Four Beers and a Coke✔

XVI The Bystander

Chapter XVI The Bystander

“You must have already guessed that Rohan, Raghav and I were friends from before and that Raghav and Rohan are brothers.”

Well, guessed and the fact that Rohan told me that they were. However, it is considered really rude to interrupt when others are emptying their heart out to you, so I nodded. Back then I’d give anything to tell someone about my caged feelings, but over the years I’d learned to tame them all. Now I am used to not having anyone to talk to.

In fact, I am scared to tell others about my feelings more than keeping it all in.

“Raghav and Rohan, the Mehra brothers were our new neighbors when I turned five. The empty bungalow in front of ours would finally be lively and I’d probably have someone to play with, excited me. As a matter of fact, I had two kids to play with.” She smiled.

The refreshing memories were lightening her mood, “Raghav Mehra, one-year elder to me and Rohan his younger brother who was one-year younger to me. The first day was very awkward because I was unhappy that they had no sister and they weren’t too fond of a crying girl either. However, unlike us, our families besides being born and brought up in Mumbai cultures, bonded really well. Their businesses were complimentary to ours and nothing could be more awesome than that.

“For this, we kids were forced to be together at multiple occasions and at one such event when some other kids bullied me because I wore a lot of pink, the Mehra brothers stuck with me to my defense and we were inseparable since. After that, both Raghav and Rohan became my life line, like the two friends I always wanted. Although Raghav was one-year elder to me, age never seemed a difference between us. He would always go the extra way for Rohan and me, always was the most confident one in the trio. He loved the both of us and we adored him and his protective ways.

“Rohan hero-worshipped his brother and made me do so too. Where Raghav and I blended so well, Rohan and I always fought for one reason or the other. Since he was a year younger to me, many a times I had to reason with him. Well the other times I would just hit him."

She paused as she recollected those days, those memories and one could see how painful such a recollection could be.

“Even though with our differences, Rohan and I were more comfortable with each other than Raghav and I was. Rohan was my personal assistant; I could trouble him, hit him and even made him run errands for me just because I would blackmail him with his cheat comics and mischief at school. He hated me but never really minded because at the end of the day, I was his only friend. And I loved troubling him, making him do things for me and hated when anyone else did the same.

“Raghav was more mature and never interfered in our fights; he was always the sane one. The three of us never left the other’s side and school was fun because of these two. When Rohan would make me miserable, Raghav always cheered me up. he was my personal safety blanket.