Meri nayee zindagi - finale page 39 - Page 29

PART 17

Priya sat down next to Ram and Riya with a small smile and leaned her head against Ram's shoulder. The sense of peace and contentment that she felt at that one moment made her eyes tear up again. Ram noticed this and not wanting Riya to see her mother cry in his arms, he hugged the two of them close ' so close that he could feel their collective breaths against his neck. The three of them stayed in that position for a long time 'Riya enjoyed having both her parents together for the first time and the adults were savoring their physical proximity after a 5 year long separation. Riya finally nodded off to sleep and Ram gently lay her down as Priya watched. As he tucked her into bed, he heard her soft snores and a beatific smile spread across his face. He looked up at Priya and said "So mere kharathe miss nahi kiye tumne???"

Priya looked at Ram and with tears in her eyes said "Kaise miss nahi karthi??? Itna miss kiya ki bhagvan ne soccha ' chalo is ladki ki ek maang toh poori kar sakte hai, uske beti ko de dethe hai yeh kharate." Both of them kept looking at each other with such intensity that one could feel it like it was a physical being in the room' just then Riya moved slightly and snuffling ever so slightly hugged her teddy bear and went back to sleep. At just that moment Apeksha came into the room and said "Priya main yahan pe hoon 'Riya ke saath, tum log jaoo."

Priya and Ram got up and went back to the drawing room where Vikram and Krishnaji were talking in soft tones. The minute they saw the two of them, Vikram smiled and said "Soo gayi baby doll?" Both Ram and Priya nodded in unison and looked at each other. The tension between them was palpable ' each wanted to talk but there was so much to say that they did not know what to address. Ram was the first to break the silence when he asked "Hum akele me baath kar sakthe kya Priya?" Priya looked up at him and knew that the time had come when the past had to be laid totally to rest. If they had to move forward, it could only be by facing the past and the mistakes committed ' even if they were in the name of love.

She looked at him and said "Mera apartment yahi paas me hain. Aap aayenge'" Why she did not want to speak in front of Vikram and Krishnaji was something Priya could not answer ' she just wanted to be alone 'all alone ' with Ram. She did not know how he would react to whatever she said, but she wanted him to say it to her alone' Ram thought for a minute and then nodded. He went up to his mother and told her "Main wapis aaoonga' mere gudiya ka khayal rakhna." Krishnaji gave him a hug and walked him to the door telling him "Ram , pehle uski baat suno'please" "Main bahut badal gaya hoon maa' sabr karna seekh liya hai." Priya closed her eyes and her memory flashed back to the horrific day in April five years ago when he had shouted at her and asked her to leave him, without listening to what she had to say and paying more attention to what his step mother had to say.

Priya breathed in a long breath and together they went the short distance to her apartment. Ram was silent the entire way and it was this silence that had Priya totally confused. On one hand she saw the silence as Ram's way of displaying patience and on the other she saw it as the calm before the storm' Once they arrived at the door, Priya turned on the lights and the first thing that caught his eyes was the wall of photographs ' all of him, in various times and places ' some even as recent as the last month when he had inaugurated the home for cancer patients. He had imagined this wall three years ago when Karuna had told him about it but to see that Priya had continued to build on that wall was something he had never ever considered. The wall was a physical manifestation of the love she had for him and also told him that she had never denied their daughter the knowledge of her father. He may have missed out on Riya's birth and toddler times but she knew her father ' always did and that he realized was the foundation of her love for him. Any smidgen of anger or resentment that may have lay deep in his heart dissolved at the way Priya had kept him close to her and their daughter. After what seemed an eternity to Priya, but was just a matter of minutes, Ram turned and said "I love you Priya, sirf tumhe pyaar kartha hoon' ab yeh past to chod ke kya tum mere saath agay badoogi?"

The need to talk had gone' all that was left for them was to feel the love that had kept them and their hopes alive.

Hope you'll enjoyed it... all comments are welcome.

This FF was possible only because of the encouragement of friends in the forum who egged me on when the going was not so good and also clapped for me when i produced something of quality. So to my dear friends in the Forum,

This is for you!!!

nandini