Undying Love |✔

Chapter 34- Back in Time

After a nine-hour journey with two small breaks in between, they finally reached Unnao.

It was already evening by the time they made it to the village. Amit was tired, and his mind and heart were in shambles.

His emotions that had settled down for a brief period of time, came hurtling down on him as he set foot in his homeland. Every step felt like a thousand miles, and every minute sounded as if something heavy was weighing him down.

He finally entered the area where people like him resided.

His hand automatically found Avni's.

The area wasn't the best to live. People usually avoided coming here as they thought setting foot in it would make them dirty. But right now, Amit didn't care about anyone. His eyes only found the familiar silhouette from a distance, sitting on a chair with a faraway look. His heart leapt in his mouth after seeing his mother's state. His throat constricted and he averted his eyes in order to avoid crying.

But then his eyes found the same small swing beside his mother that his Paa had made for him when he was a kid. The whole incident behind setting the swing flashed across his eyes like a vivid dream, and he felt like it had happened yesterday.

At this point in time, he became a five-year-old kid again.

One day, when he was running with Aamir in a far away field, he had come across a giant metallic bird that made a loud noise when it passed through them. In his naivety and innocence, he'd ordered Aamir to run away from it in a panic so as to not get caught in his claws.

Aamir was much smarter than him even at the age of five, and he told him it wasn't a giant bird but an airplane, in which people actually traveled to go to their desired destinations.

After it, he was in awe of the same metallic bird Aamir had called an aeroplan. His thoughts wandered to how it'd feel to watch his parents or Aamir or even Karma from it. He would be taller than Karma for sure, and the thought of flying in the same bird didn't let him sleep the whole night.

The next morning, he couldn't hold his curiosity any longer. After doing his daily morning routines, he fluttered around his father like a fly. He didn't know how to say the words, but he was a kid, and a thing called aeroplan had caught his attention.

His father knew he had something to say. He asked him politely as to what he needed after setting aside the pile of newspapers that were to go into a recycling factory.

His answer was hesitant, and in a low voice, he expressed the desire to fly in the same airplane he'd seen in the sky.

His Paa's face fell, and he smiled sadly at his son. God had not bestowed them with wealth and status. His tongue burned as he found the idea of saying no to his own son torturous. But, he was a father, and although he couldn't afford the journey in an airplane, he made sure his son's wish came true to some extent.

The same afternoon, he'd picked a long wooden piece, thick ropes from the money he had gotten from selling those newspapers in the recycling factory, and had come home with a broad smile while humming the lyrics of an old song.

Amit, upon seeing him had descended the porch and had run towards his Paa in the hopes his Paa would take him to the same metallic bird.

His Paa ordered him softly to come towards him and instructed him to hold one end of the rope firmly in his grasp.

Amit's face fell just like touch-me-not flowers' petals shrink upon being touched. In his heart, he knew he would no longer be taller than everyone else.