Miles To Go Before I Sleep..

The Monster

Somewhere on the opposite side of the world..

“Mumma, Mummaaa!!” cried the scared little girl, her big blue eyes livid with fear. Running around the palace that her tiny house was, this 10 year old was searching for her mother with great fervour. Other than the scared eyes and a frown on her face, she was perfect. She liked to tie her hair up, quite like her mother, and she’d always be neatly dressed. The most organized kid that there was and an actual embodiment of passion!

Just when she was about to step out on the road again, her mother walked out of the bedroom and kneeled in front of her daughter, looking at her intently. A beautiful ivory-colored saree looking ethereal on her tanned-brown skin. She had tied up her beautiful long black hair in a bun, like she had been doing for so many years. Her black eyes were the kind that would haunt a man forever after just one gaze. She too, not quite unlike her daughter, was an embodiment of passion just the way of exuding it was very different.

She held out her arms for her daughter as if asking for a hug, the little girl came running and hugged her tightly. “What happened Jeanie? Are you alright?” whispered the mother.

“Lisa said the monsters are real! She said they hide under our beds and punish us if we do something bad. Last night I ate a lot of chocolate and went to bed without brushing my teeth. Am I a bad girl, mumma? Is the monster going to punish me?” Jeanette, or Jeanie as her mother liked to call her, blabbered on and on.

Her mother had a bemused expression on her face, she couldn't stop herself from smiling at her daughter's innocence. But she quickly recovered when she saw the fear on Jeanie's face changing into hurt. She knew how insensitive it is to ridicule someone's insecurity or fear. She stood up from the ground and sat on a couch nearby and made Jeanie to sit on her lap. She kissed her daughter's brow lovingly and said “Baby, the only monsters that'll get you for eating chocolates are the germs that'll decay your teeth. Other than that, monsters don't exist, except for in your mind but you know what else is there in your mind?”

Jeanie looked up curiously, and said “What?”

“The choice and power to fight them!” replied her mother “Always remember this, okay? And don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Choice and Power are the things that no monster can ever steal from you. Okay, baby?

Her daughter was visibly lost in thought. New sets of questions brewing in her mind. “Choice and Power! Yes, ofcourse. But mumma, how would I know that I'm making the right choice?”

“No one has an answer to that. You'll learn as you go through your life and gain experiences. You will make wrong choices sometimes, but you'll learn from them. But a general rule of thumb is that don't ever choose anything that would hurt you or anyone else.” The mother explained.

“I love you, mumma” Jeanie said lovingly and then added before her mother could reply, “Can I dress up as a monster for when Lisa is coming over to play this weekend? She'd totally freak out. It'd be so much fun!”

The bemused expression returned on her face when she saw the sparkle return in her daughter's eyes. She said “I love you too, sweetheart. Do whatever you like just don't traumatize the poor thing!”

They both sat there smiling for a while, revelling in the beauty of the bond that they shared. They had a tiny little world of their own. No, it wasn't full unicorns and rainbows but it was full of love and that was enough for both of them. But until when? The mother often thought to herself. This question was her monster.

She snapped out of her thoughts and said “Come on now, get ready quickly. We have a wedding to attend. Your father is getting married! It's a big day for him, don't you want to be with him?”

“I super-do!” Jeanette exclaimed and jumped off from her mother's lap and scurried off to her room.

Her mother, too, stood up and started walking towards her room when her phone rang. She absent-mindedly answered it, expecting it to be a call from Jeannette's father.

“Hello” a moment's silence, she went numb on hearing that incredibly soft, familiar voice “ummm… Meera?”

She still couldn't reply. Nobody had called her by that name in so many years. She felt numb yet so sensitive. But she steadied herself when she thought about what she was telling her daughter not more than 5 minutes back. Choice and power. She had the choice to disconnect the phone and cut off what could be the last link to her past. But did she have the power to? Words and feelings, both felt heavy in her heart.

“Is this the number of Meera Pradhan?”

“Y-yyes..” she replied, her voice shaking

“Oh my God.. Meera..” He sighed out her name softly followed by a long pause as if they were replaying their whole lives in that moment. “Well, this is….”

She cut him before he could finish “Aman Singh” she would never fail to recognize that voice.

“Of course, of course you remember my voice, like I remember yours” there was an almost friendly ring to his voice, as if those last 20 years never existed, as if she was still 21 and the queen of her own world, the suppressed memories surfaced and were dancing in front of her eyes.

She was brought out of her reverie once again by his voice “Meera, we need to talk. It's about him!”