Suddenly, when she was about to fall again, she pulled the string off her blouse.
I couldn’t control my smile.
Suman flinched and turned to face her. Rudraja laughed, slapping her hands against the floor, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
She may have sensed Suman’s anger as she quickly crawled toward me. I pulled her into my arms and lifted my gaze to look at her shrinking Kaaki-sa.
Her expression shifted from surprise to shock when her eyes met mine. I froze momentarily, watching her face pale, and suddenly I heard my Bhai-sa.
She immediately ran away, and I felt my heart ache.
I tried to stay composed in front of my brother as he took me to meet the officials of the kingdom.
Rudraja, in my arms, started playing with my face and laughing. But as soon as she spotted her BadeKaako-sa, she leaned toward him.
“How are you, Agastya?” Ranvijay Bhai-sa asked, taking Rudraja from my hands. We hugged tightly.
“I’m doing well, Bhai-sa. How about you?” I asked, and the layer of formality between us tore away after a while.
I met King Abhinandan, Queen Trisha, and all the guests. After meeting Aishwarya Bhabhi-sa, I learned she was expecting. My happiness soared to the point that I couldn’t help but lift her into my arms.
She squealed, and I quickly set her down, earning a gentle slap from her on my cheek. I felt like I was on cloud nine.
“Finally, another baby; it’ll be a boy, I know,” I said, and she chuckled, shaking her head gently.
“We cannot say yet,” she said, and I nodded silently. I asked her how she was doing and watched her play with Rudraja.
Rudraja was everyone’s favourite. Her unique quality was that, at such a young age, she knew who her family was. She would reach for her Maamo-sa44, or Naani-sa’s45hand, recognising everyone. She even knew Eklavya.
The craziest thing about her was that she was trying to call everyone by their names.
I laughed so hard when she attempted to call Bhai-sa‘Lullll’.
But even among my family, I felt an emptiness. I couldn’t find her; she wasn’t around. I could sense that she was distancing herself from me. Part of me felt guilty for making her feel that way, while another feared she might feel the same.
Suddenly, Rudraja cried in Ranvijay Bhai-sa’s arms, and I took her in my arms.
“Maybe she is hungry,” I said.
Rudra Bhai-sa agreed.“She is hungry. It’s her feeding time.”
She yelled at Rudra Bhai-sa in frustration. Hearing her, all I could do was laugh.
“Baapu-sa bola karo, anyatha pitaayi hogi,”“Call me Baapu-sa, or you will be slapped.” he said, cupping her cheeks.
She shook her head and smiled, showing her teeth.
“Alright, my little princess, let’s take you to your mother,” I said as she rested her head on my shoulder, singing softly. I couldn’t understand her words.
When I arrived at Bhabhi-sa’s chamber, I called her out to let her know of my presence before stepping into the chamber.
Seeing her, I informed Rudraja was hungry.
She held Rudraja in her arms and said,“Suman, can you bring some warm water, please?”
My heartbeats stopped, and I turned to find Suman standing a little away from us.
I gulped nervously as she turned toward me. She didn’t even glance in my direction, and I felt an ache.
