D R I S H T I
It was nice seeing someone so converned about the time you reach home. And by the word someone I meant this cute little creature marching in front of me on the bed with his hands at his back and water dripping from his wet hairs after a nice hot water bath.
"How many times? Tell me woman! How many times should I tell you not to walk at this time, all by yourself? But no! Who listens to me? Who?" Varun stood attentively in front of me and demanded an answer. His shirt buttons were open which displayed the grumpy face he drew on his stomach in the name of timepass, after he had a bath.
"Sorry mom, I will not repeat it again" I laughed.
"You think it's funny?" He glared at me and leaned forward while keeping his hands on his waist "I always tell you the same thing, take me along with you!"
"Oh, and why should I do that? To run after you when you'll be crying and running towards the park at 9 in the night?" I pulled Varun in my lap and started rubbing his wet hairs with a towel while the grumpy baby was not willing to let me do that.
"First of all, I will come to protect you, and nextly, don't embaress me in front of my girlfriend" He screamed while wriggling in my lap.
In front of us sat Divya and Sia laughing at Varun's acts, who tried his best to get free from me, but poor baby was just 3 months to five while his mom was 21.
"Girlfriend? Which one?" Sia cried in distress when Varun referred to only one girlfriend and kept a hand on her heart in pain.
Varun who was listening inattentively to her question while fighting with me replie "My Divya! Who else!" realized who asked the question and stopped struggling. His eyes shifted to Sia who seemed close to crying.
Within a second his eyes widened and lips curled into an apologetic pout "No Sia, I didn't mean that!" Varun apologized in his baby tone and tried getting off the bed but I had to close his shirt buttons so I caged him between my legs, despite the kicks he gave me.
"So you mean I ain't your girlfriend?" This boy would be having a huge heartbreak today. It was now Divya's turn to add fuel to the fire that Sia started igniting.
"No Divya! You're the love of my life!" Varun cried and as I was finished with the last button of his shirt, he rolled off the bed and looked at the ladies in a disturbing manner, a creepy troubled kid.
"Then who am I?" It was evident from her cheeks how hard Sia tried to control her laugh with the worsening expressions of Varun but he was too young to catch it.
"You are my love too" he smiled at her and lifted his arms to he held up by her and she gladly took him in his lap.
"What about Victoria?" As I laid back and took a pillow in my lap, I made this mistake to ask him this question. The look he gave me later had me gulp my saliva and mouth him a sorry for disturbing.
"You are my girlfriend and Divya is my wifey!" He laughed happily and got up from her lap, adjusting himself to stand between the two and hold their heads near his waist. "Right mommy?"
"Then what am I?"
"You are mommy! Just mommy, huh!" He tossed his head away and kissed on his girlfriend's and wife's head "I love you both, loves! And You" he cupped Sia's face gently and pinched her cheeks "Don't worry, I will marry you too, but after some time okay?"
"Yes sir" Sia laughed "But having two wives is illegal, what will you do?"
"Oh ho! I didn't think it that way" Varun stood silent for less than a minute and smiled at his idea. His mind was a kitchen where some of the worst ideas in the world were cooked "Ok, so my mommy will decide her Daughter In Law. Is that okay?" The girls nodded in understanding but Varun changed his mind "Um, no! Mommy is just mine, no motherly relationship to you"
Even if his talks were not much serious, neither his future feelings could be predicated but that moment whenever I heard him being possessive about his mother, the moment held another sort of happiness, a beauty nobody could explian.
I didn't know if I would ever be able to love someone or move on after what had happened. But life had always been unpredictable, right?
Who knew what was lying in the future for me? So I was still unsure about marrying anyone.
Though Sia and Divya had been encouraging me to start dating and find someone to spend a lifetime with and move on from the scars of the past. The scar was just on my heart and the little angel was a blessing the mistake gave me.
Varun felt absence of a father, it was obvious from his melancholic behavior and half teary eyes whenever he saw a whole family going by us. I knew his friends would ask about his father and he would simply cry, when his friends would say anything to him he would fight with them.
He was almost five and already hiding his tears and sadness for my sake. The last thing I ever wished for him was happiness, I did not wish my son would have to cry over something. I wished him every happiness in this world. So if I had to marry someone, I would.
"So, your mom should also be made something, and your Victoria too" said Divya.
