"Hehe, main toh bas idhar udhar ghum raha tha!" Virat said teasingly.
"Tujhe mazak lag raha h? Jaan nikal gayi thi meri!" Rohit replied actually fuming. Virat immediately sensed that it had been a terrible time to joke.
"Sorry na Ro! Mai gaya tha register lene keliye. Lekin main ghum gaya aur kahin aur pahunch gaya. Phir do seniors ne bola ki vo mujhe vaapas leayenge toh mai unke saath chala gaya. Lekin unko apne cheeze vaapis unke kamare mein rakhna tha toh main unke saath hi chalagaya aur fir- "
"Ek second. Ek second. Tu aise hi unke room mein chala gaya?" Rohit asked not willing to accept that what he had just heard was in fact the truth.
"Haan aur fir woh warden udhar rounds le rahe the toh hum bahar nahi nikal paaye." Virat continued.
"Tumhe unka naam pata bhi h?" Rohit asked angrily as he looked around. He hated how Virat was saying all of this casually.
"Biscuit." Virat replied.
"Ullu ke pathe mein khaane ka naam nahi,unn seniors ka naam puch raha hu."
"Unka naam hi bola h. Aur me ullu ka patha nahi hu. Itna gussa kyu kar rahe ho?" Virat asked pouting.
"Mein itna gussa kyu kar raha hu?" Rohit asked in disbelief. "Mahi bhai ko aane de sab batake deta hu main."
"Mahi bhai aa rahe hai idhar?" Virat asked excitedly.
"Aapne kaam hi aise kiye h ki aana pada." They heard a voice from the back.
"Mahi bhai!" Virat squealed and jumped on top of him.
"Pehle idhar se nikalte h fir baat karte h" Mahi bhai said as he guided his brothers to the car. He was quiet famous after all as much as he would like to deny it. He didn't want to draw attention to himself.
"Aap gussa ho?" Virat asked looking at Mahi bhai.
"Nahi beta. Tu jab ghar pahunchega toh aarti ki thali ka kaha se prabandh karunga soch raha tha" Mahi bhai replied sarcastically.
"Mazak mat karo aap. Yeh Ro pehle se hi itna gussa kar raha h aur muh bhi phulake betha hai." Virat said pouting and complaining.
"Gussa kyu na hu main? Tujhe pata bhi hai ,how worried I was? Mujhe laga tujhe kuch ho gaya" Rohit stared at Virat . From the corner of his eyes, he saw Mahi bhai squeeze his eyes shut for a moment.
"Lekin main toh wapas aagya. Orphanage me bhi me aise hi ghumte phirte rehta tha!" Virat replied confused why Ro was over acting. He was used to roaming around and coming back late at night.
"Aur ab tu orphanage me nahi rehta h yaar. Tu mera bhai jaisa h." Ro said frustrated.
"Cheeku, bache,agar ek din Ro aur me bina bataye kahi chale gaye, toh tujhe acha lagega?" Mahi bhai asked. He understood Ro's frustration with Virat's carelessness. But he also understood Virat's point of view. All his life he had no one to ask after him or care for him, so obviously, this was very confusing and new to him.
"Nahi Mahi bhai" Virat answered.
"Waise hi jab tum hame batake nahi jathe, toh hame bhi bohut tension hota h bacha.. Tu hamara chhota bhai h!" Mahi bhai explained.
"Sorry Ro, sorry Mahi bhai! Aage se mein kahi jaunga toh batake jaaunga" Virat said.
"It's ok bacha!" Mahi bhai said smiling at him through the rear view mirror.
"Ro! Sorry bola toh maine!" Virat whined as Rohit had not said anything yet.
"Roooooo..." Virat whined making a crying face.
"Agar phirse aise koi harkat ki na toh sachi nahi baat karunga tujhse." Rohit threatened while trying to keep a stern face but Mahi knew that he was bluffing. One pouty face from the little man and Rohit would give everything up just to see him smile.
"Nahi karunga. Promise!" Virat said earnestly.
"Aaja idhar!" Rohit said as he pulled Virat towards himself while Virat happily snuggled up to him.
After five minutes of silence,Mahi turned around to see both his younger brothers sleeping soundly in each other's arms. He had been so scared when Rohit had called him up in a panicked to tell him that Virat was missing. He had made a very lame excuse just to drive all the way to the college. Just then, he he saw the traffic light turn red and applied the breaks. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes reliving a memory he didn't want to.
(Reference to ch 2)
Flashback-
A 12 year old Mahi didn't know what to think. Just two days ago he had been talking to his mother, well, basically his aunt, but to him, she was no less than his mother - complaining about something that Yuvi had done. He was living in the hostel and he was excited to go back home in a week. He really really missed his little brother Rohit who had just turned four and he was even more excited when his parent's told him that they had some great news.
So that's how he found himself in front of his house which was unusually quiet. Usually with a four year old, all that could be heard was endless crying but today, it all was silent. He stepped inside the house with Yuvi only to see a yellow tape with the sign -'crime scene' on it. He shakily took another step while looking at Yuvi nervously. That was where they had net Prem uncle who was his father's lawyer. Prem uncle tried to be gentle with the news but there was just no easy way to say this.
"Your parents were shot to death bacho. There were some conflicts with rivals-"
And Mahi stopped listening. 'Shot to death' kept ringing in his ear. His parents weren't there anymore. He wanted to run and hide and cry. He had some news too. He and Yuvi had got the national call up for cricket. They wanted to tell their parents in person but - well. He looked at Yuvi. His twin looked like he was ready for their parents to spring up from behind the sofa and scream 'prank'. He wished that too. He wished it was a prank. He zoned in into what his uncle was saying again.
"You're parents knew that something like this might happen." He took out two envelopes from his pocket. "This was addressed to you." He said handing it to the boys. Mahi couldn't bring himself to open it.
"Rohit?" Yuvi asked softly.
"He's safe. He's at my house." Akash uncle replied and Mahi let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
Just then, an officer entered the room."Sir, about the missing boy-"
"Not right now,Deep." Akash uncle said shortly looking nervously at the boys in front of him.
"Missing boy?" Yuvi asked his voice shaking."You said that Rohit was safe at your place."
"Yuvi-"
"TELL US THE TRUTH! PLEASE!" Yuvi burst out.
"Rohit is safe, boys. Your mother was pregnant and had a child." Akash uncle said at last with a pained look.
"What?-"
"I think you boys should read the letter." Akash uncle replied shortly."I'll leave you to it." He said giving the boys some space as he walked away with the officer.
YOU ARE READING
Hello Brother
FanfictionA lost and found fanfic but it involves ICT. Yuvi ,Mahi and Rohit are brothers - the stars of cricket. A bond like theirs is hard to come across because it's so pure. They stick with each other through everything.To them, family is above everything...
