The morning sunlight spilt lazily across the garden. Mr Banerjee was already seated and reading his newspaper, while tea was being served piping hot into his cup. On the other hand, Mrs Banerjee already, with composure, that one could mistake her for almost a noble woman, reading her favourite Satyajit Ray's short stories.
To anyone else, it might have looked like a perfectly ordinary morning. But there was a charge beneath the quiet, a sense of waiting. The kind that made the ticking of the grand clock in the lobby sound louder than usual, the kind that turned every footstep into a possibility.
And then, just beyond the polished glass doors, came the familiar voices—lighter, livelier, drawing closer. Aaron and Ishaan were arriving… and with them, the two girls who had so unexpectedly become part of their world.
"Here come our explorers and their companions," claimed Mr Banerjee.
"Ya, we are back, and as promised, we also invited the girls." Both Aaron and Ishaan gracefully let the girls enter the scene without making it awkward.
"Hello, ma'am, my name is Isabella, and this is my sister"
"Hello, my name is Estella." Estella was bursting with energy, and Isabella was being her composed, poised self.
"Well, now I see why you guys got along so well, you guys are like peas from a pod," Mrs Banerjee said, looking at them with a slightly devious smile.
"Well, as everyone is here, let's begin with the breakfast, oh right, you guys are ok with non-veg and stuff, right?" asked Mr Banerjee
The waiter arrived just then with delicate porcelain cups of tea and a neat stack of almond biscuits. The clink of chai filled the air as everyone settled into their seats.
Mr Banerjee leaned forward, eyebrows raised, his gaze darting between the girls.
"So," he began, his tone mock-serious, "tell me honestly—what exactly are you two doing with these overfed, lazy daydreamers of mine?"
"Baba—!" Ishaan groaned.
But Estella leaned in with a grin. "Feeding them pastries, arguing about map routes, dragging them up towers, and of course, watching them get hopelessly lost in bookstores."
Mr Banerjee slapped the table, laughing. "Exactly what I thought. Useless, both of them!"
"Useless but sweet and helpful", Isabella added softly, her eyes flicking toward Aaron just for a heartbeat.
That hushed the table, if only for a moment. Aaron didn't look up, but his fingers curled tighter around his cup.
Mrs Banerjee broke the silence with a lilting voice. "Hmm. You've gotten close then, haven't you?"
Ishaan shifted, his usual grin fading into something more earnest as he looked at Estella. "More than I expected."
"Ah!" Mr Banerjee pounced immediately. "Suncho? My boy admits it. Write it down—this might be the first sensible thing he's said in thirteen years!"
"Really!" Ishaan nearly choked on his tea, while Estella laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth.
"And you, Aaron," Mrs Banerjee added, her tone suddenly playful. "Still pretending you don't smile when she walks into the room?"
Aaron froze. "M-Ma…"
Isabella's cheeks coloured, while Mr Banerjee leaned back smugly, sipping his tea like a man who had just scored a decisive victory.
"Don't worry," he said with a wink to the girls. "They act tough outside, but at home, these two still can't boil an egg without burning the pot."
"Hey, that was a detail not needed here", Ishaan nearly dropped his biscuit.
Estella is already giving him a playful side-eye smirk.
Aaron muttered under his breath, ears burning red.
Laughter carried around the table, easy and unforced. Mrs Banerjee shook her head with a fond sigh, then turned to the boys.
"Aaron, Ishaan—why don't you be good hosts and ask the waiter to bring another pot of Darjeeling, and maybe some more biscuits?"
"But—" Ishaan started, only to be silenced by his mother's knowing look.
"Go on. We'll manage without you for five minutes."
The boys exchanged glances—half suspicion, half resignation—before standing up with reluctant obedience.
As they left, Mrs Banerjee folded her hands neatly, her smile warmer now, her eyes fixed gently on the sisters.
"So, girls, now that those two nimphos are gone, we can get to why we called you today"
Mr Banerjee reaffirmed them, "Don't worry, it's something we wanted to, and well, we didn't want them to right now. Think of it as a parent's responsibility"
Isabella was confused but still asked, "Well, what was it?"
Both Mr. & Mrs Banerjee looked at each other, then checked if their two sons were there and then, while sitting, bowed their heads and thanked the girl.
Mr Banerjee, now with a sincere tone, said, "Thank you, girls, for everything you have done for our boys and sorry if they have caused you any trouble"
Mrs Banerjee, with a glint of happiness and thankfulness, said, "Like seriously, both our boys had lost their colour, Aaron had lost the spark in his eyes, and Ishaan, although great in masking his emotions, had lost his confidence, so thank you for bringing our boys back to us"
Isabella and Estella stood up from their seats, quite surprised by this sudden revelation.
"Please, sir/ma'am, no need to bow your head to us, if anything, we are thankful to you", replied Isabella quickly to their sudden gratitude
"That's true, ma'am. If it weren't for them, we might not be standing here. They saved us when we needed them. We were ourselves a mess," Estella pitched in.
"So, please, ma'am, please raise your head", gently asked Isabella
"Yes, sir, no need to bow to us"
Mr and Mrs Banerjee, lifting their heads, having a warm look in their eyes, say
"You both are very kind, girls, you know that" Mrs Banerjee now gave a warm smile.
