Still Climbin...
She arrived in Bareilly well before night, calling Garima on
the way and explaining the situation to her
Her father was furious she would venture alone in her car,
by road, with no help like that
"Rehne do beta, just go home, we can call their lawyer,
that's why they are not answering, shaayad unko khud ko is baat ka bura lag
raha ho? Shyam Sundar Gupta was frazzled
"Dad jo bache ke school mein jaakar usko lekar gayen hain
unko kya bura lag raha hoga? she scoffed
"Just turn around, main Dhruv ko Bareilly bhejta hoon, aur
Vibhu ko aapke paas, he begged
"Dad I just want to see him one time she said choking
"Umm.. waha aap kisi ko nahi jaante, unka address bhi maloom
hai aapko? "Srishti Hemant ko guzre 2 saal honey ko hai March mein, you don't
know anything
Her Mom in the meanwhile was texting her a series of "Don't
be foolish "Just return
"How are you even going to solve this thing? "He seems
politically connected, please give up teeku
"I love you. I am going to come to Delhi tonight, please
return home beta "Its not safe to go by yourself
"I cant go back to that empty house Dad, I feel worse than
how I felt on the day Srishti died. How can this be happening to me? "I don't
want anything to do with them. They were positively nasty to Hemant for
marrying Srishti. Now they want the child?
"Weve been through all that. Its their blood, they can lay
claim to it
"HE is not a IT Daddd she screeched
"I get it, but please don't cry, don't drive, turn around
"I TOLD Meeta Bhabhi not to tell you Avantika hung up
She cried all the way to Bareilly mostly
Finding the sessions judge's home was a piece of cake
It was well before sunset. She couldn't drive into the property,
there were guards posted outside, two level home in a circular shape with a
outer and inner courtyard, it was all white with giant pillars and corridors
wrapped around.
She wandered tentatively until a man in white shirt and
white pant, paused and enquired who she was looking for
"Umm.. Mr Vaidya? she asked trying to compose herself
Her face was red and puffy, her eyes sore from all the
frantic rubbing
"JV saab? he asked
"Umm.. Mr Vaidya? she insisted
"JV sir to courat se hi waapis aaye nahi
More employees passed by
"Kitne baje aayenge? she asked
"Ajee who to corat mein maloom chalega aapko, kason ki
sunwayee hoti hai he explained carelessly
"who sahib boley rahe, iyan who ghaas sookhi haigi he
hollered to a man walking at a distance pushing what looked like a gas powered
lawn mower
"Main wait kar loon?
"Hamey kaahe pooch rahi hain, udhar chauth... dahiney jaawen
to haiga, bohoth saare log baithe hain he scoffed
She walked over to what looked like a waiting room for the
judge's office, sun shone through the tall windows, the arches above the
windows had a muslin covering on them, the drapes were heavy linen kind
The furniture old and imperial in dark cherry wood, darkened
over time with tall backs and ornate curved armrests with silk like upholstery.
It smelled like incense and old books. The walls had
pictures of many oldies in judicial robes... her eyes scanned them... before they
got to the picture of the tall young man wearing glasses who looked like Hemant
she realized she hadn't texted her parents
She texted her parents to say she had found the home and she
was waiting
"Are u even at the right place? "How did they let you into
a judge's official residence?
"there was armed security outside, but there are people
waiting to plead their case offline she texted
"You have to be careful. Is your phone charged? Where will
you stay the night? Do u have extra battery? You don't know anyone. Leave that
house before it turns dark teeku
"Yes matey she responded a lil cheerfully
"Stay at a hotel I will find one and book a room, lock the
door at night
"Maaa
Her mother sent her a verse instead
"So boy don't you turn back
"Don't you set down on the steps
"cause you finds its kinder hard
"Don't you fall now
For I'se still going honey
I'se still climbin
~Langston Hughes
She waited a whole hour or so
A tall stately woman walked in, she wore her saree differently,
like many women wore in UP
The doorman stood up and bowed
"Sahib laute naahi he mumbled
She nodded and turned around
Avantika jumped up, seeing her three of the 11 people
waiting did too
"Hum case ke baare mein kuch jaante nahi, bas chai pila sakte
hain she smiled warmly
"Umm.. Maam main Delhi se aayi hoon
The woman's expression became grim, as her face paled
"Uh... umm.. please baith jaayen
"Mera naam Avantika Gupta hai, main Chandan ki... "Umm.. I am
here to see Chandan she couldn't stop her tears at that point
The woman looked uneasy
"Paani laate hain, aap baitho she said not sure how to
break the news that her son had gone to bring the grand child and they were
still on their way.
"Chandu hai yaha pe? she asked with a lot of hope
"Nahi... abhi aaye nahi the woman acknowledged, painfully and
watched Avantika's enthusiasm shatter
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