DARPAN

As he was rubbernecking right into the mirror, feeling the warmth of his tears dripping down his cheeks, eyes puffy and red, he heard a voice a hundredth time, "Run! Darpan beta!" He sloshed the chilly water running from the tap onto his face, trying to get rid of those muddied thoughts. "I didn't want to run away Maa, I love you, I wish you were here," uttered Darpan with his raspy morning voice. "I'll be with you someday, beta", a reply came as Darpan turned and sighed. He attended to the crying baby," what happened to my Mahi baby, is she hungry? Didn't mommy give you food yet? Shalini! Shalini, aren't you ready yet? We're getting late for the photoshoot, we have to pick papa too, come on hurry up! And our daughter's hungry too, and when she's hungry she becomes just like you, HULK angry. Come down fast."

"I'm coming, I have fed her already, take her out while I call Mani about cancelling my weekend shift", hollered Shalini from the dressing room in her piping voice, putting on the diamond pendant Darpan gifted her on their anniversary. Darpan and Shalini have been married for two years now and it was only a month ago a little angel entered their lives. Darpan named her after his beloved late mother Mahima Devi.

"Yes, mama's grumpy and late and... very beautiful... Are you wearing the diamond pendant that I gifted you when I wasn't unemployed?"

"Shut up Darpan! I am not late and get into the car. Yes, they are, by the way, Mani says he misses you and is inviting us for dinner, for the third time this month! I wonder how you managed to have me when you clearly can't even make friends!" Shalini got into the driving seat clutching her silky black hair at the back of her head.

"I am not going to dine at this pretentious house of I-am-such-a-friendly-boss who fired me during the lockdown in the name of downsizing. And who needs a friend when I have you and Mahi. Shalini we have to be on a highway, let me drive, it's not safe." Darpan said looking at her daughter and then at his wife in a dark olive coloured chicken Kari suit, in awe of just how amazingly beautiful she was and how their daughter resembles her and his mother. He often saw Mahi in a state of shock that how could he even love someone so much. After he lost his mother he thought he'll never love anyone the way he did her but Shalini certainly proved him wrong, when he first met her at his workplace. Although he had lost his job during the lockdown and had zero friends due to his anti-social nature, yet looking at his wife and daughter he knew even if he loses everything, he'll still win the world if he has them.

"Darpan come on! You just treasure your car way too much, but just trust me. I know how to drive, I have got my license too now, so just sit back and relax. Papa called me he said he had already reached the photographer's place, we can directly-"

"Woah Shalini!" shrieked Darpan as he stretched out his hand to turn the steering to stop the car from getting on the divider as Shalini got engrossed in talking to Darpan and justifying how well could she drive now.

"I am sorry... It won't happen now.."

"Shalini just shut up and focus on driving now" Darpan instructed Shalini sternly. Mahi was asleep in his lap in a strawberry stew red frock made out his mother's saree, which his father gifted.

His father, Sukhdev Surajdhwaj, was a reputed and wealthy lawyer of the Kayastha community in Gujrat. Sukhdev Ji, an enchanting man with shrewd character, was infamous for his overt views on caste and religion. In February 2002, during the Gujrat riots, while he was busy meeting with politicians paving his way into politics, he lost his wife, house and will to live. Sukhdev Ji then decided to live by the principles of his wife Mahima Devi, of living an austere life and shifted to her birth town, Ujjain, about fifty-four kilometres away from Indore, the city where Darpan and Shalini live today. "I wanna spend my life teaching in the orphanage your mother used to live in," said Darpan's father whenever he used to force him to stay with him.