Krisha's POV

“Krisha!”

I opened one eye.

The room was still dark.

Not completely dark, though.

The curtains weren't properly closed, so a thin line of morning sunlight had managed to sneak through and fall directly across my face.

I frowned and pulled the blanket over my head.

“Krisha! Uth ja, beta!”

I ignored it.

Five minutes.

I just needed five more minutes.

Maybe ten.

Okay, fifteen.

“KRISHAAAA!”

I immediately sat up.

“Haan Maa! Uth gayi!”

My voice came out louder than necessary.

I threw the blanket aside and looked at the clock.

7:18.

I stared at it.

Then stared again.

“Oh, shit.”

I had set three alarms.

Three.

And somehow, I had managed to sleep through all three.

I picked up my phone from underneath my pillow.

Four missed calls.

Two from random companies .One from papa Ofcourse he must be calling me to wake me up taki mummy ki gali khane se bach jau but ab kya krein jiski maut aati h usko koi bacha todi skta hai

One more call , from Lakshita my bestfriend , my jaan . Hmari life mei ek ase ldki hoti hi h jiske sath heim lesbians hone ke allegations lagaye jate h .Yes Lakshita wahi ldki hai hehehe.

I opened her message first .

Lakshu :

Behn jinda hai ya gyi????

Me :

Unfortunately baby zinda hu , itni jldi apko chod ke kaha ja skti hu .

Blue tick hehe she read it i can see her rolling her eyes over my mssg .

Her reply came almost immediately.

Lakshu:

Good. Library at 10. Don't be late.

I rolled my eyes.

As if I was ever on time.

I threw my phone onto the bed and hurried toward the bathroom.

“Maa, towel kahan hai?”

“Jahan kal rakha tha!”

" oops sarcasm smjo guys iske peeche ka .i.looked around to see my pretty towel sitting comfortably on chair beside my bed .Hehe i took it and went to bathroom.

By 8:00, I finally walked downstairs.

Our house was already awake.

The smell of chai and frying onions filled the entire hallway.

I followed the smell into the kitchen.

Maa was standing near the stove, her hair tied into a loose bun, one hand holding a spatula and the other trying to keep her phone from falling off her shoulder.

She looked at me.

Then looked at the clock.

Then back at me.

I smiled.

“Good morning.”

She gave me a look.

“Good morning?”

“Hmm.”

“Kitne baje uthna tha?”

"Seven.”

“Kitne baje uthi?”

I looked away.

“Seven-ish.”

“Krisha.”

“Seven eighteen.”

“Exactly.”

I walked toward her and hugged her from behind.

“Sorry.”

She tried to remain annoyed.

She really did.

But I knew my mother.

Within three seconds, her expression softened.

“Chalo, chhodo. Jaake table laga do.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“And phone side mein rakhna.”

" Krisha kuch girana mat "

“Yes, ma'am.”

Ab aap log soch rhe honge na mai koi job krti hu na padai toh subha 7 bje kyu uthna bhai.Well kyuinki KAL maine hi pure hosh aur hawas ah i mean awaz mei kaha tha ki mai subha jldi uthke jobs ke liye papers ke liye apply krungi hehe. MY mum took it seriouslyyyy.

Papa was already sitting at the dining table.

His newspaper was open in front of him, his glasses resting low on his nose.

He looked at me over the top of the newspaper.

“Madam finally woke up.”

“Good morning to you too.”

“Good morning.”

He folded one corner of the newspaper.

" koi toh kal pure josh ke sath keh rha tha dekhna subha 6 7 bje uthke jobs ke liye apply krna shuru kr dungi , ab time aa gya hai serious hone ka wagera wagera . Toh ab kya hua ?"

I rolled my eyes, " bas na papa aap bhi 15 mins hi toh late hui hu bas "

" hn hn beta"

“Late night?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“I was tired.”

“From doing what?”

I pulled out the chair and sat down.

“Living.”

He laughed.

“Very difficult job.”

“Extremely.”

