20-10-2025, 05:55 PM
(This post was last modified: 24-10-2025, 10:57 AM by lee.jae.han. Edited 2 times in total. Edited 2 times in total.)
## Update 14: The Book Returned and Neha Bua's Summons (Avi and Madam/Komal/Neha Bua)
The next day, my stomach was a knot of anxiety. I had two stressful tasks: I had to return the stolen book, and then I had to face Neha Bua, the only person in the family who openly resented me. The dread was so consuming I couldn't even eat properly before leaving the house; every bite felt like sand.
In the afternoon, I went to Madam’s house. Today, her mood was much lighter than yesterday’s sharp interrogation. She was dressed in a simple sari, her face softer and more relaxed.
Madam looked at my tense shoulders, her eyes immediately focusing on my discomfort. “Avi, what’s wrong?” she asked. “You seem upset.”
“Nothing, Madam. I just didn’t sleep well last night,” I replied, trying to keep my voice flat.
“Wait, I’ll make you a hot cup of coffee,” she decided, already heading toward the kitchen.
“Okay.”
As soon as her footsteps faded, I moved with lightning speed. I pulled the book from my bag, slid it back under the bed precisely where I had found it, and shoved the empty bag back into the corner. A cold sweat broke out on my back, but a powerful, cleansing wave of relief washed over me. *The danger is gone.*
Madam returned, holding the steaming mug. “Here’s the coffee,” she said. “Tell me, what’s going on that has you so worried?”
“Nothing much,” I lied, wrapping my hands around the warm ceramic. “I just study all the time.”
She observed me over the rim of her mug, her gaze sharp. “You don’t seem like a student of your age, Avi.”
“That’s because I had to repeat a class after my parents died,” I explained, the familiar tragedy now serving as a quick, accepted excuse for my maturity. “There was a three-year gap. Otherwise, I would be graduating now.”
I stood up abruptly, eager to leave before she could ask any more probing questions. “Madam, I have to go. I’ll come again tomorrow.”
She looked up, surprised. “So soon?”
“I have to go do something important,” I insisted.
“What do you have to do?” she pressed.
“I have to go to my Bua’s house,” I said, using the family errand as a final shield.
“Okay, then,” she said, accepting the excuse with a nod. “Come tomorrow.”
“Bye,” I said, walking quickly out the gate.
*It’s good I put the book back,* I thought, a wave of finality settling over me. *Now I’ll go to Bua’s house.*
I walked the short distance to Neha Bua’s house. I knocked on her gate, and Komal—Neha Bua’s daughter—opened it. She saw me and immediately turned and went inside without saying a single word, leaving the door open. I followed her in and sat down on the sofa, feeling the coldness of her slight.
Komal and I were the same age and in the same class, a fact I knew was due to my three-year gap and the village custom of girls having late college admissions. *This complicated family structure always makes everything awkward.* Neha Bua’s younger daughter, Kavita, and her other daughter, Leena, were also in the same class. Leena’s twin brother, Rajesh, was in their grade but lived and studied at a boarding college. My Pooja Bua’s daughters, Sweta and Sital, also studied in the city and lived at their paternal aunt’s house. Even Pooja Bua’s son, Raj, had a gap in his studies, like me, due to an earlier accident. *Our large family was a complex web of shared classes, age gaps, and local logistics, but the point was that Neha Bua was still cold.*
I waited for Neha Bua, my muscles tight as I wondered exactly why she had summoned me.
---
The next day, my stomach was a knot of anxiety. I had two stressful tasks: I had to return the stolen book, and then I had to face Neha Bua, the only person in the family who openly resented me. The dread was so consuming I couldn't even eat properly before leaving the house; every bite felt like sand.
In the afternoon, I went to Madam’s house. Today, her mood was much lighter than yesterday’s sharp interrogation. She was dressed in a simple sari, her face softer and more relaxed.
Madam looked at my tense shoulders, her eyes immediately focusing on my discomfort. “Avi, what’s wrong?” she asked. “You seem upset.”
“Nothing, Madam. I just didn’t sleep well last night,” I replied, trying to keep my voice flat.
“Wait, I’ll make you a hot cup of coffee,” she decided, already heading toward the kitchen.
“Okay.”
As soon as her footsteps faded, I moved with lightning speed. I pulled the book from my bag, slid it back under the bed precisely where I had found it, and shoved the empty bag back into the corner. A cold sweat broke out on my back, but a powerful, cleansing wave of relief washed over me. *The danger is gone.*
Madam returned, holding the steaming mug. “Here’s the coffee,” she said. “Tell me, what’s going on that has you so worried?”
“Nothing much,” I lied, wrapping my hands around the warm ceramic. “I just study all the time.”
She observed me over the rim of her mug, her gaze sharp. “You don’t seem like a student of your age, Avi.”
“That’s because I had to repeat a class after my parents died,” I explained, the familiar tragedy now serving as a quick, accepted excuse for my maturity. “There was a three-year gap. Otherwise, I would be graduating now.”
I stood up abruptly, eager to leave before she could ask any more probing questions. “Madam, I have to go. I’ll come again tomorrow.”
She looked up, surprised. “So soon?”
“I have to go do something important,” I insisted.
“What do you have to do?” she pressed.
“I have to go to my Bua’s house,” I said, using the family errand as a final shield.
“Okay, then,” she said, accepting the excuse with a nod. “Come tomorrow.”
“Bye,” I said, walking quickly out the gate.
*It’s good I put the book back,* I thought, a wave of finality settling over me. *Now I’ll go to Bua’s house.*
I walked the short distance to Neha Bua’s house. I knocked on her gate, and Komal—Neha Bua’s daughter—opened it. She saw me and immediately turned and went inside without saying a single word, leaving the door open. I followed her in and sat down on the sofa, feeling the coldness of her slight.
Komal and I were the same age and in the same class, a fact I knew was due to my three-year gap and the village custom of girls having late college admissions. *This complicated family structure always makes everything awkward.* Neha Bua’s younger daughter, Kavita, and her other daughter, Leena, were also in the same class. Leena’s twin brother, Rajesh, was in their grade but lived and studied at a boarding college. My Pooja Bua’s daughters, Sweta and Sital, also studied in the city and lived at their paternal aunt’s house. Even Pooja Bua’s son, Raj, had a gap in his studies, like me, due to an earlier accident. *Our large family was a complex web of shared classes, age gaps, and local logistics, but the point was that Neha Bua was still cold.*
I waited for Neha Bua, my muscles tight as I wondered exactly why she had summoned me.
---
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