This story starts before COVID, in 2020. I was about to meet my mother’s younger sister and their family after six years. I have a cousin sister named Diya who is nine months younger than me. She lives in Bhopal. When we met, we hugged. After reaching their home, I chatted with her parents for quite a while. After having dinner, most of the adults went to sleep. It was just me, my own sister, and Diya.
We were chatting, and eventually my sister said that she is going to sleep. Now it was just us. So we decided to stay up, as we were catching up on each other’s lives.

Diya: “Kaise chal raha hai sab?” (How is everything going?)