By the time dinner was ready, Ruhi had announced to the entire household that she and her parents were going on a picnic next month. Everyone was pleasantly surprised to see Raman willing to take off work. Toshi and Omprakash were especially happy that their son was changing back to the way he used to be. Their upcoming picnic was pretty much the sole topic of conversation at the dining table.
"Puttar, tum log agle mahine kyun jaa rahe ho? Agle hafte hi kyon nahi?" Toshi asked.
[Son, why are you going next month? Why not next week itself?]
"Mummy, Ishita ko chutti ki arzi dene ke liye waqt chahiye hoga," Raman replied. "Aur mere office ka kaam bhi accordingly hi schedule karna padega. Isiliye weekend picnic ka plan banne mein time lagega."
[Mummy, Ishita needs time to get a holiday from her clinic. And I need to schedule my office work accordingly too. That's why we'll need some time to make the weekend picnic plan work.]
"Bhai, to phir main bhi phir se yaad dila du aapko," Rinki intervened, "ki agle hafte mera graduation hai. Aap aaoge na?"
[Bhai, then let me remind you once gain that my graduation ceremony is next week. You'll be there, right?]
"August 11th ko na? Haan, maine schedule mein daal diya hai. Main puri koshish karunga ki main attend kar saku."
[On the 11th of August right? Yes, I've put it in my schedule. I'll try my best to attend.]
"Thanks bhai," Rinki replied. She hoped her brother could make it, but she didn't mind if he didn't. They had all gotten used to his absence at important family functions.
"Rehne de Rinki, zyada ummeed rakhne ka koi faayda nahi hai," Romi scoffed. "Pichle paanch saal mein unhe humara khayal nahi aaya, to ab kyun aayega?"
[Let it be Rinki, it's not worth keeping expectations from him. He hasn't thought of us in five years, so why would he now?]
Romi was opening an uncomfortable can of worms. Toshi tried her best to stop him, but to no avail.
"Oye Romi, yeh sab baatein abhi nahi. Chup chaap khaana kha."
[Romi, let's not talk about this right now. Just quietly have your food.]
"Nahi Toshiji," Omprakash interjected. "Ab baat khul hi rahi hai to khul jaane do na. Kab tak sab kuch apne andar dabaate rahenge."
[No Toshiji, let it all come out in the open now. How long will we suppress everything inside ourselves?]
"Aap dono kehna kya chahte ho? Romi? Papa?" Raman was utterly perplexed.
[What are you guys trying to say? Romi? Papa?]
Romi dropped his spoon and ran a palm down his face trying to contain his frustration. But alas, all the anger he had bottled up over the years came bursting out in one go.
"Hum yeh kehna chaahte hain ki paanch saal tak aap humse door the! Aur sirf door hi nahi the, aap to hume bhul hi gaye the! In paanch saalon mein aapne ek bhi birthday, ek bhi anniversary, ek bhi award function, ya ek bhi special event attend kiya hai? Diwali pe bhi Mummy ko force karke bulana padta tha. Lekin woh bhi kuch saalon baad band ho gaya. To phir kaise ummeed rakhe hum ki Rinki ke graduation par aap aayenge?! Kaise aap se koi bhi ummeed rake?! Aap ko kabhi hum sab ka khayaal aaya bhi hai?!"
[We're trying to say that you've been away from us for five years! And not only that, you've practically forgotten us! Have you been to even one birthday, one anniversary, one award function, or any special event in these five years? Even on Diwali, Mummy had to force you to come. And that too stopped after a few years. So how can we expect that you'll come to Rinki's graduation?! How can we expect anything from you?! Have you ever even thought of us?!]
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Connected: A YHM Story ✔️
FanfictionFour separate souls -- Raman, Ishita, Ruhi, and Adi -- in four separate cities; but somehow CONNECTED. How? Read to find out.... Ishita Iyer has been dreaming of a life as a dentist, wife, and mother, but destiny plays a cruel joke on her, as her dr...
