The Lost Prince

12. Co-exist

Certain happy aura glided around Radhika as she merrily prepared meals that day.
Entire house was happy to see her smiling and in a better mood after so long. Her family members shared glances and secret smiles as she spoke louder than usual and laughed for no reason. It was a good change for everyone.

Mohit, her brother did not share the same feelings as his family. When he came home in the evening and found a guest, he was initially surprised, but then he went unusually silent and walked in the backyard, with a large lump of clay. He tried to forget his surroundings and tried to make the thinnest pot possible, just to keep himself engaged and distracted from the situation at home.
He could not see Radhika smiling and laughing at the reason that was temporary. He did not want to think that the guest would leave soon and his sister will once again lose the smile on her face.
He had seen her sitting alone in the dark corner of the backyard in the late hours of night, and wiping those notorious tears. He knew what his sister longed for. He did not want his sister to get a glimpse of the mirage, just to see it vanish the next moment  leaving her longing and incomplete.

Samar had seen him working furiously on the wheel. He came closer and Mohit looked up at him. He followed Samar's every action as he took a seat on the same bench as him. While Mohit wordlessly continued to work, Samar recalled as life altering moment when he dirtied his hands on the wheel.

"Do you hate me?" Samar asked out and Mohit froze, breaking the almost done pot. He blinked and stopped the wheel and looked at Samar.

"Why would I hate you?"

"Because I married your sister?" Samar asked unsure.

Mohit's frown deepened.
"If that's the reason to hate someone, I don't know how the world would turn out. Do you hate your sister's husband?"

Samar's heart momentarily warmed with the mention of his sister. But Viraj was another topic to discuss or maybe, to not discuss.

"We have a very different equation." He simply replied.

Mohit smiled. "So you think every brother hates his sister's husband?"

Samar did not find words proper enough to answer him.

"A brother just wants his sisters to be happy, and to be taken care of. If a sister is happy in her home, she stays in her home, and then lesser pain for the poor brothers."

Mohit's words turned the entire environment and Samar found himself laughing out loud.

"Is she that bad?" He asked within his laughter.

Mohit chuckled and nodded.
"She loves bossing me. Bullying me is her favorite pastime."

Samar raised his eyes and looked at the house, where Radhika was busy chatting animatedly with her mother and grandmother.

"You see, how happy she is now? This was not the case until this morning. She did not show, but she was hiding a lot within her. Don't give her hopes. Please." Mohit whispered and looked away.

Samar looked at him and realized how much the young boy loved his sister. His resolve deepened. He was sure that what he was about to do was right. He just needed to brace himself and put his point before Radhika.

The meal that night was simple and he had opted to eat with everyone. Not only was the family surprised, but a little conscious too, to eat with the Prince.

After the meal, Samar walked back to the back of the house and sat near the wheel. He did not hold himself back and pushed the switch that started to spin the wheel. The rotations were slow and he was lost looking at the slow spins. Wetting his hands in the muddy water, he placed a lump of clay at the center of wheel and his fingers danced on the lump on their own accord. It was just the second time that he was sitting by the wheel and trying his best to shape the lump of clay. In no time his palms were smeared with cold clay. The slippery sloppy clay moulded itself into a shape that was not at all a pot. However he tried, he could not hold the clay to shape it and he clicked his tongue in frustration. A soft chuckle made him look up and the already uneven shape was destroyed within a fraction of a second.