I struggled quite a lot to untie myself using the backrest of a chair and finally succeeded. It was barely daybreak, and by the time I went out to the verandah, I saw Keshav carrying a child in his arms as he came in through the gates.

My whole body froze when I recognised who the boy was.

Keshav placed him down on the verandah stairs, and Bhairav Ji was standing beside him as well, reading a letter.

"Yeh... Yeh ladka..." I gulped.

(This... This boy...)

The child was shivering. His hands were still bound with thin ropes that seemed to be pinching into his skin. He wasn't crying or looking at any of us as he trembled.

"Bhai hai tumhara," My husband mumbled, glancing at me.

(He's your brother.)

I gulped. The boy looked about five. He resembled my mother and stepfather a lot. She had brought him along that day when she came to ask for money... I hadn't even looked at him.

I couldn't.

He was the child conceived by people who had made my life hell.

"Bhabhi..." Keshav murmured, pressing his palm to the child's forehead, "Ise tez bukhaar hai. Aap rasoi se chaku lekar aaiye. Mujhe yeh rassi kaatni hai."

(Bhabhi... He has a high fever. Can you bring the knife from the kitchen? I need to cut these ropes.)

"Jao Sanjana," Bhairav Ji's sharp voice forced me to move. I retrieved the knife from the kitchen and watched Keshav carefully cut the ropes.

(Go, Sanjana.)

The boy winced in pain whenever he moved his wrists. "Kya ho raha hai yaha? Yeh kiska ladka hai!" Maa gasped as she came out to the verandah. Even Dadi was right behind her. Maybe the commotion had woken them up earlier than usual.

(What's happening? Whose boy is this!)

"Iska chota bhai hai," Bhairav Ji mumbled, still staring closely at the letter before stuffing it into his pocket.

(He's her little brother.)

"Iske baap ne haveli ke bahar baandh daala tha. Kal raat se wahi hai aur tez bukhar bhi hai."

(His father tied him outside the haveli. He's been outside since last night, and now he's really sick.)

"Ek baap apne bache ko aise kaise chod sakta hai?!" Maa's eyes widened. The boy was still trembling in fear from everything that was happening around him. I clenched my fists, glancing away.

(How can a father abandon his child like this?!)

Why? Why did I feel pity for him?

A part of me remembered clearly how Maa had enquired countless times with the midwife and other women in the village regarding the gender of her unborn child. They had all assured her that it would be a boy.

And from that moment on, she wanted me out of her life... Because I was just a mistake.

Her son was supposed to be her everything. Why had they abandoned him like this?

"Iski Maa guzar gayi hai."

(His mother is dead.)

My breath hitched as I looked up at my husband. Huh? What?

My mother?

Was she dead?

But... But I had seen her a couple of months back...

Then how?

How could she die?

"Maa...?" The boy whispered, staring up at Bhairav Ji.

The silence was thick as the first rays of the sun spread across the courtyard. Nothing was making sense in my head anymore.

"Iske shirt se ek khath mili thi. Usme yeh sab likha hai. Kuch din pehle inke Maa guzar gayi... Aur ab woh aadmi is bache ka khayal nahi rakh sakhta. Isliye yaha hamare paas chodkar gaya aur bola ki jo marzi karo bache ke saath."

(I got this letter from his shirt. Everything is written in it. A few days back, their mother died... And now that man can't take care of this boy. So he left him here and said that we can do as we please with him.)

Dadi pressed a hand over her mouth. Everyone was too stunned to speak, and I myself hadn't realised when I began trembling with tears in my eyes.

It was still hard to comprehend that my mother was dead.

Keshav cleared his throat, "Bhabhi... Aap ise andar le jaiye. Bukhar bahut tez hai. Aur haath mei bhi davai lagani hogi."

(Bhabhi... You should take him inside. His fever is high. And even his wrists are bruised, please apply some ointment.)

I swallowed my emotions and nodded before leading the child inside by his shoulder. He quietly looked around without speaking. I made him sit on my spare bed in Dadi's room before going through the drawers for the medicine.

He winced in pain when I wiped his wrists clean with antiseptic herbs and finally bandaged them with medicine.

"Aap Maa jaise dikhti ho," the boy whispered, his large eyes fixed on my face.

(You look like Maa.)

He was just a child, I reminded myself. There was no contempt in his young, innocent eyes. My heart ached the more I stared into them.

"Aapka naam kya hai?" I quickly wiped my tears away.

(What is your name?)

"Saarang." He hesitated, "Aap sach mei meri Didi ho?"

(Saarang. Are you really my sister?)

I caressed his face softly and put on a brave smile, "Mm... Didi hu."

(Yes... I'm your sister.)

