Chronicles of Life

#ch69 #finale #epilogue #Chroniclesoflife #Sagas_by_Irvika #completed

*****11th April, 2009.*****

Shruti had been feeling restless since 5 in the morning but assumed it to be just a lil uneasiness and didn't disturb her mom's sleep. But by 7 a.m., she couldn't tolerate it and woke her mom, who had been sleeping right beside her. As soon as she woke up to use the washroom, she felt water gushing down and was terrified, unable to understand what had happened. Jyotiji put two and two together and immediately called up Dr. Minal.

Dr. Minal advised, "Please do not consume anything and come to the hospital as soon as you can. The water bag has burst."
Shruti looked perplexed and said, "I hope everything is alright mumma. The due date is still a good 3 weeks away."
Jyotiji caressed her head, pacified her and said, "Keep faith in God beta and don't worry. It often happens in the last month. Come on, hurry up. Let's go."

The minute they reached, she was admitted and monitored continuously. Jyotiji called up Atharva and informed him regarding the situation. He lost his color, worried about his baby. Jyotiji called up Mrs. Shah and all other immediate family members as well, updating them. Minish looked at Atharva's face and immediately offered, "I'll accompany you. You aren't fit to drive on your own."
Atharva refused, "No no.. it's okay, I'll manage. Rhea is also not keeping well."
But Minish didn't pay heed and replied, "It's okay. She can manage for a day."

Soon they set off and reached Nashik at a record speed. On the other hand, Shruti's condition was stable. By the time Atharva reached, Mrs. Shah had called up to inform that it would be favourable if the baby would born after midnight.
Shruti could barely control her anger and exploded, "What is more important? Your mahurats or the baby's health?"
Dr. Minal commented after much discussion, "I'll personally keep a tab on her graph. If she is able to sustain till then, fine. But if there is the slightest indication of any risk to either the baby or the mother, I will go for C-Section straightaway."
Atharva, who had been in a dual mind as to what was the best way out, agreed to Dr. Minal's terms, relieved.

Shruti somehow stretched till midnight after which the baby finally started pushing itself down. She was in the labour room and when asked whom does she want present with her, she immediately replied, "Mom and Atharva..."
The assistant doctors started objecting that it was against the norms, when Dr. Minal intervened. She knew Shruti well and was aware that she would get hyper if they wouldn't allow both. As such, the OPD was empty at that hour so it wasn't an issue.

The labour of almost 20 hours had started taking its toll on Shruti and she was feeling exhausted. Throughout the ordeal, she gripped Atharva's hand on one side and her mom's on the other. Just when Shruti couldn't take it anymore, the baby pushed itself out while she gave out a loud scream. The very next moment, her baby was being held by Dr. Minal in her hands, her umbilical cord yet to be clamped, when she pronounced, "IT'S A GIRL!!"

Jyotiji gave out a silent prayer, as she had felt very anxious. Atharva was shedding tears of joy when he finally held his first born in his hand. Shruti felt absolutely spent after the gruesome and tedious hours. But the moment she saw the chubby face of her baby, all her tiredness vanished into thin air. She beamed looking at the lovely face and met eyes with Atharva and her mom. It had been mere seconds since her birth when the baby started wailing loudly, at the top of her lungs.

*****EPILOGUE*****

9th April, 2018.

Shruti felt a jolt as she heard her younger one wail loudly. She realised that she had been sitting on the swing way too long, cradling Shivika in her arms. She got up and carried on with Shivika's routine on automation... gave her milk, got her ready and dropped her to school.

But all the time, her mind was still in the flashback mode and felt as if she was visualising a slide show of her life thereafter.... How they raised Aashna, trying to learn the dos and donts that every parent has to go through during their first time, the birth of Rhea and Minish's son Yash, how the two bonded with each other while growing, Aashna's first meal, the first time she fell extremely ill and the sleepless nights that followed, her first baby steps, her first day at play group when she cried so much that Shruti almost took her back home, the first time she wore a uniform, her first medal when she won a poetry recitation competition, etc. etc. etc. The list was endless and felt a pang in her heart as she couldn't even remember when did she last reminisce about the good old days. They had their share of ups and downs, learnt from their mistakes as well but overall, on introspection, Shruti felt she had done a decent job at raising Aashna.