By the time I arrived home it was well pass three in the afternoon and I was lugging around my guitar on my back, tired, exhausted and just pain everywhere.
After the whole ordeal, I just wanted to go home...still not fully making sense of what happened.
How a day that was planned to be as simple as possible, sell a stupid freaking guitar, turned into a humiliating debacle of me being manhandled, harassed, and seen posed as some type of criminal.
I sighed and reached for the front gate and stiffened incredibly as it easily opened.
"Maybe...maybe Mira forget to close it." I murmured to myself.
It was a possibility after spending almost all night working she used to at times forget to close the gate and I could have to do so every time I head off to work, but after a brief visit with some more infamous debt collectors...we tried our hardest to make sure the gate was kept shut at all times.
"I will just ask her..." I murmured and made sure to lock it behind me as I walked across the front yard towards the front door and brought out my key and was going to plug it into the lower lock until the door easily opened, exposing the front foyer area.
This time my body stiffened incredibly, feeling as if all the blood in my body disappeared.
I tried my hardest to maintain my grip...but the possibilities that swarm in my head...
"Papa." I said to myself more to help me move and soon I entered just as quickly and was going to head towards the front steps until I saw Reshma rush forward from the top stairs to meet me at the foot of the staircase.
"Ma'am..." she started.
"What is wrong with my father?" I said in concern, feeling my heart pumping like crazy as so many thoughts were racing through my brain; thoughts were becoming jumbled and inconsistent as it rummaged around in my head.
"He is fine...it's not him...its..." she stopped.
"Drag it out...who is it? What happened?!" I practically snapped.
She fumbled with her hands before she met my eyes and spoke.
"Its madam...she...she is here...she came here a few hours ago. I tried my best to get her to leave but she pushed me out the way." She said while folding her hands together almost close to the brink of tears.
I paused for a moment and I felt my heart stopped dead, cold, but soon it kicked up and I took a deep breath.
I sighed deeply and turned my gaze at the nurse who was fraught with nerves and worry.
I placed my hand gently on her shoulder and she looked at me and I gave her a smile.
"First and foremost, are you okay?" I asked.
She nodded and I smiled.
"Except for when I fell down when she pushed me off of her...I'm okay." She said.
I nodded.
"That is good. How...how is my father?" I asked, maintaining as much calm and patience that I could.
"He is fine, he became agitated with the noise earlier, it was like things were falling down but it stopped and I was able to get him to fall asleep just a few minutes ago." She said.
I nodded and smiled.
"She is...she is still here...I just don't know where...I heard her in the study, then in the kitchen and after that I don't know where she went." She said.
"Is Mira home yet?" I asked and she shook her head.
"That's perfect, if Mira was..." I trailed off...
If Mira was home she would have tossed her out...
I shook myself out of my thoughts before I turned back to her and took off my guitar from around my shoulders and motioned it over to Reshma who quickly took it in her grasp.
"Sorry to ask this of you..." I started and she shook her head.
"It's okay ma'am." She said with a smile.
"If the front door opens or if you hear my sister before I do...please stop her somehow...I will deal with her..." I said while looking off towards the living room area.
"Okay ma'am." She said and just as quickly she climbed up the steps as I backed down towards the foyer area, turning towards the living room area.
I carefully steeled myself, trying my hardest to ball my fist, releasing them, and balled them together to not reveal a hint of my emotions that I was feeling.
I went towards the study area and true to Reshma's words, she was in here as books that used to be stacked on the shelves that were next to the old fireplace was all on the floor, some loose-leaf pages spilled out in front of the books that it was in.
The desk where my father used to work at, papers, pens, and folders were also spilled out in a chaotic scheme for her to find whatever she could lay her hands on.
I wasn't surprised when I went behind the desk and saw the drawers were recklessly pulled out, the papers that were there were also spilled out on the floor/
Even a small picture frame with papa, Mira, myself, and my...my mother where all of us was smiling in the photo...well all of us except Mira, was one the floor; the glass broken.
