"Preeti, bacha, come now! We are getting late for college!"
Ekansh Singh called from downstairs. Today was Preeti's first day of 11th grade, and as always, her father was dropping her.
"I am coming, Baba! Just one minute please!" Preeti shouted back.
She came running down. Even in her school uniform—a white shirt, blue skirt, and high ponytail—she looked beautiful.
Her pink lips, soft skin, and bright green eyes always made Ekansh smile with pride.
They sat in the car, Ekansh driving and Preeti beside him.
"Baba... you remember it's your birthday today?" Preeti said with excitement. "So tonight, I will treat you to dinner. You must come home on time, okay?"
Ekansh laughed softly. "Okay, bacha. I will try."
Preeti didn't know her words would become a memory she would cry over.
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After college, she rushed home and decorated the living room with balloons and lights. She didn't know how to cook, so she ordered all of Ekansh's favourite dishes.
Everything was ready. She kept checking the clock.
Waiting for Baba... waiting for his smile.
Her phone rang.
"Hello Baba! I am waiting for—"
She couldn't finish her sentence.
A man's voice spoke from the other side.
"Hello... are you related to Mr. Ekansh Singh? He is in the hospital. He had an accident. I am sending you the address."
Preeti felt her whole world stop.
"No... no, nothing can happen to Baba," she whispered, her hands shaking. "
Driver! Get the car ready! We have to go to the hospital—Baba got into an accident!" she cried loudly.
She was wearing a pink long frock, her hair tied in a messy bun, her nose red from crying as she rushed into the hospital.
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At the reception she asked, her voice trembling, "Where is Ekansh Singh?"
She ran to the ICU door and stood there, crying.
"Baba... please be fine..."
"Drink some water."
A deep voice came from beside her.
Preeti looked up and saw a tall man offering her a water bottle. His face was serious but calm.
"He will be fine," he said gently.
Preeti's voice broke. "He will be fine... right?"
He nodded once.
Just then, the doctor came out.
"Mr. Ekansh has opened his eyes."
"Thank God," Preeti whispered.
The doctor looked at the man beside her.
"Who is Ansh? The patient wants to speak to him."
Preeti frowned. "I'm his daughter. Preeti. We don't know any Ansh. Please let me meet my Baba."
"No,"
The man than said quietly. "I am Ansh."
Before Preeti could ask anything, he walked into the ICU.
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Inside, Ansh sat beside Ekansh, who was breathing weakly.
"Ansh..." Ekansh spoke softly. "I want a favor from you."
"Say it, Ekansh brother," Ansh replied. "You helped me when I lost my family. I can do anything for you. Tell me who hurt you. I will destroy him."
Ekansh shook his head. "No. I want my daughter... Preeti... to be safe after me."
Ansh froze.
"I know I don't have much time left,"Ekansh said, tears collecting in his eyes. "Please... protect her for a lifetime. Marry her."
Ansh's eyes widened. "Big brother... she is so young. I am eleven years older than her. She is not ready for marriage... how can I—"
He stopped.
"But I will protect her even without marrying her."
Ekansh held his hand tightly.
"No, beta. Without a proper relation... people will question her. They will not respect her. You cannot close everyone's mouth. Please... just this last wish..."
Ansh looked at the man who had once saved him from darkness. His eyes softened.
"O-okay, Ekansh brother," he whispered. "I am ready... if Preeti agrees."
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A while later, the doctor came out again.
"Preeti, your father is calling you."
She ran into the ICU.
Ekansh was holding Ansh's hand. His eyes searched for her.
"Preeti bacha... come here."
She hugged him carefully. "Baba, are you okay?"
"Yes, bacha..." he whispered. "Preeti, will you do what your father says?"
"Yes, Baba. Anything."
He held her hand and placed it in Ansh's hand.
"Preeti... he will protect you after me. If something happens to me... you must marry him. Promise me."
Preeti shook her head, crying. "Baba, nothing will happen to you..."
"Promise me, Preeti..."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Yes... I promise. But you will be fine, Baba... please..."
Suddenly, the heart monitor beside him began to beep loudly. Then... it went straight.
Preeti screamed, "BABA!"
And her world shattered.
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Preeti's POV
I don't remember how I reached the floor. I only remember falling, my knees hitting the cold tiles, my hands shaking so much I couldn't even wipe my tears.
"Baba... Baba... please wake up," I kept saying, even though I knew... he wouldn't.
People tried to pull me back, but I clung to his hand. It felt colder every second.
My Baba... my best friend... my only family... gone.
I felt someone lift me up. I didn't see who. My eyes were covered with tears.
"Sit," a voice said.
It was the same man—the one who gave me water earlier. Ansh. The stranger Baba wanted me to marry.
Why him?
I didn't understand anything.
I only knew one thing:
Without Baba, I was alone. Completely alone.
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Ansh's POV
I had seen death before. I had buried my own family. I knew what loss felt like.
But watching Preeti cry... it broke something inside me. She looked so small, so fragile, like a glass doll left in a storm.
Ekansh was more than a brother to me. He saved me when I had nothing. He gave me work when the whole world turned its back on me. And now... his last breath... he spent worrying about his daughter.
I looked at Preeti.
Sixteen. Young. Innocent.
Her eyes were swollen, her voice gone, and her whole body shaking.
"How will she survive without him?" I thought.
I walked outside the ICU and leaned against the wall.
"I promised you, big brother," I whispered to myself. "And I will keep it. I will protect her... even if she hates me."
But inside my mind, one thought echoed:
How do I marry someone so young... someone who doesn't even know what life is yet?
Yet promise was promise.
And I never broke promises.
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Author's POV
Preeti cried until her voice disappeared.
Ansh stood quietly, watching her fall apart.
Two lives stood broken in the hospital hallway—
one from losing a father,
the other from gaining a responsibility he never asked for.
The moon outside the window hid behind clouds,
as if even the night didn't want to see their pain.
This was the night everything changed for both of them—
the night that pushed two strangers toward a destiny written in tears.
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