Keeping Khushi Thread 12 Part 121 (Last ) Page 126 - Page 56

Beautiful..

Beautiful update...loved the interaction between khushi and children from Omkar...arnav and khushi changing their babies diaper scene was very cute...

Part 118

Smita,😊

Here is my interpretation for Part 118.

The affirmation, assertion, support, rain or shine, certainity are what make this enchanting update. It is also a trip down the memory lane... ASSURANCE...

"Thank you...", Khushi whispered to Arnav as he lay by her at night.

"For what?", Arnav whispered back.

"For naming our baby after my A.. Amma."

"Gratitude is medicine for a heart devastated by tragedy. If you can only be thankful for the blue sky, then do so" ~ Richelle E. Goodrich

Arnav swallowed. His fingers caressed her scalp through her silky hair, comforting her.

After a while, he said, almost to himself. "She was there... with us... in the hospital."

Khushi looked at him, her eyes wet.

"How could she leave you to face so much pain alone?", he murmured.

"In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths"

Khushi buried her face in his neck as tears wet his white T-shirt. Her fingers clutched his shoulders tight.

'"Things will get better. I promise." ... say it. because sometimes the best gifts you can give a person are comfort and hope'

The children from Omkar came to see Gouri the next day. The children hung over the cradle, cooing over the baby, touching her little fingers and her soft cheeks with wonder.

"How soft and fresh she breathes!

Look! She is dreaming!

Visions sure of joy

Are gladdening her rest;

and, ah! who knows

But waiting angels do converse in sleep,

With babes like this!"

~ Bishop Coxe

"She is so small, Di!", exclaimed Raju.

All laughed.

Khushi patted his cheek, and said, "You were so tiny too, once upon a time."

All the children looked at his lanky, tall figure in astonishment.

Simi, who was seeing the baby by touching her, said, "Imagine trying to fit Raju Bhai into the cradle now!"

"What is it about childhood that never lets you go, even when you're so wrecked it's hard to believe you ever were a child?" ~ Mitch Albom, For One More Day

All laughed.

Nidhi raised a pertinent problem. "What will she call me?"

Khushi laughed. Arnav smiled, looking up from his laptop.

"Di. She will call you Di.", Khushi said.

Nidhi smiled. "And I will call her...", she thought seriously. "I will call her Chutki."

"Children see magic because they look for it"

~ Christopher Moore

Khushi lifted Gouri from the cradle, and after cuddling her for some time, placed her on the bed.

As the children were leaving, Chandni asked Khushi, "Di Amma, were we all so small once?"

"Haan.", Khushi smiled.

"Well, one can't get over the habit of being a liitle girl all at once" ~ L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

Chandni hesitated. Khushi smiled at her, and cupped her cheeks in her hands.

"And I looked after all of you just as I am looking after Gouri now.", Khushi reassured her.

"There really are places in the heart you don't even know exist until you love a child" ~ Anne Lamott

Chandni looked at Gouri.

"You wouldn't sleep at night. And Baba & I would carry you around for most of the night, telling you stories, singing to you..."

"Really?", Chandni was amazed.

"Really.", Khushi smiled.

"Was I any trouble, Di Amma?", Simi asked.

"All that children need is love, a grown-up to take responsibility for them, and a soft place to land"

~ Deborah Harkness, A Discovery of Witches

Khushi hugged her. "You were never any trouble. Never. All I had to do was sing to you, and you would fall asleep."

"And me, Khushi Di?", Asha asked.

"You wouldn't eat anything. I used to show you the pictures in comics to make you eat."

"Childhood is the one story that stands by itself in every soul" ~ Ivan Doig, The Whistling Season

"And me, Di?"

"And me, Di?"

"And me, Di?"

The children kept on asking about their childhood, laughing at the events narrated by Khushi.

"Every child is a different kind of flower, and all together, they make this world a beautiful garden"

Arnav's eyes were on the screen of his laptop, but his sharp ears lapped up the stories and the laughter, enjoying the infectious joy of the children. He was getting a clear picture of the life in the orphanage, and the pivotal role Khushi had played in holding it together.

"Children needed love, a reliable source of comfort, and an adult willing to take responsibility for them" ~ Deborah Harkness, Shadow of Night

She was the storehouse of the past of the children, their infancy, their childhood, their good and bad memories... Khushi & Baba were to be commended. Not because they ran an orphanage, but because they ran an orphanage like a home.

"If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle" ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Mami came prancing into the room. "Tan-ta-Naan...'Lend me your iajjz (ears), dear brothers and sisters! Lunch is ready! Chalo, chalo..."