Maa came in with a plate of poha.

" aye haye maa , firse pohaa kabhi toh kuch tadakta badakta khilaooo janeman taki is dilll ko chain aa jae "

Mumma looked at me and rolled her eyes , " dramebaaz "

" akhir beti bhi toh apki hai " papa said removing his specs .

" ni jiii , issse toh saaf pta lagta hai apki hi beti hai " mumma answered back .

" awwww so sweet .Why are you guys fighting over me .Mai aap dono ki beti hu .Ab thek " I said pouting .

Both looked and me and chuckled.

“Beta.”

I looked up.

Papa was watching me.

“Haan?”

“Kal jo CV bhejna tha, bheja?”

I immediately lowered my spoon.

“Which CV?”

His eyebrows went up.

“Krisha.”

I smiled.

“Okay. I know.”

“Bheja?”

“Almost.”

“Almost kya hota hai?”

“Matlab… bana diya hai.”

“Bheja?”

“No.”

Maa shook her head.

“Tumhara ye ‘almost’ ek din tumhe le doobega.”

I laughed.

“Today.”

Papa looked at me seriously.

“Today means today.”

Yes.”

“Before lunch.”

“Papa…”

“Before lunch.”

“Okay.”

He nodded.

“Good.”

I took another bite.

“Happy?”

Very.”

I smiled.

There were times when Papa's constant questions annoyed me.

But deep down, I knew why he asked.

He wanted me to have a career.

He wanted me to be independent.

He had never once told me that being a girl meant I needed to depend on someone else.

In fact, he had spent years telling me the opposite.

“Apne pairon par khadi rehna seekho, Krisha.”

That sentence had probably been repeated more times than any other sentence in our house.

And I had listened.

At least, I tried to.

I had finished my degree.

I was looking for a job.

I wasn't exactly sure where I wanted my life to go yet.

But I knew one thing.

I wanted to make my own way.

Not because I didn't love my family.

Because I did.

Maybe too much.

But I wanted to be able to give something back to them.

Especially to my parents.

One day, I wanted to see Papa stop checking price tags before buying something for himself.

I wanted to take Maa shopping and tell her,

“Don't look at the price. Just choose.”

It was a small dream.

But it was mine.

After breakfast, I went back upstairs.

My room looked like a disaster.

Clothes on the chair.

Books on the floor.

A hairbrush beside the window.

Three empty water bottles on my desk.

I stood in the doorway.

“How do I live like this?”

I knew the answer.

Very comfortably.

I picked up the clothes first.

Then the books.

Then the bottles.

Five minutes later, I was bored.

I sat on the edge of my bed.

My phone was right there.

I picked it up.

Instagram.

Bad decision.

Twenty minutes disappeared.

Then another ten.

Then—

“KRISHA!”

I nearly dropped the phone.

“WHAT?”

“CV BHEJNA THA!”

I looked at the clock.

9:14.

“I'm doing it!”

“Abhi?”

“Yes!”

“Good!”

I muttered under my breath.

“Everyone in this house is obsessed with my CV.”

I opened my laptop.

I had actually made the CV.

I stared at it for a few seconds.

My name.

Krisha Mathur.

Bachelor's degree.

Skills.

Internship.

Education.

Everything looked so official.

Almost like I knew exactly what I was doing.

But the truth was...

I didn't.

Everyone around me seemed to know where they were going.

Some friends were preparing for competitive exams.

Some had already joined companies.

Some were getting married.

Some were planning to study abroad.

And me?

I was somewhere in between.

Not lost.

Just...

figuring it out.

I didn't think there was anything wrong with that.

Life wasn't a race.

At least that's what I told myself every time I started comparing myself to someone else.

I attached the CV to the email.

Typed a short message.

Read it three times.

Then clicked Send.

Done.

I leaned back in my chair.

“Finally.”

My phone buzzed.

Lakshu :

Kidr haiii behnnnn????

