One of his cases was postponed to allow for the court to
re-consider the evidence submitted and deduce if anything was fabricated. As if
there was some way the accused was not
guilty of murdering an innocent family of three in order to threaten a man into
obedience. As if miraculously, the victim could get his entire family back and
be happy again.
Things like that never happened. A case never really ended,
even if the court delivered some sort of justice to the victims. He was living
proof of that.
Of course, he wasn't the type of person to dwell on such
things. He was intelligent enough to know that things of the past were not
worth the regret and things of the future, the worry. And yet, despite his
practicality, he often fell into the whims of "what if's?"
What if his father never decided to move to this city and instead
chose to stay in Lucknow under the shadow of his family? What if his father
never aspired to sell his principles to earn a place in the world of riches?
What if his father never abandoned them for the sake of his dreams?
These questions had no answers, no matter how hard he
looked. He was old enough to know that his father was a man of determination. He
got what he wanted, even if he had to go to hell for it.
And it was precisely that determination Shyam often saw in
himself. Only, he didn't dare to dream. He didn't dare to wish for things that
he had no right to, he didn't dare to be something he wasn't and more
importantly, he didn't put himself before his family. And that was perhaps why
he rose to fame so quickly as the lawyer who never failed to fight.
Shyam let out a sigh and began to sift through the mountain
of files on his desk. He didn't and couldn't
afford to dwell on one case, when he had plenty others to fight for. At the
back of his mind, he knew that at the very end of this lengthy process, the
verdict would be in his favor. It always was.
He wasn't the city's biggest criminal lawyer for no reason.
He spent years studying people; he knew what drove them,
what pressed them and what broke them. He worked long enough to know that people
never wanted to commit a crime - in some corner of their minds they knew it was wrong. It just so happened,
that they simply chose to live with it, forced to by others or in some case, by
their own insane minds.
Shyam often found himself pitying the criminals he saw in
the courtroom. There was no cure for
their lives, even though the court tried hard to. Once hurt, they will always,
forever be hurt.
"Sir?"
He looked up absent-mindedly to see his secretary peep in to
his room.
"Your sister is here. Should I send her in?"
"Yes, Rosie," Shyam answered, closing the file in his hand.
While criminals were one thing, his sister was a whole
other. She was perhaps, the only reason he got up in the morning; she became his
anchor to reality when there was nothing else to hold on to. In many ways, he
thanked her for his life, even though she didn't know it.
No, his sister was kept far away from his worries. She was
much too young to face the burdens he did. Or at least that's what he told
himself, even though he knew that she didn't escape the storm that struck years
ago. She was very much caught in the nightmare his father left behind.
"Hi."
Shyam looked up from his thoughts to see his sister walk in
and flop down on the sofa.
"Finished class for the day?" he asked, getting up to join
her.
"Yes Bhaiyya," she answered, rolling her eyes. "You know my
schedule by heart - why do you still ask?"
"It's called having a conversation
Meeti."
"Very funny... why bother with the pleasantries, when both of
us know you have something to talk about?"
It was Shyam's turn to roll his eyes. "Is it so hard for me
to have a simple chat with my baby sister? I know you are the brilliant Khushi
Kumari Gupta, or whatever it is that Lavanya calls you, but you can at least cut
some slack for your brother."
"There is no slack to cut down - I am always Meeti for you."
Shyam smiled. "You sure learned how to talk!"
"Well I am your
sister!"
"Then you must have also learned how not to pick a fight with Maa every morning."
Khushi's face fell. "Don't-"
"It's getting out of hand now, Meeti. She is our mother, not some stranger-"
"Please Bhaiyya! Don't give me this lecture when both of us
know she failed to be a mother!"
"I still don't understand why you talk like this! After all
that we went through, the least you could do is support her."
"For what exactly? It wasn't only hard for her when Babuji left! We were hurt too!"
"I know that Meeti... but it was a big shock for her. People don't
recover that easily from such kind of things-"
"I agree it was. But how long does it take? How long does it
take to get it that her children were in pain and needed her? I don't know
about you Bhaiyya, but I remember what it was like. I remember staying hours up at night, knocking on her door to come
out, to talk, to do something. And
all we got was silence. Is that what a mother does? Abandon her kids when they
needed her?!"
Shyam was quiet.
"The truth is, she chose the easy way out of the mess... and
put us on the line for it. I may have been little, but I sure do know what you
went through. Working in the day and studying in the night is not a joke! But
you did it, for me and for her. And
she doesn't even realize what that means. No, because Ms. Garima Gupta cares
only for herself and for her happiness!"
