Nitya lived with her brother, Gaurav, who was an aspiring scientist; mother, who was a housewife and father, who was an engineer.
From a very young age, she liked skating. Her father had bought skating shoes for her when she was 5, but due to an injury back then, she had to quit it. She tried to persuade her parents a lot after that but they never agreed to her wishes. Her father had even thrown her shoes away. They kept pressurising her on academics. So, she gave up and started preparing for medicine. Her parents wanted her to become a doctor. From then on, she never brought the topic of skating again.
It was Raksha bandhan that day. They celebrate it every year with a lot of enthusiasm. These days she had wanted some books on medicine, and she mentioned it a few times, so she knew what her brother's gift would be. She remembered her brother loved to play video games but due to studies, he couldn't. So, she took her long stored pocket money and bought a new video game set for her brother. She wasn't sure of giving it to him. Because, he had stopped playing long back. Maybe, giving him something related to academics would make him happier, she thought. But, she had already bought it. So, she thought if he doesn't like it, she would ask him what he wanted and give him that.
Finally, it was time for them to celebrate. The family gathered around together. Mom and Dad had been quite busy with the preparations. Gaurav took bath and sat down on a mat. Nitya also took bath and got ready. Mom brought a plate of vermillion, turmeric, rice, water, sweets, rakhi etc. to Nitya. She took it and conducted the ceremony on her brother. She tied Rakhi on his hand. And they both vowed to protect each other from every obstacles in their lives.
Nitya said to Gaurav, "Brother, I was confused about the gift but I thought, this year, I would give you something you enjoyed doing but couldn't continue. I'm sorry if you don't like it. You can tell me what you like and I'll buy that for you."
Gaurav smiled at his sister and said, "Nitya, you know, your intentions matter the most. If this was what you thought, then there's no way I won't like it."
Nitya smiled meekly and took out the hidden wrapped video game set and gave him. Now, it was Gaurav's turn. Before opening his gift, he said to Nitya, "Nitya, I know what you want this time. So, I bought that for you. Hope you'll be happy." Saying this he handed over his wrapped gift to her. She took it and smiled. She immediately knew that there were her medicine books inside. Because that was what she had told him many times. She didn't even make an effort to open the gift.
Gaurav tore open his and was shocked to see his gift. His mouth was wide open and slowly he started laughing. Nitya thought he didn't like it. So, she started frowning. Gaurav hugged his sister tightly and thanked her.
"Nitya, you just made me the happiest right now. It has been years since I played video games. I almost forgot that it was such an important part of my life. Thank you so much for being so thoughtful and knowing me more than myself." He squealed with joy and urged her to open her gift.
She then started tearing hers. When she was done, she couldn't believe her eyes. She frowned and looked at Gaurav and then at their parents. They were all smiling at her. She looked down at her gift again, half expecting to be in delusion. She took it in her hands and stared at it in bewilderment. It was a pair of skate shoes. She started crying out of happiness. She couldn't believe that it would turn out to be her best gift ever. She hugged her brother and cried for a minute straight. He hugged her back and said, "I know you've always wanted to skate. You were the happiest when you wore those shoes. Mom and Dad were scared that you might hurt yourself again. So they threw your old one. And, there was nothing I could do at that time. I was scared too. I couldn't see you hurt physically. But also, seeing you broken and hurt emotionally, was impossible. You were no more that playful and happy sister I once had. So, this time, I convinced Mom and Dad and bought you this."
She nodded and touched the shoes with her hand and hugged them to her chest, refusing to let them go. Finally, her parents came up to her and said, "Nitya, we always thought that keeping you away from danger is saving you. But even if you were safe, you were not happy. You were going farther away from us. We want you to be happy and do what you love doing. There's always danger involved in this but if we don't face our fears in life, we'll always remain coward. We want you to be safe but also happy." Hearing this, she hugged her parents and started laughing.
She immediately wore the shoes and looked at herself in the mirror, promising to train herself everyday and work hard because that was what made her the happiest. She promised to fulfill her dreams and make everyone proud one day.



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