SS: After all this time
The girl stood at the side of the road, one hand protecting her forehead from the scorching heat while the other in the pocket of her jeans. Digging inside her pockets for the crumpled note, she stopped a passer-by and asked out aloud
"Can you direct me to this address?"
The concerned lady shook her head in negation and walked away. Slinging her heavy backpack more firmly the girl pushed the bangs off her forehead and was on the verge of crossing the road when her cell phone rang.
"Shit" the girl cursed, pressed the answer button and held the phone to her ear, regretting it immediately as her dad's voice almost burst her eardrums.
"Myra Maheshwari... I just got a call from your grandma saying you have left the house without informing her and she is frantic. You aren't even answering her calls."
"Damn" Myra cursed. She hadn't expected nani to call her dad so soon.
"Dad I'm fine .. I just want to meet my family. Your badi ma, bade papa, maasi, chachu and those people you and mum have just spoken about. I want to see the house you grew up in, the house dadi and dadaji live. Please Dad"
On the other end, Sanskaar closed his eyes and prayed for patience. Handling a rebellious teenager who was too smart for her own good wasn't an easy thing.
"Baby, this is your first time in India. And if your mom and I decided to keep you away from your home, don't you think we had a good reason?"
"Oh yea that big scandal that I'am still too young to know" Myra replied sulkily "I hate secrets Dad"
"I know..." Said Sanskar patiently "Okay I will call your dada and ask him to take you to Maheshwari Mansion but be polite, don't ask weird questions and stay with your dada and dadi. Tell me where you are right now and stay put, your dada will collect you from there"
Myra jumped in delight
"You are the best dad in the whole world. Will you tell mom?" she asked crossing her fingers.
"I'm sorry princess, this time I will be telling Swara. This isn't a small school trouble or another of your mischief that I have to protect you from Mom. It's a big thing and you know your mom hates being lied to, right?"
"I know dad.. Tell her that I'm sorry and that I love her a lot."
She gave him the relevant details and waited with a held breath for her dadaji to come. A few minutes later a black car pulled up But it wasn't her favourite dadaji who stepped out. A guy who was about her fathers age, took off his shades.
She knew who he was, had seen his photograph in the living room of their London home but the photo was an old one. The photo showed a carefree guy of her age. She knew it had been an old photo and she had expected her Lakshya Chachu to look different but she hadn't anticipated the shocked look on his face, as if he wasn't aware of her existence or the hurt that reflected in his eyes.
"You are Sanskars' daughter?" He asked in a choked whisper
"Myra" she said extending her hand wondering why he was looking at her so intently. He didn't shake that hand but moved to take her backpack. Putting her luggage in the boot of the car, he wordlessly opened the passenger door and waited for her to settle in and closed the door.
She wondered why he looked at her so intently as if her appearance caused him severe pain. She wondered why he didn't say a word to her or even moved to give her a hug. She was eighteen, not too young to be travelling on her own, she was beautiful"at least that is what her dadi and nani told her so why was her chachu so aloof.
She pondered over her Chachu's behaviour as he drove in strange silence...
Little did she know that her face resembled Chachu's first and only love
Little did she remember that she was the spitting image of her mother.
CH2 : PG 3
Health and Fitness
