Little Love

Chapter 1: Little Pihu

"Hey, you !!" A girl with a high pony called out from the end of the deserted road.

Two boys turned their heads toward her. They had similar hair, faces, and even the same frown. They were clearly twins. Another boy was lying on the road in front of the two boys. A lean and timid expression was evident on his face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" The girl glared at the twins while her eyes were studying the situation.

"Pihu, we were just having some fun." One of the twins gave her a grin while the other one was hiding behind the first one.

"Oh! So your idea of fun is to bully others? Should I call Dipu masi (endearment for mother's sister) and tell her what you both are up to?" the girl threatened them.

"Ae Pihu, you are still a kid, why don't you act like one?" one of the boys tried to shoo her away.

"Right, I am just three years younger than you Palash da (usually used to address an elder brother). Standing up to what is wrong does not have anything to do with age" She said with confidence.

All this time the boy lying on the road was looking at Pihu with hope. Maybe today she can save him from these two bullies.

"Pihuuuuu...the nerve of you...you wait" Both the boys ran towards the girl. She immediately turned on her heels and started running while yelling "Dipu maaaassiiiiiii"

Taking this as his chance the boy on the road scrambled to his feet and ran in the opposite direction while clutching his school bag.

Pihu on the other hand succeeded in reaching Dipu Masi's earshot before the two boys chasing her caught up to her.

"What is the matter Pihu? Why are you kids running around?" Deepika aka Dipu Masi hurried out of her house. She saw both her son panting beside Pihu.

"Dipu Masi, Palash, and Kailash da were bullying a boy down the road. I saw them punching that poor fellow," she complained while hitting the air with her small fists. She wanted to make sure Deepika understood the gravity of the situation.

Deepika glared at Palash and Kailash.

"You both are not going to get your lunch today. Let your father come home, I will tell him how his sons are planning to be world-class goons in the future." Deepika started ranting. Palash and Kailash stood on either side of Pihu bowing their heads. Pihu noticed that they were smirking.

"Dipu Masi, Palash da is smirking" came Pihu's shrill voice.

Deepika's eyes went livid. She hurried down the stairs and caught hold of the twins' ears, twisting them hard.

"You both shameless donkeys. Oh Shiva, what sins had I committed to deserve sons like these two" She continued while dragging the twins by their ears.

The twins started whining out of pain and Pihu followed them giggling in the house. Deepika dragged them to the living room and left their ears with a jerk.

"Maa, what's with the whining?" A tall boy with back hair came out of one of the rooms. His curls were falling on his forehead. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt with grey joggers. "My exams are around the corner and I can't concentrate with all these disturbances." He continued.

"Akash, your brothers were bullying some poor guy in the streets." Deepika jabbed a finger toward the twins. " Thanks to Shiva, Pihu was there on time. She told me about it otherwise I don't know what the neighbors would have said if they came to know about this." Deepika's said with a concerned voice.

Akash's eye settled on Pihu who was now looking down. Her cheeks were pink and she was looking everywhere but at Akash.

"Pihu is Beena Masi home?" Akash asked.

"Huh?" Pihu's eyes widened. She could not believe her crush was talking to her.

"Is Beena Masi home?" He repeated.

"Y..yes..Maa is home" She replied looking elsewhere.

Akash sighed. He knew Pihu had a crush on him. It was very obvious to everybody, even the twins, who were smirking at Pihu's stuttering self.

"Maa, I will drop Pihu and stay there to study. I don't think these two donkeys of yours will let me study here in this house." He said while stepping inside his room.

"Aha...that is a good idea. Pihu wait I will pack some Elish fish curry I made for lunch. Your mother loves Elish." Deepika said while hurrying towards the kitchen.

In another ten minutes, Pihu found herself walking towards her home with her Akash da. He was way taller than her. His eyes and hairs were jet black but the thing that Pihu loved about him was his kind nature. He was always up for helping others.

Last winter Akash took the twins, Pihu and Pihu's sister to Park Street on New Year's eve. As they were strolling down the crowded streets decorated with sparkles and lights she noticed a frown on Akash da's face. Following his gaze, she saw a homeless woman with a small baby in her arms curled up in a deserted corner of the street. It was a chilly night and Akash da did not blink twice to remove his expensive woolen overcoat from his back and covered the women with it while they were sleeping. Of course, all of them had to face Dipu masi's wrath once they were back home. Akash da was down with a fever the following week but he was still content.

"Uhh...Pihu" Akash called Pihu. She realized that she was smiling like an idiot while thinking about his Akash da. Stupid Pihu. She pretended to not hear him.

"Pihu" this time it was impossible to ignore him.

"Huh...Akash da" she looked up into his eyes. Wrong move. His smile was raising the temperature of her cheeks. Her throat felt constricted.

"Pihu, you are in which standard again?" He asked.

"I am finishing my sixth standard this March," She said. She realized that they have stopped walking.

"Oh, so you are a big girl now"

Pihu just nodded looking down.

"Pihu.. umm..", Akash sighed. "Pihu now that you are going to study to a higher standard, the academics will get more demanding. You will have to work very hard to keep up with good grades. You cannot let yourself get distracted." He paused. Pihu blinked at him once, so he continued.

"Pihu look at me. I will be finishing school this March and start with my college. I have to study hard to get into a good college. I kept myself away from every distraction possible. You will have to do the same. Did you understand?" Akash concluded.

Puhu just nodded. Satisfied with himself Akash started walking followed by Pihu. Pihu on the other hand could not admire her Akash da more. She was on cloud nine. Her Akash da cares for her. Oh, God......

And hence completely missing the point.

Dear Lovelies,

This story is very very close to my heart.  Hope you will enjoy it too.

Happy reading.

Do vote, comment, and share.

Love

W