OS : A Miracle ...

Nachiket awoke to the sound of the baby crying.  Although he had only been a father for a fortnight now, he had become accustomed to the sound of their son's cry.  It woke him in an instant, better than any alarm clock.

He wondered if it was that parental instinct they talked about.

He heard Ragini sigh next to him, and felt her begin to get up from the bed. She had gotten up an hour back to feed the child, he knew. He leaned into her and touched her shoulder gently.

"I'll go."

Even though it was dark, he saw her smile sleepily, and relax. He kissed her softly on the forehead, and got out of bed.

Ranbir's cry had grown more intense.

He padded into the baby's room, tripping over some toy lying on the floor.  The child wailed, begging to be picked up.  He did so carefully, and patted him gently on the back.  The boy immediately quieted.

He carried the baby into the living room, and picked out a record from the collection that he and Ragini had pooled just that day.  He picked up a DVD and put it in the player, letting the soothing instrumental music flow all around. He swayed back and forth with the baby in his arms, whose eyes began to grow heavy almost immediately. He kissed him on the top of his head, inhaling his sweet baby scent.

And his mind began to wander.  At times it was unbelievable that he could be standing there, holding his son, sleeping next to the woman he'd loved for the past 2 years, given his girlfriend infested background.

He smiled as he thought of the day that Ragini first came into his life - he had seen her first in his Grandfather's place, chatting amicably enough. His first reaction was that she was pretty, but uptight.  And maybe she was, a little, but he was intrigued by her intelligence, and it interested him.

She matched him; for every crazy thing he did, she could find some way to discredit him, throwing it on his face that he was just a simple skirt chaser.  He somehow knew, on gut instinct, that they could be a perfect couple.  But he had no idea that she would shortly become his life.

He loved her before he even knew it.  He never realized that his need to taunt her yet protect her was really love in disguise until much later, when she had left their house, following his unfound allegations, after his Grandfather's death.

Two years.  While it didn't seem like a waste, he regretted the years he'd lost with her.  They could have been happy then, if only he had had the courage to listen to his own heart, and go after her - search, find and woo her like she was the only one who mattered - which had been true all the while.  But perhaps it just wasn't the right time.  Perhaps all that they had endured had brought them to this point, and all the pain and loneliness was a prelude to better things to come.

Better things?  More like the best of things. 

Nachiket couldn't imagine things being better than this.  He'd never been happier, or more content in his life. 

Ragini.  He'd put a ring on her finger as soon as he adjusted to the shock that she had missed him as well. He'd only imagined this kind of intimacy, and it always seemed like a fantasy when he really thought about sharing it with her.  All those times when he had run after unwanted relationships till the end of the earth, trying to convince him otherwise ... when all he wanted and longed for was simply her presence in his life, and in his arms.  Never had he believed then that he would be where he was now.  Never had he dared to allow himself such a dream.

Ranbir.  Their first born.  For him, it was love at first sight.  Though he'd entertained the idea of having children one day, he never really pictured himself as a family man. 

Still, here they were.

Ragini appeared from the doorway of the bedroom.  She smiled as she laid eyes on her world in front of her.

"Did the music wake you?"

She only smiled again as she approached them. 

"Couldn't sleep, so I thought we'd have a little dancing." He said, looking down at the baby, who had now fallen fast asleep.  They both beheld the child, their miracle.  She put her arms around them both, and swayed with the music.  He caught her eye and bent down to kiss her softly, not missing a beat with the song.

And Nachiket couldn't help but think...everything that mattered in the world was right there in his arms.

The END

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