The boys smiled. Carefully she opened it and put teekas for both of them, "to make up for all the navamis we’ve missed together" she said, eyes twinkling as always.

By the time they got her out and calmed her down, Bela murmured in low tones how devastated she was that she could not be Sora’s brother anymore.

Then after a sip, she said, “Do you really think that Basanti works so silently because she loves to? Could you really believe that her cheek was swollen due to slipping?“ She was looking straight into my eyes, piercingly.

She didn’t remain a six year old all her life. She grew. She understood how gambling and betting could ruin an otherwise normal family.

One of those stunts had led to them being late to school, and the four of them – her sister, their two friends and she – had been made to kneel outside the principal’s office with their hands raised for two hours straight.