It was the day of Diwali.

The whole house had been awake since early morning. The smell of freshly prepared sweets, incense sticks, and the faint fragrance of marigold flowers filled every corner. Outside, the neighbourhood was already glowing with tiny fairy lights, even though the sun had barely risen.

For everyone else, Diwali meant sweets, delicious food, new clothes, crackers, family gatherings and endless celebrations.

But for Mihika, the morning had started in a completely different way.

As usual, she woke up early.

Monday.

And for Mihika, Monday meant Shiv Ji.

It didn't matter if it was a normal Monday, a holiday, an exam day, or even a festival.

She never missed her Monday fast.

For as long as she could remember, she had kept a fast for Shiv Ji every Monday. It had slowly become a part of her routine—a quiet little promise between her and God.

She got out of bed, freshened up and changed into clean clothes before heading toward the temple.

The little temple near her house was beautifully decorated for Diwali. Fresh flowers surrounded the idol of Shiv Ji, diyas flickered around the corners, and the fragrance of incense made the entire place feel peaceful.

Mihika sat down in front of Shiv Ji.

She folded her hands.

Closed her eyes.

For a few moments, she simply sat there.

Then she began chanting the mantras she knew by heart.

Her voice was soft, almost a whisper.

One mantra.

Then another.

And another.

With every chant, her mind slowly became quieter.

All the stress of school, assignments, boards, her future, medical entrance exams and everything else that had been constantly running through her head seemed to disappear for a while.

Finally, after finishing her prayers, Mihika remained there with her hands still folded.

She took a deep breath.

And then, inside her mind, she smiled.

Heyyy... Shiv Ji.

She almost imagined herself talking to Him like He was someone she could casually sit and complain to.

I want three things from you.

She paused dramatically in her thoughts.

Actually... three things for myself.

Her lips curved into a tiny smile.

First...

Please let me score really, really good marks in my boards.

She squeezed her eyes shut a little tighter.

And not just good marks.

I want to top my school.

That was a big wish.

Especially now.

After everything that had happened over the past few months, Mihika knew she couldn't take her studies lightly anymore.

Her grades had started slipping.

Physics and Chemistry had already given her enough reasons to panic.

But somewhere inside, the old Mihika—the girl who was always among the toppers—still existed.

She just needed to find her way back to her.

Second...

Her smile became more hopeful.

Please let me clear my medical entrance exam too.

That was the dream.

The one she had carried for years.

The one she didn't talk about too much because saying it out loud somehow made it feel more frightening.

She wanted to become a DOCTOR.

And she wanted to see her name on that list.

She wanted to look at her result one day and think—

I actually did it.

Mihika took another breath.

Then suddenly, another thought came into her mind.

The third wish.

The one she hadn't planned.

The one that had been added only recently.

Her smile softened.

and third...

She hesitated.

Please Make Armaan Healthy.

For a second, she didn't think about herself.

Not about boards.

Not about medical exams.

Not about topping school.

Just Armaan.

Please Shiv Ji... whatever he's going through, make him okay.

She opened her eyes.

A small smile appeared on her face.

Three Wishes.

That was it.

She got up, touched her forehead lightly to her hands and left the temple.

______

Back at home, the entire house was already busy with Diwali preparations.

Someone was arranging diyas.

Someone was preparing sweets.

Someone was cleaning something that had probably already been cleaned three times.

And someone—probably her mother—was yelling at someone else.

Basically...

A normal festival morning.

Mihika walked into the kitchen.

"Mummy..."

Her mother looked at her.

"Hmm?"

"Tea Please make tea for me."

Her mother immediately gave her the look.

"You are fasting."

"I know."

"Then?"

"Tea and some peanuts."

Her mother sighed.

"You and your Monday fast..."

Mihika smiled innocently.

"For Shivji mummy!"

Her mother shook her head but eventually prepared her tea.

Mihika sat down with her cup and a small bowl of peanuts.

Technically, peanuts weren't grains, and neither was tea considered a proper meal, so according to her fasting routine, she could have them.

She happily sipped her tea.

For once, she didn't complain about missing all the delicious Diwali food.

Although...

The smell coming from the kitchen was definitely testing her patience.

Sweets.

Kachoris.

Namkeen.

Everything.

She looked toward the tray of sweets.

For two seconds.

Then quickly looked away.

Nope.

Not today.

She had decided to keep her fast properly.

By down, when everyone sat together to eat, the table looked like a festival feast.

Her family was enjoying sweets and all kinds of delicious food while Mihika sat with a plate of fruits.

She looked at everyone's food.

Then looked at her fruits.

And instead of feeling miserable...

She smiled.

"Happy Diwali to me," she whispered sarcastically before eating a piece of Apple .

She had somehow learned to enjoy whatever she was eating instead of constantly thinking about what she couldn't have.

And honestly?

The fruits weren't that bad.

Especially when she was eating them while watching everyone else fight over the last piece of sweet.

That was entertainment.

---

But the real highlight of Diwali for Mihika wasn't the food.

It wasn't the crackers.

It wasn't even the sweets.

It was—

Rangoli.

The moment all the preparations were done, Mihika brought out the colours.

She sat down near the entrance with her younger sister, Ranchi.

Ranchi was cute.

Ranchi was energetic.

Ranchi was enthusiastic.

And Ranchi was also...

A professional troublemaker.

Mihika knew exactly what she was getting herself into.

