Shape of the Sun

Sister Prep

Rajkumar watched his elder sister fluff his pillows and blanket for what was a record seventh time.

"Do you need anything, Raj? Some apple juice, maybe?" she reached for the bottle on the table that Ritesh has brought in with his meal.

"Choti." he pulled her to sit on the bed, "Will you tell me what happened?"

"Huh?" her face revealed confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Okay. We both know that can't fool me. Stop going in circles, Choti. It's me. Raj."

At his statement, Choti stopped acting confused. Only now, her face had a blank expression.

"It's nothing serious." she shrugged, "I just caught Mahesh in bed with another woman. And of course, I made sure his little creature saw it too."

Rajkumar took a deep look at his elder sister, who was now absentmindedly twiddling her thumbs. He reached for her hand and firmly held it in his, despite her resistance.

"How do you feel?"

"What are you going on about, Rajkumar?"

"Choti, I'm talking about in here." he pointed at the left part of her chest, where her heart was, "How does it feel?"

There was silence. And then, there was Choti shedding tears.

"I-It feels like I'm dying, Raj. J-just....why.."

"Oh, sweetheart."

He took her in his arms, gently patting her back.

"It's okay, Choti. I'm here for you. I'm here."

A few minutes passed and Choti gradually stopped crying. She felt she had recovered her bearings enough to talk to Rajkumar and slowly came out of his embrace.

"Sometimes, I wonder if it's karma." she smiled self-deprecatingly, "I did seduce him when he was still married, so how can I expect him to be faithful?"

Rajkumar cursed under his breath seeing his sister like this.

Mahesh, you bastard.

"For goodness sake, stop blaming yourself. It's your shitty husband that can't keep his damn pants on for one minute."

She chuckled, shaking her head.

"I know what I signed up for..."

Rajkumar couldn't hold it back anymore. He firmly turned her around to face him, his hands on her shoulders.

"You fucking piece of walking trash, Choti. If you want to fall, you can't fall here, do you hear me?"

"...huh?" Choti was too shocked at the words coming out of her brother's mouth. This...felt nothing like sympathy?

It was a pity that it wasn't over yet.

"What the hell does Mahesh have? It's only that financial company that is on its last legs. And not only does he cheat on you out there, but you also have to take care of his offspring. With whose money? Whose money, Choti?" he repeated for emphasis, "Our money."

"...that seems correct?"

"It is correct, Choti. A hundred percent right. And what's even worse, you have to deal with that old hag that is his ex. You have to deal with so much shit for him." he stared right at her, "And he still can't even keep his pants on!"

"...yeah."

"And now, you wanted to say that you somehow, have fallen in love with him? Was that the shit you were about to spout and have me choke on, even in my sorry state? You, Priyanka Choti Reddy, that can get any man in this world that you want? Damn, Choti. You are the vilest, most unsympathetic, greediest bitch I know. Isn't that right, Choti?"