02-12-2025, 10:04 PM
## Update 146: Confronting the Morning After (Avi and Sweta Didi)
I woke up to the sound of someone crying. My eyes fluttered open to find Sweta Didi sitting up on the edge of the bed, her body hunched over, great, shuddering sobs wracking her frame. I knew exactly what was happening; the realization of the night's events had hit her.
Didi and I were still naked. I quickly scrambled to find the clothes scattered nearby, picking them up and gently covering Didi's trembling body with her kurta. I reached out and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.
"Didi, please stop crying now," I said softly, my voice low and soothing, my heart aching with genuine remorse for her pain.
She heard my voice and immediately started crying harder, turning her face away from me, shaking her head violently.
"Please, just listen to me first," I pleaded, gently turning her to face me. "Whatever you say will happen after. But listen first. Then you can cry as much as you want."
She shook her head against the pillow, her voice choked with despair. "What is left for me to hear now, Avi?" she sobbed, burying her face.
"Just listen to me once, please," I insisted, my grip firm but gentle.
She lifted her tear-streaked face, her eyes blazing with pain and accusation. "After you did all this to me, you want me to listen to you? You took advantage of my drunk state! If you weren't my brother, I would have killed you where you lay!" she cried out, trying to pull away.
I held her shoulders firmly, forcing her eyes to meet mine. "First, listen to everything I have to say, and then you decide who is truly at fault for this mess," I stated calmly, holding her steady.
She slumped back against the pillows, defeated. "Say what you want to say," she mumbled, closing her eyes.
I took a deep breath and quickly recounted everything that had happened the night before: the desperate pleas from Sital, her nearly going outside naked, my reluctance, her violent behavior, and the final desperate act committed on Sital's insistent advice to save the family honor. Didi started crying again after listening to the horrifying story of her own actions.
"Oh God, what have I done?" she said, her voice filled with piercing regret, shaking her head back and forth.
I reached out and gently rubbed her arm. "What happened, happened because you were drunk, Didi. Don't blame yourself for the actions of the alcohol," I tried to console her.
She pulled her hands up to cover her face. "But whatever happened, it's all because of me going out of control," she confessed, guilt heavy in her tone. She dropped her hands and looked at me, confusion replacing the guilt. "But how did Mammi (Pooja Bua) not know about all the terrible things I did last night? I was so loud."
"Sital Didi gave Pooja Bua and Raj sleeping pills," I explained, letting the final piece of the plan drop.
"Sleeping pills? Why would she do that?" she asked, looking at me with wide, confused eyes.
"So that Bua wouldn't wake up and find out when you started making a scene after drinking," I replied softly. "Sital Didi did it to protect you and the family's honor."
Her eyes narrowed, and her voice hardened with a sudden rush of misplaced anger. "That means Sital knew everything? Then why didn't she just stop me from drinking in the first place?" she demanded, sitting upright.
"You wanted to go out naked, Didi," I said, my voice low and serious. "You had already opened the main gate of the house. I tried to stop you, but you weren't ready to listen to anything I said. Sital Didi told me that I had to do this act to keep you inside and safe. Now, tell me honestly, whose fault is this entire disaster?"
She slumped again, looking away from me. "Neither I nor you are truly at fault," she said, her voice filled with bitterness. "It's all because of that bastard Rohan."
I shook my head firmly. "It's not because of Rohan, Didi; I think it is mostly your fault in all of this," I countered.
Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief, and she stared at me. "My fault?" she asked, her voice sharp with surprise.
"Sital Didi told me everything about Rohan and what happened," I said, my tone gentle but firm.
Her eyes welled up with tears again. "You know everything, the whole story, but you're still taking Rohan's side?" she asked, betrayal in her voice, clutching the sheet.
"Yes, because you never gave Rohan a single chance to say anything in his defense," I explained calmly.
"After seeing him kissing that girl in the classroom, was there anything left for me to hear from Rohan?" she demanded, the pain of that memory still fresh, her jaw tight.
"Think about it," I said, drawing a parallel to our own situation. "After seeing what I did to you last night, you immediately thought it was all my fault this morning, right? But the reality was something else entirely."
She nodded softly, conceding the point. "Yes," she whispered.
