The next morning Virat again reached to Rishabh's room, ready in track suit for his morning exercise session. It was his daily routine now, even if he knew Rishabh won't come, he just loved to rattle him.
"Rishu uth" Virat called out for the first time. Rishabh didn't even flinch.
"Rishu". Second warning.
Virat pulled the blanket completely from Rishabh's body this time. And this always worked. " Kya hai aapka? Nahi aana mujhe. Daya karo bachche pe aur sone do mujhe"
"You are an ATHLETE for fuck's.. Er- God's sake, start taking care of your health. Kal party mein itna anaap- shanaap khaya aur fir exercise bhi nahi karni. Ridiculous" Virat scolded.
Rishabh didn't mind, he calmly spoke, his his eyes half closed "Mai nahi aa sakta, bhaiya has grounded me, so aap jaake bhaiya se permission lo pahle"
"Jaate jaate bhaiya se permission le lenge, I assure you he won't deny. Ab ja jake fresh hoke aa jaldi" Virat uttered.
To his surprise, Rishabh got up and went to washroom. And instead of being sulky and agitated, he looked normal and happy.
"Good morning Cheeku bhaiya. Ab toh ye blanket chhod do, nahi ja rha mai dobara sone " Rishabh said as he came out after getting ready.
Virat immediately threw the blanket away, "ye cheeku bhaiya bolna kaha se seekha tu? Izzat se bhai nahi bulaya jata? " Virat asked narrowing his eyes. He was sure some moron friend of his taught him this yesterday.
"Offo cheeku bhaiya, pahle wala part bhi toh suno, maine good morning bola, aise daant-te hain good morning wish karne pe? " Rishabh asked dramatically.
Virat glared at him as he stepped towards Rishabh. He went and pulled his ear, "kaun hu mai beta? "
"Arey kaun hoon ka kya matlab hai? Virat deshmukh ho.. The most happening cricket er in the world right now.. Owwww" Virat twisted his ear more.
"Chhodo, subah subah itni hitlergiri kon karta hai, arey alag ho jayega mera kaan shakal se, chhodooo" Rishabh whined.
"Pahle bata kon hoon mai? Kya lagta hoon tera? " Virat asked again.
"Virat bhai, chhod do ab toh"
"Cheeku bhaiya nahi? " Virat asked again, still pulling his ear.
"Nahi. Arey sapne mein bhi cheeku bhaiya nahi bulaunga" Rishabh sighed in relief as Virat finally left his ear.
"Bhaiya toh aise hi badnaam hain, asli hitler toh aap ho" Rishabh spoke rubbing his ear, which had become red.
"Achha? You will change your stance in 5 minutes" Virat spoke.
"Chale neeche? " Rishabh asked.
"Haan chal"
MS and Sakshi were preparing breakfast when Rishabh and Virat came down. Virat went and hugged MS, "Good morning Bhai"
"Good morning Cheeks. Aaj toh Rishu ko utha hi laya tu haan, Morning Rishu, aaj uth kaise gya tu? " MS spoke as his eyes fell on Rishabh.
"Morning bhaiya" Rishabh said as he came and hugged MS, "zabardasti utha laye ye mujhe, inko bolo mai grounded hoon, I can't go anywhere except school and academy"
MS rolled his eyes, was he just thinking to use the punishment to his advantage? Smart.
"Rishu bachcha, I said school and practice. Morning exercise and practice aren't two very different things. You can go" MS said smiling.
"So not fair bhaiya. Aapne mujhe kaha tha na dont try to find loopholes in my statement, ab aap khud hi kar rhe ho aisa? " Rishabh whined.
"Tu uth ke aa gya, matlab jaane mein toh koi problem hai nahi tereko. Bata kya chahiye? " MS asked.
"Bhaiyaa" Rishabh muttered, "school nahi jana aaj"
"Kisne kaha school nahi jana, exams aa rhe hain na tere" MS said.
"Mujhe aaj mumma ke sath rukna hai, kap bhi mai baat nahi kar paya unse jyada"
MS didn't have the heart to deny Rishabh's plea, especially when he himself was taking a leave.
"Achha thik hai, coffee ready hai. Peeke chale jana dono" MS said.
"Matlab maan gye aap? Nahi jaun mai school aaj? " Rishabh asked. He could not believe MS had agreed so easily.
"Mat jana. But take notes from someone" MS said.
As they finished coffee, MS handed the turmeric milk glass to Virat, "Cheeku mumma ko deke aana ye"
Virat took the glass and shook his head in affirmation, "Make sure she drinks it, rakhke mat aana waha, khali glass leke aana hai" MS said.
"Ji bhai" Virat said and went to Meera's room. He was little apprehensive about talking to Meera, though she had been nothing but sweet and kind, he felt a bit out of place. Mahi bhai had stayed with her for so long that they both knew each other well, for Rishabh she was his everything, but him, he didn't even remember her, the only parental figure he had known was Mahi bhai.
Meera had just woken up when she saw Virat coming, with a glass of that damned milk. She moved her eyes from milk and concentrated on Virat, it was a good chance to talk to him a little.
"Good morning Cheeku" She spoke with a charming smile after waiting for Virat to speak. When he didn't speak, she knew she had to start the conversation.
"Good morning, mumma" Virat greeted back. Meera smiled more, the boy was hesitant but mumma sounded so beautiful from his mouth.
"Ye haldi ka doodh mahi bhai ne bheja hai" Virat said, pointing his eyes to the glass.