I carefully picked it up and stared at all of us and hesitantly looked at the similar pair of brown eyes that matched my own.
She was smiling but unlike my father and I; it didn't reach her eyes.
I gave myself a mental shake and carefully placed the photo on top of the desk.
I continued to search the room, but nothing.
I then went to the kitchen, the same thing, cabinets opened, pots here and there...just a complete mess.
I ran my hand through my hair in frustration and annoyance.
I was already having a s***** day and this f****** mess was just a whole nother can of worms that I just didn't want to deal with at the moment.
I sighed and was going to give up until I saw an empty bottle.
An empty wine bottle.
I carefully picked it up and sniffed it and could smell that it was fresh, still cool making it obvious that she was somewhere around here...near and it was an obvious where she was at.
I sighed and turned towards the small door that was in the hallway that leads downstairs to the basement that also contained a small wine collection that my father used to collect.
I flicked the switch before heading downstairs and wasn't surprised to see a couple of empty bottles in my path.
I reached the end of the stairs and looked towards the rows of the wine cellar and stopped completely when my eyes made contact with a pink fabric.
I approached the fabric which made way into a body that was fully wrapped into it along with a mingle of wine bottles decorated around the body as well.
I stared at the person, at the woman in question who was dressed in a ridiculous neon and flashy dress, overly-applied makeup that made her look like some clown while her hair was spilled out everywhere; loosened from its hold.
I leaned down and saw her hand was clutched securely around a half-opened wine bottle and tried to loosen her hands from it but she clung on it even tighter.
I tried again but she gripped even tighter, stirring a little from her sleep but not waking up at all.
I used more force and this time when I tried to remove it, her eyelashes slowly fluttered opened and for a moment I froze when I thought that she might have woken up.
Instead her brown eyes just met mines before she closed them right back, mumbling in slurred tones before she grabbed the bottle once more and shoved me aside, causing me to fall flat on my but as she twisted her body on to her side.
I sighed and all I did was stare at her for a while before I got up.
I don't have time for this...
She would probably remain this way until morning, until then I had to hurry and clean up the place before Mira came back...knowing her...
I quickly walked away from the woman, from the woman that gave birth to me as she continued to grip the wine bottle close to her chest, cradling it so delicately and securely as she snored off to sleep.
********************
"Kittu!" I smiled.
I finally finished the interview with Jay and in little to no time I got the job.
More so because after talking for a while, we both recognized one another from our past; both of us in a less than desirable position during that time.
I was bubbling inside with happiness but when I noticed how tensed Kittu became my smile wavered as her back towards me as she was walking towards the kitchen.
She turned towards me surprise and something else more along the lines of concern in her gaze.
"Mira..." she said and trying to wobble a smile on her lips but it didn't meet her eyes.
I smiled at her but looked down to see her holding a broom and dust pan that was filled with glass and I immediately tried to grab it away from her but she repelled my touch and I froze for a moment.
Thoughts were racing in my head, soon memories started to slip but Kittu spoke up.
"Be careful...you might cut yourself." She said softly.
I stared at her for a while, not clearly seeing her despite the fact that she was right in front of me and she called out to me.
"Mira."
I blinked for a while until my vision gained more focus and gave her a wobbly smile.
"Sorry about that." I said.
"I'm sorry...I forgot that..." she trailed off and I nodded knowing what she was trying to say.
"It's okay." I said.
"You came back home...early today...or rather late? Don't you have to work in the evening?" she said with a confused questioning look.
I shook my head.
"I forgot to tell you...but I decided to get another job..." she looked at me with concern and I smiled. "Don't worry, I got the job and its better in pay as well..." I said and looked back down at the dust bin filled with glass.
"What happened? Why are you carrying a whole bunch of glass around, did something break." I said in bemusement.
She paused and I could tell she was trying to drum up something, most likely a lie as she began to blink a blind indication that she was lying.
