Posted:
I've wanted to write a one shot story since a long time, and yeah, minus romance LOL 😆. I particularly suck in that department. It's 6 am in the morning and my brain isn't exactly working, so I'm sorry if this one turns out be absolutely trashy. It's just something that came to my mind and I couldn't help penning it down.
P.S - I know that the title sucks, but my brain has stopped working. so i came up with this stupid little thing.
~* The Penguin-shaped Pendant*~
"Papa, I like this dress, Can I have it for my 9th birthday ?" enquired Naina innocently as her eyes lingered upon a small pink frock with white net over it.
"Sure beta, afterall, it's your birthday tomorrow, and a young birthday girl is allowed to have whatever she wants" replied Arun with a wide smile plastered on his face. He was in awe with the way his daughter was growing up, 'Was it only yesterday that I cradled her in my arms to quieten her ?' He thought to himself as a feeling of warmth engulfed him. He was truly blessed to have her in his life.
Naina's lips instantly curved into a wide smile, a smile that reached her eyes. At her age, even small things like a dress can make children feel like they just won a jackpot. They marvel over the new object as if it were a precious metal. 'Yay !' she exclaimed in her child-like, sqeaky voice and jumped up and down, clapping her hands.
Arun smiled once again at her innocence and led her inside the shop. Naina kept grinning widely throughout. She kept planning about the future of her new dress and which events would it be worn to.
They came out of the shop, with Arun holding the bag and Naina walking excitedly beside him. "Papa, Where's mumma ? she said she would come back in 20 minutes. She only had to buy a salwaar-kameez na ?" asked Naina with an adorable face, innocence dripping from each word.
"Beta, she'll come back soon, don't worry. Besides, women take alot of time to select their dresses" Arun replied, with a perky smirk on his face, visibly happy to know that his wife wasn't there to counter his comment on women.
"I don't !" replied Naina in contempt, "I choose my dresses very quickly !"
Arun looked at her and said, "Well, you know...." He was cut off by a familiar voice shouting his name aloud.
"ARUN !"
Both Naina and Arun turned around to see Tanya, Arun's wife and Naina's mother, standing across the road with numerous shopping bags clasped in her hands. She was smiling and gesturing them to wait where they were. Naina smiled and waved back, "Mumma ! Look what Papa bought me !" she exclaimed holding up her shopping bag.
Tanya warmly smiled at her and started walking towards them, "I'm sure it's lovely beta !" she replied back whilst still walking across the road.
Then suddenly, in the wink of eye, a car came speeding down the road and rammed into Tanya. She lost grip pf the shopping bags and they went flying into the air and she was thrown to the other side of the road...
"MAAAA !!!" Naina sat upright in her leather chair as if someone had attached a rope to her and had suddenly pulled it with great force. She was covered in perspiration and her eyes were wide in shock. Her heart pounded so fast that it felt as if it would come out of her chest at any time. She looked her around as she realized that she was sitting in her office. It was almost midnight and the lights were turned off.
She had had the same nightmare again. Even after 20 years, the scene replayed in her mind as if it had happened just yesterday. The horrific death of her mother had been registered in her mind like a digital photograph. Losing her mother at a tender age of nine had killed the innocence in her. She childhood was never the same. Her life was never the same...
And then there was this guilt. She couldn't get over the guilt that her mother died because of her. If only she had controlled her excitement for some time, If only she had not called for her mother when she was crossing the road, If only she hadn't distracted her...
She covered her head in her hands as her breathing steadily came back to normal again. Naina Sharma had done extremely well for herself. She was the CEO was the topmost IT company in the city, and needless to say, she had worked really hard to achieve this. To other people her work was her passion, but to her, her work was also an escape. An escape from the haunting images of her mother's lifeless face plunging into her mind again and again. Although Time had acted as a healer, she couldn't help but shed a few tears in the dark occasionally.
After many silent moments, she heard a knock on her door. She reluctantly lifted her head up and said in a small voice, "Come in".
An old man of about 50 entered her office. Naina looked up and got up in surprise, "Papa, What are you doing here at this time of night ?" she asked, slowly walking towards him.
Arun smiled and slowly fished out a small box which he was apparently hiding behind his back. He opened the leather case and placed it in his right palm, "Happy Birthday Beta"
Naina's eyes travelled from the case to her father's face. She felt tears tingle her eyes as she observed her father looking at her with as much love and warmth as he did 20 years ago on that fateful day.
Unable to stop herself, she went forward and hugged him as she let her guard down. After her mother's death, her father had been a constant emotional support to her. He had been there for her at every stage of her life. He hid himself behind the mask of happiness to bring a small genuine smile to her lips. Her father was everything to her.
"Thankyou Papa", she whispered as she broke away from the hug. Arun kissed her forehead and said, "You're always welcome beta"
Naina steadied herself and asked, "So what is this that you have brought for me this year ?" An involuntary smile crept upto her face during their conversation.
"Well, I remembered you loved penguins as a kid so I bought you this small necklace with a penguin-shaped pendant" replied Arun as he held up the necklace in his hands. Naina smiled at his innocence and was in awe with how he remembered the smallest of things. He was the only person in the world who could make her forget all her sorrows and make her smile genuinely.
As she slipped it around her neck, she remembered how excited she had been on her 9th birthday to recieve a pink frock from her father. She was literally jumping on the road.
She may not be jumping up and down now, but the emotion in her eyes reflected her excitement, and the necklace with the penguin-shaped pendant was nothing less than a jackpot for her.
~END
* I know it's crappy. But please leave comments nevertheless :D
Ufff Yeh Love Hai Mushkil
Jhanak
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