Part 3:
Preeta opened the school door and took a sleeping Sahil from Suman's arms.
Preeta: Arre Sumo, itni jaldi aa gayi? Pata hai, tabhi toh mein kahu ke CNN ke auction wale yahan kyun phone kar rahe the.
Suman took off Sahil's shoes while he slept on Preeta's shoulder: They called? Wonder why...
Preeta: Just five minutes ago. Great news! The auction raised a lot of money and I mean, a lot! Someone apparently gave 6 lakhs! Can you imagine!? Congrats hai yaar (she gave Sumo a big hug).
Sumo who was exhausted from the events of the night was too preoccupied to be thrilled. A donation that big was thrilling, but she could not muster up the energy or think too hard. Shravan and Aditi preoccupied her mind. That's why she had to leave under the pretext of Sahil's bedtime. Sumo could not sit there and watch the girl fuss over what she had once thought belong to her. Sumo had thought those feelings had died in her with time, but seeing Shravan again today...
Preeta: Kya baat hai? Tu khush nehi hai! Arre, 6 lakhs toh sirf ek donor se tha! Total was 20 lakhs! CNN will send a check tomorrow, they said. 20!
Sumo forced a smile: That is good news. We don't have to worry about the teacher's salaries or the annual costs for two years if things stay the same. That's good. Ja tu Sahil koh sula aa, I need to...I need a little time to rest.
Preeta went off with the little cub while Sumo stumbled into her bedroom at the end of the hall.
Little Rimmi was cowering in the middle of the bed with her doll. She looked tortured. Sumo rushed up and scooped Rimmi up with her doll.
Suman: Kya kua meri Rimmi-mimmi koh?
Rimmi sniffled: Night-m-mare. I s-sa-saw S-shahil took my doll.
It was that age of nightmares and getting scared out of bed for Rimmi. Sumo pushed aside her worries and concentrated on the little girl.
Suman hugged her closer and turned from side to side: Sahil was with me, how could he take your doll? It's right here, isn't it?
Rimmi: Simmi!
Suman: Sorry, right, Simmi is right here in your arms, isn't she?
Sumo talked the tot out of her possessive worries by taking her on a quick stroll around the garden. It was dark, which helped Rimmi nod off. She always had to sung the same song to be put back to sleep after a nightmare - Sumo's favorite song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M47WBRUbM8U).
That song put made Sumo reflect on her own life. How true that song was to her life. Zindegi kaha kaha se guzarte chali gayi.
Kaha ki Sumo kaha aa gayi, she thought. How she had imagined naively that Delhi's Sumo would spend her life trading love between Nanu and Shravan, and look now, neither of them were around and she was as alone as the day she was left on Nanu's porch.
Her first meeting with Shravan had put so much color in her young life, she thought with a sad smile. No, not color. Light, he lit up her lonely life.
Young Shravan: I will teach you how to solve this Rubrik's cube. First listen, a cube has 6 sides, so you have to think from all 6 angles. It's brilliant! That's why 6 is my lucky number.
Young Suman: Haan haan, Chashmish, I don't need you to teach me. Samajh geyi mein.
Young Shravan: No listen, 6 sides...6 processes of entry, 6 colors...
Sumo startled: And 6 lakhs...
She turned and rushed back in with the child in her arms as her song abruptly ended. Shravan took some instinctive steps forward.
No, not now. He could not go after her now. It was too late and the school was full of people.
He would rather watch her from afar. That's the most courage he could muster.
Sumo.
She was always his Sumo. Never Suman Ahuja...
Hope bloomed in his heart again, he felt a pulse in himself after a long long time. Shravan took a deep, soothing breath after 4 years.
And how had he returned her faith? Something inside him reminded him how he had repaid her for her years of devotion. It tightened his lungs again.
Thoughts?
Edited by Marybarton - 9 years ago
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
Hindi TV Shows
