OS: Mamma

"My rashgulla is going to be neat and clean after his bath. He is going to smell goood…" Khushi cooed in her nine month old son's ears, as she shampooed his soft black hair, the foam dripping down the sides of his face.

"Ahh…" Arush flapped his tiny hands on the water excitedly, sitting inside his small baby tub and having his daily morning bath. As she cleaned his ears and neck, he giggled with the tickling effect as a result of it.

"My Jalebi loves this, doesn't he?" Khushi asked in an animated voice as she poured warm water down his head, shielding his eyes with her other hand, while he continued to play with the water, splashing it all over his mother's clothes. "You have become naughty, just like your father." She said pinching his nose and proceeding to lift him up from the tub.

And as usual, she received angry groans from his side as he protested leaving the tub. Unlike most of the babies, Arush loved playing with water and having bath and got really upset when it was time to go back to the room.

But after all the kicking and crying, Khushi finally managed to bring him back to the bed, wrapping up in his favorite yellow towel.

"Urghh… ja ja ba ba…" Arush continued to say something to her furiously making an angry yet cute face at his mother, while she patted him dry and applied baby powder all over his soft chubby body and made him wear his diaper.

"Buh buh buh!" Khushi replied to him, imitating his own language, bending forward to touch his forehead with hers and he instantly chuckled, reaching out to hold his mother's face. "What is my Arush talking? What does he want to say to his Mamma?" Khushi teased him, as she tickled his tummy with her lips and proceeded to nibble his tiny toes.

Arush instantly squealed with delight, kicking his legs into the air to stop the sweet torture on him.

"Now time for morning exercise." Khushi announced excitedly, grabbing his feet with her one hand as she bent it forward to touch his forehead.

"Ahh.." he groaned, as he found his own legs near his face.

"Very good." Khushi cheered him up as she proceeded to stretch his arms. "Arush is becoming strong, just like his Papa." She said, holding his arms to kiss his tiny palms.

And then came her favorite part of the routine. Dressing him up.

Leaving him on the bed, she walked towards the nearby cupboard and searched through the whole pile of his clothes. Finally resting her eyes on a dark blue romper, she picked it up and walked towards him. And like the past couple of weeks, she returned back to only find the yellow towel lying on the bed.

"Where is my Rashgulla? Where is my Arush? Who took him away?" she pretended to panic, as she searched everywhere for him on the bed. Within a few seconds, she heard a soft laughter escape from underneath the bath towel and Khushi tried to suppress her laughter wanting to continue playing this game. It had now become a part of their daily routine for Arush to hide under the bath towel when Khushi went to hunt for his clothes. The first day it had happened, Khushi had actually panicked a lot. But now, even she enjoyed playing it with him.

Slowly the towel moved an inch and from inside it, Arush peeked outside, only his hazel eyes visible and stretched out his one hand to tell her that he was there. But she pretended as if she didn't see him.

"Arush, where is my baby? Who took him?" she asked, looking everywhere else, except at him.

So he stealthily emerged out of the towel and called out for her. "Mamma!" he squealed with his tiny voice, waving his tiny palms at her and crawled hurriedly towards her.

"There is my baby!" Khushi said amusedly, opening her arms widely to receive him and like a good baby, he happily wore his clothes.

"And now, I'm going to eat you up." She said as he hugged her, wrapping his arms across her neck while she nibbled his soft ears while the room echoed with his laughter.

In return he gave her an open mouthed moist kiss on her cheek, as he silently rested his head on her shoulder, finding warmth and comfort in her. He kept playing with her ears, with her mangalsutra and her kameez and finally when he was tired, he dozed off on her shoulder, as she patted his back lovingly, humming a lullaby to put him to sleep.

After making sure that he was asleep, Khushi placed him back on his crib, pulling a blanket over him and placed his favorite soft toy beside him. She gazed at his angelic face that smiled as he slept peacefully and tears of happiness rolled down her eyes at this wonderful sight.

Two years ago, she would have never thought that someone would love her back so unconditionally. All throughout her life, she had loved everyone around her. But the fact was that no one had ever loved her back this much. A love so pure and eternal that it made her laugh and cry at the same time, overwhelmed with happiness.

Devi Maiyya had blessed her with Arush and filled that void in her life. And now, when she looked back at her nine month old son, she felt complete and satisfied with her life, with Arnav and Arush as part of her small happy world.