She opened the packets of colours and carefully placed them beside her.

"Okay," Mihika said seriously. "We're going to make a nice Rangoli today."

Ranchi nodded enthusiastically.

Mihika narrowed her eyes.

"Ranchi."

"Haan?"

"See these colours?"

"Haan."

"They are less."

Ranchi nodded again.

"So use them properly."

"Haan."

"Properly."

"Haan."

Mihika pointed at the colours like she was giving instructions to a small employee on her first day at work.

"And..."

Her voice suddenly became extremely serious.

"If anyhow you tried to mess this up..."

She leaned closer.

"...then no one will save you from me."

Ranchi stared at her.

There was a brief silence.

Ranchi opened her mouth.

"Mihika—"

"No."

Mihika immediately cut her off.

"No more Arguments."

She grabbed the first colour packet.

"Let's start."

Ranchi sighed dramatically.

"Okayyy."

Mihika began making the outline.

She carefully placed the colours, trying to keep the design symmetrical.

Ranchi sat beside her and watched.

For approximately thirty seconds.

Then her hand slowly moved toward one of the colours.

Mihika noticed.

"Ranchi."

Ranchi froze.

"I wasn't doing anything."

"I didn't even say anything."

"You were about to."

Mihika stared at her.

Ranchi smiled innocently.

Mihika shook her head and continued working.

A few moments later, both sisters were completely absorbed in the Rangoli.

The colours slowly began coming together.

A beautiful pattern started appearing on the floor.

Mihika added another layer, carefully filling the spaces.

Ranchi helped with the smaller portions, surprisingly without destroying anything.

For once.

Mihika looked at her little sister and smiled.

"See? You can actually be useful."

Ranchi immediately looked offended.

"Actually?"

Mihika laughed.

"Okay, okay. Very useful."

Ranchi smiled proudly.

The evening sun slowly disappeared behind the houses.

One by one, the lights around them began glowing brighter.

Diyas were placed around the Rangoli.

The house smelled of flowers, incense and sweets.

The whole neighbourhood seemed to sparkle.

Mihika sat back for a moment and looked at the Rangoli they had made together.

It wasn't perfect.

One side was slightly uneven.

A few colours had mixed together.

And there was definitely a suspicious footprint near the corner that looked exactly like Ranchi's.

But Mihika didn't care.

She smiled.

For a moment, everything felt peaceful.

Her family was around her.

The house was glowing.

The festival she loved was finally here.

And somewhere deep inside her heart, she carried three little wishes.

Boards.

Medical.

And Armaan's health.

She looked at the diyas flickering beside the Rangoli.

Then quietly whispered,

"Bas Shiv Ji... iss baar teeno poore kar dena."

And with that, she smiled again.

After finishing the Rangoli, Mihika finally went inside to get ready.

She opened her cupboard and pulled out her new green Anarkali.

The moment she wore it, she stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself.

The dress suited her perfectly GREEN ANARKALI.

The green fabric fell beautifully around her, the little details on the Anarkali sparkling whenever the light touched them. She fixed her hair, added a few simple accessories and looked at herself one more time.

"Okayyy..." she whispered to her reflection.

"Not bad."

She smiled.

Then, obviously, there was one thing left to do.

Pictures.

Mihika picked up her phone, stood in front of the decorated wall and clicked a few pictures.

One.

Two.

Three.

Then she checked them.

"Okay, this one..."

She clicked another.

And another.

Because obviously, one picture was never enough on Diwali.

After selecting the best ones, she finally put her phone away and went downstairs.

Her family was ready to leave for the temple.

"Mihika, chal! Let's go." her mother called.

"Coming!"

They all went together to the temple.

The entire place was beautifully decorated with flowers and hundreds of glowing diyas. People were dressed in their best clothes, children were running around excitedly, and the sound of bells filled the air.

Mihika stood beside her family with folded hands as they prayed together.

She looked at Shiv Ji for a moment.

Her morning wishes came back to her mind.

Boards.

Medical.

And Armaan.

She smiled softly.

Please, Shiv Ji.

After the prayer, everyone returned home.

And then began one of Mihika's favourite parts of Diwali.

Lighting diyas.

One by one, they placed diyas around the house.

Near the entrance.

Along the windows.

On the balcony.

Around the Rangoli.

Even on the staircase.

Soon, every corner of their home was glowing with warm little flames.

Mihika stood near the entrance and looked at everything.

The beautiful Rangoli.

The glowing diyas.

Her family laughing and talking.

The decorations.

The lights outside.

For a moment, she simply stood there and took it all in.

This was Diwali.

Her favourite festival.

And somehow, this year, it felt even more special.

Later that night, the family finally sat together for dinner.

Everyone enjoyed their favourite Diwali food.

And even though Mihika had spent most of the day fasting, she finally got to enjoy her favourite fruits and vrat-friendly food without worrying about anything else.

She looked around the table.

Everyone was happy.

Everyone was tired.

And everyone had that satisfied smile people get after a long festival day.

Mihika smiled too.

It had been a simple day.

No huge celebration.

No extravagant plans.

Just prayers, family, Rangoli, new clothes, countless pictures, glowing diyas and her favourite food.

But maybe that was what made it perfect.

She leaned back in her chair, feeling completely content.

Because sometimes, hope was all a person needed.

Happy Diwali. 🪔✨

_____

Author Aaru ❤️❤️❤️