Abhinav

Part 28 - Storm (1)

'What did you say, Sharma ji?', asked Abhimanyu in disbelief.

Abhinav repeated, a controlled calmness in his voice,'Call your lawyers and hand over Abhir's custody to us - Akshara and me. You have already displayed Abhir as a trophy for over a month in Birla Mansion and as a proof of your victory, your name will still be on Abhir's Birth Certificate as his father. Your purpose is fulfilled. Now, surrender the custody'.

'Seriously, Sharma ji', confirmed Abhimanyu, incredulous,'you are asking a father to give up his son?'.
'A father is asking you to return his son', corrected Abhinav.

'Just because of one mistake!', snapped Abhimanyu,'one kidnapping which could have happened to any kid! What about the time when Abhir fainted because of his heart condition? Should I have taken away Abhir because of your mistake that time?'

'Mr. Birla, can you please remind me who that Doc-Man was who reassured my Abhir that he was fine and didn't contact Abhir's parents? We had noticed that there was some issue with Abhir's health but thanks to you, Dr. Birla, my son thought it wasn't a serious concern and downplayed the matter whenever we confronted him. The exercises suggested by you did bring a temporary improvement in Abhir's health, fooling us about the gravity of the health issue. I have never and will not deny my mistake of not paying closer attention but your involvement did worsen the whole situation. You aren't blame free'.

Abhimanyu spluttered,
'Is.. is it my fault Abhir doesn't trust his Dad? What kind of a Dad are you?'.

Abhinav was firm in his reply.
'Abhir hid about his health not because of mistrust but because he didn't want us to get stressed. That is what Abhir did for his parents, for his Papa.
Dr. Birla, the one question I have been asking myself since Abhir started having heart trouble is 'What kind of a father am I?'. Today, I can give you that answer. The kind of father Abhir wants, the kind of father he loves'.

From Abhimanyu's next words, it was apparent that his ego had been bruised.
'It was easy for you, Sharma ji! You had 6 years in the formative years of my son, I barely got 6 weeks!
Of course, Abhir prefers you for now. And somewhere that scares you. You are afraid that if I get even one year with Abhir, he will forget about you completely! That's why you are dying to take Abhir with you now itself'.

Abhinav frown deepened as he heard, unpleasantly surprised by Abhimanyu's lack of acceptance of any kind of responsibility for his behaviour.
'Dr. Birla, you know what your problem is? Everyone else's life looks easy to you. It seems to you like only you have suffered, only you have gone through the harshest hardships in life.
What did you just say? It was easy for you, Sharma ji.
You know what was actually easy?
To look the other way like all the other passengers in the bus that day instead of helping Akshara.. and Abhir..',
said Abhinav, realising as he spoke that Abhir was a part of his life even before he knew of his existence,
'..To walk away with all the help I had already given instead of ensuring that Akshara had a safe place to stay. To have got angry when Akshara slapped me and left her with her difficulties right then and there. To not give up my job for a pregnant, unknown woman.
It was easy to not take on added responsibilities with my resources already running low, to give up on that stormy night when Abhir was born, to give in to the sheer exhaustion and injury pain instead of nursing an infant to life for 3 days. To expect something in return for all that I had done..'.
Abhimanyu stared ahead, stony faced.

'..I dislike recounting all the events as if I have done some favour on anyone but I will not accept disrespect for doing right either..',
Abhinav continued resolutely,
'.. I had told Mrs. Manjari on Kalash Pooja day that pain cannot be measured, that everyone feels pain in the same way. I still believe that but you made a comparison trivialising my pain, my struggles, my difficulties, so today I make a comparison too.
Today I say, it was easy for you, Dr. Birla. To live in a secure place you got to call home, get education, become a doctor and get married. Because you are a Birla. Because you have parents who love you. To fall in love because you met Akshara. For who wouldn't fall in love with her? It was easy to make sure that Birla Hospital - your family hospital - was managed well, to ensure that Akshara got a correct diagnosis of her unborn kids surviving, to not divorce your recently 'miscarried' wife. It was easy to get back to rationality 3-4 months post your brother's death and to check whether the so-called love of your life is ALIVE OR NOT!'

Abhimanyu paled.
'I know that I have made many mistakes in the past. But I deserve a second chance. With Aks.. Abhir. The kidnapping shouldn't have happened. I accept that. It won't happen again. But asking me to give up my son for something out of my control, it's harsh to me, Sharma ji'.
'Why is there no chair for an adult in Abhir's room?', asked Abhinav, sharply.
'What? Chair?', asked Abhimanyu, confused.
'A chair or something for an adult to sit on. Why isn't it there?'.
'Sharma ji, it's Abhir's room. He's a kid. Why would there be a sitting place for an adult in his personal room?'.
'Dr. Birla, you have stayed for nearly a month in Sharma Home. You have seen that Abhir doesn't sleep alone. Akshara told him bedtime stories, I have helped him in his studies, we have played board games and whatnot together. You just left my kid alone?'.
Abhimanyu was rendered temporarily speechless, thinking hard of an answer that would calm Abhinav.

Manjari, on the other hand, couldn't control any longer and burst out.
'We treat Abhir like a capable 6 year old boy, not like an infant. This big city World of the rich is cut throat, where only the strong can survive. We won't continue making Abhir a simple, naive, dumb boy crying for his parents at every turn'.
Akshara had been listening to the entire conversation quietly, having pre decided that she won't interrupt a father fighting for his son. However, Manjari was trying her patience and Akshara didn't know how long she could keep control on herself.

Abhinav asked, cooly, 'Rough and tough.. like Dr. Abhimanyu Birla?'.
'Yes!', replied Manjari smugly, glad to have scored this one point over Abhinav.
'When Dr. Birla came to Kasauli for a month, my wife had to leave her studies to cook an elaborate breakfast for him. Dr. Birla did try to make breakfast for himself once but couldn't do anything except banging so many utensils that Abhir had to come and cook him a decent meal. At night, Dr. Birla couldn't handle the cold with the blankets provided, so my wife arranged special blankets for him. He couldn't even start his car in the morning, which I did for him. Mrs. Birla, your 40 year old son couldn't adjust in Kasauli for a month in spite of my entire family looking out for him but my 6 year son should do it immediately?'.

Manjari was caught off guard with Abhinav's directness. She had expected that Abhinav's respect for the elderly would restrain him but Abhinav showed no signs of backing off. This infuriated Manjari but a few seconds later, her face lit up with a cruel smile. She knew where to hit Abhinav as she knew what would hurt him the most...