As soon as they entered the room, Pranay flopped onto the sofa in the balcony.
"Speak," Prakhar said.
"First, bring out your special drink..." Pranay said with a laugh, though there was a hint of mischief in his eyes.
Prakhar glared at him and, without saying much, pulled out a bottle of branded alcohol from the cupboard.In a few moments, while pouring a drink into a glass, he said,"If your brother finds out…"
Pranay smiled,"Brothers don't scold for occasional drinking… and besides, this is my favorite brand. But my brother doesn't give enough pocket money for me to afford it."
"Hmm..." Prakhar nodded slightly and placed a glass in front of him.
Pranay took the first sip and, closing his eyes, said,"This is heaven, man..."
"We shouldn't get addicted to this," Prakhar reminded him.
"I drink only once a month," Pranay clarified firmly.
"Good," Prakhar said, lifting his own glass.
"Shall we start?" — Prakhar asked seriously after taking a sip.
Pranay took a deep breath and began to speak.
"We three brothers are orphans..."His voice was soft.
There was no surprise in Prakhar's eyes. He didn't even raise his head, just looked out of the window and said,"Hmm…"
"You knew already?" Pranay asked.
"Hmm..."Prakhar's response was calm and direct.
"That's good," Pranay said with a slight chuckle.
"Our dad was a police officer. His name was Mrityunjay Thakur... known as one of the most capable officers. Big politicians used to cite him as an example of honesty and integrity. But..."Pranay paused. He took a deep breath, as if pulling the weight of the words from deep inside his heart.
"But there was one thing about him... he was gay. He was attracted to men. When his family found out, they thought it was an illness, a sin. They forced him to marry my mother, hoping that would 'fix' everything…"
Pranay's voice had grown softer.
"Dad couldn't be close to Mom. It felt unnatural to him... like he was being forced to play a part. Then came the pressure — of having kids, building a family. He became so mentally distressed that he started doubting himself. He began having suicidal thoughts."
He stopped, as if fighting with himself, then managed to continue.
"He tried several times to explain to Mom… that he wasn't attracted to women. That he couldn't give her the happiness she deserved. He wanted her to divorce him and marry someone else. But…"
"Mom thought it was all in his head. She believed someone had cursed him or performed black magic. She would wander from one tantric to another, while Dad kept breaking down... tormented by the fact that a good woman was wasting her life because of him."
Pranay took another sip, then said with a sad smile:
"Dad once even tried to take her to a psychologist... back then, going to a psychologist meant getting certified as crazy. But Dad just wanted to prove that he wasn't ill — that this was just how he was built. That it wasn't a mistake."
Pranay's voice was growing faint, but his words remained heavy.
After he went quiet, Prakhar looked at him for a few moments and then asked softly,"So… did your mom ever understand him?"
Pranay lowered his head, then sighed and said,"It took a lot of effort... many books, long conversations, some documentaries... After a long time, Mom finally understood that this wasn't a disease... a person remains as they are. This isn't a flaw that can be corrected."
"To make sure Mom didn't waste her life, Dad arranged her marriage with his younger brother."
Prakhar's brow furrowed slightly, but he said nothing.
"Everyone objected — 'A brother-in-law and sister-in-law getting married?' But my uncle loved her… and Mom was truly happy with him. So Dad bore everything."
A faint, cold smile appeared on Pranay's face.
"The man who was once the most respected officer in the department... became the target of hatred. People started avoiding even his name."
He paused for a few moments.
"Dad wanted to cry... but had no shoulder to lean on. He was always alone, constantly fighting for his existence, for the right to be himself…"
After a beat of silence, his voice grew deeper.
"And then one day... he was sent to Shillong for a special operation."
Prakhar turned his head toward him, listening intently.
"A special team was formed to catch a large human trafficking gang. Dad was part of it…"
"That operation brought him a brother — someone to live for. My elder brother, he must've been 7 or 8 years old back then, brought in for trafficking. But Dad rescued him and adopted him. He even had his transfer arranged to stay in Shillong."
Prakhar listened closely.
"For a few years, Dad stayed in Shillong. Built a small world for himself. He was happy with his son... there was peace, there was stability..."
Then Pranay's voice cracked,"And then... came Arnab. Arnab Momin."
He paused for a moment, then continued,"At first, Arnab came to Dad as a caretaker... slowly, Dad began to like him, and Arnab became attached too."
"But..." Pranay's voice was getting heavier,"When Arnab's family found out... they lashed out at Dad. They sent Arnab away to another city, as if being with Dad was a disgrace... the society started treating Dad like filth again."
Prakhar's breathing slowed, as if each word was settling into his heart.
"For the second time... Dad was torn away from his identity. Society once again rejected him... as if he were a curse."
"Dad broke down... completely. He resigned from the police force and moved to a village. Bought a small plot of land with his savings and became a farmer."
"There... in a government hospital, I met him."
"My father had abandoned me with my mother, couldn't even pay the hospital bill. And my mother..."He took a deep breath."She passed away giving birth to me."
"Dad adopted me too. But this time... he didn't let anyone close. He didn't hire any caretakers. He had grown afraid of people…"
Prakhar's eyes were still fixed on him.
"He took me to the fields, brought me back every evening. By then, my elder brother had grown up, started going to school. But Dad's world was just us... the two of us."
Everything seemed right, and Dad had started finding happiness again."And then... Arnab came back into our lives." He said quietly."But this time, he wasn't alone — he brought Shrey along."
Prakhar's brow furrowed slightly.
"His family had married him off. He even had a child. But when his wife found out the truth about him... she left him."
"Even his family abandoned him. And then... he returned to Dad. Maybe because Dad was the only one who had never judged him."
"Dad refused at first... clearly refused... but when Arnab begged in front of him, Dad gave in."
"From then on, we all lived together — Dad, Ajit, me, Shrey, and Arnab…"
"For about five years... we lived together. Like a complete, happy family. Everything started to feel right again…"
A faint smile returned to his eyes.
"That was around the time… you met Shrey. By that lake."
"Remember the first time you met him... he was so irritated, right? God, he was in such a mood..." he laughed.
Prakhar also smiled.How could he forget that first meeting with Shrey —that lake, that irritation, and the innocent anger hidden within it…It was in that moment... he had lost his heart.