Guilt

Past

Abeer found himself reminiscing about the past, lost in thought. His mind wandered back to a certain day that stood out in his memory.

In a sudden flashback, Abeer stealthily entered Abhi's house, seeking refuge. Abhi, surprised by his friend's demeanor, asked, "Why do you look so scared? And why have you come here at night?"

Abeer, panic-stricken, replied, "Bro, I'm in serious trouble. Do not laugh at my state okay , this is also half your fault , you are always siding with him now listen Bhai is  going to break my legs today."

Abhi, puzzled, and laughed at same moment and inquired, "What did you do to make him so angry? he is  usually quite nice with you all pampering you grown up toddler you are even little than veer and ishan he also pulled his cheek ."

Abeer, exasperated, said, "Nice, you are also , you know what one day i will make you regret okay in playful manner today it is just your day pretending to get angry but no can miss his innocene abhi smiled at his antics ... Abeer again said  my foot! If bhai had his way, he 'd send me to the afterlife today. You know what I did? I just missed an exam, a mere prelim test, not even a mid-term or end-term. So what's the big deal?  i went to home i just listened his rant and i just sneaked out at least veer and ishan will calm  him down, right Abhi was quietly listening him out and getting him everything out of system so he will understand reasoning   "

Abhi, trying to understand, said, "You missed an exam, not won an award. First, stand up and tell me why you didn't attend the exam. And why are you here? You have your parents to protect you from bhai's scolding right Abeer got sad after hearing the mention of their parents they had to always go for work it is not easy to raise five children but he got out of zone when abhi snapped him out Abhi said playfully . And since when did you start fearing your brother? You're not afraid of anyone, right ! that is what you will always tell to your friends right he mockingly said ,That's why I submit your assignments under my name. You don't need my help; you're older. right he said that in sarcasm. "

Abeer, slightly annoyed, responded, "I'll never use your name again, just stop with the sarcasm. And drop the formal 'you.' I'm younger than you, but that doesn't mean you can pull my ear or talk back to me like that. And about my parents, they're busy as always. They don't have time to pamper us like they used to. I have  brothers to worry about, and there's an important sports exam coming up. If I had attended it, I could have been selected for chess training. How could I miss that? But my brother found out about my bunking plan, and now he's after me with a stick."

Abhi, curious, asked, "How did he find out? Did the school call?"

Abeer, feeling cornered, said, "Don't take advantage of my situation. Yes, the school called and gave my brother a long lecture. I had to come here. Now, give me an idea to calm him down."

Abhi, resigned, said, "Nothing can be done now. Your brother is downstairs. He knows you're here. He'll find out in no time, especially since Veer and Ishan must have already told him that you must have came here scared and and listen bhai is here ,. Listen to their voices."

Abeer, frustrated, said, "You could have told me this earlier.my dumb friend were you waiting for my funeral now  I'm leaving." Abhi said good luck , Go if you can save yourself without getting caught without my help Just then, Adi, Abeer's brother, arrived. Abeer turned around, startled, and began to back away. "bhai, please calm down. Let me explain first, then you can do whatever you want with  me. I'm not going anywhere .Abhi said see you got caught now  save yourself buddy this monster gonna eat you up he whispered to Abeer  "

Adi, angry but composed, said, "You've only bunked school for 10 days in two months, gracing us with your presence on the remaining days. And you sleep during assignments and forge your parents' signatures on your report cards. What am I supposed to do with you? Should I throw a party for this achievement?, let me invite everyone for your list of achievement  "Abhi smiled hearing bhai's rant. and enjoying full popcorn show "

Adi approached Abeer, saying, "You're now coming home with me, and I'm going to expose all your antics. with this stick you will remember everything to your death "Abhi said bhai seriously ne needs that Abeer was all ready to murder his so called friend ."

Abeer, then pleading, said, "bhai, please calm down. No one will marry you if you're always this angry. You've turned Abhi's house upside down. after hearing this Abeer is like here i am scolding this brat and what he is doing what should i do with him ? and Abhi was smiling and telling to bhai is so charming right he can turn any situation in his favor .. Abeer cutely  said in all one go , keeping his eyes shut otherwise he will not be able to, Look, I'm holding my ears, I apologize. I won't do it again. I'll study hard. I missed the classes because of the chess tournament. If I win the national competition,i will not sleep in classes, never ever miss exam okay i will make   all your anger  vanish."

Adi's all angered vanished abhi already knew Abeer is doing everything knowingly he could have said truth would he somehow he wants to get punished by bhai he will look for any chance  and pretends to get angry , his all time show,, slightly softening, said, "I wish you had told me earlier. I would have not have to hold stick and listen to big lecture , you should have listened it , your ear would have been long gone all because of you duffer , I would have not eat you if you told me you were not able to score since you missed lectures because of chess training    would have helped you officially take a leave. You didn't have to lie."

Abeer, thinking to himself, said, "bhai , you never have time for us. You're always busy with your own practice. The only time you pay attention to me is when I do something like this. How can I stop? I keep wanting to do something that makes you take a break from your fans and focus on us. I hate being teased by them." Then, speaking to his brother, he said, "I did this to surprise you. Please put down the stick. Look how scared Abhi is. I'm telling the Truth. I just wanted to surprise you with my competition , but now it is revealed I am glad I do not have lie to you anymore  while hugging Abhi bhai from behind  "

Adi Feeling proud and said it is okay my little one ..

Adi, laughing and affectionately stroking Abeer's cheek, said, "Let's go home. You must be tired from running around. And don't lie again, or you'll be in big trouble. And Abhi, if you knew about this and didn't tell me, you're in trouble too." Abeer, relieved, whispered to Abhi, "You should hit him instead of me. It would be more fun."

Abhi, amused, said, "Brother, start your mischief with the ruler today. Don't worry, I'll tell you everything from top to bottom."

Abeer and Adi left together, with Abhi laughing at the thought that Abeer would say exactly what he predicted. Adi agreed, "I knew he would say that. Let's go, Abhi. Study well. Try to teach Abeer too. Let's go; Veer, Ishan, and Dev are probably waiting for us.