"You see...I was trying to drink some juice...apple juice and the cup fell down and I just finished cleaning it up." She said quickly.
I stared at her and looked at the pile of glass.
There was too much of it to be from a simple glass cup and some pieces had some wording on it, like a label from something.
I scrunched up my eyebrow and tried to pick up a piece of glass and she moved the dustbin away.
"Are you stupid? Are you trying to cut yourself?"
I smiled as I pulled my hand back, leaving it alone knowing whatever she was hiding she would slip up.
"Calling your older sister stupid...hmph, you should be addressing me as your most honorable sister." I said while smiling.
She looked at me for a moment before she shook her head.
"It seems that you have been out too long in the sun today that it must have fried your brain." She said with a blank look on her face.
I smiled and before I could respond she walked away, heading towards the kitchen and I was going to turn towards the living room until I noticed that Reshma was coming downstairs.
I checked my watch and it was close to seven and I looked at her puzzled as she noticed me.
"Good evening." She nodded towards me and I did the same.
"Why are you here so late? Didn't Kittu come home early...its the weekend..." I mumbled the last part to myself.
"No its because she wanted..." She clamped her mouth shut.
At that I cocked my brow upwards at her hesitance and nervousness and I could tell she was trying to make up an excuse.
"Wanted...???" I continued for her where she left off hoping to see her exaggerate but she kept her eyes lowered permanently towards her foot.
Something was going on here and obviously Kittu was in on it as well...
I folded my hands and cocked my head towards Reshma making sure my body was bent enough to meet contact with her own and she couldn't avoid them.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Nothing ma'am it's just that she wanted me to stay late because sir was having problems sleeping." She said while looking at me until she said the last phrase while looking at the floor.
Lie.
It was an obvious lie.
People were easy to read...I made sure to learn how to tell when someone was telling me the truth or was lying, it was the only way I could survive while growing up on the streets.
Anything could go down while out there, any rules, anyone can and will do anything they want to you if you didn't know when: they were lying and when they had the upperhand against you.
Before papa adopted me when I was around 11 years old, the only thing that served as my protection was my wits and my fists...
That wasn't the only thing...
My inner voice whispered and before I drudged up more memories that I rather keep locked up I refocused back on the nurse and gave her a smile.
"That's an obvious lie. I want the truth.." I said softly.
At that she paused and she refocused on me and she was about to open her mouth and I shook my head.
"I need to know the truth Reshma, now." I said all hint of a smile gone.
She must have noticed the serious expression on my face and she nodded just as quickly.
"Please don't tell..." she started and I nodded.
"It's...just that..." She stopped and twisted her hands together even more and she looked at me and she looked away before she murmured her last few lines.
"It's just what?" I asked in growing agitation.
"It's just that madam is here." She said in a small squeakish voice.
At that I froze and for a moment I couldn't see clearly before I blinked and lifted myself up from my bended propped position.
I blinked and tried to think straight before my mind slipped into something else.
"For how long?" I asked.
"Since...since around noon." She said.
I nodded.
Most likely Kittu was here when she came...
"When did Kittu come home?" I asked.
"Around...around four or so..." She said.
"Did she leave?" I questioned and she looked at me confused.
"Did...did Kittu's mother leave yet?" I asked trying to clarify my statement and she quickly shook her head.
"You may leave now, be careful while going home." I said just as quickly, trying my hardest to control my emotions while tightening my hands into fists as I stared off towards the kitchen area.
I turned back and she was still there and I felt the reins of control that I had on emotions loosened as I snapped at her.
She looked at me confused and opened her mouth.
"Are you deaf? I said you can go home now." I said in irritation.
She nodded and she quickly headed towards the front door and slowly unlocked it before she opened it and exited and I locked the door.
I sighed and felt guilty for my brash behavior but I turned towards the noise I heard coming from the kitchen and walked in while Kittu was busy washing her hands, back towards me.
