[Evening, 06 : 10 PM ]
The family sat together in the living room.
The atmosphere was quiet.
Comfortable.
A rare thing in the Sunayana estate.
Farhan sat nearby reading a book.
Actually reading.
Not staring blankly at the pages.
Reading.
The sight alone was enough to shock half the room.
Fahad lowered his newspaper slightly.
His gray eyes shifted toward his youngest brother.
Then toward Maya.
Then back to Farhan.
"He's reading properly."
The observation sounded almost suspicious.
As though he didn't entirely trust what he was seeing.
Fahan looked up from his laptop.
"He's also sleeping."
"He looks just like a normal person." —Fahim replied.
"It wasn't last week."
"...Fair point."
Across the room, Nahi stared openly.
"I still don't understand it."
"Neither do we," Ohi admitted.
Naya crossed her arms.
"Maybe she threatened him."
Farhan looked up,
"I heard that."
"You were supposed to."
"I wasn't threatened."
The room grew interested.
Very interested.
Fahan leaned forward.
"Oh?"
Farhan immediately regretted speaking.
"You know what? Never mind."
"Too late."
"Way too late."
Fahad folded his arms.
"What exactly happened?"
Farhan's expression became guarded.
"She told me to eat."
Silence.
Fahan blinked.
"That's it?"
"Yes."
"That's impossible."
"It literally happened."
Nahi frowned.
"You're telling me all this improvement came from someone repeatedly telling you to eat and drink?"
Farhan looked genuinely offended.
"When you say it like that, it sounds ridiculous."
"Because it is ridiculous."
Farhan opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Thought about it.
Then sighed.
"...Okay, maybe a little."
Laughter spread through the room.
Even Mahi smiled.
A small smile.
But a real one.
For days she had watched her youngest son slowly return to himself.
Not completely. But progress existed.
And that mattered.
Mahi glanced toward Maya.
The girl sat quietly in her usual place.
Sketchbook resting on her lap.
Pencil moving steadily.
Scratch... scratch... scratch...
As always.
As though the entire conversation had nothing to do with her.
"Thank you," Mahi said softly.
The pencil paused.
Only briefly.
Maya looked up.
"Why?"
The simple question surprised everyone.
Mahi's smile deepened.
"For helping him."
She considered the answer.
Then looked toward Farhan.
He quickly looked away.
Which immediately caused Fahan to laugh.
Farhan threw a cushion at him.
Missed.
Badly.
The room erupted into amusement.
And for the first time in a very long while, the laughter sounded genuine.
Meanwhile, she lowered her gaze and resumed drawing.
Scratch... scratch... scratch...
The sound blended quietly with the laughter around her.
Farhan hesitated.
For a moment, he simply stood there, looking at Maya.
The gratitude he felt was unfamiliar.
Awkward.
Difficult to put into words.
"...Thank you," he said softly.
The room quieted.
Even the servants seemed to pause.
Then—
His hand lifted.
Slowly.
His fingers moved toward her shoulder.
And everything changed.
Maya flinched sharply.
A genuine recoil.
As though her body had responded before her mind could.
She stepped backward immediately.
Fast enough that the chair behind her shifted slightly.
The sketchbook nearly slipped from her lap.
"Don't touch me."
The words sliced through the room with frightening clarity.
Farhan froze completely.
His hand remained suspended in the air for a second before slowly lowering.
The gratitude vanished from his face.
Replaced by confusion.
Then hurt.
Because he genuinely hadn't meant anything wrong.
The hallway fell silent.
A different silence.
Fahan looked between them.
"...Why?"
The question escaped before he could stop it.
Confusion knitted across his face.
Maya took another step back.
Creating even more distance.
A clear boundary.
"I said don't."
Her grip tightened slightly around the sketchbook.
The reaction was subtle.
Yet everyone noticed.
Fahim's eyes narrowed immediately.
He noticed the tension in her shoulders.
The way her breathing had changed.