"Accept the children the way we accept trees... with gratitude, because they are a blessing... but do not have expectations or desires. You don't expect trees to change, you love them as they are"

~ Isabel Allende

She herded the children out to the dining room where Nani, Payal, Aarti, Amma, Gopi Kakka, & HP were waiting to serve them. They left Khushi & Arnav Bhaiyya reluctantly, taking peeks at Gouri, dropping kisses on her cheeks, forehead, arms & legs.

"Nothing you do for children is ever wasted"

~ Garrison Keillor, Leaving Home

A foul smell wafted on the air.

Arnav raised his eyebrows in astonishment, looking around to locate the source of the stink.

As he watched, Khushi smiled and picked up Gouri, intending to change her diaper.

"The stink... It is coming from her?", Arnav asked.

Khushi laughed & nodded. "I am going to change her diaper."

Arnav stood up, his feet taking him to the changing table.

As he watched, Khushi undid the diaper. Arnav blenched.

"Kyon, Brave Papa? Want to help me?", Khushi teased.

"Love can change a person the way a parent can change a baby- awkwardly, and often with a great deal of mess" ~ Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid

Arnav nodded, his lips held in a straight line.

"Don't tell me Arnav Singh Raizada is scared of changing his daughter's soiled diaper.", Khushi teased him.

Arnav cleared his throat. "Of course not." He came close to them to help Khushi discard the dirty diaper & dress, clean Gauri, powder her, & fasten the fresh diaper on her.

"Changing a baby's diaper is like laughter. It doesn't permanently solve any problems, but it makes things more acceptable for a while"

The baby looked adorable, all clean & smelling of baby powder and milk.

Arnav touched the little fingers gently, in wonder. To his shock, the fingers curled around his digit, latching on with astonishing strength.

"When I approach a child,

He inspires me in two sentiments:

Tenderness for what he is,

And respect for what he may become"

~ Louis Pasteur

Arnav Singh Raizada stood staring at his daughter. Her lips twisted gently as though smiling at him and saying, "Managed to surprise you, eh?"

"Ten fingers, Ten toes She's laughter and teardrops So small and brand new And amazingly angelic. She's sent to bless you. She's one special Baby. The best of life's treasure And will grant and bless you. Many hours of great pleasure"

This update starts with Khushi thanking her husband at night, for naming their daughter after her mother. He knew how much she had missed the love, solace that only a mother can give! He comforted her saying her presence was always with them at the hospital and she was the guiding force behind them.

"We often retreat to the comfort of our own internal dialogue" ~ Brandon A. Trean

Hearing these soothing words Khushi had tears pouring down her cheeks wetting his T-shirt.

"Releasing the pressure, it's good for the teapot and the water" ~ Jeb Dickerson

Next day, was the day the children from Omkar visited RM to see Gouri, their Khushi Di and Arnav Bhaiyya's daughter. They were mesmerized by the small infant. They loved touching her soft skin, tiny digits and were delighted to be able to be with her.

When Raju exclaimed that she is a tiny thing, Khushi lovingly told him that he too was of same size once upon a time. Children around him looked at his tall lanky frame and were unable to imagine him as a baby! Simi voiced out their thoughts as she tried to imagine Raju Bhai fitting into a cradle making all laugh their belly out!

"So was I once myself a swinger of birches.

And so I dream of going back to be"

~ Robert Frost

Then Nidhi asked Khushi what will the baby call her, making both Khushi and Arnav smile! When she was told that she would be given the privilege of being called Di she was all smiles and thinking for a moment, told that she will call her Chutki.

"Everything is ceremony in the wild garden of childhood" ~ Pablo Neruda

This shows how well Gouri is accepted by these kids and moreover how much they adore Khushi, whom they address as Di or Di Amma.

Khushi lifting Gouri from the cradle cuddled her before placing her on the bed.

"From the moment they placed you in my arms, you snuggled right into my heart"

As the children were about to leave, Chandni asked Khushi whether all of them were small like Gouri?

"Di Amma, were we all so small once?"

"Childhood like sunsets, are viewed with wonder not just because they are beautiful but because they are fleeting" ~ Richard Paul Evans, The Gift

When Khushi said yes, she found Chandini undecided about asking further. She told her that she had looked after all of them the same way she is looking after Gouri. Khushi had realized the feeling of insecurity in Chandini. Setting out to reassure her that she was also loved as much as Gouri is being loved now, she continued,

"You wouldn't sleep at night. And Baba & I would carry you around for most of the night, telling you stories, singing to you..."