She already had a kettle on the burner with two cups propped up aside.
"I will make dinner tonight so you can go rest." She said absently with her back still turned away from me.
I ignored her as I continued to walk past the island that was centered in the middle of the room, towards the one place I knew where that woman would be.
The same place, where time and time again, during the past few years, she always wound back up when she had nowhere else to go.
The basement, home of all the booze and wine she could drink until she became a drunken disgusting mess.
"Mira...wait...!" I heard Kittu's voice but I ignored it as I flicked the light switch on before heading downstairs, walking until I found the bundle of wine bottles and the half-a**** passed out woman in a drunken slur.
"Mira!" Kittu's voice continued but I ignored her as I used my foot to kick the dead body before me.
"Get up." I said.
The body continued to lay in deep slumber, her lips curled in satisfaction as she had her hands wrapped around tightly a dark amber wine bottle.
She can easily sleep in peace as if there is nothing else...as if there is no problem around her in the world.
They easily dump their problems on others without a second thought...
I used my leg again and kicked her, this time rougher than the first.
"Get up!" I said raising my voice.
The body twisted but continued to sleep.
"You are going to pretend to sleep now? GET THE F*** UP!!!" I saw red at her lack of response.
This stupid woman who had the nerve to abandon us and now comes back...and now comes back to waste herself on liquor and alcohol...who can peacefully sleep as if there isn't a care in the world.
As if the world will continue to cater to her needs as if she was most significant person around...
They were both the same, the both the f****** same!
At that I used all my strength to kick her some more until she would get up before Kittu grabbed my arms, pulling me tightly away from the stupid b**** body that I wanted to kick until she would stir up, until she would respond.
"Stop it." Kittu tried to say and she practically dragged me away, somehow up the stairs, and out from the basement until we made our way towards the hallway area.
She still had her hands locked on my arms to stabilize me and I remained motionless before I spoke.
"Why did you stop me? Why did you stop me from waking up that b****?" She said.
"Stop it Mira. Papa is upstairs sleeping, you might wake him up. Plus, you know that is not how you are suppose to address an elder, she is our mother and it's not right to call her by that." Kittu said firmly.
At that statement I felt something bubble inside me as I felt laughter slip from my lips.
I tugged my arms away from Kittu and felt myself legs fumble to make contact with the floor and I felt my a** fall flat on the floor.
Even though I fell, I felt the laughter still fall easily on my lips before I made contact with Kittu who had her arms spread against the basement door to prevent me from going through, while she eyed me with concern.
"Mother? Our mother? Kittu...that thing is not an elder more or less our mother. That thing down there doesn't deserve an ounce of respect or dignity! That thing you claim as OUR mother is not "OUR MOTHER"!" I said in outrage.
Kittu met me squarely, unaltered with my anger.
"It doesn't erase the fact that she is OUR mother." She said.
"Really? So is it the same mother who began drinking and gambling? Is it the same mother who wasted all our money and finances away? Is it the same mother who left papa when he got his first stroke? His second? Third? Is she the same mother who was here when he began to have seizures? The same mother who sold off her stuff so we can have enough money for school and food? The same motherf****** MOTHER OF YOURS WHO LET US GET CHASED, HARRASSED, HUMILIATED, AND TORTURED by the endless, sleazy, horrid debt collectors who as readily will have us wh**e ourselves out to repay the debt she owe? Is that the same HONORABLE woman I should address as a M-O-T-H-E-R!" I said staring at Kittu whose gaze wavered and I could see the pinpricks of tears in her eyes.
"You can't hit her like that...it won't help repay or settle anything. It's not right..." she said softly.
At that I smiled as I stared at her.
"But it will be satisfying for her to feel the same pain that we are going through because of her." I said simply.
"But Mira...that won't help our situation, and she is still our mother." She said while looking at me with a defiant expression.