"Ye Mahi na, kal shaam ko bhi zabardasti pilaya tha usne mujhe ye. Ab uthte hi fir se"
Virat looked at her bewildered, was she sulking?
"It's good for your health, recovery jaldi hogi isse, pi lijiye" Virat said forwarding the glass.
"Thik hai, rakhde idhar" she said pointing at the side-table, "mai pi lungi"
Virat shook his head, "Mahi bhai ne bola hai ki rakhke nahi aana glass. Abhi pi lo aap"
Meera raised her eyebrows, "achha? Agar mai na piyu toh? "
"Kyun zid kar rahe ho mumma, bhaiya ke aage kisi ki chali hai aaj tak? " Rishabh, who just entered the room spoke.
Ek aur bhaiya ka chamcha, Meera muttered in her breath.
Meera took the glass from Virat and gulped it down in one breath. She did not want to be a subject of laughter in front of kids. Virat took the glass and went out.
"Tu track suit pehen ke kaha ja rha hai subah- subah? " Meera asked Rishabh.
"Morning walk pe" Rishabh answered.
"Ye bhi Mahi zabardasti leke ja rha hai kya tereko? Khud se uthne walo mein se toh nahi hai tu " Meera asked amused.
"Nahi, ek aur devil bhi hai yahaan, Virat bhai" Rishabh said, "Achha chalta hoon mumma, aake baat karte hain"
"Take me out Mahi" Meera called out once MS entered her room.
"You know you are on bed rest, right" MS said as he put her breakfast on the table.
"I will rest, I'm not asking to get out, just to the hall, I'll rest on the couch" Meera pleaded.
"Your head had serious injuries mumma" Mahi said, "is that the reason why you are behaving like this? "
"What? NO. My brain is alright, I'm just asking to get me out of this room" Meera said offended.
"Khana khao mumma aap, open your mouth" Mahi said as he took some porridge in a spoon.
Meera's eyes misted as she gulped down the food. Mahi never failed in getting her curtains down. All her childish behavior was her mechanism to not get overwhelmed by emotions she was feeling since she came back to the house. Only she knew how hard it was to leave Mahi and Cheeku behind, these two boys had her whole heart and soul, but fate spared none.
"How have you been Mahi? Kaisa hai tu? I haven't even asked"
"Achha hu mumma, you can see, everything is good" Mahi smiled.
"Mai aaj ka nahi puchh rahi hoon, how have you been, all these years?"
Mahi looked down, all these years, there was pain, agony, hopelessness, despair. He didn't know what to tell her.
"You used to play cricket, right Mahi, why did you leave it? " Meera asked again.
"I used to play cricket Mumma until 21, papa died when I was 20. His business had already doomed, I had to earn and domestic cricket wasn't giving me enough money. Kabhi stipend aata tha, kabhi nahi, and then I had to leave Cheeku alone to go and play cricket. I had to do something else, So I started a cricket academy at 22" Mahi started telling. Meera squeezed her hand in assurance.
"Fir sakshi mili 2 saal baad. She was a fresh business graduate. Tab hum dono ne milke ye business shuru kiya tha. And that worked" MS told.
"How was your dad Mahi?" Meera asked.
"Pata nahi" Mahi replied "he never lived with us after you two got divorced"
Meera was shocked, did that mean the two kids were living alone? On their own? But in a way she was relieved too, the man was a monster with her, he acquired their custody with money and muscle power, she didn't trust him with her kids.
"So you and cheeku are living alone since then? "
Mahi nodded in yes, "haan, dad kabhi kabhi aate the ghar. Baaki time he just sent money and thats all"
The more Meera was listening, the more her ex-husband was infuriating her and the more she thought, more respect she gained for Mahi.
"How did you handle Virat alone? He was just 6" Meera asked. Her voice was now weak, she was just on the verge of spilling the tears out from her eyes.
"He was all I had. Dekha jaaye toh hum dono ne ek-dusre ko sambhala hai, kaam karne ka motivation bhi uski khushi thi aur inaam bhi wahi" Mahi said and Meera couldn't stop herself from spreading her arms. Mahi carefully hugged her, conscious enough to not put his weight on her injuries.
"Aap ro kyun rahe ho mumma? " Mahi asked as he wiped the tears from her eyes, "everything was in the past, we are all happy now"
"Tujhe pata hai Mahi, you are the best elder brother in the world ? Rishu ne boht miss kiya tujhe,he was in my womb when I got divorced" Meera said.
Mahi just smiled on that. Virat had told that line to him more times than he could count. Nevertheless, it felt good to hear everytime.
As they were talking, Rishabh barged into the room. "School nahi gya tu? " Meera asked.
"Nahi" Rishabh said, "chhutti li hai aaj maine? "
"Kyun lekin? " Meera asked again.
"Arey kyun matlab? Bhaiya ne bhi chhutti li hai, unse puchha aapne?" Rishabh uttered.
"Breakfast kiya tune? " MS asked.
"Haan kar liya" Rishabh replied, "abhi kar ke hi aa rha hu bas"
"Aur Virat ne? " MS asked.
"Unka dimaag kharab ho gya hai bhaiya. Ek toh unhone mujhe itne mile bhagaya apne sath, fir upar latkaya, jogging bhi karwayi, aur ab khana khate hi wapas chale gye net practice karne, bhabhi ne bola bhi tha ki rest karke jao pahle" Rishabh ranted.
MS nodded, "Aane de usko" . Virat always over-exerted himself in practice, MS was not a stranger to Virat's such tendencies. He just had to have a talk with him.
Hi guys! I'm back with the update.
See you guys in the next one.