039 Start of a new era

Time passes quickly when you are enjoying it.

By the time I realized that I have become an elder brother, days had passed. Many changes also happened these days.

Since the election was over, dad stayed at home. He still had a lot to do. So he decided to work from home.

Anu suddenly started acting a bit more responsibly. She wanted to help mom to lessen her duties. But as usual, she ended up making more trouble for mom.

Aunty returned to her house. So my quota of milk reduced and I started feeding more on baby food. Normally I would have thrown a tantrum. But since the milk went to my younger siblings, I decided not to complain.

Aunty wanted to stay longer. But she had to return to her house as her husband had returned. Her husband was managing a supermarket in Kuwait. They sold their supermarket and decided to start a business in a town near their home. This was how it happened in my previous life also.

About the babies, Priya is a good girl. She doesn't cry much. Even if she started crying, either I or Anu can just pat her a bit and she will return to sleeping. But Prince wasn't anything like that. He cries a lot and ruins our sleep. Mom and dad took turns handling the babies. Still, they were having very rough nights.

Since mom and dad were busy with the babies, I, Anu and Doodu became the trio that ruled our surroundings. Dad baby-proofed our entire area to make sure that I won't get into any trouble. Dad had also installed many security cameras after the kidnap attempt. So I was allowed to walk around in our courtyard.

Since I started walking, dad got me a pair of tiny slippers. It was soft and cute. Mom and dad spent hours watching me walk with that.

Today morning, I was sitting on the veranda in mom's lap. The babies were sleeping. So I got some cuddle time with mom. Dad was massaging mom's feet. Doodu and Anu were barking at the squirrels on the tree.

This fight between us and the squirrels started a few days ago. Since it was summer, mom kept water and seeds for the birds. But then a squirrel started stealing from it. Mom was fine with it as she loved squirrels. But then something went wrong.

A few days ago, the squirrel was drinking the water and Doodu happened to pass by. Since he was a member of the family, he wanted to show off a bit. In his eyes, the house belonged to him and the squirrel was just a tiny creature jumping on trees. So he barked at the squirrel to assert his superiority.

To his dismay, the squirrel completely ignored him.

This annoyed Doodu a bit. So he caught the poor animal with his paws and barked at it.

Unfortunately for Doodu, mom came there at the right time. She was against him learning to hunt. So she scolded him and he even got punished.

Normally, the event would have ended there. But the next day, the crazy squirrel returned with his friends and started taunting Doodu. They all sat on the trees and made their 'chiillll chiiilll' sounds at him. He responded by barking. Since we were on the same team, I and Anu also joined the barking. Slowly, this became a part of our daily routine.

Sometimes, I laugh at myself. Probably, the entire universe conspired to give me a second chance at life. But here I am, barking at squirrels!

"Achuuti, do you want to play with them?" Mom playfully asked me. Sometimes she calls me Achuti. That's the cute version of Alex.

I just snuggled and stayed in her lap. She was feeling guilty about not spending enough time with me. I too wasn't happy with all my cuddle time being stolen by the babies. So I decided to stay with mom instead of playing outside.

"Riya, I have to tell you something." Dad suddenly turned serious.

"What happened?"

"Remember how Anu told everyone how her imaginary friend Priya took care of the kidnappers?"

"Yes?"

"There is a bit more to it." Dad started explaining his findings. He also told mom about the issues found by villagers. Mom listened to everything in disbelief.

"How can it be true! It must be a coincidence." Mom was not able to believe what dad said.

"Alex, look at this." Instead of replying to mom, dad showed me his mobile phone.

I was a bit confused. Why was he showing me his phone?

There was a black and white photo of a young girl on the screen. I found nothing special about her. Then dad started swiping on the screen. The next picture was also a black and white photo of a girl. In the next few seconds, he swiped through many such pictures.

Then suddenly, a familiar face appeared. I moved forward by reflex. By the time I realized my mistake, dad had noticed my reaction. In fact, he was paying close attention to my reaction all the time.

"Do you know this girl?" Dad asked me.

As you might have guessed, it was a photo of Priya.

I was shocked.

"Who is that?" Mom asked dad.

"Wait. I will explain. Anu, come here." Dad called Anu.

He repeated the same experiment with Anu. I wanted to warn Anu. But there was no way to do it.

Anu uninterestedly swiped through the photos. She wasn't happy that her fight was interrupted.

"Huh?..." Suddenly, she froze. She stared at one photo confusedly. Then her expression changed.

"Priyechi... Priyechi..." She screamed excitedly.

"Don't drop the phone," Dad warned Anu. She didn't even hear it. She was jumping up and down in happiness.

Doodu came running. Anu showed the photo to him. His dog face was also filled with disbelief.

"Can you tell me what's happening?" Mom was getting impatient.

"During the election campaign, I started investing the origin of that clock. It wasn't difficult as it hadn't changed many hands. At first, I went to the shopkeeper who gifted me the clock. In the beginning, he was reluctant to say anything. But after a bit of pressuring, he started talking."

"He bought it from a scrap collector. He brought it into his store that day morning. But then, things started going wrong in his store."

