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Part 7
Coming Home
New Delhi, India
Six Days Later
Ishita
Ishita stepped out of the taxi and waited for the driver to hand her her suitcase. Then she looked up at her apartment building, and smiled.
It was so good to be back home. Her plane journey had been surprisingly comfortable. She had arrived at the airport with the other conference participants to find that she had been upgraded to Business Class. "But I'm not a member of any loyalty program, so how" she had protested? "I don't know mam" the sprightly young woman at the check in counter had told her. "But I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth if I were you. Just enjoy it!" So enjoy it Ishita had done, and if a niggling doubt had crept into her mind that perhaps HE had been responsible for this, she had ignored it. She had logged in to check her flight details from his computer, so he would certainly have been able to find out her flight information, but why would HE have done something so nice for her?
"Stop it, Ishita" she told herself firmly. "Stop thinking about him." She lugged her suitcase towards the stairs, only to be intercepted by Romi Bhalla.
"Mujhe dijiye Ishita ji" {"Give the bag to me Ishitaji"} he sprung forward and grabbed the bag from her.
"Romi, its okay" Ishita protested, but he had already started walking up the stairs.
"Where did you go Ishitaji?" he asked as she fell in step behind him.
"New Zealand" she replied.
"Are wah" Romi looked back at her in excitement. "Bhai bhi abhi wapas aye, bas teen din pehle. Who kahin Singapore wagera gaye theh, lekin New Zealand toh kitni exciting rahi hogi na?" {Bhai also just came back, three days ago. He went to Singapore or someplace, but New Zealand! That must have been so exciting!}
"Hmm" Ishita replied, as Raman's image came unbidden into her mind.
Exciting was an understatement for what had happened to her in New Zealand. She blushed as she remembered the feel of his strong arms around her, his lips on hers, his warm breath fanning her face, his hands caressing her ..."
"Ishitaji !!!" she was brought out of her reverie as she almost walked into Romi, who had stopped outside the Iyer apartment. "sorry, Romi, thank you" she said in some confusion, as she pushed the door open.
"Koi baat nahi" {That's ok} Romi replied with a quizzical smirk, as he sauntered off to his own home.
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Ishita had greeted her parents, drunk the coffee lovingly prepared by her mother, spoken to her Vandu akka, Bala jiju and their little Shravu on the phone and had now retired to her room to unpack her bags.
She fingered the red wool tunic she had bought for her amma, but knew that she would never part with it now. She buried her face in the soft woollen folds, remembering the look on his face when he had seen her in it, the way his fingers had grazed it when he was draping the muffler around her neck.
"Ishita aunty"
"Ruhi" Ishita turned around in delight, enveloping the little girl into her arms and covering her face with kisses.
"Aap mere liye presents layi Ishita aunty?" Ruhi jumped up on Ishita's bed and bounced around excitedly. {Have you brought presents for me?}
"Haan layi hoon, but Ru ko kaise pata chala ki mein aa gayi hoon?"
{Yes, I have, but how did Ru know that I am back}
"Mujhe Romi chachu ne bataya. Toh mein seedhe chali aayi. {Romi chachu told me and I came straight over} Did you miss me Ishita aunty?"
"Haan mera baccha, I missed you a lot" Ishita smiled up at her little friend. "And did you miss me?"
"Haan Ishita aunty. Aap nahi thi aur papa bhi nahi theh. Mujhe meri present dikhao na Ishita aunty." {Yes Ishita aunty. You werent here and neither was Papa. Show me my presents please}
Ishita rummaged in her bag and pulled out the shopping bag in which she had stored Ruhi's gifts. She had hunted long and hard in her limited time to find presents that Ruhi would like. Apart from the t-shirts she had bought for Ruhi on her first day, before the accident, she had also finally found the perfect toy. It was a stuffed toy version of a Kea, a native New Zealand parrot, coloured in vibrant hues of green and black. There was something in it that had appealed to her, sitting as it did amongst scores of the more common kiwis and sheep. In fact, to be honest, it had somehow reminded her of a certain Raavan!
