SIGMA BROTHERS

 

SIGMA BROTHERS 

I have never met my step brothers. Twin step brothers. I don't even know if they live alone or together but that’s so stupid to think that they live together. Obviously they are old enough to have their separate place. Them being twins don't certify that they have to live together forever. I'm Hunaid Kapooor and I have two older twin brothers, Ashar and Almir whom I never met in my life but now for some days I have been wanting to meet them without telling mom. I live with my mom and my dad; my mom’s second husband. I have met my step dad a couple times but I don't really feel like seeing him often, but my brothers, I really want to meet them at least once in my life and now I'm not telling mom and my real dad or stepdad about me somehow digging out their address and visiting them. I'm not in contact with my step dad anyway so I have no idea if he also stays at their place or maybe the house only belongs to my step dad. I took that address from my mom’s phone book and it didn't say who lives in that house. It was just under the family name of my step dad, Khans. 

I don't know much about my mom’s divorce with uncle Khan and I even got to know about my twin step brothers after quite some time when my mom was talking to uncle Khan about some sick kids and when I asked her what's it about she then told me. I was ten at that time and my brothers were fourteen. My dad has no issue with my mom involving herself with her sons from his ex-husband and mom doesn't have a problem with raising the daughter  of my dad, my step sister who’s a year older than me. 

I pack my stuff and put it in my car.  I  leave the house at six o' clock sharp since it's a long journey and they live far away.  Our parents are from Pakistan  and they settled down in the States at the peak of their careers.  My dad is a wholesaler and thanks to his fat annual revenue I get to travel wherever I want and they don't object as long as I tell them where I'm going and when I'm coming back. My mom is an author. She mostly works from  home and that's how she was always able to take care of me and my sister and my younger brother. I have a lot of brothers. Life of a middle child is not very easy as I have to go rescue my elder brothers and make sure my younger brother grows up into a fine man just like me. My  sister is perfect. I don't want her to change. She is already an upgraded version of herself in every universe. It may seem like I'm a bubbly guy but the truth is it's all because of the wholesome life I've been living and now I'm bored to death and that's why I'm going to secretly hunt down my elder brothers in the name of adventure. It's been a week since I graduated and I'm working on a personal project. I decided to take a break. I wonder what my elder brothers do with their lives. Let's just see for myself. 

It's almost twenty four hours drive from Houston to San Diego if you stop for a couple hours. I like smooth jazz especially on long long journeys. I dash the car on the smooth road as butterflies fill up my stomach; a hint of excitement. I stop  the car for breakfast, lunch and gas and then a quick dinner. 

