A Sew Through Time [Bandbudh And Budbak]

2: Sockball

The mall now was breathing with life. Yellow sunbeams spilled on sills of cosmetic stores, where an authorized woman inspected a lipstick put forth by a salesman. Music leaked from an electronics shop, a muffled Sonu Nigam track battling the sizzle of kachoris in the corner. A three headed Mickey mouse trampoline shook its inflated heads- children climbed up, laughing, pulling each other down. Some of them were playing football in the small playground. Near the icecream stall, a kid drove a remote-controlled car towards the jewelry shop.

The stocked Coca-Cola freezer door flung open. A vendor held three bottle necks between his fingers, picked out four straws and placed them on a table.

Harish followed him, finding the duo sitting at it, Gyan and Jeeva facing opposite.

Seeing the coke bottle, the toddler put her hands over the metallic red cap. Maybe she wanted a sip, but Jeeva took it instead and twisted it open. She frowned and punched his arm, calling him a 'badmash'.

But when the new, intimidating presence sat with them, she stopped yelling and looked at him. Uncleji talked less and reacted even lesser, not at all appealing to the noisy two-year-old.

Budh picked up a balanced chaat piece near his mouth covered with tangy sauces, shredded coconut, bhujiya and masala aloo. Sauce spilled over his hoodie.

The toddler turned towards Gyan, who gave some picture to Badri and said,

"This is Yuvati"

He held the picture between his fingers. Budh kept on munching, leaning over to see it.

She tried to crawl towards them to see it too, but 'badmash' held her back on the table top.

"No doubt your sister met us" Gyan closed the flip phone, brushing the dirty Mega Robot stickers with his thumb, "We must be somewhere in the dimensions only"

Badri kept the picture on the table and pointed at it several times, wanting to say something. Instead, he picked up his bottle and looked at another direction.

Jeeva kept his drink down and took a massive piece of chaat from Budh's plate, asking, "Where?"

"Yuvati must have kept us stuck" Gyan stirred the straw, watching bubbles fizz upwards.

He beckoned on the sticky table, nodded slowly, then asked, "How are you sure we're stuck and not... dead or something?"

"They are alive because we are still alive"

"The present you?" Harish asked.

"Pretty much"

"What do we have to do with yournpast versions?" Badri asked.

Budh put a potato piece in Khushi's mouth.

"There's a strong relationship between both the versions" Gyan kept his bottle which left a stretch of condensed water, "Whenever we get physically hurt, we are getting healed rapidly. Did any of you notice that?"

Budh looked at his hands. Stretching his fingers out and bending his arm carried no ounce of pain anymore. He heard Badri's shoes drag on the floor; he checked his legs too.

"Hmmm, pata hai" Jeeva saw his wrist, "But how is it healing?"

"You can thank your past version for that" Gyan took a sip.

"Past versions?" Badri's unibrows wrinkled, "How's that possible?"

Budh stopped munching.

"You're saying my past version kept me safe?" Jeeva rolled his eyes, chuckling, "Gyan, go to sleep"