Author's Note:
Hi everyone,
I'm back with a one shot from DD's POV. The scene from this week between Sunehri and DD definitely has me thinking that their ship will be setting sail soon and I couldn't resist writing a little something about them.
I hope you like it.
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DD's POV:
I saw her again for the first time in ten years as I was exiting the washroom of the Jim Jam Cafe.
Her presence had caught me off guard. I had stopped in my steps and stared at her petite frame as she leaned against the counter and talked to the owner.
I could see her profile from where I was standing. Her face was resplendent with a smile. She held herself differently too. She was wearing a saree with the pallu in the front like my aunt used to wear; but there was nothing aunty-like about her.
My heart caught in my throat as I watched a small boy, maybe 5 or 6 years old, with black shaggy hair run up to her and latch on to her legs, diverting her attention from the lady to the like octopus that was trying to climb up her limbs.
I blinked rapidly, and watched as she humoured the boy and lifted him with ease and propped him on her hip.
My heart was thudding rapidly against my chest.
Was this her son? Her face broke into laughter as she listened to the story he was telling her. She ruffled his hair and rolled her eyes at him.
I was happy to see that she had moved on from the last time I saw her, but something in my chest hurt and I wasn't sure what it was.
When the store owner called her, she turned her attention back to her and grabbed two bags holding food with her free hand. The owner waved her off and said she would add it to their account.
She lived here then. In Kashid with her family. Her son and a husband, maybe.
"Daisy," she yelled as she got ready to leave, "let's go." A girl, around 6 or 7, stood up from the floor on my right and ran over to where Sunehri and the boy were.
"Yes, Didi," said the little girl as she ran over.
Didi?
My feet had a mind of their own as they followed her, at a safe distance. My mind was still reeling from all the information I had just learnt. She was here. She was unmarried. The boy was too close in age to the girl to belong to her.
So, who were those kids?
I followed them as they walked from the cafe to a small residential area. The boy had climbed down her lap by then and had been running circles around Sunehri and the little girl named Daisy.
"Mowgli," cried Sunehri as she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from the oncoming traffic.
"Enough masti," she said as she looked down at him, " I will tell Jaan Didi and I will let her punish you..."
"Jaan Didi, Jaan Didi, Jaan Didi," repeated the little boy.
Jaan Didi. I almost smiled at the name of the woman who had been driving Neil Sir to the end of his wits.
Sunehri and this Jaan Didi knew each other... What were the odds?
As they neared a house with a name plate, "Sukhoon House," the boy's cries got louder and more intense. I was surprised that the neighbours hadn't given him a dirty look yet or scolded him. Sunehri looked like she was at the end of her rope as well.
"What is it,Mowgli?" Came another voice from inside the house.
"Jaan Didi," whined the boy loudly as he tried to be play the victim's card infront of his Didi.
"Neilanjana," warned Sunehri as the other lady stepped onto the porch.
I felt my jaw drop open from shock.
Avni Bhabhi.
Avni Bhabhi stood infront of my eyes well and alive. The only difference was the glasses she was wearing.
"Neilanjana..." started Sunehri as the little boy ran to Avni Bhabhi.
"Jaan Didi," he half cried.
I watched as Avni Bhabhi sat infant of the boy and tried to console him while simultaneously communicating with Sunehri.
When the twin sisters stepped out of the house behind Avni Bhabhi, I felt my world cave in. What the hell was happening?
Avni Bhabhi was alive. She was Jaan Didi. The same Jaan Didi that Neil Sir was looking for; the same one he was attracted to. Avni Bhabhi was alive and had a new name and was running an orphanage with Sunehri, and the twins.
When Neil Sir told me that he had seen Avni when he had been drunk, we both had believed it was a figment of his imagination. But, it hadn't been.
She was real. She was alive.
With a final glance at the two women who mattered the most to me, I went in search of Neil Sir. He needed to know the truth.
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p.s. I have a new computer now, but this also means that my old one is still out of order. I'm still waiting to be able to retrieve my old fan fictions... so until then, please bear with me.
I hope you liked this one.
NLisa.
Advocate Anjali Awasthi
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