The stiffness in her posture.
This wasn't annoyance.
This wasn't simple discomfort.
It looked deeper than that.
Fahad noticed it too.
His expression slowly shifted from confusion to understanding.
Not complete understanding.
But enough.
Enough to recognize that her reaction wasn't directed specifically at Farhan.
It was directed at being touched.
The distinction mattered.
Farhan lowered his gaze.
"...Sorry."
The apology came immediately.
Maya said nothing.
Her eyes remained fixed on the floor for several seconds.
As though she were forcing herself to calm down.
Mahi watched carefully.
The lawyer had noticed this before.
The avoidance.
The distance.
The instinctive withdrawal whenever physical contact became a possibility.
But seeing it so clearly still unsettled her.
Near the staircase, Naya frowned.
Even Nahi remained unusually silent.
The reaction had been too strong.
Too automatic.
Like a reflex built over years rather than days.
Meanwhile, Farhan looked miserable.
Not because Maya had refused.
Because he felt responsible for upsetting her.
"I wasn't trying to—"
"I know."
She finally looked up.
For a brief moment, guilt flickered across her face for the pain it had caused.
Farhan nodded accepting the answer.
Mahi stepped forward, concern written plainly across her face.
"Maya..." she called softly. "Why? Is there a problem?"
The question hung in the air.
For a moment, it seemed as though she might answer.
She stood completely still.
The sketchbook remained pressed against her chest.
The entire hallway watched.
Fahad.
Fahim.
Fahan.
Farhan.
Even the servants nearby.
They were all waiting for the same thing.
An explanation.
A reason.
But she gave them nothing.
Simply because some questions felt impossible to answer.
Slowly, she lowered her gaze.
The sunlight from the tall windows stretched across the marble floor, touching the edge of her shoes.
For a brief second, her expression looked distant.
The familiar calm returned.
Without replying , she turned away.
The movement was quiet.
"Maya—"
The girl had already begun walking.
The sound of her footsteps echoed softly through the hallway.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Nobody called out again.
The family watched as she crossed the hall and reached the grand staircase.
She never looked back.
Her long dark hair moved gently with each step as she climbed higher and higher.
The distance between her and the others grew steadily.
Farhan looked away first.
A knot settled uncomfortably in his chest.
He hadn't meant to upset her.
Yet something in her reaction suggested the issue ran much deeper than that.
Fahim's expression remained thoughtful.
Fahad folded his arms.
Mahi stood motionless.
Worried.
Very worried.
Because whatever Maya had felt in that moment—
It hadn't looked like anger.
It had looked like fear.
Upstairs, Maya continued down the long corridor.
The mansion felt quieter here.
Distant from the conversations below.
Distant from questions.
Distant from people.
Sunlight filtered through the tall windows lining the hallway, casting pale rectangles of light across the floor.
She walked past them without slowing.
Eventually she reached her room.
Her hand rested on the door handle for a second.
Then she opened it.
The familiar space greeted her immediately.
The door closed behind her with a soft click.
Click.
She released a slow breath.
She crossed to the window and set the sketchbook down carefully on her desk.
For several moments she simply stood there.
Alone with her thoughts.
Then she sat down.
Opened the sketchbook.
Picked up her pencil.
And once again, the soft sound filled the room.
Scratch... scratch... scratch...
A language she understood better than conversation.
~~
Downstairs, questions remained unanswered.
The room remained heavy.
Farhan's hand slowly lowered, "I didn't mean to…"
He said quietly, his voice smaller than it had ever been, "I just… I wanted to say thank ."
No one answered immediately.
Fahad ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply, "That was… strange."
Mahi shook her head slowly, "She helped him every day and yet…"
"…She won't let him touch her," Farhan finished softly.
Mahim, who had been silent until now, "She doesn't allow anyone."
They turned to him.
Fahad frowned , "You noticed that too?"
Mahim nodded once,"Since she arrived."
