The Crime - FF || Chapter 8 || - Page 4

Just Curious

"Please just leave, what we had was nothing-", she said, squinting her eyes in annoyance.

"Oh don't you dare say we had nothing between us!" I threatened.

"Well what else should we name this relationship? We had nothing between us, no understanding, no trust...how could I live a life of that sort, Ashok and I have some sort of connection betw-"

"Ha! Listen to yourself! You sound exactly like those couples we used to make fun of in college, talking about 'connections' and what not! Face it Shagun, you have no other affection for Ashok leaving his money."

"You might think that way, Raman...", she said lacing both their fingers together. "Because you've never felt love, you've never felt nor will you ever feel that sort of love for anyone...which is solely for the reason because you never loved anybody."

"I've never felt love? In case you might be forgetting, I have a thing called 'family', and it's a pretty big one too overflowing with affection for me! Look at yourself woman, your mother doesn't care about your whereabouts, your father? God knows where he is right now and you don't have any siblings."

"Oh please, you know nothing about my family, now just leave before my daughter comes back, us fighting will have a bad influence on her."

"Oh so now you're so desperate to prove your point that you started lying too? Don't try to fool me Shagun, we both very well know you never wanted a child."

"People change, Raman, and so did I. Why don't you just deal with the fact that I'm never going to come back! You've been bombarding through my doors for a week now, don't you have any mercy on my daughter? Why are you scaring her? Thank the heavens that she never witnessed this, but the neighbours are starting to talk now, Raman, she'll come to know about this and start asking."

"Oh I don't care about your daughter, her sanity or bringing you back to my house; you're a large blood stain on the face of my loved ones. But don't you think you're safe, watch me take everything you love piece by piece. It'll sting you like the swift motion of a knife cutting through your veins, you're going to regret this.", I said sternly before shooting daggers at her through my vision, I was definitely not going to let her get away with this, she'll have to pay with a large price.

It had been almost an hour since I was trying to spot the little soul that Shagun had claimed was her daughter. I wasn't going to initiate a conversation with her If I found her, but I was curious to know what she looked like. Just curios. I had almost given up in the search when I saw a small figure in the far running towards me, the hem of her frock flew in direction as the evening wind brushed past her.

"Hi Uncle!", she greeted before initiating a hi-five. At first I didn't know who she was, but then the memory of her in similar attire rushed through the veins in my mind. She was the one with Sir-sneezes-too-much or something like that.

"Hey! Good to see you again, how's... uh-"

"Sir-sleeps-a lot?"

"Yeah! How's he?"

"He's great, this is the first time someone's asked about him."

"I've never met him, but I'm sure he's a good person." I tried to play along to her unpredictable world. Her smile was so genuine, yet it looked so unique. I didn't know who she was or whose daughter she was, but I knew she was something special. Not to me (I hardly knew her), but I felt content that she was a little soul who had parents who cared about her. Who would pick her up from school, who would help her last minute with a school project, who would sometimes get sick of her and Sir-sleeps-a-lot.

I, deep inside felt jealous of her parents, they were extremely lucky that they were blessed with an angel who basically descended from the heavens. Her face looked so normal, there was nothing very special about her, she was no beauty. Yet, her way of carrying out any action made her look just...perfect. The way her pigtail would flail in the air as she would run around trying to catch her imaginary being that lived in her head, the way she would sit on the grass and run her hands through it, just everything...perfect.

Before she ran off again, I just had one question for her, one that had been in my head for a long, long time. A very genuine question really, but it would help me in something very important...to me.

"Wait, just...I want to ask something, may I?"

"Is that even a question? One who believes that Sir-sleeps-a-lot exists, can ask me anything."

"Okay, well in that case, can I ask you two questions?", I asked kneeling down raising two fingers.

"Why so much formality? Yes."

"One, how old are you?"

"I'm four."

"Okay, and who are your parents?"

"Uh...Mom told me not to tell people who live outside personal stuff."

"Personal stuff? Using fancy words huh? Don't worry, my mom was also like that only. Creeping behind me all the time, thinking I'm gonna get kidnapped or something. If you don't want to answer, you don't have to." I said getting up, slightly disappointed, but I couldn't force her into answering.

"No wait!", I heard her call out from behind me, I spun swiftly to meet her gaze.

"Mom said not to talk to strangers, but you aren't one now are you.", she said with utmost confidence in her voice. This girl was extraordinary! She didn't even know my name and she trusted me with such information.

"My parents live in H-1506," What?! H-1506?! Shagun...I should've known.

"Their names are, Shagun mama and Ashok papa."

"Yeah, I've met them a few times over here," I said, trying to hide the obvious hurt in me, how could someone so cruel be the guardian of someone so...so...gentle, subtle, kind.

"Oh really! When did you guys meet?"

"Just somewhere around here, while your mother was having her evening walk."

"Oh..."

"Can I ask a question?" She asked with a tinge of shyness.

"Sure!", I said enthusiastically, what the hell was wrong with me? I was getting excited over a girl asking me a question? Wut.

"Do you have any kids?", her question completely out of the subject, well she was a little shy in asking.

I thought for a while, silence between us, "Yes." I answered.

"Really! Do you have a son or a daughter?"

"A daughter, her name's Ruhi."

"Ruhi! That's my name! What a coincidence!"

"Yeah...what a coincidence." Pff! As if I didn't know already, I finally found what I had been searching for. Shagun's weakness, her daughter...or may I say...my daughter.

"It all fits, Mihir!", I say straining to keep my eyes open from the sleepiness that was about to evade me, apparently it was the only time when we could discuss such a delicate topic without ears peering through the doors.

"But, don't you want to clarify first? It could also just be a very big coincidence.", he said.

"Are you kidding me?! It all fits, I was sentenced to imprisonment in 2010, five years ago. Ruhi is four years old, 9 months we take out for the pregnancy period. Come on Mihir, it all makes sense! And she said that the child was Ashok's instead of coming clean and saying it was mine.

"Well now what do we do? Ruhi might be yours, but the odds are against you. The court usually gives the custody to the mother, you lost your job so you aren't earning right now, but Ashok can provide the needs she deserves, it's hopeless, Raman."

"No. She's my daughter and no one and when I say this I mean it, no one will keep her away from me."

Originally posted by: vidya_prasad

Good one

Finally he is out of jail and shagun is out of house.

Very interesting..

Continue soon

Originally posted by: MysticRiver

well written...good..👍🏼

Originally posted by: prachi_vrushan

awesome update
is that girl is ruhi???

Originally posted by: RomComFan

Well this is another unexpected twist.. he's out and he wants her back?... Can't wait to see how else his world starts changing... terrific job as always.😊

Originally posted by: Eyes-Wide-Shut

Anjali finally caught up with all 3 updates, loved it!!! Update soon and thanks for the PM :)