"Similarly, you should have given Rohan a chance to tell his side of the story," I said, my voice filled with conviction. "You never know, maybe what you saw didn't happen exactly as you thought. Things aren't always what they seem at first glance. You owe it to your love to listen to Rohan once and hear what he has to say about that girl."
"But it's too late now, Avi," she sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat, running a hand through her hair.
I gently lifted her chin so she had to look at me. "It's never too late for anything important," I insisted, trying to be a ray of hope. "The minute you decide to wake up, that's when the new morning starts. You absolutely should talk to Rohan once."
"But..." she trailed off, doubt clouding her face.
"Just think for a moment," I urged her. "The boy who had a three-year relationship with you and never even touched you, who gave up the chance to study engineering just to be in the same college as you—he is still waiting for you, somewhere. You owe it to that kind of love to talk to Rohan once."
"You're right," she said slowly, her voice thoughtful. "But what about that girl he was with in the classroom?" she asked, suspicion creeping back in, tilting her head.
I used a proverb to illustrate the point. "Whether the knife falls on the melon or the melon falls on the knife, the melon gets cut, Didi," I explained. "And every time, we quickly think it's the knife's fault, but we never stop to think that maybe the melon came under the knife itself without warning."
"How can you be so sure that Rohan didn't intentionally do anything wrong?" she asked, her eyes searching for a final, concrete answer, gripping my arm.
I leaned in and whispered the secret. "I talked to Poonam Didi," I revealed.
Her eyes widened, now filled with curiosity. "What did Poonam Didi say? Why didn't she tell me this before?" she asked, suddenly animated, sitting up straighter.
I smiled, teasing her gently. "You never listened to Poonam Didi whenever she spoke about him," I reminded her. "What good will it do to know now, when you were so determined to hate him?"
"I hated Rohan then because I was so angry," she admitted, her voice filled with regret. "I didn't want to hear anything good about him. That's why I didn't listen to Didi. Tell me, please, what exactly did Poonam Didi say?"
"Okay, I'll tell you what Poonam Didi told me," I said, and then I started telling Sweta Didi about my recent conversation with Poonam Didi.
---
I woke up to the sound of someone crying. My eyes fluttered open to find Sweta Didi sitting up on the edge of the bed, her body hunched over, great, shuddering sobs wracking her frame. I knew exactly what was happening; the realization of the night's events had hit her.
Didi and I were still naked. I quickly scrambled to find the clothes scattered nearby, picking them up and gently covering Didi's trembling body with her kurta. I reached out and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.
"Didi, please stop crying now," I said softly, my voice low and soothing, my heart aching with genuine remorse for her pain.
She heard my voice and immediately started crying harder, turning her face away from me, shaking her head violently.
"Please, just listen to me first," I pleaded, gently turning her to face me. "Whatever you say will happen after. But listen first. Then you can cry as much as you want."
She shook her head against the pillow, her voice choked with despair. "What is left for me to hear now, Avi?" she sobbed, burying her face.
"Just listen to me once, please," I insisted, my grip firm but gentle.
She lifted her tear-streaked face, her eyes blazing with pain and accusation. "After you did all this to me, you want me to listen to you? You took advantage of my drunk state! If you weren't my brother, I would have killed you where you lay!" she cried out, trying to pull away.
I held her shoulders firmly, forcing her eyes to meet mine. "First, listen to everything I have to say, and then you decide who is truly at fault for this mess," I stated calmly, holding her steady.
She slumped back against the pillows, defeated. "Say what you want to say," she mumbled, closing her eyes.
I took a deep breath and quickly recounted everything that had happened the night before: the desperate pleas from Sital, her nearly going outside naked, my reluctance, her violent behavior, and the final desperate act committed on Sital's insistent advice to save the family honor. Didi started crying again after listening to the horrifying story of her own actions.
"Oh God, what have I done?" she said, her voice filled with piercing regret, shaking her head back and forth.
I reached out and gently rubbed her arm. "What happened, happened because you were drunk, Didi. Don't blame yourself for the actions of the alcohol," I tried to console her.
