A/N: I have been one awful updater - and the epilogue is no exception! But as always my apologies and thanks to all my wonderful readers who have been very sweet and understanding,
Here we go the last chapter. It takes a leap of several years.CHAPTER 20It was mid-morning and utter chaos in the number 14 York Street, Boston was ensued. The 14th house on 102 York street was a well-kept apartment. It overlooked the quiet residential streets on one side and huge park on the other. It was spacious, well-decorated and particularly loud that morning.
The owner of the house was sitting with his legs propped on the table, biting into cookies and drinking coffee. He had just pushed the newspaper aside when his wife came and hit him with a rolled up magazine.
"Ow.. Ridhima.."
" What did I say about leaving crumbs on the sofa?" Ridhima grumbled, glaring at her husband who shrugged.
" What did I say about hitting in front of company?" he retorted
" Samay is not company" Ridhima said pulling her dupatta down as her eyes frantically examined the living room. It was decorated in balloons and huge ribbons. Blown out proportions of various cartoon characters hung around the place.
"Samay is company in this instance..." Sid said standing up
Ridhima rolled her eyes while a childish voice scoffed. They turned to look at their four year old son dressed in a pair of jeans and superman tshirt.
" I am not a C-C-ompany, dad. I 'm superman.." he said proudly puffing his chest as he displayed the red and yellow S symbol.
Sid scooped him up and kissed his tiny nose. He looked exactly like him, from his crazy unruly hair to the slightly lopsided toe. This was something that pissed Ridhima often.
" I carry this kid for nine months and there is nothing of me in him.." she often complained but inwardly she loved that she could see Sid as a child. Father and son were so truly alike that it melted her heart.
She now leaned towards the men in her life and said " Why doesnt Superman go to Sue bua and put on his superman pants before the guests arrive?"
Samay Modi nodded excitedly " Daddy down..."
Sid let him down with a laugh watching proudly as he ran to his sister who hugged him tightly.He turned to see Ridhima swiping the little crumbs on the sofa . A teasing remark almost fell through his lips but he refrained when he saw the worried look in her eyes.
He embraced her back nd kissed her neck "Its going to be fine. You are worrying too much"
Ridhima relaxed slightly and leaned back towards him " Everything has to be perfect or else your mother would never let me hear the end of it.. "
Sid sighed. His mother had been unbearable when he returned with Ridhima six years ago. She refused to accept Ridhima in her family, always making sure that Ridhima was exempted from the family gatherings. Her list of complaints ranged from the infidelity of his wife, to her coffee making abilities to her pursuing a career. Ridhima was the head of gynaecology department at BMC while he worked as their senior research analyst. His mother's words,though hurtful, never really mattered much for Sid was adamant that Ridhima would work.
It was only after Samay's birth that Mrs. Modi calmed down a bit. No one could resist Samay Modi, least of his grandma and it was the catalyst that finally brought the reconciliation between mother 'and daughter in law. However Ridhima still was scared of his mother's sharp tongue.
" Did I forget to mention that Mom isnt coming? he asked with an impish grin. Ridhima's mouth dropped open and she squatted his arm.
" Sid, I swear if you werent the father of my children I would..."
"You would?"
Ridhima opened her mouth to curse her husband but a clock chimed
" Look at the time, you better get dressed Batman. But dont worry, husband, I will get you tonight.."
Sid winked " I cant wait.."
She blushed and walked to dress the guest of honor. She was lying in the crib, fast asleep. A pink tulle was lying next to her.Nestled between the sheets and her father's old worn T-shirt which was her favorite thing in the world lay one year old Ritika Modi. Ridhima smiled and reached out to caress her daughter;s cheek. If Samay was a miniature copy of Sid, Ritika looked exactly like her except thats she had her father's eyes.
She picked Ritika gently and smiled. It was surreal to understand the amount of happiness that surrounded Ridhima now. She had always been a lost person. As a girl she was lost in her dreams and as a adult she was lost in her mind, wandering around paths looking for a love. And she had found one but lost it too. And thats when the angel had found her guiding her to her destiny and in the arms of the one person she was made for: Sidhant Modi.
She only wished she had realised this sooner and avoided the pain she had caused everyone. But everything worked out in the end. She found her true soulmate and even Arman had found happiness. She smiled at the thought of Shilpa and Arman who married three years ago. They were all happy.
"Mama.." a voice whined from the doorway
" Yes, Samay?"
He quickly ran to his mother and whispered in her ears " I cant tie my cloak " he looked up with a finger to his lips " but dont tell anyone that"
" Why?"
" I 'm Superman and I can do anything.."
"Oh.." she smiled " How about we make it our lil secret?" she whispered. He nodded solemnly and looked at his sister.
" What is Riti going to be?"
" She is going to be Cinderella.."
"But Cinderella is so boring. She doesnt do anything.."
Ridhima smiled at him " She finds her prince..."
Samay shrugged. Sid walked in looking throughly disgruntled.
" Ridhima, how do I tie this cloak thing?"
Ridhima smiled and looked down at three most important people in the world.
Yes she finds her prince... as I found mine...
...
THE END
So thats it- I started this FF because I didnt like the way DMG ended, not only because it made me sad that SR wasnt together but because Ridhima was completely butchered. This FF was an attempt to understand and straighten out Ridhima.. I would say more than a FF, this was a character study with certain twists. Another reason I wrote this was because that I miss SR days and writing this FF allowed me to talk to some of you, whom I havent seen since those golden times.
I know I have been a terrible writer with huge gaps between updates and I am personally proud that I did finish this. I hope everyone would be happy with the way it ended. And if anyone is interested in finding out what happened to Arsh you can get an idea from my OFF THE RECORD series written in my one-shot thread.
Anyway it has been quite a journey and I want to thank each and everyone who took time to read and comment on it. Non-commenters get a thank you too but those of you who commented gets an extra cookie... I would like to thank nikita for being my first reviewer. I would also think to give special thanks to veena, DJ, Liashna and miss_cullen for always giving such detailed comments. And a big thank you to jasangel whose love for this story overwhelmed me. AND A HUGE HUG for Neet for inspiring me with all her comments and making me smile everytime I read her comment.. Sorry for the mishap earlier..
I am planning on writing something on SR soon.
Until next time inspiration strucks me
Love
Neha
Edited by Neha_S - 12 years ago
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