ℂ𝕆ℂ𝕂𝕋𝔸𝕀𝕃𝕊 𝕎𝕀𝕋ℍ ℂ𝕌ℙ𝕀𝔻

𝟲𝟬

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚜
>>>>–––– 💘 ––––<<<<

Changes were everywhere. Ever since that surprise two weeks ago.

Mithra felt them the moment she opened her eyes each morning. The silence where once there had been voices seeking her guidance. The absence of footsteps approaching her room with questions about where things should go, what should be done, or how something should be handled. The quiet, unsettling realization that her presence in the house no longer seemed as necessary as it used to.

And Mithra didn't like that.

It wasn't just about the house-it was about the rhythm of her life. For years, she had moved through these halls with purpose, with a sense of responsibility that anchored her. The servants, the maids, the home manager-these were people who had relied on her, who had looked to her for decisions, who had made her feel needed. But now, they barely came to her anymore. Instead, they went to her.

To Ananya.

Mithra saw it in the way they stood around Ananya, their postures have become unconsciously easing, their voices softer, more compliant. She saw it in the way they listened when she spoke, nodding as if her words carried more weight than Mithra's ever did. And worst of all, they no longer sought Mithra's approval. They didn't need to. They had Ananya.

It unsettled her. It gnawed at something deep inside, something she couldn't quite name. She had never realized how much of her identity had been tied to this house, to the role she played within it, until it started slipping away.

Ananya, on the other hand, had no idea.

She wasn't trying to take anything from Mithra. If anything, she was trying to give-trying to ease the weight on Mithra's shoulders, trying to make her see that she didn't have to carry everything alone. Ananya wanted Mithra to live a little, to breathe. To exist outside of responsibilities that had unknowingly bound her.

She didn't want Mithra to hate her. In fact, she liked her.

Mithra was strong, fiercely so. She carried herself with a quiet, effortless resilience that Ananya admired. She had never needed anyone to stand beside her, never leaned on another for support. Yet, for all her independence, Mithra had unknowingly woven herself into a life of obligation-one where she felt she had to do it all. She was young, but the burdens she carried made her seem much older.

Ananya wasn't going to be here forever. There was barely a year left before she had to leave. But before she did, she wanted Mithra to change. Not drastically, not in a way that would take away who she was, but in a way that would allow her to breathe. Maybe healthier. Maybe lighter. Maybe free. That was all Ananya wanted. To help someone she really liked and admired.

But Mithra didn't see that.

She only saw what she was losing.

At breakfast, Ananya would glance up from her plate, trying to start a conversation, hoping to bridge the quiet distance that had formed between them. But Mithra never stayed long enough for that. She would always excuse herself, polite but distant, slipping away before any real words could be exchanged.

And it wasn't just Ananya who noticed.

Shakthi saw it too.

Shakthi watched as Mithra quietly slipped away from the dining room, her fingers clutching a slice of toast smeared with jam. She took small bites as she walked, her steps brisk, as though she couldn't wait to put distance between herself and everyone else. She didn't linger. She didn't engage. A quick nod here, a brief farewell there—gestures performed out of habit rather than intent.