There stood Ayodya's twins, meeting after 14 years.
The King's Regent and the King's Soldier. The guilty and the weary. One who left to serve their god, and the other who stayed to take God's place. One who sacrificed the kingdom to stay with his lifeline, and the other who sacrificed his sanity to save his brother's. One stayed to cheer up his household, and the other went to protect the supreme being. The hidden backbones of the family. The boulders that stood behind their older brothers. The pair that were counted on to crack jokes, even in despair. The mountains expected to be there, expected to never cry, expected to never feel sorrow.
"Sup, brother?" The younger's voice cracked, asking his brother after an eternity.
"Shatru," The older replied, hugging his little brother after forever.
"You know, I'm pretty sure I'm Mata's favourite now," Laksh stated, eyes watery, but grinning.
"She baked me a bigger birthday cake," Shatru replied, smiling sorrowfully.
"Once, and that was twenty years ago!"
~~~~~~~~~~
"Happy Birthday, my darlings!" Sumita maa woke them up, in an unusually excited mood.
When she pulled down the blankets, the only person she could find was a grumpy Lakshman.
"Who told the Sun to rise? We'd all be happy sleeping, thank you very much. Even Ram Bhaiya likes the moon better!" The older twin babbled.
"Where's your twin?"
"Probably annoying the heck out of Ram Bhaiya and Bharat Bhaiya," Lakshman replied, unenthusiastically.
"Oh, okay," Sumitra replied, moving out of his chamber and towards Bharat's, since naturally, Shatrugnan would wake Bharat first. He was as attached to Bharat as Lakshman was to Ram. "And Laksh, get up!"
~~~
"Mata, why does Shatru get a bigger cake?" Laksh asked innocently.
Last year on their birthday, the duo threw a temper tantrum declaring that they had to share everything, from their room to presents and cake. This year, Kausalya had made sure that they got separate gifts and a cake each. But, unfortunately, the measurements went wrong, and Shatrugnan got a bigger cake. Kausalya hoping that no one would notice, placed the cake on the table. But Lakshman, with the eyes of an eagle, had spotted it.
"Because Mata loves me more!" Shatrugnan replied.
"Do you Maa?" Lakshman questioned Kaikeyi, turning teary-eyed.
"Of course not! We love all of you equally!" Kaikeyi answered.
Lakshman, paying no heed to his mother, ran out of the room, sobbing.
"Lakhan, wait!"
~~~~~~~~~~
"Do you still cheat at hide and seek?" Asked Laksh.
"We've been over this. There is literally no way to do that." Shatru responded, laughing.
"That's a yes, then."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Let's play hide and seek!" Shatrugnan exclaimed.
"Okay! I want to hide!"
"No, I should hide! I'm the youngest!"
"But, I'm the oldest! I get to tell you what to do!" Lakshman protested.
"Maaataaaa-" Shatru started shouting.
"Okay, fine! You can hide!"
~~~
"Ram Bhaiya, have you seen where Shatru is? We're playing hide and seek, and I've been looking for him for about an hour!"
"Wait, you're playing hide and seek? He's been playing with Kaikeyi Maa and Bharat for quite a while now."
~~~
"I'm sorry!"
Lakshman looked back, made a face at him, and then continued munching on dry chilli. Even as a child, Laksh had a high spice tolerance. He complained that no food made was spicy enough. And dry chilli's soon became his favorite snack.
"You promised that you wouldn't go into Mata or Papa's room!"
"Well, yeah, but we were talking about something very important!"
"And what is that 'very important something'?" Laksh asked mockingly, but gloomily. "You were playing! Ram Bhaiya told me! And Ram Bhaiya never lies! Are you saying that Ram Bhaiya lied?"
"Of course not!"
"Then what were you talking about?"
"Well, I guess we played a little..." Shatru admitted.
"Shatruuuu-" Lakshman started yelling.
"But we talked about Papa too! Papa's birthay's coming up, and Bharat Bhaiya didn't know what to get him! I was helping!"
"Have you gotten Papa something for his birthday yet?" Laksh asked.
"I'm... Going to do that. Eventually."
They both stared at each other with a serious look on their face, then burst into laughter.
~~~~~~~~~~
"I love you."
"I know. Twin powers, remember?"
Shatrugnan stared at his twin, with a look of sadness on his face.
"We've lost so much time." He whispered.
"Hey, at least you're mature now." Lakshman tried joking.
Shatru smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Lakshman, of course, noticed.
"We'll be okay. We always are. Laksh and Shatru against the world."
JAI SHRI RAM!
Soo, new book! It may be updated, or just left as a one-shot if no one wants to read it.
How was this? I had to make something for the new Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, so here it is!
Please vote and comment if you liked it!
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Unbreakable Bonds | Ramayana Oneshots
Historical Fiction"No sibling is perfect. We argue, we fight. We even stop talking to each other at times, but in the end, we are family, and our love for each other will always be there."