I arrived at  my  destination around seven AM. I found the house after looking for a couple minutes and couldn't believe it. I was literally executing a place full of green. The wrong kind of green. The weeds and bushes and wild plant branches all over the place. A haunted house.  Yes.  I'm not being rude, that's literally what I expected. After standing in front of the  house for a couple minutes I get  out of my car and ring the doorbell. I know I know it's rude to visit somebody at this hour but I didn't have a choice. I'm sure they won't mind their baby  brother barging in. After half a minute, a young guy,  definitely older than me, opens the door. He's in his night suit and  I feel guilty. I don't know which one is that but they  both look the same so who cares. I take a guess. “Ashar Khan?”  I look at him with questioning eyes ignoring the suspicion and surprise in his eyes. “No, this is Almir. Who are you?” he asked in a still sleepy but alert voice. His eyes were darting towards my car.  “Im … I’m Hunaid". It's nice to  meet you Almir." I didn't know what to do so I just extended my hand for a handshake which he still doesn't hold. Honestly it hurt me. The sentiments were not mutual. As naughty as I am , I peeked inside the house over his shoulder and asked him about Ashar  with curiosity and excitement in my voice. Yes I'm bubbly so what. Don't judge me. “How do you know about … about us?” I sigh and tell him my  business. “I'm Hunaid Shah. your baby brother so  don't ignore me and let me in” he at least knew this much  that his mom’s surname was “Shah” now. The tension on his face eased a little bit but it wasn’t completely gone. “Oh.” he said and kept staring at me. “But what are you doing here?” I could  tell he wanted to ask about mom but he didn't.  There's a lot to fix I guess. “I will tell you but please could you let me in? I drove for 23 hours from Houston and I'm beat.  Just let me sit somewhere comfortable and we could talk?”  He looked so  serious with frowns on his  forehead but he let me in. I took a seat on the couch. He was still  standing in the middle of the  living room. It felt like he was the guest in his own house. “Where’s uncle and everybody else?” I pause. “And can you please sit down? I'm already feeling very guilty” he sighed and took a seat. “If by uncle you mean my dad then you  will have to wait for him. He's out of  town. And before you ask about Ashar, he's on duty."He was looking for further explanation about how I visited them out of the blue. “Oh that's … great. What do you all do?” he could see I'm not the type he would usually hang out with. I could feel that too. Aura never lies. “You still didn't answer me why are you here”,  so no extra talk, Hmm. “ I - uh - well, I was curious to meet you  guys. I've always wanted to know how my brothers look and how they are as a person but we never talked about you at home so I had to secretly come here. I told my parents I'm out of town on a business trip hehe.”  I just blurted out everything in one sitting. I hope I don't scare him. “I'm not sure how I feel about your actions. Well what are your plans now?” so maybe I wouldn't scare him as much . “Please just let me sleep somewhere in the house. I promise I won't intervene in your routines and won't mess up  your kitchen and help around as much. I will tell you my plans later. Now I just want to  sleep well. I'm also hungry but I guess I can't do much this early in the morning. Sleep won't wait for me to eat anyway” I blinked twice so that maybe he would get impressed by his cute little brother (that is me) and let me stay. He literally sighed then said, “Alright well eat something first. I can make you a sandwich and coffee if you want” I was flattered by his kind offer but I was just  too sleepy, no kidding. “Umm no I will just sleep” I held back a yawn. “Suit yourself. Come with me I’ll show you the guest room. You can stay there” I was ready to jump from excitement. 

“I will just grab my bag from my car. Please just wait for me here, big brother.” I dashed outside as soon as words left my mouth. I don't care what my dearest elder brother thinks about me. If I say I'm cute then I must  show it as well. It won’t last long but for now I gotta do what I gotta do.  I  will encapsulate them with my charms then I will show them my true colours. I snickered at the thought. 

I woke up in the afternoon. Sunshine peeking through the curtains. For a while I looked around trying to remember where I was. Then I jerked up at the awakening thought of me being at my step brothers’ house. The feeling was warm and cosy. I just got up, showered and ran downstairs. There was no one in the house. Apparently. I went to the kitchen and explored my options. There was plenty in the fridge. Guess my brothers weren't as useless as they looked. I took out the ingredients and started making breakfast. It's been a while since I've eaten a proper paratha. Mom used to make me paratha when I was a child. While growing up, I learnt some basic cooking from  her. Now I can make my own  paratha. There is no flour in the cabinets or anywhere so I just settle for some french toasts and starbucks style coffee. I'm a good cook and I make perfect coffee. All in one. What could you ask more?   

I was enjoying my french toast when I heard the doorbell ringing and after a couple rings when I decided to open the door, Almir came downstairs with his similar morning drowsy and tired look and opened the door. He did not question the guest, which meant the guest wasn't a stranger. So maybe it's Mr. Khan. The Khan Daddy. My humour is too good, gosh. I finished my remaining coffee and headed outside to finally meet the head of the family. I hear a female voice. Okay maybe uncle Khan has gotten too old that his voice has become more shrill and sharp. I make peace with the endless possibilities of uncle Khan’s voice and when I enter the hall I see a girl. Now it's realistically impossible for uncle Khan to turn into a girl so I finally come to the conclusion that it's a girl. “Hi there. I'm Hunaid Shah. Almir’s and Ashar’s baby brother” I greet her with a wide grin just like a decent host but the problem is that I'm not the host and I don't even care. “Oh hi. Im Andaleeb but as far as I know they don't have a brother so don't fool me" She sounds smart and innocent. A bit like me. “So, how do you know my brothers and my uncle Khan?” I confronted her, which was very bold of me. I wasn't even giving her a chance to sit down and relax. Almir was just staring. 

Andaleeb: I'm your future sister-in-law if you must know.

Hunaid: I didn't know Almir had a girlfriend, hmm. 

Andaleeb: I'm Ashar's fiancee.

