Connected: A YHM Story ✔️

Chapter 13 - The One With The Insane Idea

On the other hand, Raman was having a tough time handling Ruhi on his own. He quickly found out that he knew nothing about her. Not her favorite colors, her favorite foods, her daily schedule, her fears, or anything else. His office regularly demanded his attention and he used it as an escape from his home, leaving Ruhi mostly to her grandparents.

On Mihir and Pathak's behest, Raman had significantly cut down on his work hours. He had most of his meals at home with Ruhi and his parents. But mingling with them was harder than he thought. Years of isolation could not be undone so quickly. He rarely spoke unless spoken to first, making the environment at home quite awkward. Apart from Toshi, no one had the courage to approach him on their own.

In the aftermath, Ruhi and Raman's relationship seemed to deteriorate rather than flourish. Their interactions became robotic and mechanical. Raman made sure that she was eating and sleeping properly, and that her other needs were taken care of. But he couldn't bond further on an emotional level. He seemed to have forgotten how. In one instant, Ruhi had asked him to narrate a story at bedtime. He rummaged through her storybooks and found a Sleeping Beauty book that she liked. He read through it in one go, and Ruhi complained that he didn't read it as well as Ishimaa. Raman had been exhausted then and he lost his patience, ordering her to quietly go to sleep. Ironically, he couldn't fall asleep himself that night. What kind of a victory was this? He won his daughter's custody, but neither of them were happy.

Luckily, the rest of his family managed to cheer up Ruhi. Romi and Rinki played with her after their classes. Simi came over regularly with Ananya. Toshi and Omprakash took her out to the park every so often. Raman thought that should be enough. But it wasn't. For Ruhi missed her Ishimaa terribly and nobody could fill that void. The one person who could - her father - refused to gel with her. Her grandparents and aunts and uncles tried to keep her distracted as best as they could, but it didn't work permanently.

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Bhalla/Iyer Residence - Friday July 5th, 7 pm

Ishita trudged up the stairs after an exhausting day at work. She had been on her feet all day performing surgery after surgery with hardly a minute to sit down. But the moment she saw Ruhi in the hallway, all her fatigue melted away.

"Ruhi! Aap yaha kya kar rahe ho?" [What are you doing here?]

"Papa ka yeh paper ud ke bahar aa gaya tha. To woh lene aayi thi." She waved the paper clutched in her hand.

[Papa's paper flew outside. So I came to get it.]

"Aapne khaana khaya?" [Did you eat?]

Ruhi nodded.

"Kya khaaya?" [What did you eat?]

"Dadi ne rice aur dal makh... makh..." [Dadi made rice and dal makh... makh...]

"Dal makhani?"

"Haan! Woh banaya tha. Bahot yummy tha. Lekin mujhe aap ke haath ki idli khaani hain."

[Yes! She made that. It was very yummy. But I want to have your idli.]

"Ok. Jab main idli banaungi, to aapke liye zaroor bhejungi."

[Ok. When I make idli, I'll send some for you.]

"Aur Ishimaa, meri doll ki dress kharaab ho gayi hain. Dekho."

[And Ishimaa, my doll's dress has been ruined. Look.]

Ruhi handed Ishita her doll and pointed out the tear in the dress.