Reality Ever After

Part 56. A Peek into the Future

Nandini - You're right. But I think we should let Alya know. Maybe Alya ka blood match ho jaye? And if not, she's the only one who can convince Harshad. We should be prepared.
(You're right. But I think we should let Alya know. Maybe Alya might be a blood match? And if not, she's the only one who can convince Harshad. We should be prepared.)

Cabir - You're right. Let me call Alya.

Nandini - Haan. Aur ye lo. I've got some of Manik's clothes for you too. And I have breakfast too. Tum bhi fresh hokar aao, I'm right here until then.
(Yeah. And take this. I've got some of Manik's clothes for you too. And I have breakfast too. You also freshen up and I'm right here until then.)

Cabir - Thanks Nandini. By the way, Manik kahan hai? Tumhare saath nahi aaya?
(Thanks Nandini. By the way, where is Manik? He didn't come with you?)

Nandini - Nahi. Manik Pune gaya hai. To meet his Dad. But he's on his way right now. He should be here soon.
(No. Manik is in Pune. He went to meet his Dad. But he's on his way right now. He should be here soon)

Cabir - Oh.. okay...

Cabir looked a little hesitant and was about to say something. But then decided against it. Nandini saw his uncomfortable reaction and realised he needed help and was hesitating for some odd reason.

Nandini - Kya hua Cabir? All okay?
(What happened Cabir? All okay?)

Cabir - Nahi.. kuch nahi. (No.. nothing). I'll speak to Manik when he arrives.

Nandini - Cabir, you can tell me. Kya hua? (What happened?)

Cabir - Woh... actually... woh... you know what, it's okay. Main Manik se baat kar lunga. You don't worry.  I'll just freshen up and come in the meanwhile.
(Uhh... actually... uhhh... you know what, it's okay. I'll speak to Manik. You don't worry. I'll just freshen up and come in the meanwhile)

Nandini didn't push further because she realised that it was something personal and sensitive Cabir wanted to talk about and he would only tell Manik. She decided to respect their privacy and let it be.

Nandini - Okay. I'll wait here. Phir tum aur Navya breakfast kar lena. (And then you and Navya can have some breakfast)

Cabir - Haan. And I think we should offer some to Arjun and Zoya too. Woh dono bhi kal raat se yahin par hai.
(Yeah. And I think we should offer some to Arjun and Zoya too. They have been here since last night too.)

Nandini - Haan. Of course.
(Yes. Of course)

Cabir - Main abhi aaya. (I'll just be back)

Cabir then disappeared towards the men's washroom and Nandini settled in the waiting area. She saw Arjun and Zoya were also seated in one of the corners of the waiting room. Both of them had their arms around each other and both of them looked tired, sad and worried. Zoya even looked like she had cried. She had her head resting on Arjun's shoulder whereas Arjun had rested his head on top of hers. They were dressed in their office formals which indicated that the two of them had come to visit Abeer straight from work and had not gone back home to either change or rest. She could see that the two of them really cared for Abeer.

Both Arjun and Zoya looked at least 10 years older to them and were probably doing very well for themselves in their respective lives too. She could also see that the two of them loved each other to bits. Zoya was feeling very tired and sleepy and almost dozing off on Arjun's shoulder and by the way Arjun was patting her head lightly, clearly showed that he cared and wanted her to rest a little. But Zoya kept struggling to stay up because she knew Arjun was vulnerable too and needed her support as well. Since, both Arjun and Zoya didn't know who Nandini was, they were talking amongst themselves softly not knowing that Nandini could listen to them.

Arjun - Go to sleep Zo. You've been up all night. And don't worry A. He will be okay.

Nandini assumed A was for Abeer. Did they already have a nickname for him?

Zoya - I can't Arjun. Imagine, what would've happened if we hadn't decided to go visit him last night? We could've lost him.

Arjun - But we didn't. We got him to the hospital on time. You know Neha will give him the best treatment possible. So don't worry. She's our best friend. She won't let anything happen to our baby. I mean, hopefully, our baby.

Zoya - I don't want to lose him, Arjun. We already lost our first baby. I can't bear to lose one more of my babies.

Nandini was shocked when she heard her. Arjun and Zoya had already lost a baby?

Arjun - Aisa kuch nahi hoga Zo. Don't worry. It'll all be fine.

Zoya - You said the same thing last time too. But you saw what happened. It was all my fault.

Arjun - Don't you dare blame yourself Zoya. Our daughter was stillborn. There was nothing you could do.

Zoya - But still. It was my fault. I should've taken more care. I should've done better. I should've been careful. I was her mother!

Arjun - Zo. Listen to me. That wasn't your fault. And I don't want you to blame yourself for this all over again. We have been through this. We have been through so much since then and we decided that we will get through all of it together. We have come so far. We lost our baby. We dealt with your postpartum depression and then, we even found out that we couldn't have any more of our own babies. And we have overcome all of this. And finally, we decided that we were going to adopt, you remember how happy we were?

Zoya - Hmmm.

Arjun - So don't go back to that phase of life which we have overcome with so much difficulty. Look forward to our beautiful life with A. I promise you he'll be okay.

Zoya - I hope so too.

Arjun - I'm just worried about Navya. I don't think she's sure she wants to give A to us or not. We both know she's just giving us excuses and not starting the adoption procedure. Besides, how careless is she? How could she not see he had jaundice! His eyes and his skin were so yellow. Even a blind man could've seen it.

Zoya - She's just a kid Arjun. She's barely 19 and still in college. How do you expect her to know how to take care of a newborn baby? With no support from anyone experienced. Only her friends, who are of the same age, are helping her out. How much would they know either? You remember when we were that young? You think we knew anything then? I actually admire her strength for coming so far. This wouldn't have been easy on her.

Arjun - Hmmmm. Let's just hope she makes up her mind soon. I am really fond of A now. I almost feel so attached to him. And I really don't want to miss these early days of A's life.

Both of them continued to talk about the millions of dreams and plans they had made for Abeer and how they had planned their life around them.

As Nandini continued to listen to both of them, she couldn't help but smile at the adorable couple Arjun and Zoya were. Her heart went out for them when she heard how much the two of them had gone through to have a baby and a family of their own. She couldn't even imagine how it would feel to be in Zoya's place. A stillborn baby, followed by postpartum depression and the inability to conceive a baby too. There were too many things they had gone through in the recent past. And after all of that, they had now started loving Abeer as her own. She really hoped Navya decided to give Abeer to them. They were a responsible and mature couple who would really love him to no ends and give him a future that he deserves. And Navya could move on with her life too, ensuring Abeer was in the right hands for the rest of his life.

When she further observed the two of them supporting and being there for each other and at the same time, dreaming of their lives together, Nandini couldn't help but think about her and Manik. She knew it was stupid and irrational and there was absolutely no resemblance. But just seeing Arjun and Zoya together made her think of how similarly she and Manik dealt with their problems. It was almost like seeing a mirror showing her a future. Of course she knew their problems were nowhere close to that of Arjun and Zoya's but she couldn't help but compare the nature of both their relationships. At that moment, she prayed to Ayyappa that no matter what he had in store for her and Manik, they would take it all with a smile but with the only exception that they could be together when facing anything that life throws at them. She didn't want a 'happily ever after'. She just wanted him with her, no matter what came after.