Fahan crossed his arms, "That's not normal."
"No," Fahim said quietly.
"It isn't."
Farhan looked down at his own hand.
"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, barely above a whisper.
Mahi stepped closer to him immediately,
"No... No, you didn't."
—
Upstairs, behind a closed door—
Maya stood alone, her fingers— slightly curled as if remembering something they wished to forget.
And for the briefest moment her eyes closed as if holding back a past that did not ask permission before return .
[Night, 09 : 40 PM ]
The drawing room held its silence like an old wound.
Heavy curtains softened the moon light into muted silver and the air carried the faint scent of polished wood and something unspoken.
Mahim stood near the window, hands clasped behind his back.
Mahi sat on the edge of the sofa, fingers twisted together.
Fahad occupied an armchair near the fireplace, his expression thoughtful.
Fahim sat with a book in his lap, though he hadn't turned a page in several minutes.
Fahan sprawled across an entire sofa as though furniture had personally offended him.
Faha sat quietly beside Fahish.
Farhan remained in a nearby chair, calmer but unusually silent.
Ohi, Naya, and Nahi occupied the opposite side of the room.
The atmosphere felt heavy.
Eventually, Fahan groaned dramatically.
"No."
"No?"
Fahad raised an eyebrow.
"We are not spending another hour staring at walls."
That earned the faintest reaction from a few people.
Fahan immediately sat up.
"Seriously. This family has the emotional energy of a funeral procession."
"Thank you for your insight," Fahim replied dryly.
"You're welcome."
A small smile appeared on Ohi's face.
That was progress.
Fahan pointed triumphantly.
"See? I made someone smile."
"You surprised me," Ohi corrected.
"Same thing."
"It isn't."
"It absolutely is."
The argument continued for another minute.
Slowly.
The room's tension began to loosen.
Naya leaned back against the sofa,
"Speaking of embarrassing things..."
Everyone looked suspicious immediately.
"I heard Fahad once got lost inside his own office building."
Fahad looked offended,"I did not."
"You did."
"I was inspecting another floor."
"For forty minutes?"
"I was conducting a thorough inspection."
Mahim's shoulders relaxed slightly.
Naya smiled, "Sure."
Ohi seized the opportunity.
"Oh, if we're sharing stories—"
"No."
"Yes."
Ohi ignored Nahi completely.
"When we were children, Nahi got stuck in a tree."
The room immediately became interested.
Nahi sat upright.
"Don't."
"He refused to come down."
"Don't."
"He spent three hours claiming he was 'guarding the property.'"
Laughter erupted.
Even Farhan smiled.
A real smile.
The sight alone made Mahi visibly relax.
Nahi buried his face in his hands.
"I hate this family."
"That's a lie."
"It isn't."
"It definitely is."
The conversation gradually shifted.
Fahan eventually turned toward Farhan.
"So."
Farhan immediately looked suspicious.
"No."
"I haven't asked anything."
"You were about to."
"I was."
Farhan sighed.
That alone felt miraculous compared to a week ago.
Fahim finally closed his book.
"Since we're discussing disasters..."
Everyone groaned.
"That sentence is already dangerous."
Fahim ignored them.
"Fahan once connected an experimental battery directly into a power system."
Fahan sat upright.
"You promised never to tell that story."
"You almost destroyed an entire laboratory."
"It survived."
"Technically."
"It survived."
"The ceiling disagrees."
Even Mahi began participating.
Sharing stories about early court cases.
Ridiculous courtroom moments.
At one point she described a witness accidentally insulting the judge.
The room erupted into laughter.
Including Mahim.
A rare sight,Very rare.
The family immediately noticed.
Fahan pointed.
"Look."
"No."
"Father laughed."
"I did not."
"You did."
"I just smiled."
"That's basically the same thing."
"It isn't."
"It absolutely is."
The discussion wandered endlessly after that.
And slowly, almost without anyone realizing it, the mood changed completely.