"And patient too, like to manage those two monkeys, commend you on that," Mr Banerjee returned to his usual sarcastic ways.
"But seriously, though, we already consider you a part of our own pack, at least that's what Ishaan would say," Mrs Banerjee said with her usual glee.
Both Estella and Isabella giggled a little, "True, that's something he'd say"
"Is it fine if I call you Izzy and you Est?" Mrs.Banerjee asked
"Ya, sure ma'am", confirmed Isabella
"We would like that", with a gleaming smile and with her usual brightness, Estella.
"While you are at it, drop the formality, just call us kaku and kakima, ya, that feels much better or if I say much more Bengali," suggested Mr Banerjee.
"Sure Ka…ka..kaku", Isabella was trying to say it with her broken Bengali
"Got it, Ka..Kakima" Estella also stumbled, but her Bengali was much more fluent than that of Isabella.
"Well, now formalities aside, we would like to hear how you both became acquainted and what it was that made you want to stick with our boys", asked Mrs Banerjee
Isabella glanced at Estella, who rolled her eyes playfully while leaning back, enjoying the moment. "Go on, Izzy, you start," she said, a teasing smirk on her face.
Isabella folded her hands in her lap, a mock seriousness settling over her. "Well, it wasn't very glamorous, really. We'd taken a wrong turn down a quiet street that… wasn't so quiet after all." She paused for dramatic effect.
Estella smirked, "Quiet? Come on! Those guys thought they were tough like wolves, but they were just stray dogs. They didn't stand a chance when your sons showed up."
"Who knew a cannonball and an artist could become an instant superhero like those an…anime they watch?" Mr Banerjee chuckled, his laugh booming across the table.
"That's Ishaan for you. Always charging in without checking if the water's deep. More like 'Life Guard Ishaan'—all splash, no swimming!"
Estella grinned, unable to hold back. "Oh, he definitely splashed, all right. But… it worked. Somehow, he always made it feel less scary than it really was."
Mrs Banerjee's eyes twinkled as she shifted her attention. "And Aaron? Did he show any signs of being heroic?"
Isabella paused, her fingers brushing the rim of her teacup. A small smile tugged at her lips.
"Different," she said softly. "He doesn't rush. He studies the moment. That night during the storm, when everything felt uncertain… he made it feel less so. Just by being there. And—" she laughed suddenly, shaking her head, "by deciding which one of us had to wear the ugly raincoat."
Her voice trailed off, but the warmth lingered long after, like the glow of embers.
Estella leaned forward, eyes sparkling. "And Ishaan? He has this magical ability to turn trouble into an adventure. Who else could make getting lost feel like some grand quest? He kept us laughing until we were in stitches. Somehow, we always ended up finding our way… or at least finding a food stall."
The sisters shared a quiet laugh, exchanging one of those glances.
Mrs Banerjee watched them closely, her voice turning light but pointed.
"Hmm. Sounds less like sightseeing and more like… something more," she gave a know-it-all look.
The girls went still for a moment. Isabella lowered her gaze, stirring her tea without drinking it. Estella toyed with her ring, a faint smile lingering. Neither offered a denial.
Mr Banerjee leaned back, a satisfied smirk ghosting across his face.
"Mm. That's what I thought."
At that moment, footsteps echoed in the hallway. Ishaan's voice carried ahead of him, loud and indignant.
"I said I'd bring biscuits, not guard them! What kind of cruel test was that?"
The door swung open. Ishaan entered first, crumbs already decorating his shirt like medals of honour, while Aaron followed, balancing a tray of tea with careful precision. Both froze, seeing a glow of warmth and amusement in the room.
Aaron frowned, puzzled. "What's going on? Did we miss something?"
"Yeah," Ishaan added, eyes darting between everyone. "Why's everyone looking so flustered? Did someone just announce free dessert for life?"
Mr Banerjee's smile turned sly. He let the silence draw out before speaking, eyes flicking between the sisters and his sons.
"Oh, nothing. Just something secret between us, huh, Izzy and Est?"
The girls looked at each other and, with a subtle giggle, they both said, "Yes, Kaku & Kakima"
The sisters, though, carried an extra glow, their eyes bright and their smiles easy, as if the Banerjees' warmth had wrapped around them like a blanket they hadn't realised they'd been missing.
"Seriously," Aaron asked at last, narrowing his eyes, "did we miss something?"
"Yeah," Ishaan added with his mouth still full. "Why is everyone suddenly all… smiley? And since when are you two getting called 'Izzy' and 'Est' like you're cousins from Howrah? And since when did you call them Kaku and Kakima? Ah!! damn it, I should have been here"
"Well, if you hadn't been roaming around eating cookies, then we might have" Aaron, confused but trying to understand the situation.
The girls only laughed softly, exchanging the kind of look that said more than words could. To the brothers, it was just another mystery to roll their eyes at. To the parents, it was something else entirely—proof of bonds that were already beginning to run deeper than anyone had planned.
But behind those bright smiles lingered something quieter—an ache they kept buried, a guilt they did not name. The girls carried it like a shadow stitched into their joy, knowing one day it would rise again and demand to be faced.
That day, no one noticed. That day, they only laughed.