Anvi and Avin

"Mummyyyy" the five years old Anvi came running to Mumma patting her legs on the floor and wiping her unstoppable tears.
"What happened my babuuu?" Mom lovingly asked wiping Anvi's tears from the corner of her cotton saree's pallu.
"Bhaiya hit me with his eraser. Right here on my cheek."
As the smiling Mom was off to scold Avinash, he himself stormed into the room.
"She stole my colour pencil Mom." complained the seven years old Avinash.
"Why did you say then that I should bring my set of colour pencils from the dustbin?" Anvi screamingly asked.
"Because you are dustbin wali...huh. We brought you from the dustbin." Avin ignited the war again with this statement.
"Mummyyyyy" she started crying again, this time with a shrilling noise, "Look at him. He always calls me Dustbin wali. I hate bhaiya."
"Enough you two. Shut up Anvi. And you Avin! Once more you irritate her and I shall throw you into the storeroom. She is your younger sister. Isn't it beta? Now say Sorry." Mom calmly yet strictly reprimanded.
"Sorry" Avin lowered his face.
"Now, go and give her the colour set. Come on." Mom commanded sweetly to which Avin surprisingly responded by bringing forward his hands that hid the packet of his colour set.
"Aww. See Anvi. Bhaiya loves you so much. He had already brought it to give it to you. Go, give him a hug." To this another lovely command Anvi surprisingly responded by hugging Avin, kissing his cheek and saying, "Bhaiya! May I help you colour your project?"
Avin excitedly nodded in a yes. They held each other hands and went into their room.
In the corridor the whisper talk began, "Why do you run to complain Mummy so fast?" whispered Avin.
"Why do you call me dustbin wali? Now will you repeat it?" Anvi asked with a frown.
"Dustbin wali, dustbin wali, dustbin wali." Avin just loved irritating her.
"Mummyyyuuup" Anvi tried to shout but Avin was quick to shut her mouth and apologizingly whispered, "I love you."
"I toooo", the grinning Anvi responded giving him a wooglie wooglie woosh. Mom was smiling watching her two precious gems from her room's window.

This was a sort of routine phenomenon. Skirmish, truce, battle, truce, war, truce and lots of love. Calenders changed but not their bonding. Avin, grew up into a dude of age  fifteen and Anvi to a gal of thirteen.
One day, after years, Soni bua (paternal aunt) came to visit her brother's family and on the lunch table they exchanged some funny moments. Usually, Avin did not tease Anvi before someone else but that day he planned a mischief. Anvi was upset because of some academic matter and was not participating in the fun. He couldn't bear her pain and loudly spoke to gather attention, "Did someone notice? One person isn't participating. May be she  is lost in the thoughts of her dustbin home. Isn't it Miss Dustbin wali?" Before Anvi would raise her frown with a smiling face to look at Avin, a tight slap came on Avin's face. Yes, it was a damn serious tight slap hit in a fit of extreme anger. It was Soni Bua. The room became silent. Everyone shocked and upset.
"Is that the way you talk to your sister?" she asked Avin furiously. Avin was clueless. He had been doing it since childhood but never had such a reaction come from his parents. But because he was a well brought up lad, he knew that he should respect elders. He stood quiet with his red burning cheek.
"How dare you call her like that?... You scou...." Bua's statement could no longer be borne by Anvi.
"What happened Bua? Calm down. He was just joking. He loves me a lot. He did it just to involve me in the conversation." Anvi explained holding Avin's hand, who was still expressionless.
Somehow the moment passed. Avin was extremely angry at Bua's behaviour but kept it to himself. After her family was gone Avin and Anvi went into their room. Anvi softly touched Avin's red cheek with her cold hands, "Is it hurting?"
Avin answered in a heavy voice with a question, "Did you feel the same as Bua did?"
"No (with a stress). Never bhaiya. I love you so so much." she at once hugged him.
Avin couldn't stop his tears before Anvi and patted her with love.
At this, "Avin!! Come here. Come alone." Dad called from the bedroom.
"I shall come with you. I shall not let them scold you." Anvi declared.
"No babu. You stay here. I just feared if you were offended. Because you are not, no scoldings will have effect on me. You will always be my sweetest Dustbin wali. Don't worry. I will handle. Will be back in a couple of minutes." And Avin went with a wink.

"Come Avin. Sit down." Mom wasn't angry but she was serious and continued
"Beta please don't feel offended for Bua's behaviour. She did not know that you don't know. She thought you did this even after knowing everything."
"Mummy! I don't understand. What do I not know that she thought I knew?" Avin was confused.
"That we really brought Anvi from dustbin." This came as a sheer shock to Avin and all his anger for Bua transformed into regret on his own act.
Mom could not speak further and thus Dad narrated the whole story.
"You were two years old when one day we left you with Grandma and went out shopping with Soni Bua and on our way back home we could hear a faint cry of an infant from the roadside. We began searching for the infant and saw that there was some unusual movement in the garbage dump."
Mom by now was crying heavily and ran to the kitchen to avoid re-imagining the scene.
Dad continued with his choked heavy throat, "As I removed some garbage, we found a little baby girl, barely a few days old, lying red in the dump. She was just alive. I was clueless as to what to do now. Bua gave her dupatta and with shivering hands I lifted her up, delicately. As she got the warmth of my hand she stopped crying and at this, I started crying. She had by now become so feeble that she could not even move her limbs. We rushed to the nearby hospital. They treated her immediately and with the cooperation of the doctor we were named her parents. You were extremely happy when we brought her to you and from that moment you two are our precious gems."
Avin suddenly realised that he had dampened his hankerchief badly by now. He hugged Dad and said, "You are great. Had I known the truth, I would have never teased her for this."
"This is why we never told you because we wanted your bond to be natural. Today I revealed the truth because Bua felt so bad when she found that you were innocent and she feared that you will think her to be cruel."
"No. She is good. She is very sweet." Avin instantly replied and requested,
"Dad! May I go to Anvi? She must be waiting."
"Yes sure. But try to be natural." Dad said.
This was easier said than done.
Anvi quickly noticed his swollen eyes and said, "I knew it. They will scold. You will cry. That is why I wanted to go with you."
"No. It's okay. I am fine." and he lied down hiding his face in his pillow.
"Oh yes. So fine. I can see. I have eyes. I did not leave them in the dustbin." she taunted. Avin's flood of tears ran beyond the edge of the pillow. Anvi slowly came and sat beside him and running her shivering fingers into his hair she said with a trebling throat, "What is wrong if I am really your Dustbin wali, Bhaiya. I feel proud of it and will always feel the same." Avin quickly turned in surprise, "How do you know?"
"Has it ever happened that I follow what you say?" she said with a mischievious smile, "I had come till the door to revolt in case Dad scolded you." she grinned.
It was then that Avin noticed her swollen tearful eyes. They hugged each other and Avin said, "Don't let Mummy know that you know. Okay?"
"On one condition" Anvi demanded.
"What?" Avin frowned.
"That you won't stop calling me Dustbin wali. I want the same bhaiya as I had before this secret was revealed." Anvi requested.
Avin was emotionally overwhelmed and with a wooglie wooglie woosh said, " Okay, my sweetest Dustbin wali."
Sometimes, a painful secret, if revealed, takes away all the pain.