Chandini was amazed to know it.

"When you are a child you are yourself and you know and see everything prophetically"

~ Jean Rhys, After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie

Then Simi asked her whether she gave her any trouble when she was small? Hugging her Khushi answered,

"You were never any trouble. Never. All I had to do was sing to you, and you would fall asleep."

"The ground was silvery, as if some stars had fallen there" ~ Heather O'Neill

When Asha asked her next Khushi who remembered how each child was said,

"You wouldn't eat anything. I used to show you the pictures in comics to make you eat."

This set off all the children to know how they were as an infant! Khushi gave them an account of their individual trait as well as incidents involving them. This entertained them to no end.

"There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again" ~ Elizabeth Lawrence

Arnav who was working there, was listening to her narration, though his eyes were on his laptop screen. He was being given a clear picture of the role, that Khushi and Baba had in their lives. It was a stupendous job for a girl, who herself was really not physically fully fit. But she had taken it up along with Baba, and had done a commendable job. It was commendable for running their orphanage along the lines of a home and not an institution. Each child was given the parental care, guidance and love with a disciplined life.

"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each one of us has cause for deep gratitude to those who have lit this flame within us"

Then Mami came and asked them all to go down for their lunch, in her inimitable way.

"Tan-ta-Naan... Lend me your iajjz (ears), dear brothers and sisters! Lunch is ready! Chalo, chalo.."

They were reluctant to go but Mami herded them

to the dining room where the rest of the family were waiting for them to serve their food.

Meanwhile Arnav felt a foul smell wafting in the room. Surprised, he tried to locate the source. He saw Khushi lifting Gouri and taking her to the changing table. That's when he realized where the smell was emanating from. When Khushi confirmed his deduction, he went near her to observe. When she undid the diaper he blenched seeing the mess, but hearing Khushi's teasing,

"Kyon, Brave Papa? Want to help me? Don't tell me Arnav Singh Raizada is scared of changing his daughter's soiled diaper"

he braved to help and he did it too!

"A babe in the house

is a well-spring of pleasure,

a messenger of

peace and love,

a resting place for

innocence on earth,

a link between

angels and men"

~ Martin Fraquhar Tupper

Once cleaned, the baby smelt sweet of talc and milk. Arnav adoring his daughter touched the little fingers gently. He was shocked to find the puny fingers coil itself around his fingers in a firm grip as though not to let it go any time. While the amazed dad stood staring, the baby gave its pretty smile as though conveying, "Surprised! Watch out! More in the offing!!"

"It is the nature of babies to be in bliss" ~ Deepak Chopra

"A little girl and a father were crossing a bridge...

The father was kind of scared so he asked his daughter, 'Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall into the river.'

The little girl said, 'No, Dad. You hold my hand'

'What's the difference,' asked the puzzled father.

'There is a big difference,' replied the little girl,

'If I hold your hand and something happens to me,

chances are that I may let your hand go.

But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that

no matter what happens,

you will never let my hand go'"

We have Arnav assuring Khushi of her mother's presence with them and being her guardian angel when in pain.

We see the kids of Omkar, Chandni seeking assurance from Khushi of her love, Simi the affirmation of not being a trouble, Asha about her childhood habits and so on.

Then we have Arnav's support to Khushi in rearing their child. His attitude, come rain or shine I am with you, beside you and by you. He helps her in changing diaper without cringing.

Finally it's the GASR! A chip of the old block! She sought assurance from her Papa of being with her by touching and gave him the affirmation by gripping that she would not let go of him easily!

When he was gazing at her she too gazed at him making him realize things with stunning clarity.

"I look at you and you look at me and that's when I realize the best things in life are free"

Aaha!! ...ASSURANCE...

That's it from me. Hope you enjoy it!

Welcome gouri arnav Singh raizada :-)
Read two parts now!!!
They were awesome!!
The bond that kushi shares with all the children of omkar is really great :-)
You are great to write a master piece of a story!!!!

Such a sweet update , khushi and her strong bond with all the children was really nice
Thanx for the update

the adorable little family

awww...that was so cute...love all the children of omkar...they all are so sweet...khushi is a mother to them in the real sense..

I just loved this part !!! muah

aww the children were asking khushi of their childhood
and she told them how they were and all
well of course she has to be changed dude
she is a baby she cant do it herself yet
wow gouri is gonna be everyone pet for sure
till the other siblings come along right
what a family they are right