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"What did you think, Mom—in all these years, did I not try to break free from this feeling? I didn't even hesitate before taking that ultimate step with many women, hoping someone might leave a mark on my heart, hoping someone might free me from this torment! Now I feel disgust toward myself, but today I have made my decision—it's do or die now! I will handle Oru's matter entirely myself—every bit of it!" Replying in an excessively cold voice, Siddharth walked out. Behind him, Arpana Devi stood watching him leave with disbelief in her eyes—it felt as though her carefully built home was falling apart!
Arpana Devi had harbored a similar suspicion regarding Siddharth's feelings for a long time, but she never had the courage to confront her son directly. If her suspicion turned out to be baseless, she wouldn't be able to face Siddharth again. Even otherwise, Siddharth had been different from other children since childhood. Expressing himself was rare; speaking his mind openly was simply not in his nature. Unlike other children his age who were drawn to specific sports, cartoons, or external activities, he had no such inclinations. He seemed to live in a world of his own. He studied, ate his meals on time, played only as much as necessary, and attended school and private tuitions strictly on schedule. However, one thing was consistent—Siddharth had always been a brilliant student.
It was only after Orna came into their lives that Arpana Devi noticed that peculiar intensity in Siddharth toward her. At first, she thought it was just the possessiveness a brother feels toward a baby sister out of a sense of responsibility. But...
Releasing a deep sigh, Arpana Devi walked up to the large window in Siddharth's room and held onto its iron bars. Behind their house lay a spacious plot of land bounded by a boundary wall, beyond which ran a road, and across the road was a large open field. People were gathered in the field now; it usually saw a good crowd in the mornings and evenings. Many elderly people walked at a leisurely pace, groups of health-conscious young men and women jogged or exercised, while children played in the designated park area. Occasionally, football and cricket tournaments were organized there. Almost every afternoon, many people came to play football, and the matches continued into the night as well.
At the edge of the field, by the roadside tea stall, a TV played the news, where middle-aged men gathered over tea to chat or engage in lively political debates. In short, this side of their neighborhood always maintained a vibrant, bustling atmosphere. The highway passed near this side of their town, so the neighborhood was not overly congested. There was a small market that covered a decent area, making all kinds of goods readily available. The road behind the house ran straight before splitting three ways: one leading toward the highway, another toward the station road, and the third—which turned toward Siddharth's house—heading toward the market.
Their house was an ancestral, two-story brick mansion. Built in an older style, it had now been updated with modern touches. There was no front courtyard; that space had been converted into a garage, an outer veranda, a tap area, and a bathroom. Climbing the stairs led to a wide outer veranda with large pillars. The open section had a central entrance door, through which one entered into a paved central courtyard with a Tulsi shrine in the middle. To the right stood the staircase leading to the second floor.
On the ground floor, there were four rooms: a prayer room, a kitchen whose wall had been knocked down to connect with the veranda to create a spacious dining area, and a bedroom occupied by Arpana Devi and Chayan Babu. Another room was kept as a storeroom. The rooms on the upper floor were slightly smaller than those below, but by modern standards, they were quite spacious. The upper floor had more rooms—five in total. Siddharth's room was right next to the stairs, while Orna's was three rooms away—meaning one had to walk straight down the overhanging balcony and turn left to reach her room, right next to which was the library. The old house had been modernized by adding attached bathrooms to every room upstairs.
That year, during Janmashtami, a stage had been set up in the field for Gopal Puja, funded by contributions from the entire neighborhood, and a fair-like event took place. Siddharth was twenty-five at the time, having just earned his medical degree and started practicing as an intern. Orna was ten. Holding her brother's hand, wearing a red frock with her shoulder-length hair tied in a ponytail at the back, she had gone to the fair. Tall for her age at nine or ten, she was stepping out of childhood as the early signs of adolescence were just beginning to appear.
At the fair, Orna asked her brother to buy her cotton candy. While Siddharth went to buy it after asking her to stand quietly on one side of the stall, a few unruly boys intentionally brushed past Orna repeatedly. Young as she was, Orna realized that what was happening wasn't right. Moments later, one of the boys crashed heavily to the ground! Orna, along with the other boys and nearby onlookers, turned to look.
With bloodshot eyes, Siddharth had stepped forward and beaten the boys mercilessly, single-handedly overpowering all three of them! Frightened, Orna held tightly onto Siddharth's waist. Sensing trouble, fair volunteers and even a police constable intervened to separate them. The police officer in charge happened to be an old friend of Siddharth's father, Chayan Babu, having recently been posted to that town. Recognizing Chayan Babu, the officer hushed up the matter immediately.
When Arpana Devi tried to say something to Siddharth later that day, he had said just one thing: "If any outside boy touches my sweetie, there will be a body on the ground!" Arpana Devi had gasped in shock. That day, she had seen a completely different person in Siddharth—a boy who had never gotten involved in anyone else's affairs or engaged in conflicts had caused such a major scene! And the anxiety he displayed was not that of a brother protecting his sister. It was something else entirely. It was then that suspicion had first taken root in her mind, a suspicion that was finally confirmed today!
Opening the door to Orna's room, Siddharth walked inside. Orna was busy scribbling haphazardly in her drawing book...

To be continued........