Strangers- Complete FF - Pages 136 to 139 - Page 95

Originally posted by: MichiDespo

Opti i think u and munee r on some competition to make us cry.

Just read the iv part of the epilogue..
Oh God Alap is such a creep..when you mentioned tht you would tell what happened to Alaap in the epilogue..i somehow felt tht he would blackmail which would make Michi tell sahana the truth...but never expected him to tell Sahana the half baked truths..
Poor Michi they were preparing how to tell the sensitive news and bam tht creep already did a nasty job...
Poor Sahana she comes to knw the biggest truth of her life in such a way..I dnt knw why i feel nervous abt what Sahana would think abt Prachi with the way alaap had potrayed her mother's character in the letter...hope Michi be able to explain her the truth and she can understand it..

Feel bad for all of them especially Sahana..though im sure Michi will handle her well..

B/w loved the first part..Prachi admiring her hubby..and Milind telling his gray hair as strands of wisdom..and tht his love for her is evergreen..

Even though i feel bad for Neev ..i feel happy tht he has got such a understanding wife...

some how when i read this update it kind of reminded me of this tamil movie Kannathil Muthamittal where the parents break their news to their 8 yr or 10 yr old daughter on her b'day tht she was adopted..

Waiting for the last part of the epilogue..
I guess you could have started a sequel for this just to handle this issue..im glad u divided into so many parts..else it would b difficult to cover such a sensitive issue just in 1 update..

Once again a beautiful update Opti..Hope to see a happy Michi family in the end..& also Alaap rots in the jail...

Originally posted by: --BC--

Oh no, Opti, how do you come up with such dreadful destructive Alaaps. 😭 That poor child. Hopefully she realises how strong Milind's love is for her. Glad Neev is happy and settled. Boy did he luck out with Neha. Caring, understanding and looks like Katrina Kaif! Waiting for the happy conclusion. 😊

Originally posted by: madhavi_v

Just read the iv part of the epilogue..
Oh God Alap is such a creep..when you mentioned tht you would tell what happened to Alaap in the epilogue..i somehow felt tht he would blackmail which would make Michi tell sahana the truth...but never expected him to tell Sahana the half baked truths..

Finally there is one person who anticipated Alaap's actions! Good. Yes, he is the main villian of my story and it would be surprising if he does not do his villany at the end. As to his lies, that was his sadistic way of getting back at his sister who according to him left him penniless for if she had married that widower, his financial problems would have been solved.

Poor Michi they were preparing how to tell the sensitive news and bam tht creep already did a nasty job...

Yes, Michi knew that the matter required sensitive handling and took their time telling her but unfortunately the guy beat them to it and what a job he did!

Poor Sahana she comes to knw the biggest truth of her life in such a way..I dnt knw why i feel nervous abt what Sahana would think abt Prachi with the way alaap had potrayed her mother's character in the letter...hope Michi be able to explain her the truth and she can understand it..

She will definitely misunderstand her mother but things will work out because of Milind.

Feel bad for all of them especially Sahana..though im sure Michi will handle her well..

Yes, they will.

B/w loved the first part..Prachi admiring her hubby..and Milind telling his gray hair as strands of wisdom..and tht his love for her is evergreen..

Thanks. Finally someone who noticed and commented about the happy part of this update! It always happens when there is an emotional or shocking update I try to balance it by giving some happy parts but nobody comments on them, absorbed as they are with the more striking emotional bit .😭

Even though i feel bad for Neev ..i feel happy tht he has got such a understanding wife...

Yes, his wife is the biggest boon to him. He couldn't have asked for better.

some how when i read this update it kind of reminded me of this tamil movie Kannathil Muthamittal where the parents break their news to their 8 yr or 10 yr old daughter on her b'day tht she was adopted..

It did not strike me! Yes, that movie was very touching. The girl then insists in meeting her real mother who is a LTTE activist, isn't it? I especially liked the part where Madhavan wants to adopt the girl and insists that the goirl he marries should be willing to accept that baby.

Waiting for the last part of the epilogue..
I guess you could have started a sequel for this just to handle this issue..im glad u divided into so many parts..else it would b difficult to cover such a sensitive issue just in 1 update..

Yes, I should have started a sequel with the parts in the epilogue. It is ridiculous to have an epilogue which is running into five parts! Even I did not realise it will get so long but when I started to write I realised that I cannot rush through such a sensitive issue. So I decided to go slow and cover the details.

