Chapter 5: On the Road Home

On the drive home, the morning’s first humidity seeped in through the open window. The smell of incense from a roadside temple drifted in as we stopped at a red light, mixing with the faint aroma of frying jalebis from a nearby stall.

Priya drove with one hand, the other gesturing wildly as she scolded me: "How come you have no sense of boundaries with women at all? Meera was putting medicine on you and you just let her? Boys and girls shouldn’t touch, you know."

I scratched the back of my neck, the way Baba did whenever he was caught lying about paan. "Kya yaar, old-fashioned mat ban. She was just helping, and besides, she’s your friend."

Priya clicked her tongue. "Exactly! I know you boys—no matter how seedha-saadha you look, sab ek jaise hi ho. Meera is not the problem, you are. Don’t have any funny ideas."

I rolled my eyes. "I’m your brother, okay? Decent ladka hoon main. Bas karo na, Priya. Ek din toh normal rehne do."

She grinned, but behind her teasing, I saw the old worry in her eyes—the one that said, no matter how much we fight, we're still family.