The FactFiction

She gave a quick glance at her watch.

"It's really late", she mumbled. "Good thing pravesh will not be home anytime soon."

Aanya, happily married to Pravesh was head of many projects in a multinational companies. More often than not she had to stay back late. Pravesh headed marketing department in another multinational and that kept him on road atleast once a month for few days. They have been married for four years now but she had been unable to conceive. But Pravesh, unlike many husbands never let it lay on her. their love, if anything, have only increased in these years. He was due coming home tonight after a five day trip. She wanted to be home before he comes, and thanks to God she will. Pravesh called her up to tell her he will be a bit late.

She mumbled something again and filed everything. She put away everything, collected her belongings and started walking to the lift.

Tak tak tak, her stilettos made noises that sounded horrifying in the deadly silent and deserted corridor. She made a mental note of getting a new pair. As soon as she moved her fingers to push open the button, the power went out. She panicked.

"Watchman, watchman." she screamed at the top of her voice. No replies came, only the echo of her own voice. She was petrified. She felt her heart throbbing hard, her breath stuck in her throat and her limbs swelling. Suddenly a flame flickered near her, a flame from lighter. She thought it must be the watchman. She turned her neck to talk to him.

"Pravesh ", she exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes love, I know dark scares you. So, I came to rescue you."

"You are always my knight in shining armor, aren't you?" She smiled.

"Come let's sit for a while." He pulled her to sit on the stares.

She took out her mobile and turned the torch on.

"But you were supposed to come late. How come you are here? How did you know I was here? You have been playing games with me haan?"

"Breath lady, breath. No games here alright. Nothing can keep me away from you. Just always remember that."

"Pravesh let's go home na. Let's freshen up and we can talk there."

"Can't love. I don't have that much time."

"What do you mean by don't have that much time? you just came. Is it another assignment?"

After a brief pause he said, "Sort of yes, a really long one."

"That's not fair."

"I know, but there is so much that is not fair."

"You behaving strangely. Is everything okay?"

"Aanya, there is so much I want to say to you."

"Am all ears baby."

"You know I love you right, with all my heart and soul."

She looked at him strangely, "Yes".

"And you know I will always be there for you, if not in body, in mind and soul and heart."

She got a bad feeling about this, "Pravesh, what's going on?"

"Nothing, just being away from you for so long gets me all worked up."

She smiled, slipped closer, puts her head on his shoulder, "I know, it's the same for me. When will you be back."

"I don't know."

She sighed.

"Aanya, If I ever leave you, I want you to start afresh, I want you to take your life from a whole new beginning."

"Pravesh, don't talk like that. You are giving me creeps. I know you will never leave me."

He hugged her tight. They sat there for another hour talking about them both, walking down the memory lane that has been full of their ever growing love. They laughed, they cried, they made promises.

"Aanya, it's about time. I have to leave now."

"Can't you stay for a day and then leave?"

"I wish I could stay forever love, but I can't. It's not in my hand."

He held her close and kissed her tenderly. As soon as he walked down the stairs, the power came. Blinded by the sudden light, it took her few minutes to adjust her eyes. When she glanced back at stairs, Pravesh was long gone. A sense of emptiness filled her. She pressed the button to call for lift. The moment she got off the life, her phone rang.

"Hello"

"Aanya seth?"

"Speaking"

"Ma'am I am highway police patrolling officer. There had been a car accident. The papers said it belongs to some mr. Pravesh seth."

"What? That's my husband's car."

"Yes ma'am, there is a dead body inside. the identity cards says his name is Pravesh seth."

"What rubbish? He was with me till a while ago."

"Ma'am we have been trying to call you since an hour. But your number was continuously unreacheable."

"Yes, I was still in my office. It has some network issues."

"Ma'am we are at the city hospital, could you just come in for identification."

"Yes, but I am sure that man is not my husband. I will just drop by to confirm."

"Okay, thanyou mrs. seth"

Her head spun. How could that be. Pravesh was with her few moments ago. There had to be a terrible mistake. She put her foot on accelerator and reached hospital. She wanted to be over with it soon. There were two officers at the reception. They took her to morgue for identification. She fainted as soon as they took off the cloth from his face. It was Pravesh. Her mind went blank. Suddenly everything he said made sense to her. he had come to her to say his final goodbye.


This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.
 

"Nilay, it's bed time baby."

"Mom, it's bed time story time baby."

He giggled at his own humor, even Tara could not stop herself from laughing.

"Someone's getting naughty these days."

She hugged her tight and they fell down in bed laughing still.

"Mom, tell me the story of birds na."

"mmmm... okay."

She tucked him safely in bed, dimmed the light, got beside him and started the story.

"hmmm, listen. Once upon a time, there was a dense and beautiful forest. In that forest lived many pretty birds. They were happy together. They used to go food hunting together, they always played together and always helped each other. There was one very old and matured bird who used to guide them. The old bird always taught them that there are hunters out there, who sets the trap to catch beautiful birds."

"Mom, why hunter catches birds?

"The hunter catches beautiful birds to sell them to rich people who like keeping caged birds."

"But that's bad na mamma."

"Yes baby. There are many bad things in the world."

After pondering over these new found information he asked her mom to continue with the story.

"One day, the birds flew miles and miles to find food, but they did not find enough. On their way to return they saw a large quantity of grains scattered over the ground. They decided to get those grains. One bird among them said it could be the hunter. But others ignored saying how will a hunter come to such dense forest. And they dived in to get the grains."

Tara gave a dramatic pause. She always cherished the way her son's eyes would widen and how he gets eager to get the end of the story. He whispered,

"What happened then mamma?"

"As the birds tried to fly after picking the grains, they realized they were stuck. It was a trap, a trap set by hunters to catch the birds. He put the birds in cages and took them to market. The birds were crying but there was no one to listen to them."

He gasped in fear and surprise. She continued:

"So, the moral of the story is who doesn't listen to elders, suffers."

"But I always listen to you na mom."

"yes baby. You are such a good boy."

She stayed by his side until she heard him breathing heavy in sleep. She kissed his forehead and walked out of the room closing the door softly behind her. She wasn't sleepy at all so she made some coffee and sat at the table. Nilay was the light of her life, in fact the only light in her life. Though fourteen years old physically, he was still a seven year old mentally. He was a darling, an easy going boy. But the world outside isn't so easy. So, she has always kept him hidden from the world. The moral of the story she just told Nilay rang in her ears like bells.

"If only I had listen to my parents." She sighed.

At 21, she was enthusiastic, full of beliefs, love and romance. And when she fell in love, she fought for it with the world, just like she has always read in mills and boons. It was later that she realized life is not a romantic tale with happy ever afters. Her parents kept warning her about the man she fell for but never payed a heed. They scolded her and even threatened her. But she was determined. He promised her marriage and when she got pregnant, tortured her, hurt her, tormented her, but never married her. He left her alone when she was in her seventh month. She did not know whether to be happy or sad. She had no way to go back to her parents. She knew they would never have let her keep Nilay. She worked hard to earn for both of them. It was at the age of three when she found out that his brain was not growing as fast as it should. She was broken, shattered, but she gathered herself up for the sake of them both. She decided to give every possible therapy a chance. She fought and lost and geared up to fight again. She has come a long way now. She does not regret having Nilay, but at times she wonders what if she had listen to her parents back then.


This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.