"In the morning itself, a customer got into an argument with him. According to the customer, the girl working in the store offered him a good discount in exchange for his lunch box. Since there was no such girl working in his store, he thought that the customer was trying to cheat him. But soon, more customers came with complaints. In no time, he realized that there was a teenage girl inside his store scamming his customers." Dad continued his explanation with a wry smile.

"Hahaha... That sounds fun." Mom laughed.

"It wasn't fun for him. By the end of the day, he was going mad. He had to reimburse many customers and got scolded by many. So he hid in a corner to capture the wicked girl who was hiding from him throughout the day. That's when he saw the girl coming out of the clock. He was scared and didn't know what to do. Fortunately for him, we came there at the right time."

"Wait a second. That means..." Mom suddenly understood the full picture.

"Yes. When we reached the store that day, the clock wasn't originally for sale. When he saw that I was interested in the clock, he tried to sell it to us. Then he gave us the clock for free. I was too excited to notice that he was actually trying to get rid of the clock." Dad sighed.

"I too. If I had noticed it, I would have pressured him a bit more to give an even better discount." Mom lamented.

I was speechless. Dad was telling a horror story and mom was feeling bad about missing a chance to bargain a bit more.

"Hahaha... True. After that, I visited the family that sold him the clock. It was an old Hindu family. They were very nice people. They even recognized me. So I told them that I would like to know the story of the clock as I am the current owner of the clock. They were a bit reluctant at first. But still, they told the history of that clock."

"They got the clock as a gift during the British era. For decades, it was a part of their house. But then there was an accident and it changed everything."

"Decades ago, there was a naughty teenage girl in their house. One day, she placed a chair on a table and climbed on it to change the time on the clock. She lost balance and fell down. Her head hit the edge of the door. When the family members came hearing the noise, she and the clock were on the floor. The heartbroken family members threw the clock into the attic."

"Recently, the current generation found the clock and sold it off. After that it reached us." Dad concluded the story.

"That's sad." Mom felt bad. I knew about her tragic death. But still, I felt sad on confirming it.

"The current generation living there was happy to tell us the story and boast their centuries-old family. They even joked about a ghost visiting their house a few weeks ago. A few weeks ago, the kids in their family told the parents about a teenage girl flying around the house. If my calculation is correct, that's the day the clock broke."

"So she went there after terrorizing the kidnappers."

"Yes. But I don't think it was a happy experience for her. Her parents had passed away long ago. She didn't have siblings. Her cousins are also old and abroad. In other words, none of the people whom she cared for lives there anymore. Even the house itself had changed a bit." Dad explained.

Mom silently listened. I also felt sad. I once experienced the pain of returning to my home only to realize that all the people I loved are no longer there. The loneliness and pain I felt that day was something I cannot describe in words.

"But there is something that I don't understand. According to Anu, Priya couldn't touch anything physical. So what did she do with the food and money she scammed from the customers?" Dad voiced his doubt.

I was also thinking of the same. What happened to the stuff she scammed from the customers?

Guess I will never know.

"Where did you get the photo?" Mom asked.

"As I said, they were quite friendly and really loved to boast their heritage. So they voluntarily showed me the photos. Anu, come here, there is more." Dad got the phone from Anu and showed her two more photos. One of it was a widely smiling girl showing off her new skirt. The other one was she and her friends shyly posing for a photo with a cat.

Anu got the phone and went to show it to Doodu. I felt sad about Priya. But at the same time, I felt happy that Anu had something to remember Priya by.

"So she was looking after our kids all this time?" Mom asked.

"Yes. From the reaction of Alex and Doodu, all three of them knew about her."

"The kidnappers... They are the reason Priya is gone now." Mom gritted her teeth.

"That's true." Dad agreed.

"I don't want to know what you will do. But I never want those two to return to the society where my kids would grow up." Mom told dad.

I was startled by the sudden change in mom's voice. She was literarily asking dad to kill someone.

"The inmates never go easy on those who have committed crimes against kids. On top of that, they were truly scared by Priya. According to the doctor, they haven't slept properly in a while. It won't be long before they themselves put an end to their misery." Dad replied nonchalantly.

"That would be the best solution. Also, get those photos printed. It's precious for Anu."

Dad simply noded.

Finally, I understood where my resolve come from. When I had restarted my life, I swore to do anything to protect my family. That's exactly what my parents were doing. To them, there was no right or wrong when it come to taking care of our family.

This is what exactly I am also going to do.

As you already know, in my previous life mom passed away when I was a teenager. She lost her life to breast cancer that was diagnosed very late. I will never let that happen in this life. I will make sure that mom gets a mammography every six months to detect cancer as early as possible. For that, I will need Anu's help. It's going to be difficult. But I will do it soon.

Another thing I want to do is to properly hide the scam in Lakshmi aunty's hospital. In my previous life, when the scam was exposed, dad did everything to protect Lakshmi aunty. It became a black mark in his political career.

The scam also ruined Lakshmi aunty's marriage which was already in shambles. This time, I won't let any of these happen.

There are many more things I want to change in this life.

But right now, let me go bark at these damn squirrels.

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Hii

This was a transition chapter. The story will return to the usual pace in the next chapter.

Sorry for the delay. My interview got postponed. That's why the chapters were delayed. The new date of the interview is not yet announced. Please pray for me.

Special thanks to all my readers for the motivation