The Pledged One — 5.1

It was a bright, sunny Sunday morning on the 13th of December 2020. I woke up feeling excited and lighter than I had in days. Today, I was heading to the beach with Illa and little Aryan, and on top of that, I finally had some much-needed clarity about the whole Harsh situation. I realized I had turned a small thing into something much bigger in my head. Looking back, it felt silly how much I had overthought everything instead of just asking directly. But now, it had become a funny memory I could laugh about.

With that weight lifted, the only thing left to do was enjoy the day with my family. I freshened up, then went to Vivaan’s room to wake him up. He always takes forever to get ready, so I gave him an early nudge. After that, I asked Mom and Dad if they wanted to join us at White Rock Beach. As expected, they declined — they preferred to rest on the weekend and clean the house themselves. No matter how many times I offered to hire a cleaning service, Mom always refused. I think it’s her quiet way of showing how much she cares for the family and our home.

I got ready within an hour, but Vivaan was still busy fixing his hair. It always amused me — he barely talks to anyone outside our family, just his two close friends and one girl (who might be his girlfriend, who knows?), yet he spends so much time making himself look perfect, only to stay unapproachable.

Once he was finally ready, we left to pick up Illa and Aryan. When we reached her apartment, I saw Illa chasing after Aryan, who was running around in just his underwear. Vivaan quickly scooped him up, laughing as Aryan shouted, “Maama caught me! Maama caught me!”

I asked Illa what was happening. She sighed with a smile, “I’ve been trying to get him to wear these pants, but he keeps refusing.” I took Aryan from Vivaan and gently asked why he didn’t want to wear them. He simply replied, He crossed his arms and simply replied, “I don’t want to.” So, I made him a deal: if he wore the pants, I’d make sure no one stopped him from eating as much ice cream as he wanted today.

The bribe worked like a charm. We all got ready and left. I texted Ron that we’d reach the beach in about 40–50 minutes. He said he’d meet us there since he had to see someone first.

We arrived at White Rock Beach around 11:20 AM. Illa, Aryan, and I headed straight toward the sand while Vivaan said he’d join us shortly. We found a nice spot, and Illa handed Aryan a bag full of toys. He immediately started playing happily in the sand. A little later, he came running back with snacks and his beach ball — Ron was right behind him.

Ron had brought badminton rackets, shuttles, and a net. Illa and I got excited instantly. While the guys set up the net, we grabbed the rackets and started playing. We made Vivaan the umpire and asked Ron to keep score. We were so caught up in the game that we almost forgot about Aryan for a moment.

AI Generated

Suddenly, I noticed him getting dangerously close to the water. Vivaan saw it too, and we both ran toward him. Thankfully, nothing happened. Vivaan gently explained to him why it was dangerous to go near the ocean without an adult. Illa joined us, and we brought Aryan back closer to our playing area.

As we were walking back, I thought I caught a glimpse of Harsh in the distance. But he turned around and disappeared quickly. I brushed it off, thinking it was probably someone else.

We played for a couple more hours, then had lunch at a nearby restaurant. As promised, we let Aryan have all the ice cream he wanted — though as a little kid, he could only manage one scoop. It was a perfect, joyful day.

Illa decided to stay with us at home that night, so we called Mom and told her not to cook dinner — we’d bring food back. On the way home, Illa’s phone rang from an unknown number. She answered it, and suddenly the phone slipped from her hand onto the car seat. Her eyes filled with tears.

I turned to her immediately, my heart tightening with worry.

“What happened?” I asked.

She looked at me, tears streaming down her face, and said…