CHAPTER TEN
'Well first of all I would like to thank for coming to this event this year it really means a lot to me and my family. I will not take a lot of time because I know how everyone wants to go party and have fun so I am going to try to keep this brief.'' Said Mr. Iyer
Ishita watched her father on the podium talking and was quite surprised because he never gave speeches at these functions. It was always her mother who did and so when she saw her dad up there she knew something big was about to happen.
'Can I ask my three older children Ishita, Mihika and Jai to please join me on stage.'' He added
Ishita turned to Mihika as she got up and asked
'What is this all about?''
But Mihika just shrugged her shoulders as if to say she didn't know. When they all finally made it up to the podium there father continued
' I never really had a dream to start and orphanage until some years 16 years ago. My wife and I had been trying for years to have children and we had tried everything. IVF, trial drugs you name it but still nothing worked. We decided to just leave it to God's plans and we figured he will grant us what we wished in his own time. My wife and I left Delhi and we settled here in Mumbai after I was transferred and my wife bless her heart loves to help people and so when we moved she decided, I mean we decided to sign up for this volunteer work at Mumbai General Hospital. And it is here that our lives changed.'' Said an emotional Mr. Iyer
The room was so quite that one would hear a pin drop. Mrs. Iyer held her husband's hand and understood this was going to be hard for him to talk about so she thought it as better she continued while her husband composed himself.
'I had been working at the hospital for about 6 months when these 2 girls and this little boy came into the hospital. One of them was beaten so badly that she could barely stand or breathe. She had this stab wound and she was bleeding a lot. They looked like they had had a long night. Mihika was crying so hard for someone to help but the hospital wouldn't do anything because as hospital protocol treatment for such grave injuries was not to be administered to a child without parents consent or police report.'' Said now am emotional Mrs. Iyer
'Mamma why ...?'' Asked Ishita with tears in her eyes tried to ask but Mihika held her hand and tried to calm her down. And Mihika ended up finishing the story
'Jai and I sat in the hospital corridor with Ishita as she was bleeding to death and couldn't do anything. I really thought my sister was going to die.'' Said Mihika with tears in her eyes
' Abhimanyu, he is not here at the moment, had gone to get the police report but it was taking too long and besides to be honest we didn't think anyone would believe us. Then out of the blue came Mrs. Iyer without even knowing who we were put us in her car and took us to another hospital.'' Added Mihika who by now was also in tears
Raman looked at Ishita and couldn't quite understand or process this information he was getting. Everyone in the room was emotional but Ishita had this expression on her face that was blank. She had tears in her eyes but her expression never revealed anything.
'We somehow managed to treat her and when she got discharged we took her home just so until we figured out where they belonged and who their parents were. To be honest after a year of being with them we never imagined that we would end up adopting them. Like many people we thought it would have been a lot of work I mean there was a traumatized 12 year old girl, an 8 year old boy who would barely talk and a very very damaged 14 year old girl. So when Ishita's health improved we figured we would take them to an orphanage and hope that they got the help they needed.'' Said a now composed Mr. Iyer. He then continued saying
'My wife and I even drove them there but we could never really give them up. It is then in that moment I realized no matter how hard this was going to be these three children were my children and at that point it really didn't matter what anyone said. So we put the necessary papers in motion and adopted them.'' He said as he lovingly looked at his children.
'You may be wondering why we are telling you this. Well they are the reason the orphanage started. Once we brought them in we figured there might be so many children in the world who have been through so much as much as these three and with a little love you can change a life. So me and my wife conjured up all the savings we had and started this small orphanage that later grew into this.'' He said pointing at the children who were sitting in the corner of the room
' We have helped over 80 children and with God's mercy each and every one of them had turned out pretty good most of whom ended up with deserving families.'' Said Mrs. Iyer as the room erupted in applause
'So the reason for this get together is to tell you all that it will be the last one.'' Said Mr. Iyer as the room was filled with gasps and whispers
Ishita looked at her parents with shock not really sure how to take this information.
'It is okay no need to worry. The cause is going to be carried forward with the help of Mr. Mihir and Mr. and Mrs. Raghav, Abhimanyu's parents'' said Mrs. Iyer as the Raghavs made their way to the podium together with Mihir.
'For the surprise of the night which by the way I hope doesn't back fire in our faces, for the remaining five angels at the orphanage right now we would like to adopt.'' Said Mr. Iyer
Aryan, Nitya, Dev, Akash, and Saavan were sitting in the room and just looked so shocked. For kids that happened to yap a lot it was the first time Ishita was seeing them so quiet. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer watched as their adorable soon to be new official members of the Iyer family started tearing up and couldn't have been happier.