Me :

Arey janeman 10 min mei pohnch gyi bas

Lakshu:

Oh mtlb ada ghanta lagega🙃

I read the message and chucked .WELL SHE KNOWS ME TOO WELL.

I changed into a simple top and jeans.

Nothing fancy.

I brushed my hair, put on small earrings, grabbed my handbag and came downstairs.

Maa was folding clothes.

She looked up.

“Lunch?”

“I'll eat outside.”

“Outside?”

“With Lakshita”

“Don't eat too much junk.”

“Maa…”

“I'm serious.”

“I'll eat something healthy.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

I walked toward the door.

“Krisha.”

I turned.

“Hmm?”

“Phone charged?”

I checked.

“42%.”

“Take your charger.”

I groaned.

“Maa!”

“Take it.”

I went back upstairs.

Because arguing with mothers was pointless.

They always won.

The drive to the café was short.

Traffic wasn't too bad.

I turned the music up and opened the windows slightly.

For the first time that morning, I was completely alone.

No Maa.

No Papa.

No CV.

No questions.

Just me.

I liked driving.

It gave me time to think.

Sometimes I imagined what my life would look like five years from now.

Would I have a job?

Would I still live with my parents?

Would I move somewhere else?

Would I fall in love?

Would I get married?

I didn't know.

And strangely, I wasn't scared.

I didn't need all the answers right now.

I was twenty-four.

I had time.

At least...

I thought I did.

Lakshita was waiting outside the café.

She saw my car and immediately checked her watch.

I got out.

“Don't.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I haven't said anything.”

“You're about to.”

“You're twenty minutes late.”

“Traffic.”

“We live ten minutes away.”

“Emotional traffic.”

She stared at me.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

We walked inside.

Our usual table was near the window.

I sat down.

She placed her phone on the table.

So?”

“So what?”

“The CV?”

“Sent.”

She gasped dramatically.

“Wow.”

“I know.”

“I'm proud of you.”

“Thank you.”

“Did Papa make you send it?”

I smiled.

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

She opened the menu.

“Coffee?”

“Yes.”

“Fries?”

“Yes.”

“Healthy lunch?”

I stared at her.

She stared back.

We both laughed.

“Don't tell my mother.”

“Never.”

We spent the next two hours talking about absolutely everything.

Her job.( She is working in a good company as a marketing assistant .We both are graduated in marketing . She knows what she wanted to do so she applied there and got selected .On the other side i didn't even knoe whether i wanted to work in this field or somewhereelse.)

My job search.

Someone from college who had gotten engaged.

A mutual friend who had apparently broken up and gotten back together three times in one month.

Like literally , we talked about everything .

I reached home around 4:30.

Maa was in the kitchen.

Papa was sitting in the living room watching the news.

I dropped my bag on the sofa.

Papa immediately looked at me.

“CV?”

I laughed.

“Sent.”

He nodded approvingly.

“Good.”

“Bas? No lecture?”

“No.”

I looked at Maa.

“Maa, Papa ko fever hai kya?”

Papa laughed.

“Bahut funny.”

I went into the kitchen.

“What's for dinner?”

“Rajma.”

My face lit up.

“Really?”

“Haan.”

“I love you.”

“You love food.”

“Same thing.”

She smiled.

I helped her chop vegetables.

We talked about random things.

Maa told me our neighbour's daughter was getting married.

I told her Naina had found a new job.

She asked me whether I had heard from the company yet.

I said no.

Then we changed the subject.

It was an ordinary evening.

Sunlight slowly disappeared outside the kitchen window.

Papa came in asking for tea.

Maa complained that he had already had two cups.

He said two cups were nothing.

I took his side.

Maa called both of us impossible.

We laughed.

And for a few minutes, I simply stood there.

Watching them.

My parents.

My home.

My life.

There was something comforting about knowing exactly where you belonged.

I didn't know what the future held.

Maybe it would be beautiful.

Maybe difficult.

Maybe both.

But I wasn't worried.

Because whatever happened...

I had them.

And sometimes that was enough.