River & Desert

Part 28

"How is your health?" Pushpa caressed her daughter's head, as Mitali laid her head in her mother's lap. "You seem weak and pale. What's going on? Is the work too hectic?" asked Pushpa.

The blissful touch of her mother evoked a multitude of emotions in Mitali's already unstable mind. Her mother's gentle rocking of her head, just like in her childhood, provided comfort as she swung between euphoria and despair.

"Huh? Is it too overwhelming to discuss? Let me go give a piece of my mind to your boss!" said Pushpa, trying to move when Mitali clutched her hand against her face, refusing her the freedom to move.

"It's not the work, Amma. I've been longing for your presence. It's been almost eight months since we last met, right?"

She struggled to voice her heart's desires in the most veiled way, feeling choked with agony. If she were to reveal the truth about her pregnancy and the contract, it could cause the destruction of their home and the bond between her foster mother and her beloved son.

"My poor child! I longed to see you, but unfortunately, you never provided us with an address to visit you. Every time I asked, you mentioned it was a confidential project and couldn't disclose any information."

Pushpa detangled her daughter's hair by running her fingers through it. Mitali's chain of thoughts remained uninterrupted by the pain in her scalp as Pushpa tried to untangle the knots in her hair.

"Your boss is here, anyway. Without prior notice, they extended the contract. Would it be okay if I asked to stay with you? At least for some days?"

Her daughter, however, was bereft of the privilege of ignorant bliss. Her words sent her spiraling into depression, slipping from the warm embrace of euphoria.

"This is beyond his control, Amma. It was not his fault, and I will try to come and meet you more often, but I don't think you should come there. You love this place, and I know you can't leave this place. I will be fine," she said.

"It looks like you stand up for your boss often? Do you like him?" asked Pushpa, looking straight into her eyes.

She questioned whether the answer would have been positive if the query had been raised months ago, before her sanity became fragile. In the past, her heart throbbed with admiration and ardor for him for everything he had done for her.

Losing her child on that unfortunate night caused her delightful emotions to spiral into nothingness, taking her admiration for him with it.

She had cut off all ties with the feeling of happiness, and during her most desolate moments, she couldn't resist blaming the man responsible for her predicament. He aimed to evade the limitations of matrimony, only to ensnare her within the confines of a surrogacy agreement.

She found hope in a contract clause for another child like the one she lost, but he had refused to adhere to the only beneficial clause they proposed. Did his ego stop him from listening to her demand, or was it a way to avoid taking responsibility?

A tiny voice at the back of her mind told her the truth was far from the dark reasoning she had assumed, for the feelings of affection and ardor colored the reality - the same emotions that had slipped through her fingers months ago.

"Nothing like that, Amma. We are not meant to have anything beyond a professional relationship, because we are two different worlds who don't match," she said.

"You claim it's two separate worlds, but isn't that always the case? Love is when two worlds blend into one. It's most beautiful when they are as different as chalk and cheese. When the arid desert and riverbed come together, they create a burst of life. A desert only requires a river for life to prosper, and a river only requires a desert to feel complete, despite the possibility of them never meeting. But beware, for sometimes it can yield devastating results, and either of them can lose their existence."

The tension between her daughter and her boss had not escaped her notice, and his lingering glances made it clear that he was quite taken with her. His intense eyes didn't escape Pushpa's keen observation of the streaks of pain while he was looking at Mitali..

Mitali lost herself in thought as she pondered over her mother's words. Was Adhrit Sinha, the savior, the one in the devastated desert, that she had become, needed, after being stripped of everything dear to her, scorched by the relentless Destiny, and deprived of an all-quenching stream of love?

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"So, how do you feel now? It's understandable why you have such deep love and admiration for her." Adhrit commented on her being a loving mother, trying to start a conversation with her as traffic congestion worsened every minute.

The conversation with her mother about the man next to her was on repeat in her mind after she said goodbye. "I feel better, thank you," she said.

The car fell into an uneasy silence, and he responded with an awkward "good."

Her words to her mother had pierced his heart like a bullseye arrow, and her indifference had deepened the wound, causing him the pain of heartbreak.

He did not expect her accepting him. He did not see their needs and demands align, but he had not prepared himself for her rejection, either. He felt like he woke up for an urgent, life-changing meeting on a Sunday, but soon realized that he couldn't do anything to change the disastrous outcome.

"What if we had met in different circumstances? Free from restrictions or obligations, and without customs or constraints? Would it be any different?" she asked, looking at him reminiscent of the old Mitali he had lost to the abyss of anguish and the one that had perished with their unborn.

"Perhaps then we would truly understand each other rather than conforming to society's expectations. It's possible that we would disclose our hearts and innermost desires."