'But this will only happen if all of you want to be a part of our family.'' added Mrs. Iyer
All the kids started to cry and laugh then cry again as they ran up the podium to hug their new parents. There wasn't a single dry eye in the hall as everyone was in awe of how giving and loving the Iyer family was.
Everyone stood up on their feet applauding because each and everyone in that room understood what an amazing thing the Iyers had done for these children.
The hugging and laughing continued for a while and later they all went back to take their seats. Raman looked at Ishita was she sat down and couldn't help but wonder what she might have been through growing up. It was in that moment that he realized she never really talked about her past and only told little stories here and there but even so only when she is talking about her life when she moved to the orphanage. He realized he knew absolutely nothing about his wife before she was 14 years old and wondered what happened to her.
The speeches continued telling people and potential new donors how the whole orphanage would now be run and how these changes were going to affect it. Soon after all that was done and people were encouraged to mingle and have fun.
Mrs. Iyer came over to where Raman, Ishita and Santosh were sitting and thanked all of them for coming. She then turned to Ishita asking
'Oh Ishita how was the surprise?''
Mrs. Iyer watched as her daughter struggled to find words to say and understood how much this meant to her because she loved those five children like they were her own.
'Thank you '' Ishita finally managed to say
'Ohyi no thank you. Let's just say that is my gift to you for taking care of me. You get to have a big family like you always wanted.'' Answered Mrs. Iyer as she hugged her daughter
'By the way Raman I wanted to talk to you about something. You're daughter was convinced by Aryan to participate in the circle of truth and I think she wants to. I need your permission I do not want to intrude.'' Said Mrs. Iyer
'Circle of truth? What is that?'' asked Santosh
'Well the kids and I sit in a circle and talk about anything and everything. What they love, what they hate, their greatest fears, nightmares, name it. The only rule is only truths are allowed. It sounds so simple but when you put children in a room where they feel secure and they share experiences without judgment at all. It can be the most therapeutic thing.'' Answered Mrs. Iyer
'When you are in a room with people your age who have gone through similar if not more scary experiences just like yours, It gives one the power to speak up or just be strong enough to know you can get over it.'' Added Ishita
'Did it work with all the kids.'' Asked Raman
'Well yeah almost of them'' Replied Mrs. Iyer
'What happened to the ones who never shared? Did they turn out okay.'' Asked Santosh who looked worried
'Well I think Ishita and Mihika turned out pretty okay don't you think?'' Mrs. Iyer said as she looked at Ishita. Ishita just smiled looking at Raman
'Do you think this will help? I don't want to draw her away anymore.'' Said Raman
'Well what other options do we have. I think we should give it a try.'' Said Santosh
'Okay fine But I do have a favor to ask. When you find out what the problem is please tell me.'' Said Raman
'Me too I would love to know what happened to my little baby.'' Added Santosh
'I will I promise. Now enough of this slightly depressing talks. Ishita go have fun and show Raman around. You can even take him to that garden you love so much. It is really private not to mention romantic.'' She said teasingly as she urged them to go.
'Mamma Kuch Bhi'' Answered Ishita as she and Raman walked away
'Mrs. Bhalla If you still want to hang around we will leave a car for you...'' but before Mrs. Iyer could finish Santosh said
'Arre I am so old for this. What will I be doing here? I think I will leave with you all.''
As they walked away from the building, Santosh had a question she desperately tried to hold back and curiosity got the better of her and she asked
'If you do not mind my asking, what had happened to Ishita that night you found her?''
'To be honest I do not know and the kids never talk about it either. Whatever had happened to her she never said and neither did her siblings. I am just glad those four shared a bond so strong and they lived for each other. I genuinely believe that is how they survived.'' Answered Mrs. Iyers
'Four, Who is the fourth child'' asked Santosh
'Oh it is Abhimanyu. He was like there big brother and kind of like protector. He was lucky that we found his parents and they took him abroad.'' Said Mrs. Iyer
'You mean he wasn't an orphan?'' asked Santosh
'Well not all the kids here come here as orphans. They are all child trafficking survivors. They were all trafficked at one time or another. You would be surprised at how frequent that happens'' Added Mrs. Iyer with tears in her eyes
'Don't you ever get curious to know?'' asked Santosh
'Of course I do but when I look at them and how far they have come am content because they are happy something I never thought would happen 16 years ago.'' Answered Mrs. Iyer
'You must be so proud of them.'' Added Mrs. Santosh as they watched Raman and Ishita walk out as Mihika caught up with them.
