Incest Little sis Anjali and her friends

[prasannas2001]

 
The late-night conversation began almost by accident.
 
After dinner, the apartment slowly settled into silence.
 
The plates had been cleared. The kitchen was clean.
 
The laughter from earlier had faded into the comfortable quiet of an ordinary evening.
 
At around nine, Neetu finally closed her books with a frustrated sigh.
 
“I give up,” Neetu announced.
 
Mamta looked at her daughter.
 
“On studying?”
 
“No,” Neetu replied. “On pretending I can study while my brain is already tired.”
 
Rohan smiled.
 
“That sounds like a very honest strategy.”
 
Neetu pointed at him.
 
“Don't encourage me.”
 
“I’m just appreciating your honesty.”
 
“Both of you are impossible,” she said, shaking her head.
 
She gathered her books and walked toward her room.
 
“I have an exam on Monday. If I fail, I’m blaming both of you.”
 
Mamta laughed.
 
“You blame everyone except yourself.”
 
“That is also a strategy.”
 
As Neetu disappeared into her room, the apartment became quieter.
 
Not empty.
 
Just quieter.
 
Mamta returned from the kitchen carrying two cups of chai.
 
She placed one in front of Rohan.
 
“You survived an entire evening with my daughter. This is your reward.”
 
Rohan accepted the cup.
 
“I think I already received the reward.”
 
Mamta looked at him.
 
“What?”
 
He smiled.
 
“You… I mean… the conversation with you.”
 
She looked away for a moment, pretending to adjust the cushion beside her.
 
It was such a simple sentence.
 
Nothing improper.
 
Nothing that she could object to.
 
And yet, she noticed it.
 
She had spent years being appreciated for what she did.
 
The meals she prepared.
 
The responsibilities she handled.
 
The problems she solved.
 
But it was rare for someone to appreciate simply sitting with her.
 
She took a sip of tea.
 
“You always find interesting ways to answer.”
 
“Maybe because you ask interesting questions.”