Snippets

Entering the Open Door

"Tch." No then.

"Can he? Does that place have a TV?"

"Hmm."

"Alright. Start acting worried. I will raise my voice so that the news gets spread fast."

"What?" From the way Rahul had said that, Sachin assumed that he had begun his act.

"Me and MS got into a terrible accident, Rahul." Sachin said loudly, trying to summon his inner SRK.

"Are you alright?" Perhaps the two of them should consider acting as a retirement plan.

"I am fine. But Mahi..." Sachin sniffed loudly. Everyone around him was looking at him. Someone was recording. Good.

"But Mahi? What happened to Mahi?"

There was Sourav's voice in the background, demanding to know what had happened. Rahul, like every terrified older brother, ignored him.

"They have taken him for an MRI scan, Jam." Sachin said, his voice breaking. "They are doing god knows what all. I... I don't think they are sure what's wrong with him."

"Give me the phone, Rahul." Sourav was saying.

"Was he conscious when you last saw him? Oh that poor boy." How was Rahul able to summon tears so soon? Sachin had been trying, he couldn't manage.

Before Sachin could answer, the sound of a phone being snatched from its owner came.

"Rahul? Are you there?" Sachin called out dutifully.

"It's me." Sourav said. "What happened, Sachin?"

"Dada..." Time to summon the teary voice. "It's Mahi. He..."

Sachin sniffled.

"Mahi what? Answer me, Sachin!" Sourav commanded.

"He had heard of your heart attack news. He didn't know it was fake." Sachin said, voice as if on the edge of breaking. "We had an accident and he...."

Sachin broke down. Sourav was asking him what happened but now Sachin really was feeling emotional. To speak in such a way of your loved ones was really difficult and when he knew he was fooling another......

Suddenly, Sourav stopped speaking on the other end. Sachin could hear the faint sound of TV on the other side.

"Send the address." Sourav said in a faint voice which didn't really suit him. "I am coming."

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Mahi's first thought on escaping the doctors was I need to take revenge on Paaji for this.

After all, he was the one who had insisted that the doctors do a thorough check up. They had even given him 7 injections! 7! The audacity!

However when he reached him, he saw him talking to some more people. They were all wearing jackets and hats so it was quite difficult to figure out whether or not he knew them.

"Kya Paaji. You left me alone with those doctors and their injections." Mahi complained on reaching them.

As soon as the words left Mahi's lips, the taller of the two men turned towards him and Mahi suddenly found himself in a hug.

He looked at the others, Sachin, Rahul, Dona Bhabhi and made a wild guess.

"Dada? Are you alright?" Mahi asked him.

Sourav separated from him and searched him up and down for any injury. The doctor had bandaged Mahi's arm where a shard of glass had cut him and that was exactly where Sourav's attention went.

"Does it hurt too much?" He asked him. Mahi shook his head. It was a light cut and the doctor putting a bandage on it made him feel like a kid who had fallen down while playing.

Knowing that Mahi wasn't quite hurt now, Sourav's demeanor changed.

"Do you know how worried I was? How worried were we all? 40 years old and you still don't know how to drive a car. Bas match jeetne se life doesn't work." Sourav scolded him.

Mahi wanted to point out that it was Sachin who had been driving and not him, not to mention that it was that Scorpio which had hit their car but he didn't because muscle memory was telling him that would be a bad idea.

"And this drama queen here." Sourav continued, his hold on Mahi tight while he turned towards Sachin. "He was acting as if you were actually dying. I don't how Anjali handles you, Tendlya, I really don't. My soul came out of my body the way you described the accident."

This reminded Mahi of an important detail.

"What are you doing here? Didn't you have a heart attack?" He asked him.

Sourav glared at Mahi for interrupting his scolding before answering, " Fake news. You should have checked with me or Dona before coming here like that, Mahiya. At this point, your daughter is probably more responsible than you."

Sourav continued his tirade but Mahi was no longer paying any attention to him. He was instead looking at the other two legends standing there, their faces filled with the satisfaction that comes after fulfilling a difficult task. At that moment, Mahi understood.

A smile came upon his face. Sourav seeing him smile, paused.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing, Dada." Mahi replied, still looking at his other two brothers. "Just understood something very .... Complex."

Rahul and Sachin's faces paled as they understood that Mahi had caught their plan. They gave him sheepish smiles to which Mahi just shook his head.

Sourav, however, was still confused. "What?"

"Nothing. Come, I saw a good bakery on the way here and I want a cake. You won't deny me that, will you?"

Sourav shook his head but did take him to the bakery, disguised of course.

And if Mahi whispered a soft thank you to his other elder brothers, inaudible to anyone but the three of them, that shall remain a secret between them and us.