The heaviness remained somewhere beneath the surface. Some wounds did not disappear overnight.
But for a little while, the drawing room no longer felt burdened by silence.
It felt like a family.
Imperfect.
Complicated.
Occasionally ridiculous.
The conversation drifted from one memory to another until, somehow, it settled on Maya.
It was Fahan who started it,
"What was she like as a baby?"
The room immediately grew interested.
Even Farhan looked up.
Mahim smiled faintly from his place near the window.
Mahi shook her head.
"Why you all ask that question now? "
"Because she acts like she arrived in the world at fifteen years old," Fahan replied.
A few people laughed.
"Honestly."
Ohi added, "it's hard to imagine her as a child."
Mahi smiled faintly as she looked around the drawing room.
"You all remember Maya as she is now, Quiet.
Reserved, impossible to read.
But none of you remember what it was like before she was born."
The room settled into attentive silence.
Even Mahim turned away from the window to listen.
"Those nine months were exhausting."
Mahi shook her head.
"Not because of Maya."
Her gaze slowly moved across the room.
"Because of all of you."
Immediate protests erupted.
"We were helpful."
"We absolutely were."
Mahi raised an eyebrow.
The room fell silent.
"Ohhh ... exactly.
When I first told the family I was pregnant, your father became impossible."
Mahim frowned , "I did not."
"You did."
"I was concerned."
"You followed me around the house.
You called doctors for every tiny thing."
"I was being responsible."
"You called three specialists because I sneezed."
Mahim looked deeply offended.
—
"The moment Fahad learned he was going to have a younger sister, he became protective."
Everyone turned toward him.
Fahad sighed.
"No."
"Yes."
Mahi pointed directly at him.
"You started checking every security report yourself."
"That's normal."
"It is not normal."
"It is for him," Fahan muttered.
"If someone walked too quickly near me,
If a staircase looked slippery,
If a chair looked unstable, he noticed."
Fahad crossed his arms,
"I was being careful."
"You were acting like a baby was already running a corporation."
The room erupted.
—
"Then there was Fahim."
Fahim immediately looked suspicious.
"What did I do?"
"You bought books."
The room nodded knowingly.
"Many books."
Fahim remained silent.
"Medical books."
Still silent.
"Parenting books."
Silence.
"Development books . You read everything."
"It was important."
"You highlighted sections."
"It was useful."
"You created notes."
Fahim looked away.
That was basically a confession.
Mahi smiled.
"I think you knew more about infant development than some pediatricians."
"HAHAHA. "
"HAHAHA. "
Farhan falls off the sofa, laughing.
—
"Fahan was curious."
"That sounds harmless."
"It wasn't."
"You asked questions every day."
"Questions are good."
"You asked whether babies could understand engineering."
"They should."
"Fahan."
"What?"
"You were five and you wanted to build Maya a mechanical cradle."
"It was a brilliant design."
"It caught fire. Once, twice."
"It was still brilliant."
The room fell silent.
Then—
Farhan slowly turned toward Fahan.
"...You tried to build a cradle?"
Fahan folded his arms proudly.
"It was an engineering prototype."
Fahim adjusted his glasses,
"It was a fire hazard."
"It had minor thermal issues."
"It ignited."
Faha covered his face, laughing,
"How does a cradle catch fire twice?"
Fahan looked genuinely offended,
"The first one was a design flaw."
"And the second?"
"I repeated the design flaw."
Farhan stared at him.
"...That is the least reassuring thing I've ever heard."
Even Naya blinked.
"You wanted to put her in it?"
Fahan nodded confidently, "Absolutely."
A long pause.
Naya looked at him.
"...I'm glad nobody let you."
Fahan sighed dramatically,
"No one appreciates visionary engineering."
—
Mahi's smile softened,"Faha worried quietly."
The reserved twin looked down.
"You rarely said anything."
Faha nodded.
"But every evening you asked if the baby was healthy. You never missed a day."
