Chapter 14
On returning home that night after getting Aastha’s signature on the documents, Shaan went to Shaurya who ran to him and hugged him saying, “Where were you Dad? See, I have made a paper boat.”
“Wow, it’s so nice. Who taught you this?”
“Mumma.”
“Really?” Shaan lifted him in his arms and asked, “So when are you going to sail it?”
“After Mumma returns.”
Shaan had tears in his eyes hearing this. Shaurya wiped them with his tiny hands and said, “Are you missing Mumma? Don’t worry. She will come back soon. She has promised me.”
Shaan was surprised, “Is it? When?”
“She came to meet me in school and told me that Nanaji is sick and she is looking after him. That is why she cannot stay with us now. She will come back when he is better. She has asked me to be a good kid till then.” Then Shaurya rubbed Shaan’s cheeks and asked, “I have been a good kid, isn’t it Dad?”
Shaan just nodded and hugged him tighter.
Devi was watching this from some distance and went to Tej.
“We managed to get Shaurya’s custody from Aastha but how will we wipe her memories from his mind? He is still living in the hope that she will return someday. Shaurya won’t become my child as long as he considers Aastha his mother. And I am afraid that Aastha might try to meet him once she recovers.”
“We have to make sure that doesn’t happen. I will have someone keep an eye on her and if she tries to get close to Shaurya or Shaan even after that, you will have to show her place to her. Meanwhile, start working on Shaurya so that even if Aastha manages to meet him, he himself rejects her. I hope you are getting what I mean?”
Devi nodded.
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It was past midnight. Shaan was dozing off sitting in the chair by Shaurya’s side. Aastha came there and said in a low voice while gently putting her hand on his shoulders, “Shaan.”
Shaan woke up and turned around.
“You will get a backache sitting like this. Please go and lie down on the living room couch.”
“But Shaurya..”
“He is fast asleep now. I will be here for the time being. If he needs anything, I shall call you.”
Shaan smiled and said, “Thanks.” Then he left the room.
Aastha sat down on the chair and looked at Shaurya’s sleeping face. She bent closer and carefully ran her gaze over his features, lightly touching his fingers so as not to wake him up. She observed him with the same wonder and pride with which a sculptor observes her masterpiece. Shaurya moved a little in sleep and Aastha pulled herself away. When she was assured that he was still asleep, she let the tears that were locked within for two decades break all barriers and flow down her cheeks.
Unbeknownst to her, both Shaan and Anokhi were watching her silent breakdown standing at the door. Anokhi pulled the door shut without making any noise. Then asked Shaan in a low voice, “Did they really deserve to part?”
Shaan shook his head. Then said, “It was all my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come to the living room. I will tell you.”
After settling down on the couch and asking Anokhi to sit opposite to him, Shaan said, “I don’t know how much Aastha has told you about her past. Perhaps her life would have been a lot better had I not come into it.” Shaan started telling the story of their lives that started thirty years ago.
As the story ended, Anokhi asked, “So you never met after that?”
“My guilt stopped me from meeting her. I didn’t have the courage to face her again. Though I kept myself informed about her health. And also gave her regular updates of Shaurya through her father. After the surgery, it took almost a year for her to fully recover and get back on her feet. She tried looking for jobs here in Chandigarh but no one was ready to hire her after knowing her connection with the Sabharwals. I am sure Tej Bhaisahab had a hand in it but I couldn’t do anything. She then shifted to their ancestral house in Kapurthala and started a small cooking class to make ends meet. I tried to help her with some money but she refused. I tried to run away from my pain by keeping myself busy with work. I tried to keep the promise I made to Aastha and gave as much time as I could to Shaurya. But when I was at work, he would be under Devi Bhabhi’s care. I didn’t even realise how much she had poisoned him until two years after Aastha’s accident. Shaurya was around seven years old at that time. Aastha came to my office one day looking very anxious.” Shaan said as he went down memory lane.
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“Aastha. What is the matter? Is everything alright?”