Saarang didn't look away. His young hand reached forward, and he poked my cheek, "Maa bhi aise hi muskurati thi, pata hai?"

(Even Maa used to smile like this, you know?)

The mother I remembered had never once smiled at me.

As Keshav had mentioned, Saarang's fever was still quite high. I unbuttoned his soiled shirt and applied medicine on his chest and forehead to soothe the infection in his lungs.

"Mujhe Maa ke paas jaana hai... Aap hamare saath kyu nahi rehti?" He asked me curiously while I was wetting a cold cloth to place on his forehead.

(I need to go to Maa... Why don't you live with us?)

"Aapke paida hone ke kuch mahine pehle meri shaadi ho gayi thi," I replied.

(I got married before you were born.)

"Toh aap yaha se nahi jaa sakti?" He asked after a while.

(So you can't leave from here?)

"Nahi beta."

(No beta.)

Neither did I want to leave.

At that time, Bhairav Ji came into the room. He leaned back on the table while watching us. Even Keshav was with him.

"Kuch der baad anaad aashram chod dunga ladke ko," my husband told me firmly.

(I'll drop him off at the orphanage in a bit.)

I blinked at him, "A-anaad ashram?"

(The o-orphanage?)

Keshav looked away when I tried to compel answers out of him. Bhairav Ji looked as unbothered as always.

"Par... Par Saarang anaad thodi hai..." I mumbled.

(But... Saarang is not an orphan...)

My husband narrowed his eyes at me, "Phir kya karna chahti ho?"

(Then what do you want to do?)

I gulped, "Y-yaha kyu nahi reh sakta-"

(Why can't he s-stay here-)

"Sanjana."

His sharp voice cut me off entirely, "Yeh ladka yaha nahi rahega. Anaad aashram mei aur bhi bache hai. Waha sabke saath rehna iske liye behtar hai..."

(This boy is not going to stay here. There are more kids in the orphanage. He should stay there with everyone else...)

"Aap kaisi baate kar rahe hai?" My voice cracked as I stood up to face him. "Saarang mera chota bhai hai. Aap ise anaad kaise bana sakte ho? Mai iska dhyan rakhungi."

(What are you saying? Saarang is my younger brother. How can you make him an orphan? I'll take care of him.)

Bhairav Ji gritted his teeth as he took a step forward, "Dimaag se socho aurat, dil se nahi. Tum is ladke ko jaante tak nahi ho. Bacha hai. Yeh sab bhool jayega. Aur tumhare is haalat mei ek dusre bache ka dhyaan rakhna khatarnaak hai. Is ladke ke karan tumhe kuch hone nahi dunga."

(Think with your brain, woman, not your heart. You don't even know this boy. He's still a kid. He'll forget everything. And in your present condition, taking care of another child is dangerous. I won't let something happen to you because of this boy.)

His selfishness would be the death of me. I tried holding his hand, tried comforting him a little, "Thakur Ji, aap chinta mat kijiye. Mujhe kuch nahi hoga-"

(Thakur Ji, please don't worry. I'll-)

He pulled his hand away in one swift motion, still glaring at me, "Chup chap jo bol raha hu waisa karo. Yeh ladka mere ghar mei mere paiso ko khaate nahi rahega! Maine tumse jab shaadi ki thi, tumhari puri zimmedari li thi, Sanjana. Par yeh ladka mera koi nahi hai. Anaad aashram mei rehna hi iske liye behtar hai. Ummeed hai ki dohrana nahi padega."

(Shut up and just do as I say. This boy is not going to live in my house and eat my money! When I married you, I took responsibility for your life, Sanjana. But I have nothing to do with this boy. Staying in an orphanage is better for him. I hope I won't have to repeat myself.)

Bhairav Ji turned to leave. I was left staring at his back hopelessly with tears in my eyes.

There was nothing wrong with what he had said.

The haveli belonged to him as per Baba's will. He made his own money, and that was our daily rice. Everything that I had in my life, from the anklets I wore to the graduation certificate from school, was all given to me by him.

I was so stupid. Just because I was his wife, it didn't give me the right to ask for more favors.

Right?

"Bhaiya..." Keshav stopped him before he could leave. "Bukhaar utarne mein kam se kam do-teen din toh lag hi jaayenge... tab tak usey yahin rehne dijiye. Uske baad aap usey anaath aashram bhej sakte hain."

(Bhaiya... It will take a few days for his fever to drop... Until then, let him stay here with us. You can send him to the orphanage after that.)

Bhairav Ji thought it over and glanced at me once. "Bacha hai..." I whispered, trying to soften him.

(He's a child...)

"Theek hai," he turned away, "Sirf do dino ke liye yaha reh sakta hai."

(Alright. He can stay here for just two days.)