" That sounded exactly like him.
Silent concern, silent affection, silent loyalty."
"You've always been like that, bro."
Farhan grinned.
"You barely spoke... but you checked on her every single day?"
Faha rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed.
"...I just wanted to know she was alright."
"You never needed grand speeches."
Ohi nodded,"Your actions always spoke first."
—
"And Fahish..."
The artist looked up.
"You drew constantly . You drew baby clothes, drew toys , imaginary family portraits."
Fahish rubbed the back of his neck.
Embarrassed.
"You even drew what you thought Maya would look like."
Ohi raised an eyebrow,"Were you accurate?"
"Not even remotely."
The room burst into laughter.
—
Mahi's eyes softened most when they reached Farhan.
"And then there was Farhan."
The youngest son looked up,
"He was the happiest."
He immediately looked suspicious.
"No."
"Yes.You followed me everywhere.
You would place your ear against my stomach and talk to Maya."
Farhan covered his face.
"No."
"Oh, yes."
The room exploded.
"You told her stories.
You played little melodies on your toy keyboard, informed her about your favorite songs."
Farhan looked ready to disappear.
"I was a child."
"You were adorable."
"Please stop."
Mahi's expression grew distant.
"The day she was born was one of the longest days of my life."
The room quieted immediately.
The memory seemed almost alive.
"The entire family was waiting. Nobody could sit still."
Mahim looked away.
The reaction confirmed everything.
" Fahad spent hours pacing.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
The nurses eventually became nervous whenever they saw him approaching.
He looked like he was preparing for war."
"He was."
"Fahim kept asking medical questions.
The staff eventually began recognizing him on sight.
One nurse reportedly said:
'Not him again.' "
The room erupted.
"Fahan somehow managed to get lost inside the hospital.
Twice.
Nobody knew how.
Faha sat quietly in the waiting room.
He spent the entire drive insisting babies all looked the same.
Fahish filled half a sketchbook while waiting.
Drawing chairs.
Hallways.
People.
Anything to pass the time.
And Farhan..."
Mahi laughed softly.
"He fell asleep."
The room burst into laughter.
"On three chairs with a toy piano and when someone tried to wake him, he refused."
The living room dissolved into laughter.
Farhan threw both hands into the air,
"I was exhausted! Waiting is hard!"
Fahan pointed at him immediately,
"You slept through the most important day of life !"
"I was conserving energy."
"For what?"
"To celebrate afterward."
Fahad pinched the bridge of his nose,
"I cannot believe that's the part everyone remembers."
Mahi smiled, "Oh. "
Fahim adjusted his glasses,
"I'd like the record to show that my questions were medically relevant."
Fahan grinned,
"The record also shows the nurses hid when they saw you coming."
Several relatives nodded enthusiastically.
"True."
"Absolutely true."
Fahim sighed.
"I was simply ensuring proper standards of care."
Farhan smirked.
"They were ensuring proper distance from you."
Fahan folded his arms,"And I was not lost."
Mahi raised an eyebrow,
"You asked a janitor where the maternity ward was."
"There were too many corridors."
"You asked him twice."
"...It was a large hospital."
Faha quietly looked at the floor,
"I really did say babies all looked the same."
Fahish smiled at his twin,
"And then the nurse placed Maya in your arms."
Faha's ears reddened slightly,
"...She didn't look like everyone else."
"So she changed your mind?"
"Immediately."
Mahim looked around at his sons, his expression full of quiet affection.
"We were all frightened."
"When Maya was born the entire hospital seemed to stop."
A pause.
"She was very small."
the moment they placed her in my arms, she opened her eyes."
"Immediately?"
"Immediately."
"That's unusual."
Mahi smiled,
"She looked at everything. The doctors. The lights. The nurses."
Fahan smirked.
"And judged them all."
"That sounds exactly like Maya."
Fahim adjusted his glasses,
"Performing environmental observation immediately after birth...Oddly consistent."