Hunaid: That makes sense because Almir  doesn't look like the type to go near girls.

Almir: (aware of his brother’s talkative and jolly nature from a couple minutes encounter) it's too many people today at home. Sigh. 

Hunaid: Yes, thank you for the breakfast you didn't serve. 

Andaleeb: Yes, thank you for the good company you never allow us to have.

We both said our lines with a poker face and Almir was looking at us as if looking at dumb cartoons that make no sense. Guess me and Andaleeb are going to be the only humans to survive the coldness of this house. I don't really have any hopes from Ashar either but if he has such a me-type fiancee then probably he's socially a little better than Almir. My train of thoughts broke when Andaleeb seriously asked me who I am and why I'm here.  Almir didn't answer so I started running my mouth. 

“I'm Hunnaid Shah. Almir’s and Ashar’s step brother. I really don't know if it's okay for you to know this now since you're going to be the family and you still don't know about this but I  hope it doesn't cause any problems. As for  why I'm here, the answer to that is I really miss my brothers I’ve never met and I've always wanted to know how  they look, what they do,  how they live and everything. In short, it was my dream to get to know my brothers. Oh and, I still haven't told my parents about all this so please don't call  them” I made fake puppy eyes and made a pout to which they cringed so hard. “So it was like .. spar of the moment? You just decided and landed here without thinking anything?” Almir asked me and I don't know what gave him this idea that I had to THINK before meeting my own brothers. “Well yes, kind of. I mean I've been thinking of doing this for  a few years now but I was still in college so I couldn't make a solid plan. Now that I've graduated and own a small business. I thought, "why not?” Almir looked amazed. “Wow … “ Andaleeb made a wow sound. She doesn't look even remotely pissed that she didn't know this beforehand so I guess their relationship is not recent and the family knows her for a long time. It was still not nice to  see Almir was silent most of the time and only me and Andaleeb were doing the real talk. “When's uncle Khan coming back?” I ask Almir to engage him in the conversation. “He won't be back for a while. He's looking for a potential  investor for his flower shop. He can afford everything but the old man still has to go around and do business from scratch” It was nice to see Almir talking. “And when will Ashar come back?” I ask again. “We don't really know his schedule but usually he's back in a few weeks. It's already been a few weeks so he's going to  arrive soon.” Andaleeb answers this time. After a little  chit-chat Andaleeb  says her goodbye to both of us and we exchange  numbers and she leaves. 

After  a few days, Ashar arrived as well and was surprised to see me, like his twin brother. He looked handsome in his  pilot uniform. He was clean shaved and Almir had always had a little beard. I guess that's how Andaleeb differentiates between them. My brothers still don't talk to me frankly so I give a call to Andaleeb and ask her for advice and she cuts the call and adds me to their whatsapp family group. Honestly, that was the first time I felt weird. Andaleeb welcomed me in the group chat  and uncle Khan sent lots of question marks. Guess he still doesn't know about me coming to their house. I save their numbers and thank Andaleeb and the group chat remains silent after that. I call back Andaleeb. “Why would you do that? It's awkward” she says in a composed tone. “Nothing's awkwards, don't worry about that. They are normally welcoming but maybe because you guys have the same mom they don't really feel comfortable" She takes a pause. “They have a sad and lonely past, you know. They didn't have a mother growing up so whenever they see you they also start thinking about their mom. Just give them some time. They don't hate you or anything” I hung up after talking for a few more minutes. This was new. 

The next day,  since it's the weekend, I waited for everyone to wake up so  that we could do some outdoor activity. They are all introverts and  I've never seen them going out except for their jobs. It's been two weeks since I've got here and I know their routine by now. Andaleep often hangs out since Ashar is back and she would still hang out at Khan’s even if he was not there. That's what she  told me while we were talking over nice warm ginger tea. Almir leaves around 9.00 AM when he doesn't have night shifts and arrives home around 6.00 AM when he has night shifts. I remember because one day he forgot to take his keys and he rang the doorbell and I opened the door. He apologised for waking me up but I was happy that I did something as a family member. It was about time I woke up anyway. 

