John smiled. "Yeah, sure."

He got down on his knees, and Arya placed her hands on his shoulders, posing playfully. After taking the photo, Arya said, "Send it to Mumma."

He uploaded it to WhatsApp and saw she was online. He started a video call and handed the phone to Arya. Arya smiled widely and said, "Good morning, Mumma! You are looking brown."

Anvi frowned slightly and replied, "Yeah, going here and there made my skin tan. I forgot my sunscreen, too."

Arya reassured her, "Don't worry, you are still cute." She paused for a second before adding, "Mumma, Johnu shared a photo with you."

Anvi laughed in surprise. "Johnu! When did you two become so close?"

Arya immediately shifted closer to John and declared, "He is my friend, Johnu."

Anvi just smiled warmly. "Great! Arya, I'm a bit busy right now. I will call you later."

Arya kissed the screen and said, "Bye."

    She ended the call and handed the phone back to John. Suddenly, Arya noticed today's date on the phone screen and slapped her own forehead. "Oh no!"

John asked, "What happened, dear?"

"I forgot!"

John looked confused. "What did you forget?"

Arya ran towards the cupboard, grabbed a small towel, and said, "To clean Butterfree."

John was even more confused. "Butterfree? Who is Butterfree?"

Arya rolled her eyes playfully. "My goldfish, Johnu! My goldfish, Butterfree!"

John's confusion finally cleared. "Oh! The goldfish. Let's go."

    They both went into the living room. In the corner, sitting on a mini cupboard just below the wall-mounted TV, was a small fishbowl. The water was slightly murky, covering colorful tank stones, and a young goldfish swam lazily inside. Arya carefully picked up the bowl and carried it to the bathroom.

Arya grabbed a strainer from the kitchen and instructed, "Wait. Please take the fish out of the pot, Johnu."

John carefully poured some of the murky water from the bowl into a jug, placed the strainer over it, gently caught Butterfree, and dropped the fish safely into the jug.

Arya patted his back. "Well done! I will tell Mumma to increase your pay."

John laughed loudly. "Can I continue?" He poured out all the remaining water and asked, "What does Mumma use to clean the tank?"

Arya replied confidently, "Clinic Plus shampoo."

Hearing this, John burst out laughing. "Hair shampoo?!"

Arya frowned and scolded him. "Don't laugh! Fish pot bhaiya told us." She handed him two small sachets of shampoo, and John obediently scrubbed the bowl.

    For that entire moment, Arya became a tiny dictator, guiding her new friend Johnu. John loved every second of it—listening to her boss him around, telling him exactly what to do and what not to do. Once the fishbowl was finally sparkling clean, Arya went to the kitchen and brought back two mini bottles of chemicals: a chlorine remover and a blue solution.

John looked at them and asked, "What's this?"

Arya explained, "Before putting Butterfree back, Mumma and I always pour two lids of these."

John asked, "Which one should be poured first?"

She handed him the chlorine solution. "First."

John poured a few drops in, followed by the blue solution.

Arya nodded in approval. "Well done! Now take it out carefully."

John held the freshly prepped fishbowl while Arya carefully lifted the jug. She ordered him, "Take out the fish and drop it here." Finally, Butterfree splashed happily into its newly cleaned home.

    The forty-minute cleaning process was officially complete.

Arya let out a dramatic sigh. "I'm so tired, Johnu."

John raised an eyebrow, amused. "What work did you do?"

She stomped her foot indignantly. "Work I did? I was guiding you! Teaching you how to clean a fish pot! I got so tired."

John burst into laughter at her comment. Seeing him laugh, Arya started giggling too, and without even realizing it, she plopped right down onto his lap. John looked down at her, his heart swelling as he watched how beautiful she looked when she laughed, silently cherishing every second of the moment.