This was pretty usual, wasn’t it? He was the only cousin-brother in my huge family and he held and played with me in this very special way. I could feel him holding my under-developed bosom with one hand while his other hand wandered under my skirt, detaining my little buttocks from the lacy, pink bloomers that my mom had recently purchased for me. He then picked me in his arms and kissed me on my cheek.

“Alright, but only if you promise to play with me after dinner.” I smirked at his easy, usual offer and my little, dwarf body while I clung to his legs with pure affection.

But little did I know that it was a different kind of love altogether. It was a different kind of bond that we shared.

He was a dark, tall man with a meek body his long hair curled in a shabby manner across his unkempt face. “ Bhai, can we go and get one ice-cream today also? P-L-E-E-E-E-A-S-E!” the four year old, tiny version of me begged as I lingered onto my, then, seventeen-year old cousin.