Bound by Ashes

Chapter 1 : Ashes of the operating room

Ruhanika parked the car and took a deep breath. She looked at herself in the rear-view mirror. Tired eyes. Pale lips. A trace of dried blood near her collar. She quickly dabbed it away with a tissue from the glovebox and added a touch of tinted lip balm. No matter how exhausted she felt, she never wanted Rahi to see her as anything less than okay.

The moment she stepped out, she heard the familiar shriek of tiny laughter. Her heart instantly lightened.

"Mumma!"

The squeal was followed by the thunder of little feet. Rahi, in her tiny pink dungarees and a yellow sunflower tee, came running toward her with arms wide open. Her hair was tied in two uneven pigtails, bouncing with each step.

Ruhanika crouched just in time to catch her.

"Rahi! My sunshine," she whispered, wrapping her in a tight embrace, breathing in the baby soap scent and warm innocence.

"You come early today!" Rahi exclaimed, her tiny hands cupping her mother's face. "Miss Asha said we do painting today. I painted you, Mumma. You look like a rainbow."

Ruhanika laughed, genuinely, for the first time in days. "A rainbow? That sounds so beautiful. I can't wait to see it."

They walked hand-in-hand into the daycare. The walls inside were a riot of color, plastered with children's artwork, handprints, alphabet cutouts, and glitter stars. Teachers moved about with a kind of chaos only children could bring, and yet, it felt warm. It felt like a piece of the life she always dreamed of giving Rahi.

Miss Asha, the lead caretaker, smiled warmly. "Dr. Singhania, Rahi was an angel today. Helped us with story time and even calmed down little Aarav when he cried."

Rahi puffed her chest proudly. "I tell him Mumma always says big girls help others."

Ruhanika gave a watery smile. That was something she'd said on a day she could barely stand. That her daughter remembered it and lived by it made her throat tighten.

Miss Asha handed over a folder with a painting inside. It was an abstract burst of pink, purple, and yellow. Stick figures were drawn—a tall one with a stethoscope and a tiny one with pigtails.

"This is me," Rahi explained, pointing at the tiny figure. "And this is you. And see, we are holding hands, and behind us, there's a sun. Because you say I'm your sunshine."

Ruhanika stared at it longer than she needed to. It wasn't a masterpiece, but to her, it was everything. Proof that even in the storm, her little one bloomed.

They sat together in the reading corner, Rahi perched on her lap with a book in hand. It was the only ten minutes she could spare, but she wanted to give it wholly.

As Rahi flipped the pages, babbling about animals and their sounds, Ruhanika's phone buzzed. Her heart skipped a beat. She hoped it wasn't the hospital again.

Unknown number

She silenced it.

Then, it buzzed again.

This time, she answered quietly, keeping her voice low to not disturb Rahi.

"Hello?"

A pause. A breath.

"Dr. Ruhanika Singhania? This is Mr. Maheshwari. I'm calling on behalf of the Singhania family regarding your upcoming wedding..."

The world spun for a second.

"I'm sorry? What wedding?"

"Your parents have fixed your match. The engagement is in three weeks. The groom is Samar Rajvansh, from the Rajvansh family. We assumed you were informed..."