PART 16
God is in heaven and all is well with the world ' these were the words that ran through Priya's mind as she, for the first time in five years, experienced the joy and peace that could be felt only in Ram's arms. Ram heaved a great sigh of relief ' Now the centre of his universe was back ' all issues could be solved soon enough. For now the only sensation that mattered was to have his Priya in his arms, fine, healthy and immensely beautiful as always. For a long time the Ram and Priya just savoured their physical bond and closeness. They would have remained standing, in each other's arms for eternity if not for the bundle of energy that Riya was.
"Momma, mera hath..." these words broke the magical bubble surrounding Ram and Priya. Ram's first reaction was to step back in fear and Priya's memory went flashing back to the first time that she felt Ram's arms around her... She smiled and carrying her precious daughter, looked at Ram and said "Riya, aaj aapke poppa aa hi gaye..." and to Ram she said "Ram, yeh rahi aapki apni gudiya... hamare pyaar ka sabse bada gift ' aapki Riya." Ram looked at the two of them and then his tears started flowing, tears of joy, happiness, peace mingled with tears that flowed as he thought of what he had missed in the past 5 years.
Apeksha entered at that moment and looking at Ram said "Bhai... come on and sit down... baitke baath kar lenge." She brought a jug of juice and some biscuits and made everybody sit down around the table ' Riya included. For a short time, all talk was about finding out how each was and looking each other up and satisfy the visual craving of seeing each other. Ram and Priya sat on the sofa, close enough to touch each other constantly, as if trying to cram into the next few hours all that they had missed during the past 5 years. Their hands stayed linked around Riya and both kept looking at each other with longing. After a while, Riya started to feel sleepy. Noting her crankiness, Priya lifted her up and looked at Ram "Aap ki beti ko neend aa rahi hai... aap aayenge hamare saath inhe sulane?" she asked. Ram jumped at the opportunity to spend some time with his own family and the three of them moved towards Riya's room.
When they entered the room the first thing that Ram noticed was a picture of him standing at a podium and delivering some presentation. The picture radiated with the power and confidence of his business persona and he was taken by surprise that Priya had chosen such a picture to keep in his daughter's room. As they reached the bed, another photograph of him, in casuals and standing shoulder to shoulder with Priya, beckoned him. Both were smiling and looking at each other with love and their closeness was palpable. Right next to it was a photograph of Riya, Priya, Apeksha and Krishnaji, all smiling and looking beautiful in their singularly unique way. Ram picked up the photograph and looked at the four women who now were the very core of his universe... from them would radiate all his future happiness and joy ' he knew it in his heart that these were the only people who would hurt themselves before they thought of even hurting him ' and this knowledge brought a tear to his tired eyes.
Riya looked at her father looking at the photograph of all of them and piped up in an excited voice "Poppa, woh na hum mere 4th birthday pe liye... achha hai?" Ram looked at her with adoration and fascination ' here was the epitome of perfection, a blend of him and Priya that amazed and humbled him. Everything about her fascinated him ' she resembled him with her big chocolate brown eyes and round face but otherwise she was a miniature Priya. To think that he had lost out on 5 years of her life brought tears to his eyes but he brushed all those negative thoughts for a while and decided that for now he would focus on the present, on the now and the beauty of what their love for each other had created. He stretched out his arms to her and asked her "Come here?" Riya hesitated for a mere fraction of a second before jumping onto her father's lap. Ram hugged her and thanked God for her innocence and purity. Priya watched as father and daughter bonded in silence and tears rolled down her cheeks as she quietly moved back to allow them to enjoy and experience each other. Ram held onto his daughter for what seemed an eternity before whispering to Priya "is she sleeping?" Even before Priya could check, Riya looked up and said "No Poppa, main soyi nahi... mujhe accha lagta hai aisa aap ke lap pe baithna... thodi der aur...please?" Ram was totally ambushed by the pure love that his daughter displayed... there was no pretence, no ambiguity, no confusion in her about him. After some time, Riya looked up and this time addressed her mother "Momma, aap bhi aao na... Poppa aap ko bhi huggy denge...bahut bade hai mere Poppa..na Poppa." Priya burst out laughing and Ram had a look on his face that was an amalgamation of pure shock and adoration.
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