“I am fine. I know you are not happy to see me here but I won’t take much of your time. I have been trying to meet Shaurya for the past one year but everytime I go to his school, Devi bhabhi reaches there and creates a scene. She has threatened me that if I tried to meet again she would send Shaurya to boarding school away from everyone. I don’t want Shaurya to be away from his family because of me. But I couldn’t help myself when I got to know from Yug’s mother that Shaurya hasn’t been coming to school since last week. Just tell me how he is doing. Is he okay? I will leave after this.”
“Shaurya is perfectly fine. Please sit down, Aastha. Have some water.”
“No thanks. So why is he not coming to school?’
“Devi Bhabhi took him to London to visit our relatives there. They came back to India just yesterday.”
“Oh.” Aastha gave a sigh of relief.
“Aastha, would you like to meet Shaurya?”
“Is it possible?” Aastha’s eyes were suddenly filled with hope.
“I may be a very bad person Aastha, but I will stay true to the promise that I made. I won’t let anyone sacrifice Shaurya’s happiness for their benefit. Shaurya is my son, and I won’t let anyone send him to a boarding school without my permission. Please be at the City Centre tomorrow at 4 o’clock in the evening. I will bring Shaurya there.”
The next day Shaan and Shaurya were on their way to City Centre.
“You still haven’t told me where we are going.” Shaurya said to Shaan.
“It is a surprise dear. Just wait a few more minutes.”
“Are you going to get me a camera?” Shaurya asked excitedly.
“No, something even better than that. Something you have wanted for a long long time. Hey look, we are almost there.”
The car pulled over outside a shopping plaza. Shaan held Shaurya’s hands and took him inside.
“Ladoo.” Aastha called out on seeing them.
Shaurya looked in her direction and then suddenly to everyone’s surprise turned around and ran outside.
“Shaurya. Where are you going?” Shaan shouted from behind and went after him. Aastha too followed.
Shaurya had started running down the busy road. Shaan and Aastha also ran behind him. Shaan soon caught up with Shaurya.
“What is this Shaurya? Can’t you see how busy the road is. You could have been run over.”
Shaurya hugged his father tightly and buried his face in his chest. “Take me home Dad. I don’t want to stay here.”
“But your Mom is here to meet you. Won’t you talk to her?”
“She is not my Mom. She is a liar and a cheater. I don’t want to meet her. I want to go home.”
Shaan turned his head to see if Aastha had heard these words. Yes, she was standing there right behind them, white and motionless like a marble statue. Then she turned and quietly walked away from there.
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“We never met again.”
“You never told him the truth?” Anokhi asked.
“I couldn’t. After Aastha left, Shaurya has been my only reason to live. What if he starts hating me after knowing the truth. I will not be able to take it. I am not strong like your Aastha Mam.”
“So you are saying that just because she is strong, she should be the one to suffer. She might not show it but living with the hatred of her only child is as painful for her as it would have been for you. But you never cared about Aastha Mam’s feelings so it’s no wonder you are happy to make her pay the price for your mistakes.” Saying this, Anokhi rose up and left.
The next morning, Shaurya was feeling much better. He got up on his own and went to the washroom. When he returned, he saw Anokhi keeping a glassful of turmeric milk.
“Good morning, you look really fresh today. Finish this milk fast and come to the breakfast table.”
“Do I really have to?” Shaurya said, giving a loathsome look to the glass of milk.”
“Yes, I am not leaving this room until you do.”
Shaurya pinched his own nose and gulped down the milk as fast as he could. He then returned the glass to Anokhi and asked, “Where is Dad?”
“Your Dad and my Aastha Mam are catching up on old times over a cup of coffee.”
“No way. I won’t let that happen. She is again trying to trap my Dad.” Shaurya roared and rushed towards the door.”
Anokhi immediately went and blocked the door, stretching her hands.
“Behave yourself. Your Dad is not a kid who can be trapped by a woman. It is his life and he knows what he is doing.”
