It was as if her memories had sorted everything out. All the infractions, all the clumsy lies, the hotness that has no reason, the inquiries that were brushed off in the middle. But does Anita need to think so much? The Nate who is of her bed alone is vastly different from the Nate who shares the bed. And the one Anita loved, was not the first one. It had always been the second. From the beginning, it had always been the one who shared.

Suddenly, everything became very clear. Anita's mind had settled down. The sound of Nate's grief was like a remote chain of dynamite. She watched the destruction, felt the tremor, but was no longer affected by it.

She looked hesitantly up at Aniket's eyes. His eyes were the same as ever. Even, remote…always a little bit in pain.

He had grown so big, so rebellious and so full of vice. Like a man who grew the horns of a bull on his head. Nothing could ever move him but his own obstinacy and eccentricity.

But Anita still couldn't see him as anything but the enthusiastic and innocent teenager from when they first met.

So when Aniket saw that she wasn't going on and asked in a hoarse voice, 'Niti, don't you like my Maa?' Anita immediately hugged him tightly. She put his head on her shoulder and pat his back.

'Go clean your mom's studio and sort her things. You might want to pack some keepsakes to take.'

'Niti…Maa liked you.'

Anita's eyes became red. When Aniket says mom, he means one of his moms. When he says Maa, he means all three of them. So this child knew from the beginning what Nate did.

Anita sobbed twice on his shoulder and forced herself to comfort him. She kissed his cheek gently. 'I like your Maa too. Very much,' she said, sincerely.

Aniket gauged her expression for a few seconds. Satisfied, he took her by the elbow and strongly pulled her away.

'Nikki…Nate's all alone…No matter what, we should–'

'Niti, please leave Nate alone. Just for today.' Aniket turned around and told her genuinely, 'A man's grief is private.' He turned away and led her towards the studio wing. 'Niti, I know it would make things weird in the pod, but Nate is like a father to me. I would appreciate it if you let him grieve for my mothers. Just for one day.'

Anita didn't answer and the back in front of her didn't turn. Only the voice had a fake lightness in it. 'Three pots of grief to swallow in one day. Good lesson for him, huh Nits? Let's allow him…this one day?'

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Anita rubbed a tear that crawled out of her eye. She was wondering why this baby of hers suddenly became so sober. Turns out the baby wanted to protect dad.

Silly as Anita was, out of all emotions she must be feeling in a moment like this, she only felt pride. This was her child.

Her boy who suddenly grew up to be a man.

Anita rubbed that wide back in front of her and slowly emerged to look at his face. She rubbed the harsh eyebrows and tired eyes. This time, the drugs Aniket took were very potent. His body must be feeling very sensitive and uncomfortable in the aftermath. However, he only appeared as if he had a light headache.

'Why so serious, love? Timekeepers are polyamorous as a tribe. It is your father's freedom to be with whoever he pleases. I respect his decision.'

Of course, it is not as simple. But this is fact. And this is all the child needs to know.

This is how the event of the Russian doll was glossed over.

After his one day of eclipse, the sun emerged once more. Threw the rascal son in rehab.

He should be so lucky to be treated in a facility. In those days the pod Sun was highly influential and rich. The pod itself had a fully automated facility specialised for treating drug addicts. It also happened to be Aniket's permanent residence ever since he got caught doing drugs.

After Aniket got treated, the family of three went for a vacation. That is when the subject was broached again.

Aniket shook his head and refused to delve into the topic with the two of them. But just as women have signals, men have synchrony. Nate understood Aniket could not speak in front of Anita. The two of them went for a round of climbing in the woods. Nate asked him while hanging on a tall cliff with a rope.

'Nate…this thing will freak you out.'

'I think this is the maximum extent to which a doll can freak me out, Aniket.'

Aniket didn't speak. Nate also didn't ask. The two men continued climbing silently.

After a while Nate said to Aniket, 'Nikki, what happens if this cliff falls?'

'Why would the cliff fall?'

'Earthquake. Landslide. Anything…' Nate shrugged.

Aniket paused for a moment to guage Nate's intentions. He looked around the forest that was empty for leagues. He shrugged casually, 'Nothing much…Two men will die. A few parrots will lose their nests. The trees lose a bit of foliage.'

Nate jumped from one hand hold to another. 'I see. Couple of men, parrots, trees. So you see this hard and dignified cliff's existence that lasted for hundreds of years as only this much.'

Aniket was taught how to be a man by Nate. For a homeschooled kid like him, Nate was the one who brought him out of the womb and cocoon he was raised in. The one who showed the world to him.

And typically, a homeschooled kid like him knows when he runs into a trick question. But he had to bite. 'It is just a regular cliff. Nothing special…You and I…are somewhat special. And the parrots are colourful…well…it's a pity to lose their nests.'

'So you think animate objects are more special than the inanimate.'

'Living as opposed to the dead,' said Aniket.

'I see. So the cliff is unable to be classified as a life system. Therefore you are unable to see anything special about such a tall and mighty being coming down. Since you are a life system yourself, you can only see the perspective of other life systems.'

'Umm…' Aniket scratched his head and carefully lit a joint while hanging on the cliff without even a rope.

Nate smelled it and looked down. His eyes were dark, but he didn't say anything.

'Then what's your idea Nate? What happens if the cliff falls down?'

Nate went ahead and moved away a few paces. He couldn't stand the smell.

However, his tone and mood were not affected. He said in the same tone, 'I think, if the cliff falls down…Earth is one point away from the sun.'

Aniket chuckled and dragged. 'Typical wisdom from the master of the pod Sun.'

If Nate was a lazy reptile before, he suddenly changed into a furious cheetah. He climbed on all fours and quickly reached the top. He lay down and studied the patch of rock on Aniket's side. He held his breath and observed the druggie's path.

He said with nonchalance, 'There is always a higher perspective than where you are standing Nikki. As the famous Chinese saying goes, there is a mountain beyond mountain, there is a heaven beyond heaven.