Fahish chuckled.
"She probably decided who she liked and who she didn't before she was an hour old."
"She looked around the room with the expression of someone reviewing everyone's performance."
Even Mahim laughed.
"I remember thinking, 'She's unusually observant.'"
"And then she looked straight at your father."
"...She stopped moving for a moment."
Farhan grinned.
"So the first person she ever silently evaluated was Dad."
"Apparently."
"Your father looked more worried than everyone else."
"I was not."
"You were."
"I was composed."
Mahim let out a quiet laugh.
"You wore a path into the hospital floor."
"I was walking."
"You were marching."
"You checked the clock every thirty seconds."
"Time is important."
Farhan grinned.
"You asked the receptionist for updates so many times that she started giving them before you even reached the desk."
The room laughed.
Fahan smirked.
"I remember one doctor asking, 'Sir... are you the father?'"
Mahim nodded.
"I said yes."
"He replied, 'We know.'"
Laughter echoed through the room.
"You tried very hard to look calm."
Mahim sighed,
"I had six boys waiting to meet their baby sister and I was about to meet my daughter."
A gentle silence settled over the room.
Fahad smiled faintly.
"...He was definitely worried."
"I was terrified."
"The moment you saw her...
Fahad froze . The confident businessman.
The decisive leader simply froze.
The tiny baby in the cradle looked impossibly small. Impossibly fragile.
Then he gently touched one tiny hand.
And she immediately wrapped her fingers around one of his. "
Even now, years later, nobody teased him about that moment.
Because everyone remembered the look on his face.
Pure wonder.
"Fahim examined her carefully.
He asked the doctor twelve questions."
"Only twelve?"
"Fahis."
"Fine, maybe more than twelve."
Farhan nearly doubled over.
"You expected a newborn to solve calculus?"
Fahan shrugged with complete seriousness.
"I was keeping an open mind."
Fahad sighed.
"She had been alive for about ten minutes."
"Exactly."
"...Exactly what?"
"Ten minutes is enough to make an impression."
Fahish laughed,"She did."
Fahan folded his arms,"By yawning."
Mahi covered a smile,"It really happened."
Fahim cleared his throat, his ears faintly pink,
"I examined her carefully."
Farhan grinned.
"You mean you gave a newborn a medical assessment."
"It was a routine observation."
"You checked her fingers."
"I did."
"You checked her heartbeat."
"Then she yawned."
Everyone looked at Fahim.
"And somehow the famous scientist completely lost his train of thought."
Fahim adjusted his glasses.
"...It was unexpected."
He still looked disappointed.
"Why?"
"Because babies sleep. They cry. They stare."
He sighed dramatically.
"I expected more."
Even Naya couldn't hide a faint smile.
Farhan shook his head.
"You expected your newborn sister to stand up, introduce herself, and publish a research paper."
Fahan considered that for a moment.
"...That would have been impressive."
Mahi pointed toward Fahan.
"You were the worst."
"I object."
"I was 5 years old."
"Exactly."
"You brought a screwdriver."
Farhan laughed so hard he wiped tears from his eyes.
"I fail to see how that's relevant."
"It explains a great deal, actually."
Fahim adjusted his glasses.
"Your curiosity has always exceeded your judgment."
"I prefer the term 'experimental.'"
Fahish chuckled.
"The nurses preferred the term 'please keep that child away from the equipment.'"
Another wave of laughter swept through the room.
"I found him crouched beside the bed with the screwdriver in one hand and a look of absolute concentration."
Fahan nodded proudly.
"I was close to figuring it out."
"You were close to disassembling it."
"A minor distinction."
Naya looked at him,
"...You tried to take apart the hospital bed on the day she was born?"
Fahan answered without a hint of embarrassment.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"...I wanted to know how it was built."
A beat of silence.
"I don't think he's changed at all."
Fahim gave a small, resigned nod.
"Not even slightly."
"Ha ha ha. "
"Hump. "