My Lover's The Sunlight...

Chand Ka Tukra

"Papa kab lautenge Rishu uncle?" Aleya whined. "Abhi aa hi rahe honge, beta. Papa ki meeting ab tak khatam ho chuki hain." She was sleepy and hangry (it is a new word I made with my just "best-friend" hungry+angry=hangry), and wanted her papa. Rishabh glanced at the lobby of the hotel Ishan had rented every two minutes wishing his idiotic friend to return as soon as possible. When he came back, the man could not believe his eyes. "Ro bhaiya, Vi bhaiya", he jumped on Virat asking, "Aap dono kaise ho?" "Abbe bhenchod, niche utar. Kamar tod di meri. Saale tujhe kya lagta hain, hum thik hai to kya ab bhi without warning tujh jaise overgrown 70 kilo ke bachche ko godi mein lene ki umar reh gayi hain hamari!" The older player reprimanded him with a flick on the forehead. "Bhaiyaa!" "Whining is going to get you no where, Rishu. Let us meet our niece now", Rohit commanded. 

Ishan who was enjoying this banter led them inside his room 77. There sat a huge teddy bear on the bed and Ishan turned on Rishabh, "Tera dimaag kharab ho chuka hai, huh? Pagal wagal ho gaya heh kya tu? Tereko bola tha na kuch dilane ki zarurat nahi hai?" "Tum chup raho Ishan. Ab tumhari beti hamari hai, aur hum usse jitna man chahe spoil karenge." "Par.." "Koi teri baate nahi sunne wala yaha. Udhar dekh." Imagine Ishan's horror when suddenly half the bed were filled with chocolates and toys brought by his seniors. "Aap yeh kab laaye?" "Are chhotu, tu abhi bhi chhota hai. Tu nahi samjhega." 

Virat dedicated all his attention to the little packet of sweetness in front of him, "Aapka nam kya hai, beta?" "Aleya Kishan." "Aap jante ho hum kaun hai?" Rohit questioned. "Main janti hun. Aap Ro uncle aur aap Vi uncle." (The 'Ro' sounded like 'Wo' though) "Wah! Hamari Aleya to bohot smart hain!" "Aapki favourite chocolate kaunsi hain beta?" "Cele-cele-celebations, Ro uncle." The seniors shared a glance at how cute she was, not yet old enough to properly pronounce 'r'. "Hum aapke liye woh dher saare laye hai." They were just taking the chocolates out to feed it to her, when Ishan interrupted them, "Pehle dinner. Khali pet chocolate khaoge to tabiyat kharab ho jayegi." "Papaaaaaa", Aleya whined but the stern glare stopped her from insisting any further as she grumbled, "Thik hai." 

Meanwhile the other three cricketers were astonished as to how Ishan became immune to such powerful pouts and Rishabh ended up asking it himself, "Jab uski welfare ki baat aati hain, mein is duniya ka sabse strict parent ban jata hun. Otherwise I am weaker to her than anyone else." They went to the dining hall, each ordering their own choice of food and yes, Virat broke his rule of having dinner before 6.30 p.m. Ishan fed Aleya her dinner slowly, which consisted of rajma chawal, his little girl just loved Indian food. "Tu nahi khayega?", Rishabh's question broke the comfortable silence. "Pehle, 'Leya ko khila du. Mera wait kar sakta hain." But the child had other ideas as she refused to have another mouthful, forcing Ishan to finish a third of his own food before she continued. "Aleya, beta, kya papa apna dhyan nahi rakhte?" She looked horrified at Rohit's question. "Kyu, Ro uncle?" "He has lost quite a lot of weight in these years." "Sachchi papa?" "No, no, meri jaan. Don't worry. Main thik hun." He glared at the other cricketers forcing them to shut up again.

The rest of the dinner passed in an awkward silence. Ishan cleaned Aleya up as she was a bit of a messy eater and they were about to head to the room when she tugged on his arm. The thirty year old turned back to be assaulted by a pair of watery eyes and a massive pout, "Apne bola tha dinner ke baad ice cream!" She sniffled, her lips wobbling. Knowing that his daughter would break into tears any moment now, Ishan picked her up in his arms, "Ok, beta. Chalo, let's have ice cream. Which flavour do you want?" "My fav-favoite one, papa. Half vani and half choco. Rishu uncle, Ro uncle, Vi uncle, pwease come have ice cream with us??" 

