter was always mischievous, waiting for a cute reply, he heard a loud stern voice instead, "Password!" she demanded. 

He had forgotten this month's password. Closing his eyes and trying hard to remember, "Bubbles, it's Papa." 

"You can't enter the army's tent without the password! You know the rules!" she laughed as he hit his head on the door, trying hard to remember the password. This was not just a game, this was more than a game.  This was one way to protect his daughter, two years ago, he had begun this training,  when she was just three years old, a toddler. He had spent days telling and teaching her how to lock the room when she was alone and to only let people inside if they knew the password, people only he trusted. If she wasn't sure who it was, to ask for the password. She had promised to never let anyone know about this game.  And Abir didn't share the password  with anyone except his daughter. This wasn't times to trust anyone and he knew that very well from his bitter past.

They didn't do this drill often as she was rarely alone at house, but for his daughter's safety this was one of his ways.  "I can't remember, Major," he said trying to remember what he had chosen at the start of the month. 

"Try Hard Captain!" she replied back, "You set the rules!" 

"I did Bubbles, but Papa has really forgotten," he pleaded and tried to convince.

"Thought you would say that, Papa taught me not to trust anyone! A person can steal anything from you except your brains," she laughed as she reiterated his teachings. 

Abir tried to remembered that day, the first day of the month, something about that day had been the password, it was seven words long, it always is, "Bubbles, you will help Papa right?"

"Three hints only!"  she replied. 

He sighed, "First hint?"

She pondered for a while and replied, "Something you and I love doing!"

"You and I love doing? We love doing so many things. Chess? Guitar? Painting?"

She laughed, "Hint two- none that you mentioned. Come on, these were obvious ones!"

"I didn't stop guessing, Bubbles."He pulled out the keys to his room, the clanking of the keys got him another laugh.

"You won't cheat if you are Papa!" she replied matter of factly, "also if you were smart, you would know me." That was true, she would have closed all the locks even the ones without the keys.

"We love reading, it has to be someone we read about?"

"Yes and that was the third hint."

Abir sighed, this was his last chance, "We love reading and I think this was about someone we read about, and that person loved something we like doing...let me think. So it has to be something we read around that time." He sighed, he couldn't remember, "Bubbles?"

"Rules are rules Captain, and you set them up."

" I hope this is right," he took a deep breath, "Alfonsina Strada,  Giro d'Italia, devil in dress," he finished. 

"Password accepted," the little girl  opened the door, "Hi Papa!" 

"Bubbles!" he picked her up and hugged his daughter, "You are an intelligent young girl!"

She laughed in his hair, "I know that Papa, tell me something new. You forgot we love cycling! She was a cyclist!" she exclaimed and looked at his face, "Do you know how much I missed you today?"

"I missed you too little one," he put her down and her little, soft hands held his hand and led him to his small table, where a small mug was lit with a thin candle, "because you won an award!" she frowned, "where is the award?"

"Oh! I think downstairs," he said. 

"And my gift?" she asked with her arms crossed, "It's downstairs too?"

"Yes!" he nodded, "We'll go downstairs tomorrow and see both my award and your gift!"

She nodded happily, "Now make a wish and blow the candle!" 

He looked at the mug, there was a brownie, "Who made this?"

"Of course I did!" her hands on her hips, "I did but Ketki Masi helped!" She looked at the cake excitedly, "make a wish!" As he closed his eyes and made a wish, she blew his candle for him and looked at him cutely, "let's eat the cake?" 

He freshened up and changed into pajamas while she finished the brownie and brushed her teeth.  After their night routine, which included moisturizing the body and putting up candles for their bed time story, they sat on the bed to read  her new favorite bed time story,  Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favillihe.  It was this year's birthday gift that Kunal had gifted her. Pulling a thin sheet over themselves, she flipped to the new story "Once there was a girl who was an amazing painter. Her name was Artemisia and she was beautiful and strong. Her father, Orazio, was also a painter and trained her in his studio from the time she was little...."

"Just like you train me?" she smiled and he nodded, "it's our story, papa."

He chuckled, "It sounds like our story!"  They laughed and read the rest of the tale until she was tired and sleeping in his arms like every night.  

Then like every night, he went outside and looked up at the sky. The stars and the moon were  more visible today.  It was a clear sky after so many days. He closed his eyes and looked back at the one star, his North star, "Did you see how Bubbles remembered the drill? I'm taking care of her just like I promised you, but if you think I should do something differently, let me know," he smiled stupidly, "Yes! The way you would always do, indicate me in your unique way! And like always, I'll understand and change my way of doing things. I think she is getting stronger and smarter," he giggled remembering how he forgot the password, "I forgot the...."

"Bhai..."Kunal interrupted him and walked up to Abir, "do you often...?"

"Talk to the stars?" he nodded gently, "I do."

"Do you think she is up there?" Kunal looked up, eyes with heavy droplets of water.

"She always loved stars, Ms. Astronomer," he said proudly, " I think she is the brightest of them all," he pointed to the north, "That one!" 

"Bhai," Kunal pulled Abir to face him, "It is nice seeing you happy."  Then looked up at the star, there was silence for some time, "Nanu, you and I will make Anjali very tough and strong, we'll protect her till our last breath," tears fell from his eyes as he said the promise, "we couldn't protect didi ," he  voice choked as Abir looked at him, their smiles disappearing and expressions of deep pain resurfacing, "but we will protect Anjali from everyone and every circumstance."

Abir looked up at the star and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder, "and that's our promise Di!"