“He is making a mistake. He has done it once already. I won’t let him repeat. Get out of my way.”
“No I won’t. I won’t let you spoil their morning.”
Shaurya then grabbed her by the arms and pushed her aside. Then he rushed outside.
Anokhi looked in his direction while caressing her sore arms, “Looks like the turmeric milk has worked wonders.”
Shaurya reached the breakfast table and was surprised to see his father wearing an apron and busy cooking something. Shaan noticed him and said, “Good morning Shaurya. Breakfast is almost ready. Oh Anokhi is here too. Come and sit, both of you. I may not be as good a cook as your Aastha Mam, but not that bad either.”
As Shaan laid the table, Shaurya ran his eyes around as if searching for someone. He then looked at Anokhi and asked, “Were you joking with me?”
Anokhi chuckled and said, “It is great fun to see you getting riled up like that. Aastha Mam left for KICAS very early in the morning, even before we rose. She left some important work yesterday and she needed to finish them at the earliest.”
“Oh.” Shaurya said and focussed on his food. The disappointment in his voice didn’t escape the other two.
“I guess you are relieved to not see her.” Anokhi said.
“Shaurya, finish it up fast. We have to go home.” Shaan said.
“It is no surprise that your Aastha Mam doesn’t even have the courtesy to see her guest off.” Shaurya, threw a taunt at Anokhi.
“How many people do you need to see you off? Aastha Mam has given your responsibility to me.”
“What?”
Shaurya’s question made Anokhi realise her mistake, “I meant that as you always try to avoid her, she thought it better not to come near you and make you uncomfortable. Therefore she has asked me to look after you and see to it that you recover quickly.”
“She couldn’t care less whether I recovered or not. She just wanted to get rid of me as fast as possible.”
Anokhi tried to control her anger and said as calmly as possible, “I don’t know about her but yes, that is what I want. I took care of you because I felt that somewhere I was responsible for your illness. I should have known that you were a delicate rich brat. I would be very happy to get such a rude person off my house as early as possible.”
“I didn’t need you to take care of me. You could have sent me home instead of bringing me here. And I am not delicate, just a little prone to cold.”
“Stop fighting, the two of you. Shaurya, is this how you behave with the person who looked after you when you were sick? Come on, say sorry.”
“Leave it Sir. I don’t need his half hearted sorry.”
“I wasn’t going to ask for it anyway. Dad, I will go and wait in the car. You can take your time. I will give a call to Badi maa.”
That evening Aastha and Anokhi were together in the office arranging some files.
“Anokhi, do you have any updates on Shaurya’s health?”
Anokhi raised her head in surprise. “No. He seemed fine in the morning. And why should I be so bothered. He is just another student.”
“But you could have called. He was in our house the whole night. It is our duty..”
Aastha couldn’t complete as Anokhi held her phone before her. “Here, call him up. You are the one who is worried.”
Aastha looked at the phone and said, “You know he doesn’t talk to me.”
“Even a day hasn’t passed but you are getting restless, how did you manage for so many years?”
Aastha wiped a lone tear from the corner of her eye and said, “Only I know how I stopped myself from going insane thinking about him. I was forced to toughen myself up and lock away my feelings in some deep corner so that I could carry out my other responsibilities.”
Anokhi kept her palm over Aastha’s and said, “You cannot change the past but you can change your future. I think you should try to reconnect with Shaurya. I am sure Shaan Sir will help you with it.”
“I cannot ask Shaan for any help. I have no relation with him. And I don’t want to force him to do anything against his will. You know that is not my habit.”
“What if he does it willingly? He is tremendously guilty for everything he has done.”
“What makes you think that?”
“He told me everything last night and accepted his role in it. Why would he do that if he were not guilty?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even want to think about it.”
“Excuse me Mam. This person wants to meet you.” Sushma entered with a card in hand.
Aastha read the name and was too shocked for words. Anokhi took a glance at the card and said to Sushma, “Send him in.”
Anupamaa
