Hello Brother

ChApTeR-26❤️

Mahi looked at Yuvi who wasn't even looking at his letter. He just held his hand and opened his letter.
"Dear Mahi,
If you are reading this letter, it means that we are no longer with you in person. You remember, I said that your father was fighting a tough case with rival company? Well, that was a lie. He was fighting a case related to a messy divorce case, well, we underestimated them and for a few weeks now, they had been stalking us. Their men are spread all around and all your father's witnesses were killed. You asked me why I wouldn't let you come home for Christmas? Well, this was it. If anything ever happened to either you or Yuvi, I would forever regret it. And also, there was another thing I wanted to tell you. You have a new baby brother. We named him Virat. Of course, we regret the fact that we won't watch him grow up, but yeah, no point in saying it now. Listen, we don't want you boys to be sad. Whenever you remember us, smile. Just because we are not there with you in person, doesn't mean we are not there at all. We will be there with you always and forever like I had promised that day. We have no regrets over our life, Mahi. I may have not given birth to you but you were never any less to me. You are my sister's sons after all. Ever since your father and I adopted 8 year old you and Yuvi, you became my son and I your mother. You have her eyes Mahi, and Yuvi her smile. When she died, I thought I had lost it all. She was my other half, my partner in crime. And then, the two of you came into my life. You boys were my blessing. Not letting the CPS take you away was the best decision I had ever taken. You boys could make us smile even on our worst days. And now, we also have Rohit and the baby boy. I know you will take take good care of them. You will be the best older brothers to that little darling.

And boys, we know you wanted to pursue a career in cricket and we support it whole-heartedly. We have enough savings to get you into the academy. Don't let anything, ever stop you bachas. The world out there can be a little unfair, but we know  you will fight through it and make us proud as you always have. Of course, we hate the fact that we won't be there to celebrate your milestones with you but remember, even the smallest achievement to your name, we will be the happiest. Be it you finally learning how to cook without burning down the kitchen, to you hitting centuries in your cricket career, we will be proud. Always.
           -Love,
      Mama and Papa"

Mahi shakily closed the letter and looked at Yuvi. At that moment, they decided that the  other person needed a hug and that is what they did. They didn't know how long they stayed in the hug but they pulled back when they heard a small voice call out.

"Mahi bhaiyya, Yuvi bhaiyya?" Rohit called out as Prem uncle carried him into the room. The boys quickly wiped their tears.

"Hey mera cute baby!" Yuvi said as he went to Rohitm to take him from his uncle's arms.

"Noo." Rohit whined as he puffed his cheeks and turned his head the other way.

"Arey! Maine kya kiya? Mujhse kyu naraz he?" Yuvi asked confused. Rohit was always the first one to run out for a hug.

"Aap ne hug ni kiya" Rohit babbled out his complaint still angry. "Aap only Mahi bhai k saath hug kara" he babbled in a mix of hindi and english. The kid was smart for a four year old kid.

"Arey, sorry na baba. Abhi toh hug dede!" Yuvi said as he hugged Rohit who gladly hugged back this time. Mahi too went near them and hugged him.

"Lekin me still gussa" Rohit complained.

"Agar shaam ko chocolate kharidke dun toh tera gussa shaant hoga?" Mahi bhai asked knowing that Rohit could bever say no to chocolate.

"Haan!" Rohit squealed as Yuvi picked him up and tickled him. Mahi turned back to Prem uncle.

"Uncle, what about the baby? Where is he?"Mahi asked.

"Mahi... Woh..." Their uncle looked down not knowing how to answer the kid. Yuvi saw the look on Mahi's face and the silence and signalled that he is going to take Rohit to the other room. Mahi did not look away from his uncle.

"Where is the baby, uncle?"Mahi asked again.

"I don't know Mahi. By the time the rescue team got here, those men had already attacked your parents and your brother was missing."

"What?" Mahi asked not wanting to believe what he had just heard. "He's a child, uncle! Who knows what those monsters would do to him!"

"I know. We have got all of our forces searching for them-"

"We all know how well the forces work!" Mahi snapped immediately regretting when his uncle looked at him sadly. They were his friends too. He would be grieving too. And his mother had taught him to treat elders with respect. And what had he done? Behave disrespectfully with her best friend.

"I'm sorry uncle-" Mahi started apologising but his uncle stopped him.

"I understand, Mahi. You are trying to be calm but you don't have to. I'm your uncle, you don't have to shield yourself from me. I'm here, son. So is Saroj. You will never be alone, Mahi. Family is not just blood, its about choice too. You, Rohit, Yuvi call of you are my family and so is little Virat now. So I promise you, son. I'll do whatever I can to find him and return him to you. " Prem uncle said as he pulled Mahi into a hug.

"Go. Spend the day with your brothers." He said gently nudging the boy towards the door. And that's what Mahi did. He spent the remainder of the day just playing around with Rohit. Yuvi had raised a questioning brow when he had come in and he just mouthed 'later'. They were watching disney movies when Rohit suddenly asked.

"Bhaiyya, mama aur papa kidhar h?"

"Woh... Woh " Mahi fumbled not knowing what to say.

"Kaha h?" Rohit asked again.

"Woh dono upar gaye, bhagwan ke paas" Yuvi said quickly. Rohit just nodded his head. He was too young to understand what that sentence meant.

"Aap dono toh nahi jaoge na chodke?" Rohit asked his brothers who looked at him and hugged him closer.

"Kabhi nahi bacha!" Mahi amd Yuvi answered. And they stood true to their word. All the nights Rohit woke up crying for their parents, they were there. Everytime, Rohit would get sick or get a small scratch, they both took a holiday and stayed home with the kid. That night, Mahi promised something to himself. He would keep his brothers safe, no matter what it takes. He had lost one, he was not going to lose the others. He knew that if the traffickers could kill someone and escape so cleanly, then the child would be hard to find. But he still hoped that one day, he would find him. He hoped he could tell him, that even when he was not with him, he loved him. Always and forever.

He was broken out from his thoughts by a voice - "Rohit bhaiyya, uth jao , humm pahunch gaye!" from the back.