And if the three cricketers could not say no to those pleading eye, it was the fault of their soft hearts, but they could not help but wonder, her favourite ice cream flaour was a combination of both of her parents. The ice cream parlour was a short walk from the hotel and by the time they finished, Aleya could barely keep her eyes open. Rohit said, "We should leave now.." But the kid interrupted, "Stay na, uncle, please. Papa tell story." "Really? Ishu can tell stories?" "Vi Bhaiya, don't tease me. Hum Bihar se hain, kahaniya batana to koi humse sikhe." "Toh thik hain, chal, hum bho sunenge." 

Returning back to the room, Ishan settled Aleya down in bed, after forcing her to brush her teeth. With her head on her lap, he asked, "Kaunsi wali story sunni hai apko beta?" "Woh, Kisna wali." And then Ishan began his glorious story of Lord Krishna defeating the demoness Putana who had been sent to kill him by his uncle, the lord of Mathura, Kansa. Halfway through, he noticed the adults in the room had started yawning whereas his child was in her dreamland already. Placing her on the pillows, he covered her up carefully to not disturb her slumber. The ones who had been yawning were wide awake now that they finally had the chance to pounce on him. Ishan was quite terrified to face them but they deserved it. He nodded towards them, expressing his consent to being interrogated. 

Virat cleared his throat, "We have a few questions, if you are willing to answer." "Ji bhaiya, puchhiye." Rishabh was the first to ask, "Why did you leave the ICT after the 2023 world cup?" Ishan smiled ruefully, carding his fingers through Aleya dense black locks, "Main uss time 4 months pregnant tha. I could not afford people finding out about it, Rishu." His gasp was a testament to how shocked he was, "Apko pata tha na yeh, Vi bhaiya?" "Hmm." Rishabh mulled over the answers in silence as Rohit went next, "Will you really join the team if the BCCI agrees to your demands?" "Aleya ke baad, cricket hi mera sab kuch hain, bhaiya. Apne childhood dream ko kaun na chahega bhaiya?" "Aur Shubi ka kya?" Ishan's hands froze at Virat's question, "Usko toh woh raat yaad tak nahi hai bhaiya. Pretend karlunga ki hum dost hain. Uski toh shayaad engagement bhi ho chuki hai na?" "Usne shaadi karne se inkaar kar diya hai Ishu." "Kyu?" The question was a mere breath, but the former captain answered this time, "Yeh toh tumhe Shubman khud hi bata sakta hain, but hum itna keh sakte hai, ki jaisa tum soch rahe ho, situation puri ki puri waise nahi hain." 

Ishan nodded. Rishu chimed once more, "Par tu toh ladka hai. Pregnant kaise ho gaya?" "Abbe, yeh agar main janta toh main sach main doctor nahi ban jata?" "Teri health permit karegi na, aise cricket khelna?" "Han bhaiya. Doctor ne clean pass de diya hain. Don't worry." "Thik hai toh ab hum chalte hain. Tu so ja, ok?" Virat pulled the others up with him from where they were lounging on the couch. Ishan locked the door after them and as he laid down on the bed, he wondered if he was doing the right thing.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I know that mereko plot development ke bare mein sochna chahiye, but phirbhi mein Aleya par hi focus kar raha hun, kyuki she is too cute and deserves all my attention. Main sari fic bas Aleya par hi nijhawar kar dunga lag raha hain.

Maine na Ishman ki ek drawing banayi hain. Agar mere readers ko woh dekhni hai, toh comment karna. Par ha, pehle se bata raha hun, maine reference ke liye jo picture li thi, drawing waisi exact nahi bani. It's just a pencil outline sketch. Daar hain ki colour karte wakt drawing bigaad dunga, kyuki jo page maine use kiya hai uspar watercolour nahi kam kar raha hai aur oil pastels, crayons and colour pencils are really not my speciality. Shayaad aap log chaho toh main pencil shading kar sakta hun. Jaldi batao uska kya kare, thik hai?

Enjoy, Adiraj.