'More than they know. Those four are the strongest of them all.'' Mrs. Iyer added as she and Santosh finally started to walk out of the building
Mean while as Raman and Ishita walked out of the hall they bumped into Mihika
'Oh Sis how was that surprise?'' asked an excited Mihika
'Why didn't you tell me this sooner'' Asked Ishita as she hugged Mihika
And what would the fun in that be?'' Replied Mihika
'Well either way, I am extremely happy today.'' Answered Ishita
'So what happens next for you two?'' asked Mihika looking at Raman
'What do you mean?'' asked a confused Raman
'Well this orphanage kind of was the binding factor for your marriage at least for your part Ishu. What happened now that you know Mom and dad are retiring.'' Asked Mihika
'Uuuhhh...'' Raman couldn't find the words to even answer that question.
He hadn't even thought about the fact that Ishita's reason for marrying him was to help out her parents and now that they were retired and seemed to be doing well, she might actually leave him. The thought of losing her scared the hell out of him more than he ever imagined.
Ishita watched as Raman's face suddenly went dull and thought maybe he was angry at what Mihika had just said so she decided to change topics.
'Mihika did that cute Mihir show up today.'' Ishita asked
Mihika knew exactly what she was doing when she asked that question and when saw Raman's reaction she was sure that her sister had finally managed to have an effect on Raman. She knew Ishita was trying to change the topic and she didn't want to push the topic. So she slowly excused herself and left Raman and Ishita alone.
'I am sorry about that. My sister can be very nosy sometimes.'' Said Ishita
'No it is okay. Am sure she just tried to look out for you'' said Raman who clearly looked shaken
'Are you okay? You do not seem okay.'' Said Ishita
'No I am fine. Actually ...'' before Raman could complete what he was saying, one of the kids came and took Ishita away.
He watched as she greeted they kids' parents and was in awe of how an amazing human being she was. It was pretty cute actually how she easily interacted with the children and it seemed as of every child here loved her to pieces.
He took a seat and waited for her to finish talking to everyone and hoped they would have time to talk to each other because they really needed to talk. After a while he saw her come towards him as she smilingly acknowledged the people she was passing as he came to him.
'Are you done with everyone?'' he asked
'Sorry there are so many people here than usual.'' She answered apologetically
'It alright I just wanted to talk to you and I thought maybe if you're done we could...'' but before he could finish, they again got interrupted as someone was calling her.
Ishita looked at the expression on Raman's face and understood something was really up. She quickly dealt with the person who was calling her and came back to Raman.
'You were saying.'' But before Raman could say anything, Jai called Ishita.
'It's okay not important you can go.'' Said Raman
She saw the disappointment in Raman's eyes and couldn't take it. Suddenly an idea cropped up in her mind and she just grabbed Raman's hand and walked him out of the hall. Raman just followed suit not sure where she was taking him.
'Ishita we have been walking for almost five minutes where the hell are you taking me.'' Raman finally asked
'Well it seemed to me you wanted to talk to me in private and if we had stayed in that stupid hall that was not going to happen. So I decided to bring you here.'' She answered
'Where is here anyway?'' asked Raman
'Just walk in here and see. Be careful and watch your head.'' Said Ishita as she bent down and walked into this low old rusty gate.
Raman walked in and saw these spiral steps that lend into this beautiful garden of flowers. If you saw it from the outside you would never think that something so beautiful was in here. There was a beautiful fountain in the middle covered with gorgeous purple Orchards. He was in awe of how much this place was breath taking.
'Oh My God did you do all this?'' he asked
'Well part of it and nature took care of the rest.'' She answered
'It is absolutely beautiful. How come no one know about this place?'' He asked as he walked around
'Well I spent most of my time here especially after we got adopted and since I loved it so much my dad eventually stopped trying to stop me from coming and just bought the place instead. He helped me renovate the place. He put the benched in and helped fix the fountain.'' She replied
'You must really love him.'' He said as they finally settled down on the bench
'I owe him and Mamma my life. ' she replied
Raman could see she was getting emotional and if history had taught him anything, she had a habit of putting up these walls and would zone out like she just stepped into another world so he thought it best to leave that conversation there for now.
'So looks like your parents have retired huh.'' He said
'Yeah I still can't believe it has been 14 years.'' She answered smilingly as she joined him on the bench. He suddenly went quiet and she wasn't sure why he got serious all of a sudden.
'You wanted to talk to me about something.'' She finally broke the silence
'I just wanted... I mean...'' Raman tried to talk but he was stuttering
' Okay is everything alright. You're starting to scare me.'' She said
'Okay am just going to put it out there. Do you now want a divorce?'' he asked looking down and holding his breath praying to God she didn't see how difficult this was for him
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Chapter Eleven;- http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4241564&TPN=22&#p117999520
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