"No! I have decided to make the lives of those two little peasants difficult and that is what I shall do." Josh said resolutely.
When Little Chooha heard this, he knew that the sh*t has truly hit the roof this time. His plan was to kneel there for some time and because of being the only son in the family, he thought his father would agree to those wishes. But who knew that his father was so petty. He had been holding up till now only due to his astonishing will-power and determination and it had been quite a few hours since he kneeled there, but his father still wouldn't agree to what he said. When he heard the last lines of his father, he couldn't understand why his father was being so petty.
Two clear lines of tears were visible on Emily's face. She wanted to say something but she knew that once her husband had decided on something, even she couldn't do anything that would change his mind.
"Father! Why are you so petty? I have never seen you like this. Do you really feel so good in others misery? Can't you see that it was my fault? At least be reasonable. You are not the father that I know. The one in my memories used to dote on me, play with me, try to make me happy when I am sad, never let a single tear drop come out of my eyes, always reasonable, and he was the only person in this world that I admired the most. Why can't you agree to my one little wish? Is it be-"
Snap!
"Shut up! Don't you see that your father is also feeling very hurt right now? Can't you see that he also wants to agree to your wishes? Can't you see…he also doesn't want to make you kneel like that for so long? Can't you see all that?"
Before Little Chooha could complete his sentence, he mother, Emily had already slapped him very hard. She shouted at him with tears dripping down her cheeks and with her red eyes.
When Chooha heard this, he ignored the burning pain he was feeling from his left cheek and looked towards his father. He saw his father looking straight at him with his eyes red. He only noticed now that his father's breathing at this time was very deep and heavy. He saw pain, guilt, and determination in his eyes. Only now did he realize that his father was also feeling pain and guilty seeing him kneel down for hours and still not agreeing to his son's wishes.
He had always done everything he could to make Chooha happy. He had never once denied to any of his wishes but as Chooha was more intelligent than his peers since childhood, so he didn't usually wished for anything other than some things that he truly needed at those times. But this time when he asked for something, he couldn't agree to that and this made him feel very guilty. Seeing his son kneel down for hours made him feel like that his heart was being pierced by needles.
"But why father? Why do you still disagree when you, yourself don't want to do it?"
"....."
There was a brief silence in the room. But the silence was broken by Josh's hoarse voice.
"It is because of my Dao heart. My Dao heart is resolute and determined. If I think of doing something, I will, and have to do it until the end. If I stop or hesitate in between, my Dao heart would shatter and that would also be the end of my cultivation. The cultivation that I have worked so hard for would disappear with a puff. Although we have been exiled from our clan but that doesn't mean that I will stop cultivating. I will do my utmost to become stronger and one day, I will take you back to our true home." Josh said with moist eyes.
When Chooha saw the moist eyes of his father, he felt indescribable pain in his heart. He staggered to get up and walked a few steps. He came in front of Josh and hugged his legs. Because of being very short he could only hug his legs but that was enough for Josh to feel the concern in Chooha's heart. Josh picked him up pulled him in his bosom.
"I am really sorry, father. I am ashamed of myself for not even considering your feelings. I promise that I will not do this again." Chooha said, burying his face in his father's bosom.
"Hmm. I understand. Although I can't stop myself from punishing those two little brats, but severity of the punishment could be reduced down a few notches I guess. What do you think about that, Little Chooha?" Josh stroked Chooha's hair.
As Chooha heard this, he eyes opened wide. He looked at his father for a moment, and then suddenly pecked on his cheeks.
"You are the best dad in the world. I love you so much." Chooha said happily.
Then he once again entered his father's bosom and soon he fell into deep sleep. He was very tired to begin with, and when he found the comfort and sense of security in his father's bosom, he immediately fell asleep.
Josh looked at the sleeping 'Moe' child and smiled gratefully. He looked at his wife, Emily, and nodded at her with his eyes filled with love. Seeing all the drama ending in the house, Emily too was feeling very exhausted. She immediately fell down on the sofa beside her and rested for a while.
Josh was also feeling very tired, so he took Chooha to his bedroom and put him on his bed and covered his body with the blanket. When he was going to leave the room, he didn't forget to kiss Little Chooha's forehead and whispered 'Have a good sleep, my son' in his ears.
__________
Meanwhile, our little friends Kaal and Khajoor were working. Kaal felt that he had forgotten about something but couldn't remember what. So, he pushed that issue at the back of his brain and started working whole-heartedly.