Broken Pieces - Finding Way To Eachother's Hearts

34

"Stop!"

"Mom, I didn't mean to. I swear. I just don't know how and why- I thought it might push her to talk more"

"Adi, just tell me what have you really lost?" Archana asked with the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Mom?" He asked in whisper as he didn't understand why was his mother was asking this question.

"Tell me, son. What have you really lost?" She asked him again and when he didn't answer her, she answered it for him.

"Your wife? Your love? The mother of your child? That's all? Only a life of a person who lived with you for what? A few years?"

"Mom, why are talking like this?" He asked her as he hadn't expected her to ask something like this.

Archana and Pratap had no clue about them knowing eachother since school days.

"Why? Does it bother you so much? On just mentioning her? Then imagine about her loss, Adi! Her loss. She has lost everything. She has nothing and no one except for us and she would never come to us and complain about our own son!

She lost her parents. They died. There's really no one for her to share anything with. At least you have your parents. You are fortunate enough to have us around till now and adding Nia to this family has brought nothing but only happiness.

I know that you're in pain too for losing your wife. But, look at Naina who is living in a stranger's house for so many years without any questions or demands and without seeing anybody that is her family. For what? To only be heard of those words from you Adi? If there's something or anything wrong, you always come to us and talk it out. But where will she go, Adi? To whom will she speak? With whom will she share? Why did you go to that extent, Adi?

Why?"

Hearing this, Aditya was loss at words. He suddenly felt this numbness in him as Naina's loneliness appeared in his mind.

Picking up his as well as Nia's bag, he woke up to leave without finishing his breakfast as he lost his appetite after this talking with his mother and stopped in middle of the hall as he heard his mother speak in with sternness.

"Adi, sometimes these so many years are very long time of wait but at the same time, the same years aren't enough to recover the wounds of our past. I want you to fix it before it is too late, son"

Listening to what his mother said, he walked off to drive away from the house to first drop Nia to her school and then to his office. All his way to his office, he thought about what his mother had said and realised that his last words were too much cruel of him to say to her.

As seconds passed by minutes and minutes passed by hours, Aditya could only think of all those years of her being alone. She really never had anyone on her side to talk to about anything. Her mother was gone even before they got married and a almost a year or so after their marriage, she heard the news of her father's demise.

There really was no one for her to talk. None of her family members had contacted her all these years. Not even a single phone call. But then, she has a sister. Yes, what about her sister then? Even she has never called and checked up on her though it was Naina who had made few calls in hope that she could talk to her sister but at the end, like always, her sister Pia always cut off her call saying that either she was busy or out not giving any time for Naina to even reply.

One of their conversations which he heard by accidentally was remembered by him which made him feel even more worse for what he has said to Naina.

It happened so that, almost two years back it was festive season. It was during the days of Ganesha Chaturthi festival. Their home was being decorated and Naina had made a small temple like arrangements for the idol to be placed and worshipped in their hall.