Chapter One
2012
After drinking a glass of water and being comforted by Riya, Saaransh fell asleep in her arms but his hold on her didn't loosen even for a bit. Riya tried to lay him down in the shared bedroom that was allotted to the ETF members at the office and used in case they had to stay at the office for any reason.
After noticing that Saaransh had fallen asleep, Riya had tried to lay him down on her bunk bed but he was clutching onto her as if his life depended on her. Riya had to take Shree's help to unwrap Saaransh's arms from around her neck.
"Hush!" Riya sighed once she was finally free from Saaransh's hold, "Yeh sabhi bacchon mein itni strength hoti hai ya yeh koi special case hai." she wondered out loud.
"Arre Ri! Woh jaadu ka baccha hai na issiliye itna strong hai." Shree, Riya, and Sameer stared at Chotu as if he had grown horns on top of his head.
"Jaadu ka baccha? Seriously Chotu?" Sameer scoffed and rolled his eyes while Chotu explained his reasoning.
"Sir, jaadu ka baccha nahi hai toh kya hai? Aap sabhi ne dekha na ki woh achanak se kaise hawa mein prakat ho gaya aurr seedha Shree ke sar pe gira. Agar yeh jaadu se nahi aaya toh aise kahan se aaya?" questioned Chotu leaving his teammates speechless.
"Baat oh sahi hai teri." admitted Riya. She turned around to look at Saaransh and added, "Jab yeh neend se jaagega tab issi se pooch lenge."
"Hhmm." Sameer hummed in agreement.
While the others left the room and went back to complete their reports, Sameer couldn't move from the spot he was standing at. His gaze was fixed on Saaransh who looked awfully familiar to him. A nagging feeling tugged at his heart and told his brain that he had seen this kid somewhere, that he knew who the kid was.
But Sameer couldn't recall where he had seen this little boy. "Kuch toh choot raha hai, Rawte!" he mumbled to himself and then he froze as realization dawned upon him.
"Rawte!" he whisper yelled to himself, "Yeh baccha toh bilkul Arjun jaisa dikhta hai. He's like a carbon copy!"
They were best friends once upon a time and Sameer had seen Arjun's childhood pictures. This kid looked exactly like a childhood version of Arjun Suryakant Rawte. The only reason two people would look the same is if they share the same DNA.
But this kid can't be Arjun's son. There is no way he could be Arjun's younger, a lot younger brother as well.
Chotu's words were ringing inside his mind like a mantra and Sameer couldn't help but wonder if this kid was either Arjun himself who had somehow time traveled or perhaps a jaadu ka baccha indeed.
Sameer couldn't stop himself from leaning over and observing the little boy. He was sure that this kid was related to Arjun in some way but couldn't comprehend how. He didn't know what came to his mind when he bent over and plucked a few strands of the kid's hair. A DNA test perhaps?
But before Sameer could contemplate about it, Saaransh's eyes flew open and he let out a scream which prompted Sameer to scream in return.
"Aaaaaaaaa!!"
The trio that had just left the room came rushing back inside and found Sameer and Saaransh screaming at top of their lungs.
"QUIET!" Riya intervened, "Kyun chilla rahe hain aap dono? Aisa bhi kya ho gaya inn 5 minutes mein?" she asked.
Saaransh glared at Sameer which once again reminded the latter of his ex-best friend. Hopping off the bed, Saaransh went over to stand in front of Riya and said, "Mumma, Uncle Sammy pagal ho gaye hain." he exclaimed while pointing at Sameer, "Inhone mere baal kheenche! Aise sote hue bacche ke bhi koi baal kheenchta hai bhala?"
"Mumma?!" frowned Shree.
"Uncle Sammy?!" that came from Chotu.
Sameer once again froze in utter shock while Riya bend down on her knees and asked, "Beta, aap kaun ho? Aurr yahan kaise aaye?" she was still of the opinion that Saaransh was calling her Mumma just because he was scared.
Saaransh tilted his head slightly and gave Riya a look that was eerily familiar to her, "Yeh kaisa question hai? Main aapka Anshu hoon, Mumma." he pouted, "Aap naaraaz ho issiliye aisa bol rahe ho? But I promise I will not be naughty again."
Saaransh then turned over to look at Shree while Riya could only stare at him with wide eyes, "I am sorry Uncle Shree, I will not play with your gad-zets again."
"Uncle Shree?!" Sameer, Riya, and Chotu muttered at the same time while Shree's reaction was, "I let you play with my gadgets?"
"Tum jaante ho isse?" asked Chotu. His question made Saaransh giggle, "Kya Uncle Chotu! Kiran aunty sahi bolti hai, aapke naam ke jaisa aapka brain bhi chotu hai."
Saaransh laughed at his own joke completely oblivious to the impact of his words on the people around him. He stopped giggling when he noticed that the people around him were in shock and silence.
"Aap sab log mujhe aise kyun dekh rahe ho? I said sorry no. I am sorry, Mumma." he went over to hug Riya again.