"Kittu, she is NOT my mother. God knows I was already cursed with one in this life and she was no better than yours. Kittu, don't let your compassion cloud your rationale, it's a very, very, very horrible thing." I said softly.
She lowered her hands from the door frame and slowly kneeled down towards me, grasping her hands in mine while she met me boldly in the eye.
"Papa loved her. We both know how papa is, he is a compassionate person and even when she left us he never blamed her and tried to be the most understanding person. If papa never judged her before why should we?" she said.
I felt her placed the palm of her hands against my cheek as she looked at me and I shook my head.
"You are nave and papa sees the good in everyone but I'm saying this as someone whose been used and discarded by her own flesh and blood that I don't want that same path for you and I don't want her anywhere around papa...his condition is too frail now." I said feeling myself slowly settling down.
"She is just staying here for today...I am going to move her towards one of the rooms and you already know she always leave before we wake up." She said with a smile.
I felt myself slowly calming down under her smile and took a deep breath before I met her gaze.
"Only for tonight. If she is here in the morning, I will personally toss her out on the streets myself." I said with a smile.
*************************
At that I stared at her as she was helping to pull up the blanket over papa's sleeping frame.
She seemed to have calmed down from earlier and I sighed mentally in relief.
Today was too long of a day...too long and just too darn right stressful!
I lightly knocked on the door and Mira looked up, her smile disappearing for a moment before she noticed me and it appeared back on her face.
"I finished making some tea after..." I trailed off and her expression tightened as she followed the direction of my statement.
She nodded and she glanced back towards dad who was sleeping peacefully and we left his room, leaving his door half ajar.
"You should probably go to sleep, you were out all day...here." I said while handing her the cup of tea.
She took it from me with the saucer and she looked at me with guilt in her eyes.
"I'm sorry for my behavior earlier." She said sheepishly.
I smiled as she looked as if she was a child that was caught stealing a cookie and I couldn't help but smile.
"It's not that...that I don't understand..." I didn't know how to express it, so instead I shook my head, put my tongue back in my mouth before I processed my response before answering once more.
"I mean it's okay...I will handle this." I said to her and she looked at me and vehemently shook her head.
"No, I acted poorly...I rather handle this than for you to be involved in this." She said while picking up the tea cup and bringing it towards her lips.
I was going to argue but slowly just let the situation rest as is as I felt my thoughts niggle back as to what occurred earlier.
That is why I didn't want her to see my mother...she always reacted badly when it concerned her.
But I knew it extended even deeper than that.
I knew Mira met with hardship when she first came into our family she was neither enthusiastic nor open in gaining interest in interacting with any of us, well maybe so the exception extended towards papa and even with him she would tend with him in kid gloves.
Although she would largely just ignore me, painfully at times...sometimes when I tried talking to her she would just walk away or when she came home from school and I asked about her day she would just call out to papa that there was an annoying pest in the room.
However, with my mother she would give the most reactions...none at all were positive.
Every time my mother tried to talk, play, scold, or anything in between, she would lash out, cringe, and flinch...even when she tried to touch her.
I just thought she was afraid of people more so older women but that wasn't the whole case based on what papa was told from the people from foster agency that picked her up when she was only 10 years old.
It seems that Mira's biological father was questionable but it was clear he was not in the picture and her biological mother was posed more so as being unstable and was a drug addict, whose drug of choice ranged from marijuana to cocaine sometimes even dwindling in hardcore stuff such as heroin.
It seemed she would do anything to get her fix, sometimes selling her personal items such as jewelry, even crossing the point of exchanging sexual favors to selling her body for her next fix.
But it seemed her desperation didn't stop there as in her quest to gain more drugs, she would sometimes use her daughter, Mira, who was only five years old at the time, in exchange.
Although papa never went further into it as he admitted he wasn't sure, nor was the agency, and Mira definitely never budged an inch about her past...but it wasn't too hard to perceive what might have happened to her when she was kept with strange men for up to three, four, or five months at a time.