Once again a beautiful update Opti..Hope to see a happy Michi family in the end..& also Alaap rots in the jail...

Thanks Madhavi. You'll get your wish fulfilled after some more drama. OIn any case the next update will definitely be the last one.

Originally posted by: Mi*chi*

Very sad part Opti.Poor Sahana shocked and upset. Alaap is so wicked and evil man.Hope Milind will deal with him well and proper.Alaap should be sent to jail.

Originally posted by: Opti

It did not strike me! Yes, that movie was very touching. The girl then insists in meeting her real mother who is a LTTE activist, isn't it? I especially liked the part where Madhavan wants to adopt the girl and insists that the goirl he marries should be willing to accept that baby.

Epilogue (Final Part)

On leaving her house, Sahana had got on to her bicycle and peddled as fast as she could. She reached her haven in fifteen minutes. It was a small secluded mound not very far from her house. It was where she went whenever she wanted to be on her own and think. Tonight of all nights she wanted to be on her own but she did not want to think. She just wanted to blight all memories of her life for they were filled with images of the two most important people in her life, her Papa and her Mama. Today she felt let down by both the people she had reposed all her faith and trust. She did not care that it was nearly eleven in the night and she was the sole person in that desolate place which was dimly lit. All she cared was that she got the much needed air to breathe, for in her own house she felt suffocated. She sat on the green grass and pulling her legs up, she buried her head between her knees and wept bitterly.

Meanwhile, Milind and Prachi got into their car and Milind started the engine.

"Where could she have gone?" asked Prachi

"I know where she would have gone," Milind said without elaborating further. He knew his daughter's secret getaway. He had followed her there several times but always stood at a distance so that she felt she was on her own. He always kept a watchful eye over her though.

When they reached the spot, he saw her bicycle lying at the bottom of the little mound. He parked his car and together with Prachi he climbed up. Even before they reached up they could clearly hear her heart wrenching loud sobs tearing the quiet of the night. His heart went out to his daughter. In the past he never intruded into her private space but tonight he had to, if only to stop the unbearable sobs. Prachi followed him silently, her own heart heavy with grief and despair. As soon as they spotted her, Milind rushed to his daughter and sat down beside her. He then gently laid his hand on her shoulder. She jerked her head up and seeing him, her eyes opened wide in surprise. How did he know her secret place, she wondered. She shrugged his hand off her shoulder and yelled.

"Please leave me alone. Have you not done enough?"

"What have I done, darling?" asked Milind in a pained voice.

She did not respond for she felt ashamed to say that he lusted after her mother. All said and done she had called him Papa till now. She cannot speak so derogatorily to him.

"Sahana, your Papa is not at fault. I am," Prachi tried to intervene.

Sahana turned to her mother and looked at her with flaming eyes, "Yes, you are. You are the one who ditched your boyfriend on your wedding day and forced another man to father your child," she spat out.

"Sahana!" For the first time in his life he raised his voice at his daughter. "Is this the way to speak to your mother?" If there was one thing he could not stand, it was anyone accusing his Prachi of immorality.

"Milind, please!" implored Prachi, a hand on his arm before he flew off the handle.

Milind soon realised it was futile to yell at his daughter. He can't fault her, for she has been fed lies by that snake Alaap. She wasn't thinking clearly. After all she was just sixteen years old, not old enough to discern truth from lies. She was at an age when one is super sensitive and hot blooded. He has to give her a wide margin.

He ran his hands through his hair and asked her in a more subdued tone, "Sahana, I have given you 16 years of my life. Will you give me 16 minutes of your time and hear me out before you pass your judgement on your mother?" His voice and eyes betrayed the pain and hurt he was feeling which Sahana could not ignore. She silently nodded her head.

He then continued, "Most of us look up to our parents and treat them like demi-Gods but we fail to realise that they are human too. Our expectations from them are high and when we realise that they have failed in some respect we are more unforgiving of them than we would of any other relative or friend because we feel that parents are supposed to set examples for us to follow. But then nobody is born a parent. A parent was also once a teenager and went through all the confusions and temptations of one. Some fall prey to it but some survive and come out unscathed. Your mother committed a mistake, one she never ceased to repent. She gave into the weakness of the flesh and conceived you. You can pass your judgement on her based on that single fact but do you realise what her life was before she got into this entanglement?"