"That's not true. You know
that's not true! If Maa had a choice, then we wouldn't even be here to
begin with."
"Oh please Bhaiyya! Don't tell me she was helpless and majboor. Don't tell me she was in love
and didn't know what was happening to her. Those things happen in movies, not
in life!"
Shyam surveyed his sister, seeing the anger etched in her
eyes. He knew her more than he knew himself, so it was almost second nature for
him to understand every bit of the resentment creeping through her. If only she
knew what he did, then things would have been very different.
"I'm not going to defend Maa or explain why she did what she
did," he said calmly. "Not that it will change your mind, even if I did. All I
want to say is that she is trying to change things Meeti and the least you can
do is to stop giving her such a hard time."
Khushi didn't answer.
"I know you think she wasn't around when you needed her, but
she is now. So, stop pushing her way."
"And why would I do that?"
"Because she is not someone you want to lose."
"Well what a bummer," she answered, sarcastically. "Because
I lost her years ago. But you know
what I don't get? Why are you
supporting her so much? You know better than me what happened and yet-"
"I believe in second chances Meeti... I have seen people die
in guilt for not being able to mend their mistakes and it's not a fate I wish
upon anyone, least of all, my own mother."
"I guess it's too late for that," she spat vehemently.
"Because Ms. Gupta never got over her first chance, forget thinking about her
second one. She couldn't accept the
fact that her husband left her for another woman. And let's face it, it was her
fault-"
"Enough," Shyam
said. And even though there wasn't any change whatsoever in his voice, Khushi
knew it was the end of their argument. She had gone too far.
The room fell into an eerie silence as the siblings stared
at each other, one in thought, and the other in contempt. It was the first time
in years that they got into an argument.
It was Shyam who spoke first. "I know you think it's Maa's fault, but you
have no idea what happened. You were
too small to understand and listening to you now, makes me feel like you are still
too small... I'm not asking you to welcome her into your life with open arms. I
am just asking you to be nice."
"Would you be nice
to someone who is proven to be guilty in any of your cases?"
A sad smile worked up Shyam's face. He was expecting that
question from the moment he decided to have a chat with her. "Sometimes I
forget how much you have grown up. And the things you say make me wonder if you
are really the girl who once asked me what handcuffs were."
"That was a long time ago Bhaiyya. I am not an eight year
old who needs her big brother to defend her at school."
"No," he agreed with a sigh. "You came a long way from that...
I never forced you to do anything Meeti and I never will in the future either.
I have enough faith in you to know that you will never let me down."
Khushi gritted her teeth. "Don't guilt trip me-"
"I'm not," he answered honestly. "You know I will pick your happiness above everything... I just hoped you
would understand my point of view."
"Fine," she muttered, grudgingly. "I will be nice to her... but not because I believe
she deserves a second chance, but because I love you. And I can't even bare the
thought of letting you down. Okay?"
Shyam couldn't help but smile. "If you say so... You know, I'm
starting to think that Lavanya is right. You really are crazy!"
"I should really stop telling you everything about my life -
this is so not cool."
"Then I will just bug Akash to tell me."
Khushi pouted. "One day I will get you back... I am sure there
is something out there that will annoy the hell out of you!"
"Good luck with that."
"Thanks! I will need it."
Shyam laughed and quickly went back to work, wondering if
there really was difference between criminals and other people. At the end of
the day, weren't all humans caged inside their own infectious minds?
). He will be introduced soon, once we know a bit more about Khushi. 
Comments (14)
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Jai Shri Ram @SoniRita
+ 32
4 months ago
Shyam is so mature, love his character so far. Garima had went into shock after shashi left her n thats why she abandoned khushi n shyam kinda
Jai Shri Ram @SoniRita
+ 32
7 months ago
Krazy Kenetic gupta such a cool nickname btw lol.
Jai Shri Ram @SoniRita
+ 32
7 months ago
I love Shyam character in ur ff. Him and Khushi's bond in this ff is so nice i love it.
coderlady @coderlady
+ 9
1 years ago
Garima went into shock and neglected her children. Khushi can not forgive her.
coderlady @coderlady
+ 9
1 years ago
Shyam is the brother. Khushi thinks Garima is to blame for their father leaving them?
Jai Shri Ram @SoniRita
+ 32
1 years ago
Oohh Shyam is khushi's bro lol thats gonna be interesting.
MorallyGrey @WildestDreams
+ 32
1 years ago
Chapter bookmarke! I will continue latee with this story!😬