Shape of the Sun

It's a matter of the heart

"Good morning, Dadda." "Good morning, Papaji."

Bhairav looked at his two children who were acting so carefully before him and sighed in his heart. It was as if they were afraid that the sound of their breathing might disturb his newspaper reading. Haa. In the end, he was still a father.

"Choti. Raju. Both of you stop this nonsense and sit if you want to sit down."

Both of them rushed to either of his sides and sat down, each grasping an arm of his.

It was Choti that spoke up first.

"Dadda. I am very sorry for my outburst yesterday. I swear that wasn't me talking."

"And who was it that was talking?"

"It-It was the devil. I swear it, dadda." she raised a hand, "On the little monsters' lives."

Bhairav said nothing about her apology and turned to Rajkumar.

"And is there anything you have to say for yourself, Raju? Hmm?"

Rajkumar had a solemn appearance, in sharp contrast with Choti's.

"Papaji." he bit his lower lip pensively, "I really have nothing to say for my actions yesterday. I reflected on myself and I am still in disbelief at the things I said. You have to know," he moved his hands to hold Bhairav's, "hurting you is hurting me. It is not worth it destroying our relationship for Prithvi, Papaji." At the end of his statement, Rajkumar took the initiative to lean on his father's shoulder.

Choti muttered 'attention whore' under her breath. Usually, Bhairav would have scolded her but right now, he was too overwhelmed by fatherly love to do so.

He looked down at his Rajkumar and quickly remembered why he was his favorite of all his children. It was because he knew when to withdraw and when not to. He knew when to support and when to scold. He was the center of the home, and they had all felt it when he wasn't around all these years.

His gaze turned to Choti who was still silently badmouthing Rajkumar. On getting caught, a trace of fright appeared on her face before switching to something innocent like she had no idea why her father was looking at her. Her actions made Bhairav chuckle and he drew both her and Rajkumar closer, enveloping them in a hug.

They were his greatest treasures.

The warm atmosphere was pierced by Nirali.

"Ahem!"

On hearing her voice, Choti and Rajkumar withdrew from their father and moved to the adjacent sofa, their expression stiff. Bhairav chuckled at their actions. Nirali sat down beside her husband and stared hard at her youngest child.
"Did you know what you did wrong, Rajkumar?"

"Yes, Ammaji. It would never happen again."

His meek response gave her the cue to go on an all-out tirade.
"I almost had a heart attack when I heard you fainted!"

Choti cut in.
"Don't blame Raj, Mumma. Instead, blame dadda for mentioning his little bastar...oops!"
She seemed to realize what she was saying and clamped her hands over her mouth. Rajkumar turned to glare at his sister and scolded her 'idiot' in his heart repeatedly. While Nirali didn't say anything, her silence lent her agreement to her daughter's words.

Bhairav frowned on hearing of Prithvi, and it wasn't because he was angry. In part, he had done something wrong by trying to wedge Prithvi in, not considering their feelings. Yes, he had a little bit of selfishness. Prithvi was also his son and it made him uncomfortable a bit to see him living a decadent lifestyle. But any bit of this concern was nothing in front of Rajkumar and Choti. He would just send a little bit more to Prithvi that he requested for his start-up and tell him to lay low. That was just about it.