R is for... Raizada
'And you?'
Arnav looked up to see the woman looking at him curiously. Instinctively he hid himself partially behind Akash who despite being a year younger was already much taller than him.
The woman didn't scare him but her question did. Since that night, he dreaded being asked his identity; his name.
Akash moved further in front and spoke for him, 'this is my bhai.'
It was a known fact that Akash was painfully shy and only ever spoke when spoken to but the fact that he had now made a surge of pride shoot through Arnav.
This was his new identity. He stood straight, shoulders back and chest out.
'Raizada. My name is Arnav Singh Raizada.'
'I didn't realise you had another son, Mahendra.'
Arnav stiffened, waiting for his Mamaji to correct the woman but instead he felt a comforting arm land on his shoulder and Mamaji simply smiled.
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*Mamaji's name is definitely Mahendra not Manohar. Episode 12 at 11.12 in this video.
(150 words)
'Raizada' suggested by BlueMystique, amritab, subiscs, Simz786, PixieFlame and Arina_R
All my own work so please don't reproduce this piece anywhere else.
Walking through the memory lanes of the secretive doors of our remembrance, looking for forgotten benchmarks of our lives, we can find...
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