Connected: A YHM Story ✔️

Epilogue 1

Ten Years Later

402 Archer Heights, Delhi – Sunday, 9 am

Crash! Clang! Smash! Thud!

Pihu jerked awake at the noises and thuds coming from the room beside her. She groaned and rubbed her eyes, as she climbed out of bed. It was a weekend, and she wanted to sleep in. But clearly that idea was out the window now.

Giving up on the notion of extra sleep, she drowsily walked into her bathroom to brush her teeth. After a quick shower, she browsed through her closet for a pair of clothes. 

Ruhi didi's old skirts and dresses were hanging on plastic hangers, which she brushed aside as always. Despite her elder sister's insistence, Pihu would never wear skirts or dresses. She never wore pink or entertained Barbie dolls or danced ballet. She was more the type to wear gray sweatpants, cut her hair short, and choose to skateboard instead of dance.

Eventually, Pihu got dressed in a pair of comfortable denim shorts and a blue T-shirt. She tied her shoulder-length hair into a ponytail and headed downstairs. As she stepped down the staircase, her vision landed on the photos and memories mounted on the adjoining wall. It was her favorite part of the duplex.

She and her family had been moved into this building eight years ago, after Romi and Sarika's son Rohit was born. Her father had secured a set of apartments in Archer Heights for everyone, so that the family could stay close together but also have their privacy.

Raman, Ishita, Adi, Ruhi, and Pihu lived in a duplex apartment connected by an indoor staircase on the fourth and fifth floor. Romi, Sarika, Rohit, and his grandmother Ratanjot lived on the ground floor, on account of the latter's muscle weakness. Toshi and Omprakash had their own space in a flat on the second floor where Rinki lived with them until she got married two years ago. The Bhalla grandparents split their time between Raman and Romi's flats, with frequent visits to Rinki and Simi's place, to stay close with their five grandkids.

Meanwhile, the Iyers continued to live at Akash Ganga. Despite Raman's insistence, Madhu and Vishwa had refused a flat in Archer Heights from his behalf.

"Hum log sirf dus minute dur rehte hai, Raman. Har hafte aaya karenge. Is bahaane is umar mein humaari walk hi ho jaayegi," Madhu had remarked. "Kabhi hum log aaya karenge, kabhi tum log aaya karna."

[We live only ten minutes away, Raman. We'll come over every week. It'll be an excuse for us to make sure we walk around in this old age. Sometimes we'll come over, sometimes you can.]

Vandu and Bala continued to live at their university-sanctioned flats with Shravu and Kshitija, while Mihir and Mihika had moved to a house closer to their twins' school. Madhu and Vishwa split their time between the three daughters' houses to stay close with all seven of their grandkids.

Pihu walked down the stairs, browsing through the pictures, taking a stroll down memory lane.

There were pictures of Adi bhaiya's football wins and his trophies mounted in wall. He was the most sought after player for the Delhi regional championships. There were photos of Ruhi didi's dance recitals. She had mastered ballet and was a skilled choreographer too now. There were snapshots of Pihu's own violin concerts and competitions. She was pretty proficient at the violin now, if she said so herself.

She took another step, gazing at the family picnic photos that barely captured their huge, boisterous family in a single frame. They had made many trips, some with the Bhallas, some with the Iyers, some with both.

There was the family journey to their ancestral village in Punjab at Toshi's behest. There was the visit to Mumbai's best water park where Ruhi and Adi had their biggest fight after she broke his favorite inflatable pool float. There was the summer they spent in Chennai with Madhu and Soumya when Mihika's twins were born.