Chapter 1: Ohh Shit the Lights are on

Pushing the straps of her bag on her shoulder, once again, Akshita began to run as if to save her life with her younger brother and sister, following her suite.

“Come on guys run fast or it won’t be good for us.”Akshita yelled at her siblings while she successfully helped herself from not banging into the fisher women on this early April morning.

Everything was going according to the plan for Akshita, but just at the last moment the western railways of Mumbai decided to take a halt at just the beginning of the platform.

‘God! One would think someone is after my life.’, She thought, yet her legs didn’t stop. She kept on running towards the exit of the Church gate station. What a luck she had. It was the first day of her school, with her being in 10th standard and here just because of these never trusting railways she was late again.

“Oh God, Yash can’t you run quickly, we are surely going to miss the bus with this speed of yours.” Being as slaphappy as her brother always was, he couldn’t understand why was it that his sister was so persistent of traveling in that bus itself.

It would always look as if that was the last bus going to their school and if they would miss it then neither could they go home, or to school…it would be a big problem in short.

But somehow walking past or rather pushing through the irritated concourse of that April morning, Akshi and her siblings got to the bus stop from where they could go to their school.

“Dear pass.”, the conductor asked as soon as the passengers had got into the bus. The only commute system in the always busy city of Mumbai that seemed to be affordable amidst the struggles and hunger strikes of Anna Hazare, the rivalry of Arvind Kejrival and the numerous reporters trying to find their ways to the hot gossips.

Akshita dived into her never ending bag and after a lot of difficulty took out her pass. Which had her photograph which was clicked at the BEST depot, she was in her school uniform with hair combed nicely in two plates. That was the worst rule of the school- “the hair should be plated.”

Verifying the needed dates of the pass, the bus conductor gave her a smile and walked off to other passengers once he checked her sister’s pass.

Heaving out a much needed sigh, Akshita looked outside the window. She loved the nature to the core, but it was quite difficult now to find a much beautiful place quite easily in the city- Mumbai.

“Akshita, your phone is ringing .”, her sister screamed into Akshita’s ears…quite an unwanted act which she would always pull out to irritate her elder one.

Akshita glared at her, though she knew nothing was going to work out with the idiot of her sister. Ignoring the sweet and creepy smile which her Trisha was giving her Akshita answers the call. It was her mom.

“hey Mom!”, she tried to be enthusiastic. It was quite difficult though, firstly she was very sleepy and secondly the whole lot of running had got a toll on her.

“Did you all reached churchgate?” , Akshita’s Mom, Mrs. Arpita Singhaniya asked – Arpita was a sweet and beautiful lady, one to be adored by everyone, though she was in her late 40’s she had the heart of one in her late 50’s. A lady to be called quite sophisticated, a strong believer of God as well as the shastras, but in all a great Daughter in law and mother. Akshita and she had a relation which every Indian mother and daughter had – nothing fancy.

Nor could Akshita share much with her mom and nor could she hide much from her as well. It was quite weird but then the relation itself was canny.

“yeah mom, we reached …it’s just that the train had taken a long halt just before churchgate.”, Akshita clarified before her mom would even ask about her not so enthusiastic voice.

“hmm, okay then be safe I will call you at 2 ‘oclock answer the call am I clear? And the driver will be at the back gate, so don’t you dare think of coming in train.”, her stern was a direct clue to Akshita that it wasn’t just a reminder but as well a warning to answer the call, which she had always been ignoring while the dispersal of school.

“okay mom, I got it anything else?”

“good, also I wanted to tell you that dad has come back so come home soon okay, now bye.”

Akshita sat there completely shocked; many questions were running in her mind. she didn’t believed that just now her mom called her, told her that her dad is back from his business tour and before she could even say a hii to him she hung up on her.

That was quite preposterous. For Akshita her dad was the most important person, may be because they didn’t meet each other as much as she met her rest of the family members. Or maybe because as the saying goes “daughters are always of fathers and sons are always of mothers” but then it didn’t mattered at all who is dearest to whom , she knew that there is this great Man whose name is Arvind Singhaniya and he is one of the best person in this whole world.

“dad is home!!”, she squealed as soon as she came out of her shock and hugged her sister, who as well hugged her tightly.

The three siblings were quite close to each other so were the other Singhaniya kids.

Akshita , Akshita Singhaniya to be correct , she was quite proud to have this name and the surname, as well as the family … a huge Marvadi family to be exact which included her grandparents, her uncle (dad’s elder brother) aunt ( dad’s elder brother’s wife) her another uncle (dad’s younger brother) and his wife , dad’s two sister who were happily married and the never ending gang of 12 brother … she and her sister being the only two sisters in their generation.

Well now you have perks of this big family as well, you get to pampered and if you are the first girl child after four to five brothers than even more, and secondly you get to experience each and every relation.

Relationship mattered a lot to her, that’s what she had been taught from her childhood, to love each other unconditionally. if you love someone there shouldn’t be conditions it contaminates the relations…expectation break them and their purity, and she for so many years have successfully learned and walked on her mother’s and aunts path to keep her family united with her small smile.

“your smile makes us fall on our knees my child!”, once her grandfather had told her when she was crying because, her evil brothers had told her that she was brought from the steps of a temple, she is an orphan as well no one loved her…everyone loved only him because he was their son, their flesh and blood.

But then that’s what real siblings do. Teasing each other that they are orphans is the best joke a brother or a sister would crack. But how was that 3 year old akshita was going to understand that it was just a joke ?

Hence When she had gone crying through the corridors, her grandfather caught hold of her and had consoled her, but more than her grandfather it was the same brother who had teased her – felt bad when he had heard akshi’s mom and grand ma planning about her wedding, from that day on he was so cautions to let his sister go out of his sight.

May be that’s what relationships were, where you love to tease the other person as well as the very thought of that person going out of your life would shook you to the core.

“Alright now listen to me we need to bake cake for dad, and yeah this weekend we need to plan something.”, Akshita and her sister kept on blabbering about so many things that they didn’t realize when they had reached their school.

The three siblings got down from the bus, safely crossed the road and entered the safe and warm confines of their school: Army public School.

This school was especially for the wards of the people working in defense, but to Akshita’s luck when she was searching for admission in 1 first standard this school opened a 2% quota for the civilians and somehow she got admission here.

She loved this school, firstly it was quite beautiful, as if you are in a gurukul. The school has an historical building as its main building, and being in colaba defense area the whole campus has various trees, be it mango, banyan, coconut, banana…may different flowers are as well there to enhance the environment, somewhere or the other that was the reason for Akshi being a nature lover.

“Trisha , yash… the dirver is going to come at the back gate so don’t be late after school.”

“okayyy Sis.” Trisha being an enthusiastic person said and pulled her siblings in a bear hug which Akshi returned gladly. After saying final good byes she turned towards the left had side where her new class is supposed to be.

Walking through the small path which was covered with small saplings and banyan trees she reached the entrance towards her class room but stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw the bright lights coming through the class 10 A which was supposed to be her class.

Don’t worry Akshi … it won’t be him. She tried to calm herself yet the haunting memories of last night overpowered her.