Sahana looked at her father questioningly. Milind turned to Prachi and silently apologised with his eyes for what he was about to do. Prachi knew that her old wounds would be reopened but if in the process her daughter's emotional wounds are healed, she would be more than grateful. She nodded her head to give her approval.

Milind then went on to give a complete account of Prachi's life before he met her, right from the fact that she was an illegitimate child to the miserable life she led in her own house after her mother's death. When he recounted the torture she was subjected to by her step-mother and her brother, Sahana's eyes widened with shock and filled up with tears.

"You believed what your uncle wrote about your mother. But did you know that this very same uncle tried to molest your mother when she was just fourteen and that he was locked up in a juvenile delinquents home for it? Now the guy has the audacity to talk morality," he said between gritted teeth.

Sahana felt nauseous just hearing about this dark part of her mother's life. Her revulsion for this unseen uncle kept growing. She turned to look at her mother who sat crumbled next to her, weeping silently. Her heart went out to her mother.

Milind continued, "Yes, your mother absconded from her wedding but the scheduled wedding was not with your biological father, as your uncle would like you to believe. It was with an old widower who was more than twice her age. She tried to escape so that she could wed your natural father. Unfortunately here too it was your uncle and his accomplices who ruined everything. They beat up your father and got him bed ridden for six months. In the meantime they made your mother believe that your father had ditched her."

Prachi intervened here and said in an emotional voice, "I was all set to take away my life, unable to face the prospect of raising you fatherless. If it had not been for your Papa, we would not be around now. We both owe our lives to him."

She then told her how Milind saved her, took her to his house and later married her inorder to give an identity to a child he did not even father.

Milind hastened to add, "Well, I have to admit I was not totally selfless in marrying your Mama. It suited me fine because I wanted to perpetuate a lie I told my father."

Seeing his daughter's surprised expression he nodded his head. "Yes, Sahana. Your Papa is flawed too. I was an incorrigible liar. But believe me darling, whatever I am telling you now is the truth and nothing but the truth."

Prachi continued, "Your Papa may have had his reasons for marrying me but darling he had fallen in love with you long before you even arrived in this world. He modified his entire life for you, giving up on his freedom to spend more time with you. Did you know that your Papa even brought you into this world single-handedly?"

Prachi then described how she could not go to the hospital due to a curfew and Milind helped deliver her baby. Sahana looked at her father in amazement on hearing this.

"After all this, do you still believe your uncle's words that your father does not love you? Let me tell you something. Why do you think there is a six-year age gap between you and Ishan? It is because it took me five years to convince your Papa that his love for you will not diminish or be divided if he has another baby. In fact, love can only multiply when shared. So you see, your Papa loved you so much that he was willing to give up having a child which was genetically his in the fear that his attention on you will be lessened."

Sahana was moved to tears hearing about her Papa's love and the sacrifices he made for them. She could not have dreamed of having a more loving set of parents than she already had and she had hurt them by even doubting their love. She flung her arms around both of them and hugged them tight.

"I love you Papa. I love you Mama. Please forgive me for being so harsh in judging you," she cried, whimpering loudly.

"Sh....sh..." Milind patted his daughter's back soothingly. "Darling. You needn't ask for forgiveness. It is we who should ask yours for not being the perfect parents that you so deserve to have. We should have told you everything. In fact we were planning to tell you the truth tonight but that sadistic uncle of yours beat us to it and that too filled your head with all those grotesque lies."

"But still Papa, I believed the lies told by a stranger whom I had never met without thinking how they can be true. I have witnessed nothing but love in all my sixteen years of existence and yet I suspected that love."

"Darling, don't be so hard on yourself. You only behaved the way any teenager would have behaved, hearing such horrible things about her parents," Milind assured her and kissed the top of her head.

Sahana lifted her eyes and saw the love and understanding reflected in her father's eyes. She kissed his bearded cheek and said that she was lucky to have such a wonderful Papa, the best in this whole wide world. She then turned to Prachi and kissing her chubby cheek she said, "Mama, I am sorry you went through hell. I cannot even imagine what your life must have been like. I have been privileged to have such lovely parents like you unlike you who did not have a real family. I hope I could do something to alleviate your pain."

"You have, baby. You have more than compensated for everything I went through. The minute I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were worth all the trouble. I am very sorry darling, I nearly punished you for my sins by trying to take away my life," Prachi's eyes started streaming thinking about that fateful day. Milind wiped his wife's eyes and asked her to forgive herself first.

