Page 71 - Till the Last Breath . . .

‘I don’t want to be friends with a kid. And mind your own business,’ he

growled. He paused. Pihu waited for him to realize that they had met
earlier. His eyes widened. ‘Aren’t you the—’
‘Pihu.’

She stretched her hand out again for him to shake. Reluctantly, he shook
it. Just then, her parents walked in with a few bags in their hands. Pihu felt

Dushyant jerk his hand back and saw him bury his face in his pillow.
Such beautiful eyes, Pihu thought to herself. Snap out of it! You pervert!

Lately, the urge to be with a guy had peaked. She didn’t want to die un-
kissed. Being a good girl for nineteen years hadn’t yielded anything, maybe

being bad would.
‘Are you comfortable?’ her mom asked. ‘Is the air conditioning okay?
Are you cold?’

‘I am fine, Maa.’
She clutched her mom’s weathered hands. Her mother sat next to her,

patted her forehead and mumbled some terms of endearment she used to
call her when she was a kid. Her father opened the bags, arranged the

bottles, the books and a couple of framed photographs from the thirty-six-
photos-a-reel days.

‘I wish I had a brother. I always missed a sibling,’ she said as her eyes
fell on the picture in the photo frame. It was from the time they had gone on
a ten-day vacation to Dwarka-Puri to celebrate her tenth board examination

results. She would never forget those ten days of scrumptious food, parental
pampering, sandy beaches and long walks.

‘Our world was complete when you were born,’ her mom said. ‘Plus, it’s
such a problem raising young boys. Girls are like little angels.’ She ran her

hand through Pihu’s hair. Pihu didn’t know if she had ever felt better.
‘Do you need to sleep?’ her father asked.

‘I think I will read for a bit,’ Pihu answered. She could sense Dushyant
writhing uncomfortably in his bed. Was he in pain?
‘Which one?’ her dad asked.

She pointed out to the book Pathology of the Liver by R.N.M.
Macsween. Her dad handed over the book, which was thickly bound and