UN-RAVEL : The inner strength.....

UN-RAVEL 21.... MY HOPE....

Manik takes Zamira's hand in his trying to gain her attention but she doesn't looks at him.

"I know you are upset with me, Zu. Whatever I did isn't justifiable and by all means you can be angry with me just once look at me. Please Baccha...." Zamira turns to look at him with teary eyes.

"I am tired. I can't do this anymore. Please...." Zamira pleads him, "It's alright you don't have to do this. At one point you behave like you don't care, you didn't even talk to me at first, then I don't know how everything changed you became my friend and then you took the role of my father. Teaching me, encouraging me, making me understand and staying up nights for me, crying for me. Like a perfect farther and the next very moment you break that dream of mine. Why?" Wiping off her tears frantically she questioningly looks at Manik. "At one point you make me feel like I am the only person in your life and another moment you leave me like I didn't mean anything. Don't you want me. If you don't want me I will leave. I can't live thinking I am a burden on you. Please.... Please...."

Manik who has been listening to Zamira couldn't agree less with her. She is right. It's exactly the way he has behaved but what could he do he feels insecure and scared. He can't loose her and at the very point being with her is the only wish he has. "Please.... Please tell me where I stand in your life." Manik looks at her. For the first time she is asking for something from him and how ill-fated he is that his daughter has to ask for her identity from him. The first responsibility of a father is to provide his child with an identity and today his daughter is pleading for an identity from him, just for recognition. Only thing she wants to know is where she stands in his life. He didn't even realise when he ended up being such a big disappointment for his daughter. He felt like his inner self is being corroded. He looks at his daughter as her little figure blurs his eyes. Ever since the day she was born all she brought with her is happiness and peace. Even in the worst moment when ever he use to remember her he could feel a different kind of strength radiate through his veins. She isn't just a part of him, she is so much more to him. How can he ever even explain it to her.

"All my life I had spent thinking there is nothing like blind trust or selfless love. A love so deep that it can strengthen a person enough to put himself through ages of darkness. I never knew hope can be so strong that even when every single cell of your body is willing to die still the hope can make you survive." He looks into Zamira's eyes and kisses his forehead, "You want to know where you stand in my life." Zamira nods, "You are my blind trust, you are my selfless love, you are my deepest motivation, you are my strength and above all you are my hope, my hope that kept me alive through all of this." He presses a kiss on her forehead tenderly as words leave his mouth a bit muffled up, "You are my daughter. My faith, my trust, my hope." Cupping Zamira's face he rests his forehead with her and she holds his wrist rotating her fingers around it as tears make way through their closed eyes. It wasn't something new that Manik had said he just poured his heart out to Zamira as raw as he could ever manage to. All the words were just something that had piled up in his life ever since she had gone. He felt so incomplete and so alone after Nandani and Zamira left him and not to forget he called himself incapable and incompetent a million times. With every single day that passed away from his family shattered him into zillion pieces.

Zamira didn't want him to yell it out loud to the world but just to her. Today his acknowledgement makes her realise why a single drop of water in draught is considered heaven. Her inner draughts felt being alive, her heart felt alive. Though everywhere in the world only pain exits, around her everything seems to be going down in flames but being burnt isn't her biggest fear, her biggest fear has now been clouded by her father's words. Placing her head on his chest she drifts into most relaxing slumber though her body burnt with scars her inner self feels peace of being at the safest place. Her father's embrace, his scent, his hold and his aura all made her feel safe. Safe like she has never felt before.