A secret treasure of the past

23. Card

Arihan's face had a smile aswell instantly and he said " Lucky! Aadhik mama!! I know a seclet and I will not tell you" saying so he ran inside Shriya's house.

All of them burst into laughter and they all entered inside the house.

Aadhik came forward and said "May all your dreams be fulfilled Shriya! Happy Birthday! You mean a lot to me and Serah. I feel very much home at your place. Thank you! for being Serah's support system and pampering us both like an elder sister all these years".

Serah hugged Shriya from the side and said in a baby voice " Shrrriyuuu! I am so glad that you were born! What would I do without you? I guess I would become a mad writer lost in myself.. without you".

Laxman laughed and said " I wish I had something like that to say! But no issues! After ten years when we celebrate your Birthday, I guess I will have a million things to say. And trust me I will say it much better than these two boring individuals".

Shriya managed to smile. She was not able to accept the sudden change.

" Isn't Raghav here yet?" Serah asked Lucky.

" I don't know! He must be here before us" Laxman replied.

Serah continued "Shriyu! I am annoyed that you never told me about your real birthday. Every year you are busy with the party in your law firm on your fake birthday given by your passport".

Shriya replied "I did not want to fake my birthday Serah! My dad used to say that as a child being the youngest in the family, I always created a fuss to go to school with my brother. So he wrote my birth date in records 6 months ahead so that Prakash could take me along with him".

" Woow! You have a family and a brother? Where are they? You never mentioned?" Aadhik questioned.

" They are dead Aadu" replied Serah.

Aadhik apologized!

Shriya lied to Serah when they first met. Shriya lived rigid all these years never speaking about them.

Shriya didn't understand why she spoke so much about them today. That gesture of Arihan reminded her of Prakash. That brother who always ate away her share of food. She remembered her house which always echoed of their fighting and her father's pampering.

She did not realise that tears were streaming down her eyes uncontrollably until Serah wiped them.

"Guys! I just need a moment" saying so Shriya moved into her room.

The thoughts of her family clouded in her mind. The words of her mother on her birthday of tenth grade echoed in her soul

" Sweety! At any point of time in life if you feel like giving up always remember that your mother has tought you to defeat failure".

Shriya wanted to hug her mother and let go off her pain. She wanted to hold her father's hand and feel sheltered without any worries. She missed her everyday dose of sibling gossip session with Vaishu and Prakash. The blue name plate on their front door that had 'Shetty's nest' written on it in red flashed before her eyes.

She sat on the floor emotionless lost in those beautiful memories of Bangalore when she was tapped by Arihan.

" Suplwoman! Don't cly! I will save you flom evil night devil. He will not eat you. You eat youl food on time and he will not come. And on bday he will nevel come. You can eat cake and chocolates also. See I made a cald fol you".

He handed over a peice of paper in which he thought he wrote Happy Birthday but as Shriya saw it she couldn't interpret anything from the scribbling but unconditional love from a pure soul.

Arihan kissed on Shriya's cheek and said " happy happy".

She held him tightly in his arms and made him sleep on her lap and said " what if I never let you go baby?"

" I am not a baby. I am a samulai!" He said and hugged her back.

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A/N:

I was really emotional writing this chapter.

I wonder how I will be able to write the upcoming chapters.

But thanks a ton guys for your support and comments. It keeps me motivated to go forward with the story.

Arihan is the best 🧡💛💚💜 he is the soul of the story and I feel really positive writing about him.

Do share your thoughts.