"Delicious."
I jolted quickly out of my thoughts startled and I looked at her as she was staring inside the cup.
"Huh?" I asked in my confusion.
"The tea you made it tastes really good, what is it?" she said.
"It's French vanilla with some cinnamon." I said with a smile and she looked at me.
"You should make this more often. You should sleep instead...I'm going to watch over papa tonight..." She said.
"But..." I started.
"It's okay...I feel like sleeping next to him today." She said softly.
I understood immediately and nodded.
"Okay...but you didn't eat dinner so I will reheat your food and send it up along with some tea...you cannot refuse or I will stay here instead." I said with a serious expression as she was about to shake her head in denial and instead she released a soft chuckle.
"I am confused if you are the older sister or if I am." She said.
I smiled.
"You are older in age and in body, but I'm the oldest when it comes to up here." I said while pointing towards my head and her face fell a little and I felt like mentally hitting myself in the head.
Mira decided to drop out of college since it was around the time papa business started to fail and he suffered his first stroke.
I was still in high school and she decided to work odd jobs to help pay for my schooling and to even pay for my school fees and tuition when it came time for college.
"Mira...I didn't mean..." I started and she quickly propped a smile on her face.
"Well maybe in book knowledge...but I paid for your schooling so you better have some smarts in there." She said while laughing and she handed the empty tea cup to me before she used her fingers to flick my forehead.
I smiled and nodded and she shooed me along.
"Hurry up now...it's getting late." She said and it looked she was aiming to flick me again, so before she could hit me, I backed out of her way and headed towards the staircase to head downstairs while I could hear her grumble.
*************************
(Few Hours Earlier...)
"Papa!"
I smiled as she ran off ahead of me as she went to examine a cage where there were a small group of monkeys that were busy curled up against one another.
Her hair was pulled back into a pigtail, bows and ribbons sloppily placed on the ends of her hair.
I blushed at my lack of expertise of being able to style her hair even despite the fact that I have been doing it for the past two years.
She was dressed in a bright pink tutu with "Hello Kitty" top and matching shoes to go with it.
I smiled as I watched her stare inside the cage, her wide eyes filled with curiosity and strangely she stood still as she watched the baby monkeys' cling onto their mother.
I was able to slip away, earlier than expected and the whole ceremony went without a hitch...well except for what happened earlier, but everything afterwards went completely well.
"It's amazing how quiet she is." Anna remarked next to me.
I turned to her and she was dressed in her usual black suit, hair slicked back into a high ponytail, earpiece, and was wearing a relaxed expression.
"Is there anything wrong with that?" I questioned while keeping a level gaze as one of the keepers came around and talked to Sohni if she wanted to feed one of the baby monkeys that stirred out of their nap.
There were a couple of regular employees around the zoo but under strict contract of confidentiality with the owner of the zoo that no one would take pictures of my daughter, talk about the events that would take place as of today, and if there was a leak somewhere the owner would have to find employment elsewhere outside of Delhi, more so out of India.
Anna cocked her head to the side before she spoke.
"It's just unusual. I remembered when I was younger and used to go the zoo, my brothers, sisters, and I would be hopping off the walls. We would get entangled in the crowd which always had our father chasing after us." She said with a smile.
At that I scrunched up my brow.
"Not really. I remember going to zoos when I was younger and I was the same. Well more so those encounter with the zoos and other events was for my father and in his aid for his campaign trail for governor." I said softly.
She looked at me for a moment and cocked her head even more and before she could say something I continued.
"But even then people are different, children are the same. They aren't always just hooked up on sugar and act nuts 24/7." I said while eyeing her.
She looked at me and rolled her eyes.
"I'll have you know I wasn't one of those crazy children, I could be quiet every now and then...I might have got in trouble every now and then but I was a normal child growing up...it's just when I got older is a different story." She said with an edge to her voice.
