Randhir felt like he was lost - he didn't know where to go, or what to do. He didn't know who to contact.
As soon as he stepped out into the open, he did the first thing he could think of - and that was to go to Sanyukta's place. He wasn't able to process anything else, just that he only had one person in his mind, and that was her.
Once he got to the neighbourhood where she lived, he approached her house cautiously. He didn't want to confront her... he just wanted to catch a glimpse of her, he wanted to see her smile.
He was passing by her lawn, when a little boy, maybe about six or seven years old collided into him. He had been running.
"Sorry!" the kid said, and Randhir looked down at the child and smiled... he looked familiar for some reason.
The kid looked up at him and his eyes widened.
"It's you!" the kid said excitedly.
"It's me?" Randhir asked softly, wondering what this kid knew about him.
"Yes, you!" the kid said excitedly. "You're my daddy."
Randhir looked at the child with an incredulous expression on his face.
"You must be mistaken," Randhir said. "I can't be your dad."
The kid hit his forehead with his palm.
"Come, meet my mom and you'll see," he said.
"Your mom?" Randhir asked, and his heart sped up.
Could it be... that this boy was really his child? No, that was impossible. When Sanyukta had been pregnant with his child, she had given birth to a stillborn. If she had a child again after they made love five years ago, the child wouldn't be as old as this boy.
"Yes, my mom," the boy said. "Just come with me!"
"How old are you?" Randhir asked him.
"I'm seven and a half," the boy said, standing up tall. "My name is Dhruv."
"Dhruv," Randhir murmured, trying to remember where he had heard that name before.
"Dhruv!" a female voice called from behind them, "I told you not to talk to strangers!"
Then Randhir turned around, and came face to face with Sanyukta... he noticed that the parting of her hair was filled with sindoor.
Her eyes widened in shock, as if she had just seen a ghost. His heart started racing as he started to put one and one together. Randhir's eyes landed on Dhruv again, and his words replayed in Randhir's mind... 'you're my daddy' he had said.
Randhir looked at Sanyukta again, feeling happy that she was in front of his eyes after so long. She looked healthy and her face had a glow. She continued to stare at Randhir, like she didn't know whether he was really there or not.
"Mommy look, I found Daddy!" Dhruv said innocently.