She handed Ruhi the t-shirts first ("Pink" Ruhi exclaimed "My faviroute colour") before she plucked out the Kea and presented it with a flourish. "Here Ruhi, this is a kea. Yeh sirf aur sirf New Zealand mein rehta hai, in the South Island, where I went." {This only lives in New Zealand, in the South Island where I went}
Awww" Ruhi said in surprise, her mouth hanging open as Ishita held out the toy to her.
"Kya hua Ru beta. Aap ko pasand nahi hai?" Ishita was puzzled by Ruhi's reaction.
{Whats wrong Ru? Don't you like it?}
"Wait here Ishita aunty, mein aati hoon."
{Wait here Ishita aunty, I'll be back}
"Ruhi, wait" ishita turned over the toy in puzzlement as Ruhi scooted out of the room.Just what was wrong, she wondered. She had thought Ruhi would love the sad looking green bird, which looked like it could just do with a cuddle.
She turned around to look for Shravu's present, wondering if he would like what she had got for him, when Ruhi came rushing back into the room. She was holding something behind her back with one hand.
"Ishita aunty, give me the present now." She ordered.
Still puzzled, Ishita quietly handed over the kea. Ruhi clutched the bird and then brought her other hand from behind her back with a flourish. In her hand was an identical kea. "Look, twins" she shouted in glee.
"Ruhi, where did you get that?' Ishita gasped in surprise.
"Papa brought it for me. From Slingapore"
"Singapore" Ishita corrected mechanically. Of all the toys he could have bought, he had to have bought that. Something that was only found in New Zealand.
"But Ishita aunty, you said this parrot only lives in New Zealand. So how did papa buy it in Sling Sing apore? "
"Woh Ruhi kya hai na, these days you can get everything in the shops na. Anywhere. So your papa must have bought it in Singapore." She knew she was babbling, but Ruhi had stopped listening, and was trying to get her two keas to kiss each other.
Ishita sat down heavily on her bed. Would these coincidences never stop?
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Raman
Raman opened the door and stepped wearily inside his apartment. It was almost midnight and he had spent the three days since he had been back working non-stop on the Mehta campaign. He eyed the Iyer's door as he closed his own.
She would have come back this afternoon. He wondered how she had reacted to the upgrade to Business Class that he had organised for her. Would she have suspected that he had done it, and if so, would she have refused to accept the upgrade? He wouldn't put it past her. He had no idea why he had done it, but the thought of her sitting cramped in economy for hours on end had unsettled him somehow.
He stopped at the door of Ruhi's room. Ishita's words came back to him "She needs you Raman. You have to spend more time with her." Well, he hadn't been able to spend any time with her since he had come back, but tomorrow was Sunday and he intended to spend the day with his daughter. Ishita was right, Ruhi needed him, and he needed to get past the memories of his failed marriage and his ex wife. It wasn't Ruhi's fault that she reminded him of Shagun. She was her own little person and he couldn't punish her for her mother's betrayal.
He stepped inside the room and walked up to his daughters bed. The soft night light cast a glow across her angelic features as he sat down slowly on the bed, careful not to disturb her. He noticed that she was clutching the green kea he had bought for her to her chest, a slight smile on her chubby face. "Probably dreaming she is flying somewhere with the damn bird" he thought to himself, tenderly smoothing her hair. He frowned as he realised he was sitting on something, and shifted slightly, pulling up the offending object as he did so.
To his utter surprise he found himself holding the identical of the toy his daughter was clutching. "Shit, did this thing clone itself?" he murmured before he realised what had happened. The madrassan. Of course. Trust her to choose exactly the same gift for Ruhi that he had. If only she knew that he had bought the damn thing because in some strange way, the bird reminded him of her. He put the second kea next to Ruhi, and then giving her one last look, walked softly out of her room.
Another hard day, another lonely night. But at least SHE was home. Safe and sound.
A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it
George Moore "The Brook Kerith"
Part 8 Lo Phir Mil Gaye
CID
Udne Ki Aasha
Kumkum Bhagya
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