The house was small. Two rooms. A narrow kitchen. Walls that had once held calendars, photos, certificates.
Now, they held time.
Priya was studying on the floor, books spread out like she was trying to map her future physically. Her hair fell loose from its braid, one strand stubbornly refusing to stay tied, just like her thoughts.
"You're late again, Thatha."
Arjun removed his slippers near the door. He always placed them side by side.
"Work," he said.
She did not look up. "Night work."
"Yes."
A pause followed. Not awkward. Familiar.
Priya had grown up with pauses. They were safer than questions.
She was eighteen now. Taller. Sharper. Still careful around him, the way children are when they sense pain they don't fully understand.
Arjun watched her read code out loud under her breath, correcting herself when logic broke. Pride flickered in him, brief and dangerous.
That night, after Priya slept, Arjun sat alone in the dark, listening to the ceiling fan wobble slightly off rhythm.
He opened the steel trunk.
The laptop waited inside.