Turning to his daughter he said, "We are not exemplary examples to follow darling but I guess you can learn from us what you should not do. Your mother's pre-marital relations very nearly cost her life and yours as well. The lies I told my Baba cost me my freedom and deprived me of my cherished bachelorhood, not that I am complaining. I guess that marrying your Mama may have been the best spur of the moment decision I took. Both of you are like my two eyes. I can't imagine a life without you. You are my special baby, Sahana, because you brought together two strangers."

He then got up and with both his arms he yanked his daughter and wife up simultaneously. "Come on, it is getting late. Neev and Neha will be worried."

At the mention of Neev's name Sahana's face fell. Milind was quick to notice the change in his daughter's expression. He did not say anything immediately. He shoved the bicycle in the car's trunk and got into the car. Prachi asked Sahana to sit in the front next to her Papa and Sahana gladly agreed.

On the drive back home, Milind slowly broached the topic of Neev again. "Darling, Your natural father is not at fault, darling. He was as much a victim of circumstances as we were. He loved your mother very much. Yes, he should have waited till they wedded before he...(he did not complete the rest of the sentence, considering the delicacy of the subject). But he had no intention of duping your mother. He too suffered. Can you make room in your heart for him?"

Sahana had tears in her eyes, "Papa, how can you be so magnanimous? You accepted Mama and me into your heart and now are even willing to share me with my natural father."

Milind smiled and said, "Remember what your Mama said a few minutes back? Love multiplies when shared. It does not get divided. I know you will always love me and I will always love you. I don't feel threatened by Neev."

"Papa, give me some time. It is all too much to accept in a day," she pleaded. He pressed her hand and smiled understandingly.

"Yes, darling it is too much to handle in a day. Take all the time you want. I am sure Neev can wait a little longer."

When they reached home, Neev came rushing to them asking them if everything was fine. Milind nodded his head and turned to look at his daughter. Sahana gave Neev an embarrassed glance and hurried to her room. Milind asked Neev to give her some time and Neev nodded.

Milind picked up the sleeping boys, took them to their room and laid them on their beds. Neev carried his daughter to Sahana's room and laid her in bed. He turned to Sahana and said in a soft voice, "I'm sorry for everything." When she did not respond he shuffled his feet and murmured a hurried good night and left her to her thoughts.

The next morning Neev and his family got ready to leave for Goa. He explained that the kids wanted to see more of India. After their Goa visit, they planned to visit Kerala, Chandigarh, Agra and Delhi before they return back to London at the end of the month. The Shergills and the Mishras had an emotional farewell. Sahana remained unduly quiet throughout it. Baba and Bua who were blissfully unaware of all the happenings of the last 12 hours asked Neev to visit them every year as the children got along so famously with each other. Neev smiled ruefully and said he will try. Milind then dropped them at the airport.

One month later

Milind got a call from the detective he had engaged to do a background check on Alaap. The news he gave was shocking. It seems Alaap had ended up killing his own mother Amrita in an altercation five years ago. He hit her hard and she fell down dead. He later buried her in the garden in their house in Surat. He had admitted to his crime in his diary which was kept well hidden but was unearthed by the detective. There were other evidences too which pointed to him. Milind submitted all these to the police. With this he was sure Alaap would be locked up for life.

That same day Sahana sat at her table to write a letter.

'Dear Neev uncle,' she began her letter and then struck out the words 'Neev uncle' replacing them with 'Dad'. She then went on to describe her school life to her natural father. At the end she signed. 'Your loving daughter, Sahana'. She smiled and sealed the letter in an envelope. She was a lucky girl indeed. When she was in her mother's womb she very nearly did not have a dad but now she has two. Both of them loved her very much. While she had accepted Neev into her heart, her Papa will always hold a very special place in it forever.

***The End***

Originally posted by: madhavi_v

Yeah that was an amazing scene..the scene which i liked was the way after the girl gets to know the truth she asks her mother if her 2 brothers know abt it and her mom tells her they dnt know..and she tell hers not to tell them b'coz they might hate her..and the way she innocently asks why did u lie to me saying tht i look like you..her mom will b like u do look like me and the gal shows her hand and he she makes a comparison tht her skin is dark but her mom has a fair skin..tht was so nice and it potrayed tht girls innocence..the small gal did a fantastic job..