She pulled her hands up to cover her face. "But whatever happened, it's all because of me going out of control," she confessed, guilt heavy in her tone. She dropped her hands and looked at me, confusion replacing the guilt. "But how did Mammi (Pooja Bua) not know about all the terrible things I did last night? I was so loud."
"Sital Didi gave Pooja Bua and Raj sleeping pills," I explained, letting the final piece of the plan drop.
"Sleeping pills? Why would she do that?" she asked, looking at me with wide, confused eyes.
"So that Bua wouldn't wake up and find out when you started making a scene after drinking," I replied softly. "Sital Didi did it to protect you and the family's honor."
Her eyes narrowed, and her voice hardened with a sudden rush of misplaced anger. "That means Sital knew everything? Then why didn't she just stop me from drinking in the first place?" she demanded, sitting upright.
"You wanted to go out naked, Didi," I said, my voice low and serious. "You had already opened the main gate of the house. I tried to stop you, but you weren't ready to listen to anything I said. Sital Didi told me that I had to do this act to keep you inside and safe. Now, tell me honestly, whose fault is this entire disaster?"
She slumped again, looking away from me. "Neither I nor you are truly at fault," she said, her voice filled with bitterness. "It's all because of that bastard Rohan."
I shook my head firmly. "It's not because of Rohan, Didi; I think it is mostly your fault in all of this," I countered.
Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief, and she stared at me. "My fault?" she asked, her voice sharp with surprise.
"Sital Didi told me everything about Rohan and what happened," I said, my tone gentle but firm.
Her eyes welled up with tears again. "You know everything, the whole story, but you're still taking Rohan's side?" she asked, betrayal in her voice, clutching the sheet.
"Yes, because you never gave Rohan a single chance to say anything in his defense," I explained calmly.
"After seeing him kissing that girl in the classroom, was there anything left for me to hear from Rohan?" she demanded, the pain of that memory still fresh, her jaw tight.
"Think about it," I said, drawing a parallel to our own situation. "After seeing what I did to you last night, you immediately thought it was all my fault this morning, right? But the reality was something else entirely."
She nodded softly, conceding the point. "Yes," she whispered.
"Similarly, you should have given Rohan a chance to tell his side of the story," I said, my voice filled with conviction. "You never know, maybe what you saw didn't happen exactly as you thought. Things aren't always what they seem at first glance. You owe it to your love to listen to Rohan once and hear what he has to say about that girl."
"But it's too late now, Avi," she sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat, running a hand through her hair.
I gently lifted her chin so she had to look at me. "It's never too late for anything important," I insisted, trying to be a ray of hope. "The minute you decide to wake up, that's when the new morning starts. You absolutely should talk to Rohan once."
"But..." she trailed off, doubt clouding her face.
"Just think for a moment," I urged her. "The boy who had a three-year relationship with you and never even touched you, who gave up the chance to study engineering just to be in the same college as you—he is still waiting for you, somewhere. You owe it to that kind of love to talk to Rohan once."
"You're right," she said slowly, her voice thoughtful. "But what about that girl he was with in the classroom?" she asked, suspicion creeping back in, tilting her head.
I used a proverb to illustrate the point. "Whether the knife falls on the melon or the melon falls on the knife, the melon gets cut, Didi," I explained. "And every time, we quickly think it's the knife's fault, but we never stop to think that maybe the melon came under the knife itself without warning."
"How can you be so sure that Rohan didn't intentionally do anything wrong?" she asked, her eyes searching for a final, concrete answer, gripping my arm.
I leaned in and whispered the secret. "I talked to Poonam Didi," I revealed.
Her eyes widened, now filled with curiosity. "What did Poonam Didi say? Why didn't she tell me this before?" she asked, suddenly animated, sitting up straighter.
I smiled, teasing her gently. "You never listened to Poonam Didi whenever she spoke about him," I reminded her. "What good will it do to know now, when you were so determined to hate him?"
"I hated Rohan then because I was so angry," she admitted, her voice filled with regret. "I didn't want to hear anything good about him. That's why I didn't listen to Didi. Tell me, please, what exactly did Poonam Didi say?"
"Okay, I'll tell you what Poonam Didi told me," I said, and then I started telling Sweta Didi about my recent conversation with Poonam Didi.
---
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