CHAPTER 1
"Baba, aap soye nahi abhi tak?", asked she, a bit worried to see her father so restless as never before. He was so engrossed in his thoughts, that he did not seem to hear her. She went near him and placed her hand gently on his shoulder.
"Kya hua hai Baba?"
There was no reply. She sat beside him and held his hands in hers. "Baba, main dekh rahi hoon kuchh dino se aap khoye khoye rehne lage hain. Theek se khaana bhi nahi kha rahe hain aap. Aur aaj toh hadd hi ho gayi..! Na jaane itni raat ko kiske phone ne aap ko itna pareshaan kar diya...!"
He just looked at her silently.
"Any problem Baba? Is everything alright?", she asked directly.
He felt the love in her touch and the care in her tone. His eyes suddenly watered. She couldn't understand why.
"Kya hua Baba?", her tone more serious now. "Aap ro rahe hain?"
He looked into her eyes as tears rolled down his cheeks.
"C'mon Baba, I am your best friend!! Kya aap apne best friend ko bhi nahi bataayenge?"
"Bhala main apne best friend se kya chhupa sakta hoon?"
"Toh phir bataayiye kya hua!!"
"Aaj pata nahi kyun, tumhein dekha toh yeh ehsaas hua, ki meri chhoti si, pyaari si Neha aaj kitni badi ho gayi hai, kitni samajhdaar ho gayi hai!!"
"Awww, Baba aap bhi na!! Aap toh aise keh rahe hain jaise aap chahte nahi thay ki main kabhi badi ho jaaun!"
"Nahi beta, aisi baat nahi hai" Suddenly a tense but determined look replaced his smile, "Ab waqt aa gaya hai", he stood up and headed to his room still murmering, "Ab waqt aa gaya hai!"
Neha was confused, "Waqt?! Kaisa waqt?!" She followed him, completely clueless. "I am not getting what you are saying, Baba!!", she complained as she followed her father through the passage to his room.
He opened a compartment in his cupboard, "Mujhe tumhein ek gift dena hai..."
"Gift?! Wow!", Neha was excited. "Lekin abhi kyun? Waise yeh gift toh main le loongi... but don't forget Baba, next week I will turn 25. I want a special gift then!! Tab koi bahaana nahi chalega... okay?!!"
She was expecting a witty reply in return, but that didn't happen. "Yeh gift sabse special hai beta!" said he in a mysterious tone.
Neha leaned over his shoulder curiously as he took out a small wooden box. It had beautiful carvings all over. Neha snatched it from his hands. "This is lovely Baba!" she exclaimed admiring the beauty of the box. "Yeh toh 200-250 saal puraana lagta hai", she guessed being an archeologist. "Yeh aap ke paas kaise aaya?" asked she, still examining curiously the box in her hands.
His smile faded a bit. He wasn't sure whether he should answer the question. Avoiding it, he said, "The real gift is inside the box!!"
Neha's eyes widened in surprise, "Really?!" She couldn't wait to open the box. She was amazed as she looked inside. "Beautiful!"
It was a necklace made up of a number of metal pieces linked to each other. Though the ornament was very old, the metal shone perfectly which indicated that the necklace wasn't used much. A unique thing about the necklace was that every metal piece, which the necklace comprised of, was different from every other.
"Thank you so much Baba!!", Neha said, trying to wear the necklace round her neck.
"No!!!!" he cried, before she wore it. "Don't!!!"
Neha dropped the necklace in scare.
Hope you liked it 😊
Waiting for your comments 😉
Edited by ..optimist.. - 12 years ago