U.S… 6:00 AM…
Anamika was sleeping in the guest room when a knock echoed on the door.
Still lost in her dreams, she slowly sat up, eyes half-closed. She stayed there for a moment, trying to convince herself that it was indeed morning. But before she could lie back down…
“Anamika! Anamika… come out!”
Ira’s voice thundered from outside like a storm.
Anamika shot up straight from the bed. Fixing her messy hair, she stumbled towards the door — her eyes still not fully open.
But the moment she opened the door… and her gaze landed on the people standing in front of her, it was as if sleep packed its bags and caught an urgent flight out of her system!
Anamika stood straight, quickly bowed her head and said, “Hello… Mr. Rajput!”
Ira was beside him, still yawning. And next to her stood Mr. Shekhar Rajput, tall, stern, and composed, his eyes devoid of expression. Behind him came Aditya, like a playful child, smiling brightly, “Good morning! Had a nice sleep?”
Anamika glanced once at Aditya’s bright and adorable smile… and then at Shekhar’s cold and unreadable eyes.
Nervously, she said, “Y-Yes… I’m fully awake now!”
Mr. Shekhar replied, “Your eyes still look sleepy. If you want, go ahead and rest a bit more. We’ll come later.”
Anamika immediately blurted, “No! I mean… I’ll just freshen up and come.”
“Alright,” Shekhar replied and walked off.
Anamika lowered her gaze and walked back into her room with wide eyes, as if she had just survived a major shock. Aditya watched her and chuckled at her innocence before walking away himself.
As for Ira… she was still sleepy. Too lazy to return to her own room, she quietly followed Anamika and curled up like a cat on her bed and went back to sleep.
A little while later, in the hall…
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Aditya was already seated with Mr. Shekhar. Both were occupied with their laptops. Though together, their focus was entirely on their screens.
Anamika entered quietly and sat down on the sofa across from them. She assumed they didn’t notice her — but she was wrong.
The moment she took a sigh of relief, Aditya shut his laptop. And Mr. Shekhar, without looking up, said, “So… tell me, kid… what’s your name?”
Anamika widened her eyes and looked at him as if silently asking — "Kid?! Do I look like a kid to him?!"
Aditya, trying to hold in his laughter, said, “Her name’s Anamika! And uncle, she’s 24!”
Shekhar put his laptop aside and said, “Aditya… let the one I asked answer it! Anyway…”
(turning to Anamika)
“Tell me, kid… what do you need from me?”
Anamika was a bit hesitant. Her eyes were lowered and her hands were slightly trembling. Maybe because Shekhar was new to her… and quite intimidating. His intense gaze only made her more nervous.
Aditya noticed it immediately. He quietly picked up his laptop, walked around, and sat beside Anamika without saying a word. Just his presence gave her a sense of comfort.
Anamika looked at him — he was pretending to work, acting like he wasn’t paying attention at all.
She smiled, closed her eyes for a moment, and then looked straight into Shekhar’s eyes with a newfound courage.
“Uncle… I came here with a special request.”
Shekhar leaned back, crossed one leg over the other, and said, “Well, that’s exactly what I’m here to hear… say it quickly.”
Her expression changed. She glanced at Aditya again, eyes full of hope.
Aditya got up and said, “You two go ahead and talk. I’ll be right back.”
Anamika’s eyes followed him like a child watching their last piece of help being taken away — now forced to face the exam alone.
She took a deep breath and turned toward Shekhar, who was still looking at her intently — making her swallow hard out of nervousness.
After a brief silence, she gathered herself, looked down, and began speaking:
“I… I don’t have many friends. The ones I do have… they’re very special. This year, for the first time, I got the chance to organize a birthday party for one of them. The party went really well… but still, something felt incomplete. It’s like… his dream is incomplete too. He hasn’t said much, and maybe… maybe we didn’t try to ask either. We just want to complete it. His dream.”
Without much expression, Shekhar asked: “What’s the dream? I’ll fulfill it.”
Anamika closed her eyes, and softly said:“Please, Mr. Rajput… just once, have his mother’s favorite breakfast with Aniket.”
Shekhar’s fists clenched — but it wasn’t anger. It was hesitation. Something he hid well from his face and voice.
He stood up, picked up his laptop, and said, “Fine. The day after tomorrow, I’ll take Aniket to his mother’s favorite place for breakfast.”
Anamika opened her eyes to find he had already left.
She relaxed her body into the sofa and let out a deep breath, smiling to herself.
“I did it…! I actually did it!”
Outside the house…
Shekhar stepped out and saw Aditya leaning against his car, smiling.
“So, uncle! You said yes, didn’t you?”
Shekhar walked toward the car and replied, “You… Aditya… I didn’t expect this from you.”
Aditya opened the car door and said with a grin: “Just trying to follow in your footsteps a little!”
Before getting in, Shekhar looked into Aditya’s eyes — and for a moment, he saw the same childlike innocence he remembered from both Aditya and Aniket’s childhood.
“Aniket… has he grown as tall as you now?”
Aditya looked confused, “Yeah… I think he’s about my height. But why do you—”
Before he could finish, Shekhar shut the door and gestured to the driver. The car pulled away.
Aditya watched the car leave, still puzzled.
Inside the car…
Shekhar glanced at his phone — the wallpaper was a picture of little Aniket. He stared at it for a second… then locked the screen.
As he turned his eyes out the window, Anamika’s words echoed in his mind… he questioned himself… “Is that really what he wants? I thought he hated me… just like his mother did.”
There was an emptiness in his eyes…
The same emptiness that now reflected in Aniket’s gaze as he quietly stared at his family photo.
What’s the reason behind this silence-filled emptiness in their eyes?Will these tangled emotions bring them closer — or drive them further apart?Sometimes, it takes just one morning to complete an unfinished picture…
