"Main bi khilaaungi aapko..." little Mimi said, tearing a piece of roti. She then dipped it in the mixed fruit jam that was in a separate small box before reaching out to her Momma with love.
Anokhi leaned in to accept it, her lips curving into a smile. She popped that tiny portion of roti into her mouth. Her face was adorned with a smile in awe of her doting daughter.
While chewing the food, she kept thinking about how cute her baby girl was. Because of her Shona's demand, she had to pack Kissan mixed fruit jam with roti in the tiffin today instead of a sabji. Moreover, she had her hand burned, so she chose to leave cooking vegetables today to spare it undue strain. She was currently savoring the taste. It brought back memories of how she, too, preferred roti with jam when she was a kid.
Her Mumma used to pack roti and jam in her lunchbox, hiding it from her Papaji, who would at times scold her Mumma for letting her eat too many sugary treats instead of vegetables. But mom is mom. She was her Mumma's little Nikki back then, and her Mumma always gave in to her whines and childish tantrums, just as she always does to her little Shona's demands.
Even though eyes had turned moist, Anokhi couldn't help but smile as she remembered her childhood, that too through the medium of "jam". Her baby girl has got her sweet tooth as well. Like Mumma, like daughter. She smiled. Her vision was blurry by now. More happy memories and flashbacks were on their way to causing a breakdown, which she absolutely didn't want right now. She had to repress the thoughts against her will.
When she was done with the morsel, she reached for the roti to feed it to Mimi. Now it was her turn to feed her.
"Ssss..." She hissed in pain just as she extended her hand, feeling a sudden stretch in her burns.
"Mumma!..." Mimi was alerted seeing her Mumma in pain.
"Dald hua Mumma?..." She immediately held her Mum's hand in her delicate palms. She began blowing air on it.
Anokhi's face broke into an emotional smile yet again at how worried Mimi was about her.
"Shona..." she said, relaxing slightly.
"Mumma bilklul theek hai..."
"Kuch nhi hua..." She gave her a caress.
Mimi kept blinking innocently at her.
"Tumhe apne haath par dabaav nhi daalna chaahiye..." A sudden voice caught both of their attention.
As Anokhi turned to see, Mimi exclaimed, "Laddooooo!!..."
Shaurya entered the canteen, his eyes on hers and hers on his.
He took a look at his Princess, who was as always delighted at his arrival.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
