Leap of Faith

A beautiful Start 1-One shot

I started the stopwatch, stepping inside the sunbathed balcony: My heart was in my mouth. Every second was passing in a deciding slowness. I averted my eyes from the clock and gazed at the view. Each day, I drank the sight of the water tides splashed against the black rock. The sea was silent in the morning, with sunrays danced on the tides as if breathing liquid gold.

I took a deep breath to calm my fluttering mind. As I closed my eyes, I remembered Aayan's smile flashing. My husband was the workaholic kind. Third time in the week, he was away for supervising the progress of the Chennai plant. And I missed him as the air I breathe. I recalled our second honeymoon on the island of Hawaii. The whole beach was ours, with only some housemaids and two bodyguards. He gave his whole two weeks for me. We had read random books in the cool shadows of a beachside cottage, hearing the rhythmic beating of tides on the shore.

And perhaps that was the precise time when we made love in every possible corner of the house, and one wild night at the beach, under the moonlight. It brought a warm feeling inside of me, as I remembered the particular instance. I felt my heart beating faster than usual. Was that night when the deed was done? My subconscious nodded vigorously.

Finally, I opened my eyes and held the stick before my sight. When I saw the pink lines, innocently confirming something and my heart gave away. Holy mother of god! There was a tiny living baby inside of me. With my one hand, I marveled how the two lines indicated the dramatic change that was about to happen. I caressed my belly. A smile broke out of my mouth, this feeling was different from what I had thought first. It didn't scare me that much which I first anticipated.

I wished suddenly that Aayan should have been by my side. How much happy he would have looked. Lately, we fought a lot as both of us wouldn't give much time to each other. And he was insisting me to take up the position of the vice president of the company, actually more like second in command. But I was unsure of the role. There were many seniors who were perfect for the job. Now once in for all, he would give up his pestering and we would focus on the baby. This would make everything perfect again.

"Hello, baby. I am your mumma," I whispered. "Can you hear me?"

I smiled as I felt her presence, I already thought that it was my daughter. Aayan always wanted a daughter. Was I imagining us all together? I thought I was!

I ran inside, breathless: picked up the phone and dialed Aayan's number.

"Baby, I can't talk now," came his hushed voice.

"Aayan, I need to tell you something!" I went on, his voice subdued my excitement a little.

"Trisha, I am in a very important discussion with the environmental authorities. Could you please wait for few minutes?" he snapped.

My own anger rose. Recently, he had taken up this habit. Few months before, whenever I called him, he would pick up and talk at least for a minute, even when he was in the dinner with the prime minister.

I cut the call and fumed inwardly. "Your father will pay for this," I muttered to my stomach.

I finished my breakfast and thought of calling my assistant, Rashmi, as a young enthusiastic fresher from my old college. My first instinct told me to book an appointment with a doctor and confirm the pregnancy.

Before I hit the call button, Rashmi came with her planner and a small bag, ready for her work.

She greeted me and took a seat on the couch of the living room. "Ma'am, whenever you are ready," she said and sat upright on the edge of the sofa seat, waiting for me to get ready, as the usual routine went.