Ayesha's POV

"Eshu, so what do we have on our to-do list now?" Mumma asked, turning towards me from the front seat.

"We still have many things left?" Bhai groaned from beside me, but he couldn't do much anyway. Today, I was the boss.

"Adi," Papa warned Bhai. I giggled at Bhai's sour face. It was my birthday today, and as my birthday gift, I had wished to celebrate it my way.

"Fine, what do we have next, princess dearest? A manicure session perhaps, or a nail extension session?" Bhai asked with fake girly enthusiasm.

He looked ridiculous, and I couldn't stop myself from bursting into laughter. Mumma and Papa chuckled too.

"Um... tempting, but no. We are going on an ice cream date next," I replied, my excitement knowing no bounds. My birthday was the only winter day I was allowed to have ice cream. Bhai's eyes lit up at my words.

"Tell me why I'm not surprised?" Mumma said, chuckling, while Papa shook his head with a smile.

Suddenly, a very loud honk echoed, followed by a flash of light.

"AVI!" Mumma's scream came next, loud and terrified.

In a split second, our car started rolling. Bhai shielded me with his body, taking all the pain away from me.

And then everything went silent - my parents, Bhai, the car, everything.

But I saw him - a man wearing a strange-looking bracelet, checking if my parents were breathing. I couldn't see his face... and then he left.

"Mumma?"

"Papa?"

"Utho Mumma Papa!"

(Wake up, mumma,papa!)

"Bhai? Aap toh utho."

(Bhai, at least you wake up!)

No one answered. I shook Bhai, but he didn't wake up. I called Mumma and Papa, but they stayed silent.

They stayed silent.

For fifteen minutes... I was counting.

Suddenly, the car door opened. A stranger uncle grabbed me and pulled me out.

I kept protesting, holding my brother's hand. I wanted to shout, "No, save my brother, my Mumma, my Papa!" but it felt as if I had no voice.

"MUMMA."

"PAPA."

"BHAI."

"ESHU, WAKE UP," I heard someone say.

"PLEASE ESHU, WAKE UP." I followed the voice. As I walked, it kept getting louder, and then my eyes opened.

"Finally, you woke up," Ritika sighed, her face full of concern and worry for me.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. I never wanted her to see this side of me. It was scary, and her face looked tired. I had disturbed her with my demons. "I'm so sorry. I don't... don't know how I got this nightmare even though I... I took my m... medicine. I... I'm sorry, I didn't... didn't do it purposely... I didn't... I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey, stop." She took my hands in hers, making me stop my rambling.

"You didn't disturb me. It's okay, it was just a nightmare. I'm your friend, aren't I? The least I can do for you is comfort you in your lows," she said softly. All I could do was nod.

"Now come on, have some water," she said, passing me a water bottle. I took a few sips.

"Hmm, perfect. Now let's rant it out. Whatever you saw, whatever you felt, spill everything. It'll make you feel better," she said, keeping the bottle back in its place and kneeling in front of me.

"I'm fine. You look tired, you should go back to sleep," I replied, finally looking at her. My vulnerable eyes met her comforting ones.

That's when I knew this girl right here was the best thing that ever happened to me in this academy.

"I am okay, waise bhi 5 baj gaye hai, agar ab soi toh training miss ho jaegi. I'll sleep after coming back from our training," she reassured me. I reluctantly nodded.

(I'm okay, anyways it's 5 am, I'll miss my training if I sleep now.)

"Let's get fresh and go for a walk," she said. I nodded, and we both went to freshen up in the common washroom before heading to the garden.

As we walked, I told her how I saw my parents dying in front of me, how I saw a man come just to check if they survived or not, how I've been constantly getting nightmares since that day, because if not for my brother shielding me with his body, I wouldn't have survived that horrible accident, and how I saw my brother fighting for his life in the hospital.

And all of this happened on my birthday - the day that was supposed to be happy.

"And that's why I decided to become a CBI officer. I want to find that man who is responsible for my parents' death," I said, taking a deep breath and looking at the sky.

The sun was rising, marking a new day, a new beginning. But I? I was still stuck in my past, in my trauma.

"You know, I saw my father abusing my mother with the same hands he used to feed me every night. Often my mother used to hide her scars with makeup, just to hide her pain from me. She knew if I saw what my father did to her, it would break me because, for me, my father was my superhero," Ritika said, looking up at the sky.

"Your inspiration was your parents' killer. My inspiration was my own father. I want to free my mother from his clutches," she added, sighing.

"You are so strong," I whispered, smiling at her. She looked at me with a faint smile, her eyes filled with pain and betrayal from her own father.

"You're not weak either, Eshu. You're stronger. Every day you go through the same trauma, reliving it in your dreams. It's painful, very painful. I'm so glad you didn't give up," she said. I chuckled and nodded at her.

"If Jivu finds out we were crying, she'll sew our eyes shut," she said suddenly, making laughter erupt from my throat.

"True, she's a medical student. She's capable of doing that," I said, and we both chuckled.

We three had become very close to each other. I was glad I got lucky when it came to friendship.

"Shouldn't you both be in the training hall?" came a voice I had grown quite used to.

"Good morning, sir. We were just heading there," Ritika answered as we turned. He nodded at Ritika and then turned his gaze to me.

"Riti, you go. I want to talk to Miss Ayesha about something," he said calmly, looking at me. Ritika looked unsure, but I blinked at her reassuringly. She nodded and left.

"Yes, sir? You wanted to say something?" I asked firmly, keeping my tone polite.

"You were crying," he said. No, wait-he declared.

"Sorry?"

"I said you were crying. Your eyes are puffy, your nose and cheeks are red, you keep wiping your runny nose, and your voice is hoarse. That happens when you cry, so you were crying," he reasoned.

My eyes widened at his accurate observation.

When did he notice all that?

"That's none of your concern," I replied with a sigh. I really didn't have the energy to entertain his shenanigans.

"Of course it is. You are my-" he was interrupted by a girl from our batch calling him. The same girl he had been talking to so enthusiastically earlier.

"Sir, I wanted to say something, so..." she said, eyeing me, indirectly telling me to leave.

As if I was dying to hear their conversation.

"I'll leave," I muttered and started walking away.

"Stop," he said, gently grabbing my wrist. I turned to him, confused, waiting for him to continue.

"Stay," he ordered and then turned to the girl. "Yes, what do you want to say?"

"Uh, sir, it's something personal, so-"

"Say it in front of her or leave," he snapped rudely. I winced at his harsh tone.

"Uh... that, sir," she began, clearly uncomfortable.

"I think you both should talk privately," I said, trying to save her from her misery. He glared at me... hard.

"Can't you understand a simple thing?" came his sharp command. I rolled my eyes but nodded anyway.

"Yes, continue, and please be quick. We have our class in fifteen minutes," he said, his voice cold and firm.

"Sir, I like you," she said, closing her eyes. My eyes widened in disbelief. What the hell? I turned to look at him-he was fuming.

I nudged him slightly to calm down which he obviously ignored royally.

"Leave," he snapped, making her stare at him with widened eyes that quickly filled with tears.

"Don't you understand? I said leave!" he shouted again. A sob escaped her lips but nonetheless she nodded and ran away.

He sighed, rubbing his forehead, and said softly, "It's time for your training. You should go."

I nodded and left for my training. Honestly, I didn't know what to make of what I had just seen.

He didn't find himself a girl after that night?

Later, during training, I saw him wearing a band around his right hand-

the same band I had made him wear that night.