Sanjay was already snoring in the bedroom. Kavya was on her phone under the blanket, scrolling Instagram reels. Arjun had fallen asleep with his homework open on the desk—a diagram of the human heart drawn halfway.
The house inflated again. Arjun burst in first, throwing his shoes off in two different directions. He grabbed a paratha left from breakfast and ate it cold while watching a YouTuber play a video game. Kavya came later, quieter. She sat next to her grandmother on the swing.
“It’s on the shelf next to the god’s photo,” Renu said, not looking up. She was right. It always was.