Almir and Ashar were both home, sitting at the couch watching soccer. There was plenty of space between them so I slid in and tried to grab their attention. I wanted to show them mom’s photos and how she's doing. Maybe they start hating me afterwards but I don't care. I really wanna know what's going on in their  minds. “I want to show you guys something” I take out my phone, open the phone's gallery and tap on mom’s recent photo. They  both are looking at me now and the photo until Ashar finally says, “why are you showing us this?” he sounds angry and I know the cause and also that maybe I did something wrong. “I–I thought you would like to see her” I tried to cover up although  I wasn't entirely wrong. “No we don't want to see her because she doesn't want to see us and it was really surprising that you, of all people, came here to visit us. It Was really hard to not to  think that you have any ulterior motives but  you proved us wrong but now this? We don't really know what's going on and why are you doing this? Are you trying to emotionally attack us or what? Or you  just want some gossip about how we don't hang out with our mutual mom and we feel sad about it? You want to see us miserable don't you?” This time Almir spoke and his words broke my heart. “Or are you here to show us sympathy, Hunaid?” he added. “I'm sorry if you feel this way but I genuinely came here to see you guys. But I guess I was wrong. I should go. It was nice to make friends with Andaleeb. Please tell her that. Say my regards to uncle, I really wanted to meet him as well." Maybe I shouldn't have said goodbye so soon and should've tried harder to  clear things up but really it felt like whatever I said or did, they would take me wrong. “Who will  tell me what? Did I miss something?” Think of the devil … “no well I’m just going back home. I told you they would never like me. Although it was my own fault" things were getting emotional even for me. Almir and Ashar got up to probably say something in their defence when Andaleeb started talking again. “Sit down you three” and we sat down. “What's wrong with you all? You guys are grown ups. No one’s going anywhere. Now tell me what happened” she asked me. “I–I showed them our mom’s photos just  to make them realise that we have something huge in common and we have a bond. They didn't like it and I guess it was my fault for doing this without thinking" They both eyed me. “You are all at fault. You both twins are not treating him like a brother and you Mr. Hunaid, if you really wanted to talk about your mom you could have used your mouth instead of doing this. Now be good boys and make up and start talking already. Uncle Junaid called me and said he will be home by dinner. I need to do lots  of prep.”  She ordered us around and left us to talk things out. 

“You really didn't come here because mom sent you here to keep a check on us and report her?” Ashar asked and it sent a shock to my brain. No wonder they were acting so casually around me as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. They were being defensive. “You really think mom sent me here and I'm not here out of my own will? Well, let me prove it right now” I take out my phone again and open my chat with mom. The only thing we talked about is where am I and when  am I going to come back home and me giving her vague replies. “See? No actually, wait.” I dial my mom’s number and put it on speaker. They both  stiffen in their  spots. Mom picks up the call on the third ring. “Hunaid! Where the hell are you? I've told your dad and he's taking a week off to come search for you then all your credit cards will be sealed and you will be grounded. I don't care how old you are!!” she shouted at me and I just closed my eyes and listened then I said, “I'm with Ashar and Almir, at their house. Ashar’s got a  fiancee. I guess you don't know about that and Almir is still single and he's probably gonna die without seeing a woman ever”. I winked at him. “What did  you just say? What are you doing there? Where are they? Do they know who you are? Is this some sort of a prank-?” I cut her in the middle before she  assumes more. “Mom, relax. They are both sitting by either side. They are hearing you talking. Phone’s on speaker. Would you like to talk to them?” I already knew she would but I still asked anyway. Almir said hello and then Ashar. Mom started crying on the phone and I couldn't take it so I left the phone there and went into the kitchen where Andaleeb was struggling with managing ingredients. Everything got sorted now and I was extremely happy. After a short while Ashar and Almir came into the kitchen and they both hugged me and thanked me and told me they would really like to meet mom and my family as well, to which I happily agreed and Ashar told Andaleep how mom was asking about her and she would like to meet her over dinner some time and she was also really  glad. Im thankful to Andaleeb who helped me  big time to get over the misunderstanding and  reunite us brothers. Uncle Khan wouldn't mind me as long as nobody else does. Andaleeb told me that and I believed her whole heartedly. 

We exchanged laughter over dinner and enjoyed uncle Khan’s stories from his recent journey. He likes the name I've given him. I decided to leave in a few days, resuming my life. I'm going to cherish all these moments and I'm waiting for many more to come.