"Sister, you called?"
Nora looked at the small kid having his chips, forgetting all the worries in the world. How can she have the courage to let him be burdened with those matters?
"Come here."With a sigh she beckoned him to come close.
Krish nonchalantly walked to her and took his seat by her side on the bed.
"Do you know why we are here?" Nora asked as she pulled him close to her.
"Hmm. To save our home." Krish replied not minding the seriousness Nora was bringing at that time. His whole attention was on his chips.
"And then what?" She asked again.
"You want to go back." He replied right away.
"Do you want that too?"
"Huh?" Krish's breath hitched with panic.
After getting a tuition on everything by Carter and Karan he was all ready to talk to his sister YESTERDAY, not today's night. This question was too sudden for him.
Gulping hard he stared at his sister.
"Do you want to go back too?" She asked again.
With anxiousness, his back straightened up as he started looking right to left to remember those lines which he had memorised yesterday.
"Well... Amm... This is our home. Mom and dad built that house for us. This is our true home, our country, our own people. They definitely must have wanted us to live there. I believe that we should live there for mom and dad. And… Yeah, we should live there forever... 'There' means 'here'. 'Here' means this country. I hope you know what I am saying. Moreover Uncle says that this is best for both of us. And... Umm... I think that's it, now I am done."
"..."
Nora blankly looked at him. She was stunned by him. Not because of what he said, but because of his ability to actually remember the script for the whole day.
His cute sigh after completing his sentence made her chuckle. Caressing his hair she gently asked. "Did uncle teach you this?"
"Huh?" Krish got in the confusion. According to what his uncle taught him, the next sentence should be something else but not this. Scratching her brows he nodded.
"Yes, Why?"
Nora understands how Carter and Karan must be feeling for her. She is thankful for the care they have for her. However, right now she only needs to know Krish's feelings and what he wants. Other reasons don't matter to her.
"Can you tell me what you think about all this?"
Krish brows frowned a little. Staring at his sister in her eyes he asked. "Me?"
"Hmm, you. What do you think about this place? Do you wanna stay back? And live here..."
His brows relaxed but confusion was still there. Not on a question but on what to reply or what to do. What he really wants he himself doesn't know how that works. "I… I don't know."
"You really don't know?" His reply didn't surprise her.
A big decision like this is too tough for Krish to think about. He is just a kid. And he isn't ready to even know what is right or what is wrong, let alone to make decisions for their future.
To her question, Krish gave another thought to that matter. "... Well I definitely want to stay back but not at the cost of your happiness."
"My happiness is in your happiness."
"And mine in yours." Krish right away replied.
All these years he never talked about their parents or about their home in front of Nora because he didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to see his sister sad. And if staying back here hurt his sister even by one percent, he has a problem with that.
Nora could see him not budging from his decision. Understanding his feelings she nodded and spoke. "If it was any other day, I would have said run away. But today I want us to face the first step to that home."
Her words went off his head. "You want to stay?"
"Right now I don't know. But I want us to open that door. The door, I am incapable of opening it alone."
She doesn't know if after opening that door she will be able to stay or even come back ever again. All she knows is that she doesn't want to run away. For once she wants to face it. Face that door.
Krish looked up with surprise. Expectantly he asked. "Our home?"
Nora nodded in affirmation. "Hmm. Our home."
***
Next day both Nora and Krish got up early in the morning. She wanted to take action on that first thing in the morning. As she had told Carter the first day to book a ticket for tonight, she wanted to make a decision on this matter as soon as possible.
Nora asked Krish to not tell anything about that to Carter. She didn't want anyone to accompany them to that house until they both were sure about their decision.
They were in the middle of tying their shoes when Nora heard the doorbell. Properly tying up her shoelace she went outside her bedroom to the main door to open it.
Unhurriedly, without looking outside the peephole, she opened it.
"Hey." Ryan waved.