Today, there were many things to do as it was Republic Day. I had to go to a government school in our village and hoist the flag. I also got reviews from children about how the school was functioning. Hearing their thoughts made me feel extremely proud.
I always wanted to build houses. I find pleasure in fixing broken things and restoring them. But after returning to the village post my studies and seeing the damage my father had done, I was left disappointed. I don't know why he was so corrupt. My grandfather was a man of wisdom. I learned all my values from him. When he was alive, everything was good—children went to school, farmers got good returns from their crops, and the village was lively.
I decided to leave my passion behind and focus on developing my village.
The first thing I did was restore the old school.
I had to give numerous speeches and personally convince families about the importance of education so they would send their children to school again.
Seeing all these children today, I feel my sacrifice and efforts were not wasted.
Later, I had to repeat the same at the college. I built this college with my own money after getting permission from the government. And all this happened because of a conversation I once overheard between Avani and Adhya.
Flashback
Adhya had asked me to take her to the bazaar.
I took her there and waited for her to finish her work. Adhya called out to Avani. My head turned faster than a bullet.
"After so many days, I'm finally seeing you!"
She said and ran to hug her.
"Haa, school khatam ho gayi na, ab mil bhi nahi sakte." ("Yeah, school is over now, so we can't even meet.")
Adhya sighed. "Humein school aur extend karna chahiye tha." ("It would be nice if the school could be extended.")
"Haan, humein last exam fail kar dena chahiye tha! Tab ek aur saal padh lete." ("Yes, we should have failed the last exam! Then we could have studied for another year!")
Oh god, she's a total tubelight. But she's the light of my life.
Adhya laughed. "Tu kitni funny hai, I missed you so much." ("You're so funny")
Krhmm... I cleared my throat to make my presence known.
She looked at me and quickly tucked her head down.
"main itna bura dikhta hoon kya?" (Doo I look that bad?")
"College mein toh ladkiyan marti hain mujh pe, ispe kyun asar nahi ho raha hai mera?" ("Girls in college fall for me, but why doesn't she feel the same way?!")
"Tum log aur padhna chahte ho?" I asked. ("You guys want to study more?")
Adhya replied, "Haan, Bhaiya, par hamare gaon mein college nahi hai. Aur maa-baap doosre gaon jaane nahi denge." ("Yes, Bhaiya, but our village doesn't have a college. And our parents won't allow us to go to other villages to study.")
"Mujhe batao, baaki log kya sochte hain?" I asked, looking at my Avani. ("Tell me, what do the others think?")
She was still looking at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
Adhya nudged her.
"Baaki log bhi padhna chahte hain kya?" I repeated. ("Do the others also want to study?")
"As you live among them, you might know, right?" I asked in a soothing tone.
She lifted her head and looked into my eyes.
"Hayeee, main toh gaya!" ("Oh man, I'm done for!")
"Haan, main padhna chahti hoon. Meri doston ki bhi yahi soch hai." ("Yes, I want to study. My friends also have the same thoughts.")
I nodded.
"Theek hai, main yeh possible banaunga," I thought. ("Okay, I will make it happen.")
Soon, we left after dropping Avani at her house.
Flashback Ends
That's how the college came into existence. Thanks to this, whenever I missed her, I would come here. Or organize any unnecessary event just to make her participate and watch her enjoy.
Once, I saw her trying to puncture a teacher's cycle tire.
I didn't know why, but I could only laugh at her. She struggled for 15 minutes but couldn't even puncture the tire.
My Poor baby.
Later, I found out the reason—he had beaten her for scoring low marks.
"Tum log soch sakte ho ki uss kamine ka kya haal kiya hoga maine." ("You guys can imagine what I did to that bastard.")
After finishing all my work, I returned home with Vivek to finalize the finances for this month, as we have to submit them to the government tomorrow.
I searched for her in the kitchen. Maybe she was sleeping, but it was already 4 AM.
I thought for a moment and moved toward our room.
Just as I reached the door, I heard her voice. I was about to enter when a particular word made me freeze.
"Strip."
What? Why? Kya kar rahi hai yeh? (What is she doing?)
I pushed the door slightly, peeking inside.
She was sitting on the sofa, arms stretched out on the armrests like a queen on her throne. Her eyes were fixed on the mirror directly ahead of her.
"Didn't you hear me or what? Strip, Akash," she said.
My body shuddered at her tone, and at the way she said my name.
But what the hell is she thinking?
And then—she giggled.
"I am going to do this for sure. I will make him naked tonight. He has seen all of me—it's only fair that I see him too. Hisab barabar!" (Score settled!)
Oh, so this is what's going on in her head? I smirked.
Let's see who gets naked first.
I took a few steps back and called out her name loudly.
She came out of the room and smiled mysteriously at me.
"Kya?? Kyu has rahi ho pagal ki tarah?" (What?? Why are you laughing like a madwoman?)
"Nahi, aise hi," (No reason, just like that.) she said, playing with her pallu.
I bit back a smile, turned around, and said, "Bring chai for me and Vivek. We'll be in the garden."
As soon as I reached, Vivek gave me a knowing look.
"Kya hua? Khush lag rahe ho. Bhabhi ne kiss-wiss kiya kya?" (What happened? You look happy. Did Bhabhi kiss you or something?)
"Chup! Teri Bhabhi pagal hai," (Shut up! Your Bhabhi is crazy.) I said, shaking my head.
"Haan, uska pati bhi pagal hai uspar," (Yeah, and her husband is equally crazy about her.) he said, stating the obvious.
Haan, baat toh sahi hai. (Well, that's true.) I thought
We got back to work.
A while later, she came with snacks.
She still had that mysterious smile on her face.
Vivek greeted her, and she responded with the same smile before leaving.
Vivek gathered the files, and I told him to submit them.
as "Tomorrow, I'll be busy with Avani." 😁
Dinner was done.
Dadi, Bua, and Papa hadn't returned, probably staying over there.
She rushed into the room ahead of me.
I shook my head at her antics and followed her slowly after a few minutes.
As I opened the door, I found her standing on the bed, hands on either side of her hip.
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