Draupadi

CHAPTER XXI

I looked in the kitchen carefully. There seemed to be no one around. The maids had long since left, and the stillness of the late hour was almost eerie. Pulling my shawl tighter over my face, I crept inside, only to find all my sons gathered, laughing and devouring the very sweets I had come to find! As soon as they spotted me, the ladoo nearly catapulted out of Sutasoma's mouth. "Like father, like son," I thought, rolling my eyes.I narrowed my gaze at the scene. I peeked into the sweet container—only one ladoo remained! I reached for it, but suddenly, five little hands flew over mine: from the teenage Prativindhya to the toddler Shruthakarma, who was trying to climb onto the countertop. "You sons of mine!" I gasped, feeling like I'd stumbled into a wild party. "First of all, it's the middle of the night, and you're not supposed to be here eating your father Bheem's ladoos! You're spoiling Shruthakarma too! Now hand over that sweet and get moving!""I told you we should've left Shruthakarma and Shrutasena behind," Satanika whispered loudly to Prativindhya."I heard that!" I shot back, crossing my arms. "Go to sleep! I'll deal with you all in the morning. Can't a mother enjoy a sweet in peace?"I plopped down on the countertop in defeat, only to hear a loud crash from behind me. I turned to see Shruthakarma had knocked over a pot, sending flour flying everywhere. The kitchen looked like a snowstorm had hit!Just then, five more figures shuffled in, heavily draped in shawls. My heart nearly stopped—the ladoo almost followed suit. My sons erupted into quiet giggles, the flour-covered chaos only making them louder. "Hey! Stop it, guys!" The newcomers were none other than my husbands. "Ha! I knew you'd try to steal my precious ladoos!" Bheem exclaimed triumphantly, peering into the empty container with exaggerated horror. "You ate them all!""I only had one," I protested, trying to sound innocent, but a rogue piece of ladoo crumb fell from my lips."First of all, why are you guys here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow."We came to eat lad—" "We came to inspect the cleanliness of the kitchen!" Arjun interrupted, looking around as if he were an inspector from some culinary academy."I told you we should've left Arjun and Sahadev behind," Nakul whispered, dramatically putting his hands on his hips, mimicking my earlier pose."Seriously? You're inspecting the kitchen? It looks like a ladoo explosion in here!" I exclaimed, gesturing at the flour-covered chaos. Just then, Shruthakarma, covered in flour like a tiny ghost, attempted to sneak another ladoo from my hand.I could hardly keep a straight face. "You all are lucky I don't have a rolling pin handy! Or maybe I should make ladoos for breakfast tomorrow, just to see how many of you can fit in this tiny kitchen at once!"Just then, Bheem took a dramatic step forward, flour still swirling in the air. "We'll take our chances! But only if you promise to make double the ladoos!"The room erupted in laughter, and Shruthakarma, now completely covered in flour, started doing a little dance, leading to more giggles from his brothers. I sighed, shaking my head in mock despair. "All right, you rascals! If we're making ladoos, you're all on cleanup duty—unless you want me to cook without any help and then *really* inspect your flour-covered little faces!"The chaotic laughter filled the kitchen, and for a moment, I couldn't help but think this was the sweetest mess of all.

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This chapter turned out to be the cutest one I've ever written! I really hope you all love it as much as I do. Please take a moment to read, vote, and share your thoughts in the comments! Enjoy!