The Fierce Flame

06||troubles

"Eat your dinner."

"Kiraz, you seat down, I will feed him." Kaveri aunty keep the bowl of Chicken curry. The smell itself is enough to growl my stomach.

"It's okay, you seat down. Just two spoons are left. Veer open your mouth." He stops rolling his car on the table, looking at me, and opening his mouth.

"Kabir did you take out my Christmas tree."

Kabir looks at him, smiling lovingly at him, "Yess, I did."

Veer gets downs from the chair, but I hold his hand, feeding him the last bite. He run off to the living room, screaming whatever limited vocabularies of beautiful he knows.

I take my seat beside Kabir, serving myself. The couch shell settled on my left wrist, shining in the yellow light of the dining table.

"You know you should stop wearing this?" Kabir whispers in my ears, for only me to hear it.

"I like it." He looks at the bracelet, before focusing on his dinner.

"What did that Sheela said?" Kavya asks. "Yess, even I forgot to ask."

I chew the food, "Nothing much, just smiling, using taunts in her sentences and yes kissing Veer's cheek."

Both the sibling snorts. "You wouldn't believe me, that boy just made me wash his face thrice with soap, and even after that he was still scratching his cheeks." I snort.

He doesn't let anyone touch him except Kiraz. I can't imagine his heartbreak after getting a smooch on his cheeks from a woman whose TV he couldn't break." Kabir always finds humor in any situation. He's never serious, except when it comes to his business.

"Kabir, how are the preparations for the party going?" Aunty inquires.

By "party," they mean New Year's. Every year, the neighborhood pitches in to rent a place at a beach and organizes a party to welcome the new year with good wishes. There's dancing, bars, food-everything you can think of.

"This year, everyone is thinking of hiring belly dancers," he adds.

"Yeah, I heard that too." I nod my head, continuing, "Today, Ravi uncle approached me. He wants to get food for the event from Rayer."

"Wow! That's such good news." I smile at them, seeing their cheerful faces.

"Since Rayer is a pure veg restaurant, he'll get food from us and arrange the non-veg from somewhere else." I pick up the discarded carrot from Veer's plate.

"This calls for a celebration," Kavya exaggerates, throwing her hands in the air.

"Celebration?" Veer runs from the living room, hearing the word. I sigh as I watch him jump to his feet, his hair bouncing. "I want the big piece of cake," he utters. For Veer, the word celebration means, having a big piece of cake.

"Okay, Veerpari." Kavya pinches his cheeks.

"Massi, I am not Veerpari." He frowns, resting his hand on his hip.

"You are."

"I am not."

"You are." Kavya bobs her head.

"I am not." Veer copies her.

"Veer Kavya, enough." One warning from Kabir and that is enough for them to be quiet.

Christmas passes by too quickly to grasp. Maybe happy times are always in a rush. I grab my purse from the hanger, throwing on a hoodie over my tank top and matching it with bootcut jeans.