"Mumma, mujhe bhook lagi hai. Uncle Shree ne sirf ek packet chips khilaye and pasta bhi nahi diya." pouted Saaransh while Shree felt as if he had entered an alternate universe.
"Maine tujhe chips khilaye? Lekin yeh hua kab?" Shree murmured to himself.
Riya still hadn't registered anything else yet and was still in shock so Saaransh shook her a little, bringing her back to reality, "Mumma! Bhook lagi hai!"
"Huh? Haan?" Riya didn't know how to respond because she was feeling utterly confused.
"Chotu, canteen se kuch le aao iske khaane ke liye." told Sameer and Chotu rushed over to grab some food and Saaransh rushed after him.
"Yeh baccha kaun hai? Kahan se aaya hai? Aurr mujhe Mumma kyun bula raha hai?" Riya gasped, her eyes wide like saucers.
"Ab yeh toh wahi bata sakte hai. Chalo, aaj ETF mein ek bacche ko interrogate karna padega!" Sameer sighed and quickly sent a message to Arjun;
Office pohoncho! Yahan tumhaari zaroorat hai.
And then he went out to the common room where everybody else except Chotu was seated. The moment Saaransh's black eyes fell on Sameer, the little boy glared at him and even threatened him, "Let Dadda come, tab main unse aapki complaint karunga Uncle Sammy. And iss baar, I will tell Ayesha Auntie as well!"
"Dadda? As in tumhaare papa?" asked Shree who was in return rewarded by Saaransh's are-you-dumb-? look.
"Ayesha auntie? Woh kaun hai?" Sameer couldn't help but ask. Hearing Saaransh's words it was clear that this Ayesha auntie was far more dangerous for him than this Dadda.
Saaransh looked at him in confusion and slight concern, "Aapko amn-ezia hua hai? Aap Ayesha auntie ko bhool gaye ho? Uncle Sammy she is your wife!"
"Oh teri!" exclaimed Shree and Riya in unison.
"Meri wife?" Sameer fumbled and didn't know how to react. "Tum aaye kahan se ho?" he asked.
"Woh Mumma aurr Dadda holiday ke liye gaye na and aap log bhi nahi thhe toh so I was staying with Uncle Shree and Liza Auntie."
Riya immediately turned to stare at Shree, "Liza auntie?!"
"Haan!" answered Saaransh, "But woh bhi busy thhi so I was alone with Uncle Shree. Woh meri liye pasta lene gaye toh main unke game controller ko use karne ka try kar raha thha. But then, aapko pata hai Mumma, main achanak se hawa mein udd gaya and uske baad main yaha aa gaya, appke paas!"
The sparkle on wonder in Saaransh's eyes only increased the confusion of adults. They were about to ask him some more questions but then Chotu arrived with a large tray of food that had almost everything on it.
"Woah! Thank you Uncle Chotu!" Saaransh clapped his hands in glee as Chotu placed the tray in front of Saaransh.
"Waise Mumma, when will Dadda come? Woh toh aapke saath hii gaye thhe na? Aap unko waapis nahi le kar aaye?" asked Saaransh as he picked up a sandwich and began munching on it.
"Dadda?" gulped Riya.
"Kya unhone aapko phhir se coffee peene se mana kiya? Issiliye aap unko waapis nahi lekar aaye?" Saaransh blinked his eyes innocently while taking small bites of his sandwich.
Shree knew how much Riya loved coffee so he asked, "And aapke Dadda ne aapki Mumma ko coffee peene se kyun mana kiya?"
"Because coffee is bad for the little baby no." answered Saaransh and Riya who had just taken a sip of her coffee, spat it out.
"Baby? What baby?" asked Shree while Riya was wiping her mouth with a tissue.
Saaransh jumped down from his chair and ran upto Riya. He placed his hand on her flat stomach and explained, "Yeh waala baby, jo abhi Mumma ke stomach mein hai."
Everybody's eyes widened to a point that it began hurting. If what Saaransh was saying was truth then not only was Riya married and Saaransh's mother but she was also pregnant with her second baby. But they had no idea who the father was.
Well, Sameer had. Kind of. If Sameer's theory along with Chotu's explanation was correct then -
"Aisa bhi kya ho gaya Rathore jo aaj tumhe meri zaroorat pad gayi." entered Arjun Suryakant Rawte grabbing everybody's attention.
On seeing him, Saaransh placed his half eaten sandwich on a tissue paper before running over to Arjun. The little boy hugged Arjun's leg like a Koala bear would clutch onto a tree.
Arjun was about to say something but his words died in his mouth when Saaransh yelled in excitement, "Dadda!! Aap aa gaye!"
And it was at that moment when Shree and Chotu fainted.
"Kya hai yeh sab? Aurr yeh baccha kiska hai?" asked Arjun in his usual clipped tone.
Sameer, who was witnessing something so out of the world, asked, "Beta, aapka name kya hai?"
Without letting go off Arjun's leg, Saaransh turned his head around and had the expression of absolute proud on his face as he introduced himself, "Mera naam Saaransh Arjun Rawte hai, samjhe ya samjhaun?"
And yes, Riya fainted too.
Anupamaa
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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