The Winner Of Life

I was gasping for breath and Di was running her hand in my hair.

Di: "Arjun?"

Me: yeah?

Di: "Will you accompany me shopping tomorrow? Neha wants to go shopping and I was thinking of buying some dresses too. You can help me."

I turned around and laid on my chest, resting my chin on her abdomen. It was in a way that didn't look decent at all.

She widened her leg to make a gap for me so that I could lay comfortably.

Me: "Sure. What do you want to buy?"

Di: "A few outfits and also some to wear at home."

Me: "Sure. I also think you should buy some clothes that are comfortable in this hot weather."

Di: "Yeah. Your choices are good. It will be helpful."

She suddenly chuckled and said, "We can also buy some holy water so that ghost doesn't come near you anymore."

Me: "Yeah yeah. You can buy it."

Di laughed again. She then acted sad and said, "I can't believe you called me a ghost."

I smiled and replied "Well if you were the ghost then I wouldn't mind. I don't mind being possessed by my sister. We can always be together."

Di: "Aww! My brother is the best."

"Of course, I am. There is no brother like me." I replied proudly.

"Yeah! A brother who is lying on his sister like her husband." She replied teasingly.

I was surprised and thought it was really inappropriate to lay like this. Even though we are close and brother-sister, it was still not okay to lay like this.

I was about to get up but she stopped me and said "Why are you getting up? I am not complaining. I was teasing you. I actually like that we are so close and so free with each other."

I looked at her and stopped from getting up. She put her leg on my back and said "As long as it's you, I can be free and be myself around you."

I felt something was building in my heart. An emotion I didn't want to surface. I looked away and rested the side of my head on her abdomen.

Not getting any reply she asked, "Are you not feeling comfortable like this?" I can feel a little disappointment in her voice.

I shook my head and replied, "No, I am fine like this."

Di smiled and continued to run her finger inside my hair.

We stayed like that for a few more minutes and got up. The sofa wasn't long enough for us to stay that way.

We then went to our separate rooms for study. But I wasn't in the mood to study. So I took off my shorts and hopped on the bed in my boxers and grabbed my phone.

It's only 8 pm. There were already a few texts from my mother. So I replied to her immediately.

Me: "I was having dinner so I couldn't reply, Mom."

Her reply came just after a few seconds.

Mom: "Good. I also finished eating."

Me: "Oh. Good then. We can chat without a break."

Mom: "Yeah, that's why I ate earlier."

Me: "Did dad also come home?"

Mom: "No, he said he would be late."

Me: "Oh, he must be busy with his business."

Mom: "Yeah, he is busy."

I didn't know why but she sounded like something happened there.

Me: "Did something happen between you and dad?"

Mom: "No, everything is fine. Don't worry."

Mom: "Where is Samantha?"

She changed the question. So I decided to not ask. If she wanted she would tell us.

Me: "She is in her room."

We started chatting and talking about my studies first. Soon it changed to the wedding. She was talking a lot about how she liked that others thought she was young. I also praised her a few times.

Suddenly Mom asked a different question.

Mom: "But, were you comfortable, Arjun? I don't know if you always wear a T-shirt and tracksuit when you sleep. And you were sweating all night. It was really hot in there, even with the AC on."

I didn't think much of her question. It was normal for her to ask. That place was really hot.

Me: "It was a good stay for me, Mom. I was totally comfortable. But it was hot, yes. I normally have just my boxers on, when I sleep. The clothes would not have been a problem if it wasn't this hot."

Mom: "You could have just slept in your boxers, Arjun. I was not going to have an issue with that. Seriously."

Me: "I know, Mom. But I just wanted to make sure both of us were comfortable, especially when it was our first time sharing rooms."

Mom: "It wasn't the first time. You used to sleep with me when you were a child."

Me: "as a child. Not after I grow up."

Mom: "Haha, if that's what said then yeah."

Me: "By the way, do you always wear a kurta and pants to bed? The cotton ones you wore did not look like your regular nightwear."

Mom: "You did notice, didn't you? I normally wear a nighty or a gown to bed. It would have been still hot, even if I had decided to wear one of my sleeveless gowns. The room was practically burning, to be honest. Delhi's summer was at its peak."

Me: "You could have told me, Mom. You could have changed in the bathroom and asked me not to look when you came out. I would have closed my eyes."

Mom: "Now, why would I ask you to close your eyes, Arjun? I was not going to wear anything a son was not supposed to see his mother in."

Me: "I know that Mom. That is not what I meant. It's just that it would have been embarrassing for you to come back into the room, with just your sleeveless gown on you."

Mom: "What do you mean by just the gown?"

Me: "I mean. You would have removed your innerwear before putting on the gown. That is what I meant."

Mom: "Hahaha. Oh, my Arjun. What makes you think I would remove my bra and panties to put on the gown?"