Inside

Mira Aunty, completely unaware of the mess I was inside, kept chatting away as we walked.

"I’ve been planning to do this for weeks, beta," she sighed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "But you know how it is. Between exercising at the gym and managing the daily household chores, everything just keeps piling up."

She rolled her eyes, a look of playful frustration on her face. "And don't even get me started on your Uncle. Sunil never seems to make time for anything around the house. Even when he is here, he's too 'busy' to help his poor wife."

I just nodded along like a bobblehead, murmuring a polite "hmm" and "oh, really?" every few seconds to show I was listening. Inside, however, the turmoil was churning.

Luckily, we reached the living room before I finally collapsed from the sheer nervousness of being alone with her.

As soon as we were in the center of the room, Mira Aunty switched effortlessly into housewife mode. She clapped her hands together, surveying the space with a critical eye.

"Okay, Arvind. Here is the plan," she said briskly, pointing toward the heavy wooden cabinets and the plush sofa set. "We need to clear the perimeter. You’re going to help me move the furniture out from the walls. Use those big muscles of yours to pull them forward and then I’ll sweep and clean the dust underneath them. Simple, right?"

I nodded, eager to show off a bit, and jumped straight into the work.

One by one, we tackled the room. First, I shoved the heavy wooden cabinets away from the wall while she dusted behind them. Then came the large, heavy potted plants in the corners, and finally, we moved to the sofa set.

With her help, I shifted the two smaller single-seaters easily enough. I was sweating a little by now, my shirt sticking to my back, but I didn't mind. Every time we moved something, Mira Aunty would smile and praise my strength, which was more than enough motivation.

Finally, only the massive triple-seater remained.

"Okay, this is the big one," she said, wiping her brow. "On the count of three. One, two, three!"

We groaned in unison (it was heavier than it looked) and heaved it up, tilting it until we managed to flip it completely over onto its side, exposing the floor beneath that probably hadn't seen daylight in months.

"Phew!" Mira Aunty breathed out, grabbing her broom. "Good job, Arvind. Hold on, let me get these cobwebs off the bottom lining first."

She bent over, the fabric of her slacks stretching tight across her rear as she started sweeping the dark underside of the sofa.

I stood back to give her space, catching my breath. As I looked down at the floor where the sofa had been sitting, amidst the thick grey rolls of dust and a stray coin or two, a flash of bright color caught my eye.

It was something small and pinkish, half-buried in a dust bunny.

Curious, I glanced at Mira Aunty who was still working with the broom, then bent down and pinched the fabric between my fingers to pull it free.

I shook the dust off it, frowning. At first, I thought it was maybe a handkerchief or a scrap of cloth. But as the shape unfolded in my hand, my breath hitched in my throat.

It wasn't a handkerchief.

It was a pair of panties. But not just any panties. It was a tiny scrap of hot pink lace; a thong. The front was a small triangle of sheer, delicate floral lace, and the back... the back was nothing but a thin string.