eleven

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11. Ladki hai, landscape nahi. Ghurna band karo. (She's a girl, not a landscape. Stop staring so much.)

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To know she has bought this farmhouse with her own earnings at such a young age is almost unbelievable. Not for the fact that it's a big, two-storied house, but also the locality it is situated in. Considering the bus stand and railway station were within a walking distance, the house has to be priced above the normal range.

The moment we walked in, the place gave us a feeling of a European household. It was warm, cosy, and had wall-length elliptical windows. I looked at my parents, gauging their reactions. Dad appeared impressed and mom was openly gawking at the interiors.

"This is so beautiful, Mahesh Ji," Dad complimented with a smile.

Mr. Upadhyay smiled back. "All the credit goes to our Priya, Rajveer Ji. Her father, Jeevan Jiju had bought this land when he was young. It was their only belonging that wasn't claimed by the bank to pay off the debts. She built this farmhouse a year ago in their memory."

"You're absolutely a gem, darling," Dad looked at Priya proudly.

She smiled back, her gaze descending to the floor.

"Mahesh Sahab, saaman, (Mahesh Sir, your belongings.)" The caretaker announced softly, catching everyone's attention.

"Thank you, Dilip." Mahesh uncle smiled and told him to serve everyone tea and snacks. In the meanwhile, we decided on rooms.

The house had three rooms in total. Mahesh uncle and Dad decided to share a room since both of them have back problems and can't sleep on hard surfaces. I thought it would be awkward but witnessing the smiles on their faces, they looked happy with the arrangements. Dad seems to have found a best friend in my future in-laws. We boys were told to occupy one room while the ladies will adjust in another. Sixteen-year-old Saransh looked at his mother with betrayed expression, clearly not happy with the sleeping arrangements. His mother shot him a glare and told him to take us to the room. He huffed out a sigh, storming off upstairs with his suitcase. Bhai and I followed quickly.

The room was bigger than I had back home so I found no problem sharing it with my brother and a teenager.

"I'm taking the bed!" He declared, throwing his suitcase on top of it before heading out of the room.

Bhai clenched his jaw, glaring at the open door. "I despise kids."

I chuckled.

We both unpacked in silence, taking out only the necessary stuff. Like night clothes and toiletries. The bathroom was spotlessly clean so I heaved a relieved sigh. I can adjust anywhere as long as the toilets are clean.

"The bed is big enough for two," I mumbled thoughtfully. "You should share the bed with him," I said to Bhai.

"I would rather sleep on the terrace." He snorted, busy on his laptop. It's not even an hour that we've found time to relax and he is already working.

"You know you're not fitting on that couch," I pointed out.

He observed the place where he sat. "I'll adjust."

"How? You get cramps when you sleep in a fetal position. Stop throwing tantrums and take the bed. I'll make do with the couch." I plugged in my charger. My phone battery was below ten percent.

"Fine," he put the laptop aside. "I need to change."

I decided to leave the room since watching him work was putting me in unnecessary guilt of not being productive enough.

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