✔️Tale as Old as Time (Kunwar Pratap/Ajabde [Praja])

7//~rakshabandhan~

your future needs you,

your past doesn't.

"Achoo!" I sneezed.

"Baisa, yeh kya ho gaya?" Ganga asked. "Aapka swast bigad gaya hain, aap aise mein baar kaise ja sakti hain?"

"Kisi ko kuch bhi kehne ki avarshakta nahi hain," I warned Ganga. "Jab Ranaji ka swast bigada tha tab yaad hain na Ranima ne kaisa kadha banvaya tha, yaad hain na? Hume ayushadhi banate banate ulti aa rahi thi,"

"Kadhe to kadve hi hote hain kintu aapko aisi garmi mein thund kaise lug gayi?" Ganga asked me.

"Voh sab chhodo," I said knowing exactly how I had caught this cold. "Hume Kaki ke ghar jaana hain,"

I walked out of the room and prepared an aarti thal while Ganga got a palki prepared for me. I had been sneezing violently all morning but I didn't need anyone to know.

:~:~:~:

Manivati Kaki knew all about me. I was supposed to live with her originally but then Kunwar Pratap insisted I moved to the Raj Mahal but still, she was a very sweet lady who loved her son and motherland very much.

I called her Kaki and Patta was automatically my little brother. He didn't have a sister and I didn't have a brother so it worked out well. Also, he was like 11 and he didn't need to know what was happening. He was just told I was a relative.

I got out of the palki and entered the house.

"Jija, aapne kitni pratiksha karvayi. Hume ma bhojan ko haath bhi nahi lagane de rahi hain," Patta said as soon as I walked inside. "Jaldi bandhye humari rakhi to hum bhojan kha sake,"

"Patta!" Kaki scolded lightly. I touched her feet first and then she hugged me.

"Bus bhi, bohoth adhik bhook lagi hain," he repeated bouncing on his feet to communicate how much of a hurry he was in.

I put down the aarti thal and pulled out the box I had concealed under my dupatta and put it on the table.

"Jaldi bethiye. Aapki rakhi bandh dete hain," I said. "Uske paschat yeh aapka,"

"Sugandh to bohoth badiya aa rahi hain," he said closing his eyes. He jumped onto the bed and held his hand out eagerly.

I laughed and did his aarti. Then his tilak and finally tied the rakhi on his wrist. I had woken up early to make it myself. The rakhi consisted of 3 rudraksha beads intertwined with gold beads. It fit perfectly on his skinny hand.

"Mangiye jija," he said puffing his chest out and standing up on the bed to appear taller than me, "Mangiye aapko jo mang na ho. Mangiye!"

"Vachan," I said holding out my hand.

"Kaisa vachan?" he asked me.

"Humne suna ki aap lootero ke pichhe gaye the," I said in a serious tone.

"Ma ne aapko sab bata diya? Veh humara anaj aur sona chura rahe the. Ek stree ko dhaka bhi mara aur veh gir gayi," he said. "Humara kartavya banta tha ki hum unke pichhe jaiye,"

"Iss sab ke liye kothwal hain, senik hain, puri nyai vehvastha hain," I said. "Aapko kuch ho jata to?"

"Hua to nahi na. Mein ab saksham hoon apni atma raksha hetu. Ma aap kahiye Jija se," he said.

"Meri aap sunte hain ki mein Ajabde se kahu?" she asked. "Etne bade bade purusho ko jab nahi padi thi tab aapko kya avarshakta thi van mein gusne ki?"

"Mujhe kshama kar dijiye," he said. "Mein aapko yeh vachan nahi de sakta. Parantu aaj mein aapko yeh vachan deta hoon ki chahe apne pran kyun na dene pade, mein aapki sadev raksha karun-"