DESTINY'S FAVOURITE CHILDREN

26. Mother

Virat opened the album excitedly. The first picture he saw made his cheeks flush. It was a picture of MS holding an infant Virat against his shoulder.

Next picture was a 1 year old Virat walking with Mahi holding his fingers. There was another one where he looked 1.5 year old, he was playing with a ball with his Mahi bhai.

"Who clicked these pics mumma? " Virat asked Meera.

"Your very talented mother" Meera spoke gleefully. She had photography as her side flick in her college days, where she mostly did nature photography, when Virat and Mahi came in her life they were the subject of all her pictures. She clicked them with love, she didn't know these pictures will become her solace in the storm in coming years.

"I can't tell you how much I love you for this" Virat squeaked, taking her in a tight side-hug. Meera's eyes misted, she never thought a moment like this would come, when they all would be sitting together reminiscing the memories.

Flashback:

Meera was absolutely clueless, in this one month she had tried her best to win over the boys but hardly got any success. She understood the elder boy's apprehensions but that didn't make her feel any better. He hadn't even looked at her properly, she didn't know how to reach him.

She heard the younger child's cries, when she reached there she could see Mahi trying to coax him to calm down but the child was going red with crying so much.

"Give him to me please, just once" Meera requested.

"He has fever, that's why he is crying so much. I was just going to call the doctor" Mahi told her, still holding him over his shoulder.

Meera went over and checked his forehead, he had fever and it felt very warm. "We need to take him to hospital Mahi, we need to get some tests done before starting any medications"

Mahi agreed immediately. Meera drove the car and took them to the hospital. She made both of them sit on the sofa in doctor's cabin. She was an intern there. Mahi was grateful for once, she was probably not the witch he was thinking she was.

The doctor talked to them for a few minutes before Mahi saw Meera coming in with a needle. Virat too saw it and hid his face in Mahi's chest immediately. Mahi wrapped his arms around his back, comforting him all he could.

Meera sighed, this was not going to be easy. She had to take his blood sample for testing and she could see how scared Virat was already. If she thought she had a 1% chance with the boy, that too was gone.

She pestered Mahi to give her his hand but Virat just held him tighter. He was crying profusely, Mahi tried to coax but in vain. She gently took his hand but he jerked it away, the little boy was in no mood to get an injection.

"Virat, it won't pain bachcha" Meera pestered again. Virat just wrapped his hands around Mahi's neck.

The doctor on duty just smiled and said "Ye tumse nahi hoga, let me handle it"

Meera was grateful, it was indeed not her cup of tea. Virat's tears were making her weak. The doctor got up from her chair and took the tray from her.

"Cheeku bachcha see" Mahi made him look at her to distract him from the doctor, "she is pretty, no? "

Meera's features softened, even if it was to coax Virat, it meant a lot to her. Virat looked at her, she hid the needle behind her back immediately.

"Virat cooed something in his gibberish voice as he took her hair strand in his hand" Meera could hardly hold back her tears. She had dreamt of this moment for so long. It was her decision to marry a father of two boys and she would have probably regretted if the boys didn't accept her, now she was getting some hope.