Flashback
Two kids aged 13 and7 finally found shelter in the temple.The rain had flooded the city. Their bodies trembling with cold.
"Bhaiya bhook lag rahi hai" the young girl spoke clinging to her brother.
The boy was teary eyed,he too himself was hungry but couldn't do anything about it.
They had recently lost their parents to an accident, their father was under heavy debt and hence the kids were thrown out of their own home.
With meager belongings in a bag, they were taken in by a relative, but were simply reduced to being servants.
They initially dealt with a lot of verbal abuse but the day Pihu was beaten up, Arjun took his little sister and ran away from there..never to return!
That night they managed in the temple.
Early morning, while Pihu was still sleeping, Arjun went to look for some food.
As he was wandering around,he came across an old building with a signboard mentioning "Girls Orphanage"
As he went up and peeked inside he saw little girls sitting down for breakfast. They all had similar dress, probably they would go to school from here.
The Matron saw him
"Aye ladke...kya dekh rahe ho?? Chalo jao yahan se!" She scolded him
"Chalo ladkio, nashta karo phir school chalo"
She commanded
Arjun still didn't move..he asked meekly " Yahan sirf ladkiyan rehti hai?"
"Haan, chalo jao yahan se" the Matron yelled
"Aap khana bhi dete ho, school bhi jaati hai, sab yahin rehti hai?"
The Matron wasn't sure of this shabby teenage boy still
"Haan, lekin tumhare liye yahan koi jagah nahi hai...chalo ab jao yahan se" and she threw him out.
The little boy had tears in his eyes and his heart heavy...and though he had promised himself to make a life for himself to look after his younger one...but the sacrifice required was Now!
He went back, Pihu was up and looking around for him..
As soon as she saw him, she clung onto him
"Bhaiya tum kahan the? Bahut bhook lagi hai"
Arjun was overwhelmed and hugged her, he carried her and took her to the building and settled her on the stairs.
He took out a couple of their pictures from the bag which had their meagre belongings and kept in his pocket.
Handing back the bag to Pihu, he said
"Ye sambhal ke rakh, main aata hoon thodi der mein, kuch khane ko lekar"
He kissed her on the cheeks and hugged her briefly.
Pihu clung onto him "Jaldi aana"
He looked at her one last time longingly, he wouldn't be back soon, his heart knew...but he will definitely be by her side one day, in his mind he was determined. And he left!
Pihu sat there for hours together, hungry and crying. The orphanage people heard and consoled her.
She kept on telling them that her brother was on his way and would surely come, however they knew better.
For days together, she kept on sitting at the window waiting for Arjun to return, the days became weeks and then months...her heart however refusing to let go of the hope!
Life at the Orphanage wasn't easy either, the Matron was strict and the elder girls would often bully her.
"Tera bhai tujhe chodh ke chala gaya hai, woh kabhi nahi lautega...tu zaroor use bahut pareshan karti hogi!"
She heard it daily, every single day from everyone.
She was an extremely beautiful girl, innocent face, big eyes, and milky white skin and the other girls always got jealous because of her appearance. Also she went on to be a quite child.
Pihu would often question herself,pray and plead to God daily
"Please Bhagwanji, Bhaiya ko bolo na, main kabhi kuch nahi maangongi, kabhi bhi nai, unko bolo vapas aa jaaye...main kabhi pareshan nahi karoongi " and would cry bitterly.
She was often tortured by the bullies,they would pull her hair, push her off the bed or stairs, even slap her at times!
It only made her go in a shell.
It was almost after a year, a couple came and wanted to adopt her.
They seemed nice and loved her instantly. She however was very skeptical.
Been abandoned by her elder brother and bullied by everyone around, she had seen a cruel world until now, she only looked at the couple with blank eyes when they asked "Humare saath chalogi Gudiya? Humare ghar...hum aapke naye Mummy Papa hai"
Her heart torn inside with bleak hopes of what future would hold for her.
Pihu embarked on a new journey of her life, completely clueless of what future held for her.
They took her to a completely new city.The new home was comfortable, the couple was kind. Mr and Mrs. Manohar Sharma.
"Beta, school ke liye aapka naam Aanchal likhwa de? Hume yeh naam bahut pasand hai?" They had asked joyfully and the little girl couldn't disregard it.
Pihu in school became Aanchal. It was her new identity.
However Mr. Sharma's mother despised the little girl and was determined to make life difficult for her.
In the couples absence she would often try to ridicule and abuse Pihu, at times even beat her up..
However Pihu never even once complained about it. It was very occasional, unlike in the past where she was used to daily beatings.
Life though got better, it couldn't fill the void Arjun's absence created. She didn't even have a picture of him. He had taken them with him..
Although she did have a few precious belongings..a few pink plastic bangles and a pair of anklets he had bought for her and one of his shirt in her old bag. She refused to part with the bag, it was all she had as a memory of her past life.
She wrote letters to Arjun on his birthday and bought a Rakhi for him every year.
With no where to send, she kept all the letters and Rakhis safe in her old bag.
She would always pray for his well being and his return and the days she would miss him a bit too much, she would hug his shirt and go to sleep!
Mr.Sharma had changed a couple of jobs and around 6 years after adopting Aanchal, he relocated back to the city,which gifted him his daughter.
However fate had other plans...life gets a little too difficult for a few people.
It had been 12 years,since Pihu had been abandoned in this city, she had left this place for good but life has brought her back here, may be to lead a tough life and await her brother's return.
Although she had even forgotten how he looked!
Would he ever come back??
Would he look for her??
Would she be able to recognize him??
Would he ever even want to reconnect with her??
She would often wonder silently.
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