"Bharath bhaiya... Will you help me to read these words, please... This line is too long, I couldn't understand it completely..."

Asked Shartughan while Bharath smiled and sat near him. The youngest prince of Ayodhya was going through the book given by his mother Sumitra. He was three and a half years old, but very intelligent in maths and Vedhas.

Bharath patiently explained each and everything in that book to his baby brother.

"Shatrughan... You are a genius... You completed the entire book with in a day..." Said Bharath and cupped his face.

The four princes already started their basic education and Sumitra was their main tutor. Ram and Bharath almost learned the bases of every subjects and now started to practise archery with the help of mata Kaikeyi, while the youngest two were still studying the Vedhas. ( Shatrughan were studying them but Lakshman was actually struggling with them...)

Bharath suddenly remembered about Lakshman.

"Laksh... did you finish your works... Or did you read the book."

Lakshman, who was very busy in riding his wooden horse didn't heard the question.

"Lakshman... "

Bharath's loud shout made Lakshman come to the real world.

"What happened bhaiya... Why are you screaming?" asked Lakshman with a surprised face.

Bharath sighed. "I was not screaming... I was calling you..."

"What is the matter?"

"Did you finish your works given by Sumitra mata?"

Lakshman gulped. The figure of his mother standing with fury filled eyes flashed through his mind like lightning.

Bharath sensed the answer. "As usual..."

"I am really sorry bhaiya... I forgot..."

"Well... Very good... Sumitra maa will be here after few minutes..." said Bharath.

"All the best Lakshman bhaiya... I will pray for you..." exclaimed Shatrughan.

Lakshman gave him a death glare. Usually in these situations, he prefers to fight with his twin but today he had no time.

"When will be Ram bhaiya back?"

"I don't think he will come before Sumitra maa... He is with father, they may be discussing about any court matters..." replied Bharath.

Lakshman breathed heavily. Ram was the one who help him to do all his home works. Sometimes when Lakshman become too lazy, his Ram bhaiya even solved all the problems and works by himself for his younger brother. They both never let anyone know about this. It was their secret.

His brain was boiling for a solution. Shatrughan will never help him in this case, so the only one left was Bharath.

"Bharath bhaiya..."

But before he could start he was cut by Bharath.

"No Lakshman. No...no...no... I can't help you in this. It is like cheating mata..."

"But bhaiya..."

Bharath closed both his ears with his hands and turned opposite to his pleading brother. "I can't cheat my mother Sumitra"

Lakshman sighed. But he was not ready to accept defeat. He was so clever that ,at the very next moment he got a super trick to make his brother obedient.

Lakshman slowly walked towards Bharath and placed his head on his lap.

Bharath started to melt like an ice cube but he tried his best to control himself and make his brother understand.

"My Laksh... I am really sorry... But it is your fault, isn't?  We should obey our parents... Otherwise people will consider us as bad boys... and..."

"You are saying that I am a bad boy... Laksh's Bharath bhaiya thinks Laksh is a bad boy..."

Bharath gasped. "No dear... I never meant that..."

Lakshman slowly looked at his brother. His eyes were totally red and filled with tears .( He was continuously rubbing them for that, when his Bharath bhaiya was busy in making him understand.)

"I know bhaiya... I know... I am a bad boy, I am a stupid, I am a loser... No one loves me... Not even my brothers..."

Bharath covered his brother's mouth with his hands. He had tears on his eyes. He was really guilty for hurting his baby brother.

Lakshman forcefully suppressed his smile. In his mind he praised himself for such an amazing idea. But there was a little left for him to do for a complete victory.

Lakshman removed Bharath's hands and continued.

"It is ok bhaiya... I can understand... What is the need of a lazy one when we have other three perfect princes... Let mother beat me... let her scold me... What is the meaning of being good in front of other when his soul brother thinks that he is a bad boy and a coward..."

Bharath cupped his brother's pouted face and kissed him. Guilt was eating his soul.

"No one will beat you my Laksh... no one will scold you... You are the best. You are my smartest brother. We all love you. Give me your books... I will complete them for you..."

Lakshman had a victory dance inside his mind. But he didn't express his happiness.

"No bhaiya... I won't force you to cheat Sumitra maa..."

"It is ok Lakshman... You forgot to do it, that is not a big deal... You are a small child... You never do anything wrong. As a brother it is my duty to help you... So please stop crying and give me the book..." 

Bharath's voice was slightly shaking so Lakshman immediately handed over his books to his brother. If he continued his drama it will surely end with a crying Bharath.

Bharath immediately started to solve the problems while Lakshman looked at Shatrughan and gave him a mischievous grin.

"Emotional blackmailing... This is not good bhaiya..." whispered Shatrughan to his twin in a very low voice so that Bharath couldn't hear them.

"It is bad, I know... But I don't have any other choice " Replied Lakshman. He also felt a slight pain for making his innocent brother guilty.

"Ram bhaiya will be really upset if he heard about this all"

Lakshman glared Shatrughan with a shock. He didn't think about it yet. His Ram bhaiya always advises him to be honest. He hates lying people. If he know about this...

"No... Bhaiya will never know what happened today... Give me a word Shatrughan. Bharath bhaiya will never tell this to him... You also... Never share this incident with Ram bhaiya... Promise me..."

Shatrughan promised Lakshman with a half mind while the latter sighed in relief.

 Ram slowly walked towards his room. He was standing behind the curtains so that none of his brothers noticed him. But he heard their entire conversation. Bharath's tear filled eyes gave him pain. But more than it his Lakshman's words were hunting his soul. His brother was trying to mask it from him... His beloved Lakshman... His own soul in another body...

A lone tear escaped from Ram's eyes...

Hi friends... Really sorry for being late for this update. I was terribly busy with my works and there was a problem with my device also... I was unable to save my story as draft so that twice I lost it when I saved it to continue later.I don't know why but it is ok now...

And I have a small request... I started a new story named as "And then he came ". Pls read it if your time allows you... It is entirely different from this one, but I hope it won't disappoint you...

Thank you❤️