"Ananya!" Aarohi's face lit up at the sight of her sister, her smile radiating pure delight. 

A soft chuckle escaped Aarti's lips as she rose from the bed, expecting the warm reunion with amused eyes.

"Di—" Ananya charged forward, yanking off her dupatta and flinging it aside. Without a second thought, she leapt onto her elder sister, sending them both tumbling onto the bed in a tangle of giggles and laughter. "—hehe... I'm finally back."

Aarohi chuckled lightly, patting her head affectionately. "Welcome home, Anu! My little troublemaker!"

Ananya nuzzled deeper into her shoulder, letting out a long, contented sigh. "Hehe... missed you so much, Di..." 

Aarohi tightened her arms around her and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head, "I missed you too, silly! You really took your sweet time coming back this time." 

Ananya giggled softly as she rolled over to lie beside her, a little smirk playing across her lips. "Well... I had to make sure I made a grand return, didn't I?"

Aarohi tilted her head, smiling. "A grand return, indeed... But tell me, what exciting stories did you bring from your adventurous trip this time? Did your negotiations go well?"

Ananya's grin faltered just slightly. "Well... How do I say it?" 

"Huh?" Aarohi raised her eyebrow, pushing herself up as she settled comfortably beside her sister, her voice tinged with concern. "Did something happen, Anu?"

Ananya ran a hand through her messy bangs, her expression perfectly deadpan. "Not gonna lie, Di, but—men are absolutely trash!" 

Aarohi burst into a hearty laughter, shaking her head as if she couldn't have expected anything less from her.

Beside her, Aarti crossed her arms with a scowl. "Yeah," she muttered in disgust. "They really are." 

"Alright, alright, you two!" Aarohi managed between giggles, tears brimming at the corner of her eyes. "Who messed with my little Anu this time?"

Ananya cracked her knuckles, her grin twisting into a scowl. "I really hate it when those men underestimate me. Ughhh... I swear—one day, I'm gonna break their legs and smash their bones. Those bastards!"

"Oi, you violent child!" Aarohi leaned forward and flicked Ananya's forehead with two fingers. "What's with that filthy mouth, huh? Who's been teaching you this non-sense? It can't be Raghuv—he's far too sweet for that." 

Raghuv and sweet? Pfff. As if. Ananya rolled her eyes, keeping the thought to herself. 

"Hey, you hearing me?" Aarohi flicked her forehead again, snapping her back to the moment.

"Ow, Di," Ananya yelped, rubbing her forehead. "That hurts—" 

"Yeah, yeah," Aarohi waved her off, narrowing her eyes but fighting a smile. "The same girl who slammed every boy in the village at wrestling is now whining about a little flick? Ultimate drama queen."

"I'm no drama queen," Ananya pouted, arms crossed in defiance. Then, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she tutted her tongue and leaned in. "Hehe... I'm your queen!" 

"Yeah, yeah! Queen Massi!" Aarohi smirked, giving her a playful eye-roll before tugging her up by the arm. "Alright, enough. Get up and tell me—What happened at your negotiation trip? Did that patwari give you trouble again?"

Ananya let out a heavy breath before flopping back on the bed as if the weight of the world had just fallen on her shoulders. "Ughhh... He said the land isn't ours to take. That it belonged to some... dead lady."

Aarti scoffed, crossing her arms tighter. "Always excuses. Dead owners, lost records—what next? A ghost stopping us?"

"That old fox..." Ananya groaned, throwing a pillow over her face. "Just kept wagging his head and mumbling—'Not in my hands, bitiya... You'll have to go higher up'—like a broken record."

"I see. Did you tell baba about it?" Aarohi asked, her finger resting thoughtfully on her chin. 

"Yeah..." Ananya lifted the pillow, spinning it smoothly on the tip of her index finger. "He said that he'd lend me a hand if I wanted. But—"

"But you don't want that," Aarohi cut in, her voice steady. "You want to prove it to him that you can handle it alone, right?"

"Yeahhh... You already know it's the first task he gave me after I said I want to be a surpanch, just like him. So if I run to him now, then how would I prove myself to him?"

"Ughh..." Ananya pressed the pillow tightly on her face. "Di, I even told him so many times that we want the land to build school for village children, but he—" 

Aarti clicked her tongue sharply. "Tch. These government officials and their underdogs—always shoving the blame upwards so they don't have to move their lazy bones."

"Exactly," Ananya sat up, clutching the pillow to her chest now. "He didn't even look me in the eye! Just shuffling papers, drinking his watery excuse of a tea, acting like I was wasting his precious time." 

Aarohi frowned, folding her hands in her lap, her voice quieter but sharper now. "Mhmm... Then it's decided... If we want reforms for Devghar, we need to face the bigger wolves. You'll have to speak with the tehsildar, Anu!"

For a moment, silence hung in the air until Ananya's lips curved into a sly little grin. She leaned forward, tapping her nose, eyes glinting with triumph. "Already one step ahead of you, Di. Appointment's fixed. Next week, I'm meeting that tehsildar."

Aarohi blinked, startled. "You... what? You went and—?"

"Yup," Ananya cut her off, looking far too smug for her own good. She folded her arms and lifted her chin proudly. "Patwari thought he could shoo me away, but I wrung a date out of him. Next week, that tehsildar has to hear me out."

Aarti let out a low whistle. "Bold move, troublemaker."

"Bold? That's just me on a normal day," Ananya shot back with a wink. Then, with a sly grin, she slipped a hand beneath her koti and pulled out a book like a magician revealing her trick. "Also... you were talking about this one last time, right, Di?"

"No way..." Aarohi's eyes went wide, her breath catching as she took the book from her sister's hands. "Powerless by Lauren Roberts— yup, that's the one I wanted! You still remembered?"

Ananya's smirk deepened, wicked and proud. "Of course. I had to do something to make up for my grand late entry. Besides..." she tilted her head, her grin daring, "...didn't the last book I smuggled to you keep you busy while I was gone?"

"Haha, yeah, it did," Aarohi chuckled, brushing her thumb along the edge of the cover. "I even got an earful from Aarti for waking up late because I was finishing it."

"That wasn't an earful, milady!" Aarti cut in with a huff but the twitch at the corner of her lips betrayed her amusement.

Then, without warning, Ananya flopped onto Aarohi's lap like a cat demanding attention. "So, until our next appointment..." She glanced up at her sister, eyes glinting. "...I've earned myself some fun, haven't I?"

Aarohi narrowed her eyes, but an expesperated laugh slipped out. "You're... really impossible."

"Lucky for you," Ananya purred, stretching her arms dramatically. "I've got news for you two."

"Oh, and what could that be?" Aarohi chuckled softly, her voice soft, almost teasing.

Ananya cleared her throat and announced in a grand voice. "Well... India's grandest, most famous fair—the one and only Seraswati Mela— is finally arriving in Devghar!"