"Growing up is when life loves throwing its punches." I said and stared as my daughter lifted her hands inside the cage and the baby monkey came towards her hand.
She didn't flinch, nor seem scared...she just continued to stare and a smile came to her lips.
I smiled as I watched as her and the monkey continued to interact with one another and I felt warmth spread throughout my heart and before I resumed my attention back to Anna.
"I'm sorry." I said softly.
She turned towards me and I almost wanted to laugh at the comical expression that came on her face.
"Say that again? I think I misheard somehow." She said shocked.
"I'm not repeating myself again because I know for a fact that you heard me the first time." I said.
She pouted and I continued.
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier the other day at my house, but...I learned the hard way. I went against so many things...so many things to be with Sohn's mother...and I didn't gain a darn thing positive...except for Sohni." I said solemnly.
"Even then Anand if you had the chance you would go through it again. Just take the good with the bad, not everything in life is pain free but don't hold your past against yourself from living in the present." She said.
At that I looked at her and she had a concerned expression on her face.
I stared at her for a while before I looked away and sighed.
"It's easy in saying that Anna, but words and actions are different. Words are in the moment...but when it comes to actually doing it...memories are fresh and it's hard to change." I said while looking at her.
She opened her mouth but I heard Sohni calling me and I gave a tense smile to Anna before I walked away towards Sohni who was smiling.
"Yes." I said while bending down giving her a smile and she pouted at me.
"Why aren't you coming along?" she said.
"I'm sorry..." I said while tugging my ears.
She smiled and instead took my hands off my ears and nodded her head.
"It's okay...come along papa...we have to go see the lions, the elephants, zebras..." She urged me onward and I lifted myself up as she began to direct me towards the different animals that were in the different exhibits.
We continued to walk around and she continued to feed some of the animals and she wouldn't make much noise, just watch as some of the animals would eat from her hand but her eyes grew wide and it looked like she was having fun.
By the time we were done it was starting to get late and Sohni was starting to become agitated so I carried her back towards the car after we stopped at an ice cream parlor.
I carefully placed her in her carseat as she was already almost halfway drifted off into sleep.
"Pa...pa?" she said with her eyes almost closed, her lashes hiding her eyes.
I was trying to secure her seatbelt in its buckle and I looked up at her as soon as she said my name and I smiled.
"Yes sweetheart?" I said.
"Thank...you." She said.
At that I arched my eyebrow at that.
"For what?" I asked confused.
"For spending time with me today." She said very slowly as it was obvious that she was fighting sleep to say what she wanted to say.
I paused and my heart started to hurt.
I didn't have to question what she meant by that...as I hardly spent time with her, always work, meeting this or that, parties, and especially since the campaign was starting to narrow down for the top eight candidates that were to compete for preliminaries in which things were going to become more serious in the upcoming weeks to come.
I sealed her seatbelt in place in its buckle and I used my hands to cup her right cheek which caused her lashes to waver as her bright eyes stared at me.
"You shouldn't be thanking me...I should be saying sorry that I don't spend time with you as much as a father." I said while lowering my head downward.
I had no idea how she was feeling, her mother abandoning her or rather exchanging her for a simple bucks and having a father that was always in and out...not able to spend as much time with her...
But she never complained, always smiling and always happy when I came home late in the evenings but I felt her hands on my face and she smiled as she pat my head.
"Don't be sad papa..." She said with a smile and she continued to pat my head and I smiled as she slowly pulled her hand away as finally sleep took over and she slumped in her seat and I used the small blanket I bought for her to over her while she slowly drifted off to sleep.
"Anand are you ready?" Anna asked as I pocked myself out of the car and carefully closing the car door.
I nodded and she directed the driver to open the door to the other side while she hopped in the passenger seat and I sat next to my daughter who was slowly making soft snoring noises and eventually propped her thumb straight into her mouth and I smiled and ran my hands through my hair as the car slowly moved to make our way home.
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Anupamaa
Hindi TV Shows
12