Chapter 5- Thruths That Don't Sleep
444 Words
The night had grown deeper, but sleep was the last thing anyone found.
The letters lay open on the table, the air heavy with things that had waited three years to be spoken.
Meera sat down first.
Her hands trembled slightly, though her voice tried to be steady.
Meera: “There’s something you should know about your father…”
Aditya didn’t speak.
He didn’t push.
He just listened.
Meera looked toward the jasmine plant outside the window before continuing.
Meera: “Your father didn’t die by accident. He was threatened for months before it happened.”
Aditya felt something cold move through him.
Aditya: “Threatened by who?”
Meera hesitated.
Her eyes flickered.
Old fear, returning like a shadow.
Meera: “Someone he trusted. Someone who knew our family. Someone close.”
Aditya’s jaw tightened.
Aditya: “Tell me their name.”
Silence.
Not because she wouldn’t.
But because the name itself was a wound.
Meera: “…Your uncle. Rajiv.”
Aditya felt the air leave his lungs.
Rajiv.
His father’s younger brother.
The man who carried him on his shoulders when he was small.
The man who cried the loudest at the funeral.
The betrayal wasn’t distant—
It was family.
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B: The Decision
Aditya stood up slowly.
Not angrily.
Not impulsively.
Just… sure.
Aditya: “I need to know why he did it. I need the truth. I can’t live in this house with silence anymore.”
Meera looked up, eyes desperate.
Meera: “Aditya… if you go after the truth, it may break you.”
He looked at her, voice steady.
Aditya: “Not knowing is already breaking me.”
Meera’s shoulders sagged — not in defeat, but in acceptance.
She had always known this day would come.
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C: The Moment of Siblings
Later, Aditya went to Riya’s room.
She was sitting on the floor, holding the unopened letter addressed to her.
When she saw him, her eyes filled.
Riya: “Give it time, Bhai. I’m not ready yet.”
Aditya sat beside her.
No talking at first.
Just being there.
Riya placed her head on his shoulder, the way she used to when they were little.
Riya: “He trusted you… even in his last words. I know you’ll find the truth. Just… don’t let it make you someone you’re not.”
Aditya closed his eyes.
Her words anchored him.
Held him.
Softened him.
Aditya: “I won’t leave you behind. Whatever I do… we do it together.”
Riya nodded, tears slipping quietly.
And for the first time since his return, the house didn’t feel so heavy.
Not healed.
Not okay.
But standing.
To be continued...
- Writer
