Lasting impressions

Mukul was about to retaliate when Mehul signalled for him to be quiet and sat gently beside Nitya.

"Niku, talk to me and tell me the truth: do you ever feel bad about your complexion? You know that it really doesn't matter, right?"

"Yes Dada! I do know, and I don't feel bad for my complexion; rather, I find it flattering, as it is a rare colour. But I am not beautiful, and I am also happy about the fact because there is so much more to me than that! Also, when a person approaches me, and loves me, I know they are genuinely interested in who I am and that they will not leave me due to my appearance. But it's also true that you guys look more like twins, and not me!"

'Mukul was getting angry after hearing all this, he knew the reasons behind the scars his sister had. He remembered asking his mother at the age of three, after some kids had pointed it out to him, that why was she not as fair as him, and getting the reply that it was because she was more beautiful than him! He had felt relieved to hear that answer, he finally had an explanation to give his friends, not knowing that they had been teasing her. He remembered rushing to his sister's side where the aunties in their neighbourhood had been humiliating her by saying that she didn't know this, but she might have been adopted because she didn't look like anyone in her family. He was angry at himself that he had not been able to shut it down, and had quietly held her hand instead. He remembered how she used to get bullied in preschool by the girls, because of her colour and how his naive sister didn't even realise that she was getting bullied. That is, until she got invited to a birthday party and she had been really excited to attend it as well, but she had ended up roaming on the streets as the girl had given her a wrong address, and it was not even her birthday! But Nitya had come back with a cute girl she had met on the road outside a park instead, grabbing her hand and almost dragging her along like a doll, saying that she wanted to introduce her to her brothers. And since that day, the girl had never let go of her hand.'

He remembered this pleasant memory that had somehow flourished amidst all the bitterness, and a smile curved on his face. That was when he saw a raging tigress in that same girl, who was about to snap his sister's head if she didn't stop insisting on the same point. He wanted to warn his sister, when she resumed speaking of her own accord.

"Look, I am not beautiful as per the norms of this society, but I am a diva of the land where I belong to- the place known as Mars! As you all know by now, I do not belong to the human race, I am an alien. But I also am God's favourite child, so twenty two years ago, he had granted me my wish to live with poor peasants down here on earth, as I am the purest soul in all dimensions. You guys should bow in front of me and worship me." She narrated the whole thing in a very serious tone, as if she was actually narrating some prophecy.

"Yeah, I know in ancient times, cats were surely worshipped. That is why I call you 'Katze' ('cat')- look how talented your Dada is!"

"I JUST HATE YOU, DADA!" Nitya hissed.

Before Mehul could respond, he got a notification on his phone and he noticed that it was already past 11. "Enough for today; Niku and Surbhi, now you both go to bed. We are leaving, otherwise this discussion will continue into the morning hours and then you guys won't be able to cope with the busy day we're all going to have tomorrow! Mukul, grab the keys and get in the car. I am also coming after I tuck Niku in, otherwise I know this terror child won't go to sleep- she's fired up because of all the gifts, and Surbhi will have to deal with the ensuing tantrums!"

"Okay Bhaiya," Mukul left after hugging his sister and whispering one last time that she was beautiful, and if somebody dared to call her ugly he would definitely make their face permanently disfigured! He then walked out of the room and Surbhi left with him to say goodbye.

"Now!" Mehul looked at his sister as she understood the command and silently got into bed. He then pulled out his phone and dialed a number, soon the call was answered and the voice from the other side could be heard clearly while the video was still connecting.

"Mehul, you were supposed to call me after Niku opened the gifts!"

"She has opened the gifts, mom. See, I am tucking her in now! Niku, say goodnight to mom and dad."

"Night-night, Mumma and Daddy," Nitya replied and closed her eyes. She was in a deep slumber within a few minutes as Mehul stroked her hair softly; he gave her a peck on the forehead. 'She was the most important girl in his life...he had come to love her more than his mother as well', he smiled. Then he disconnected the call after waving goodbye to his parents and walked outside, silently closing the door behind himself.

************************

By now, Ji-hun was completely awake; it was strange because it always took him a couple of hours to fall asleep. For this reason, he had been unable to sleep peacefully for a while; neither did he get a satisfactory amount of sleep on the usual. So he always woke up in a lousy mood, and it took him some hours to better his mood, but that morning, he was feeling quite energetic. He jumped off the bed, thinking of making breakfast for everyone and juice for himself, for it must be early in the morning. But when he glanced at his phone to check the time, it was only 2:45 in the night.

'He had woken up late at night in such an energetic body, it was one of the weirdest things that had happened to him! Talking of weird things, he recalled the girl from his dreams. She was the same girl- but how...how could he know her face? He was hundred and ten percent sure that he had never met this girl before, then who was she? And why did he feel so comfortable around her, as if he had known her for all of eternity!'

While pondering on these questions, he stepped out to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water and heard his Hyungs talking in the room down the hall.

"Yeah, Hyeon is right and I am with him. We need to get rid of that girl in order to protect our J, as he is so innocent!" Chang Min was saying.

'To protect him? Why and how had they found out about the girl when even he was not sure about who she was?! Did they also have the same dreams about her? Or maybe they knew her in real life!'

He got excited and he walked down the hall quickly, to find out the answer. He was imagining they would be happy to see him wake up by himself, without any screams or incidents. But to his surprise, everyone's face turned pale as he stepped into view.

***************************