Raghbat رغبت

six

" Moosy Bhai, whatz thwis?" A sweet voice asked.

A book was thrust in front of Musa's face, almost making him lose balance and the poor five year old boy couldn't protect himself sooner from the sudden attack.

" Moosy Bhai! Whatz thwis!" A fiercer command was issued.

The book was again pushed into his eyes and the boy fell from the small step stool that he was sitting on and along with him fell his school worksheets and all the stationery.

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon and Musa was trying to get his homework done so he could read more interesting books from his dadajaan's library. He was promised one of those only when he would finish his coursework.

Musa was struggling to get up from amongst the jumble of papers when a tiny body sat on his chest, once again pushing the wretched book in his face this time blinding his vision.

" Bhai! Whatz thwis!" An angry voice demanded.

" Esha I can't see" Musa answered his gangster of a sister who was assailing him.

" Esh'ppi, Moosy Bhai ko chot lag jayegi " a sweet little Bakhtiyaar pulled his appi off his Moosy Bhai's chest.

" Sworry Bhai" Eshal was back on her feet and before she could injure him further with the cursed book, Musa gently eased it from her grasp and looked over the opened page.

" Esha, it's bad manners to use force " Musa patiently explained to his little sister, all the while gathering his stuff from the floor.

Eshal and Bakhtiyaar were helping him pick up the scattered pencils and crayons all the while stepping on the papers. Instead of helping him they were messing it up more.

Musa quickly collected everything and arranged it on the table in his own order of organization. He sat down on his step stool and looked at his siblings.

" Now tell me what is it?" He was the most patient little boy ever.

" We don't know this" Bakhtiyaar pointed out on a page of the alphabet book.

" That's the letter W" Musa explained to his siblings.

" And thwis?" Eshal pointed at the picture below it.

" That's a whale" Musa told them.

" What's a Whale?" Eshal and Bakhtiyaar both stood confused now.

At almost three years old, they were little rugrats, creating a ruckus everywhere they went. Eshal was the leader of this duo, always at the forefront of mischief.

Bakhtiyaar blindly followed his Esh'ppi. He hadn't a clue of anything but he would always be ready to abide by the order his appi issued.

" It's the biggest animal in the world" Musa said knowingly. His dadajaan had told him about the biggest mammal on Earth while watching the ANIMAL PLANET TV.

" How big?" Bakhtiyaar was curious now.

" Very big " Musa wanted to finish his homework but his siblings were important too. He loved them more than his encyclopedias.

" How much is very big?" Eshal the curious cat asked.

She spread her little pudgy arms wide and again questioned her older brother,
" This big?"

" No Esha, bigger than that" Musa was eager to get back to his worksheets but their questions never stopped.

" Bigger than Mama?" Bakhtiyaar said thoughtfully.

" Ammi is a Whale!" Eshal caught onto her little brother's logic.

Faiqa was pregnant with her second child and was due to give birth any day now. She was huge and the little kids couldn't help compare her with the gigantic mammal!