"Don't talk of Victoria!" Varun jumped off the couch in anger and liad on the floor, Childishness at it's peak? Nah, you haven't even seen his sort of madness.
"Why Varun? Did she do something?" Divya asked him and looked back at Sia, aka her competitor.
"She left me for a guy who had eraser!" He growled in anger and rolled on the floor before climbing the bed and crying a tearless cry, over-dramatically in my lap.
And this time we all laughed.
"Ok Varun, now you sleep. It's your bed time right?"
"Don't tell me what to do!" He looked at me but on giving him a fake glare he threw his head on the pillow beside me and covered himself in the blaket. "Good night the loves of my life!"
I smiled at Varun and waited for him to fall asleep so that we could talk without any story maker and part time overthinker listening to our conversations. When I felt him making no more movements, I understood that he was asleep, so I kissed his forehead and went to sit with Sia and Divya around the table in the room.
"The guy who had an eraser" Sia laughed covering her eyes with her hand. "He's adorable"
"Oh he surely is, right mother in law?" Divya joined a dying-while-laughing Sia and remembering the scenes that took place a few minutes before.
"But he was right Drishti, you shouldn't be out at that time. It's not safe for anyone. Once the road is alright, you can do whatever you want to, but at least not now" What if I told them Rakshit heard someone following us?
I would be killed right on this spot in the name of safety
"Yeah, even I told you not to come alone today! There was a theft report recently, I would've picked you up" Divya grumbled leaning back at her seat and removing her shoes to keep her toes on Sia's leg.
"What? Drishti how many time do we need to tell you that you should take care of yourself. Think about Varun at least, if anything happened to you whay will he do? What will we do?" The situation was not so threatening, but they like exaggerating.
Well, prevention is better than cure.
"Relax guys, I was not alone" With a tone as calm and relaxing as possible to mitigate their stress level, I considered the best option to make a small reference to Rakshit. "I was with-"
"What?! Oh yes, You were followed by some ghost or some guardian spirit or an angel!" Mocked Divya, quite frankly ignoring my every attempt to present a logical explanation. Hers was absurd!
Abusrd AF!
"No Divya"
"Then who? Doctor Strange? Lighting McQueen or Adolf Hitler?" Even if Divya's vocal volume was low enough not to wake Varun, her actions continued dominating me.
"Shut up Divya" sighed Sia "You speak Drishti"
"Rakshit was with me" I smiled while referring to him and took notice of my confused to heaven and back friends "The boy next door"
"The new comer?"
"Yes"
"How could you?" Sia was baffled for absolute no reason but I was habitual to their worrying about me every time I talked about something new in my life. They just care, a lot and I love them "He just came yesterday!"
"Day before yesterday" Divya corrected her, nodding her head in an understanding way. Sia glared, Divya scared. And I died.
"Thank you. Now, I was saying he just came yestar-" she glared again as Divya's mouth opened to correct her "day before yesterday. How could you trust him that you came home in his company?"
If I told her I welcomed him inside, had his shirt removed and dressed his wound it would be what I would say.
She would only hear- 'Stranger came inside, stranger removed his shirt' and the rest of the story after undergoing major editing by her would be- 'he tried something and I was crying'
In the conclusions of her stories, I was either crying or dead, and sometimes- don't want to remember.
"He's not bad Sia, trust me. I know it's been just a few days-"
"Not a few. Just two" Thanks Divya. "Sorry, continue"
"I've talked to him today morning. You know he's kind, not what he looks like. We don't even know him-"
"That's the point, we don't know him"
"Yet" Why Divya? Why can't you be serious for at least a minute? And not interrupt us?
"But you ain't seeing him darling. At first let's be sure that he's safe"
"Oh my- I have decided! Divya will be my Wife, Sia my Girlfriend and mommy will be my Mistress!" Screamed an excited Varun from his bed.
What the actual heck-!
R A K S H I T
Days have not been good, but shifting to this new location might prove to be one of the best decisions of my life. I was no person who believed much in love at first sight sort of things.
But the neighbor, that girl had something special about her which would be grabbing my attention towards her. I wasn't close to her, we just met, so I didn't ask about her son or her husband or maybe her boyfriend. But I didn't see any such person coming to meet her.
From the past few days, I have been waiting for her outside the cafe she talked about but instead of coming with me she would steal her glances from me and get inside a car which was driven by her friend.
It was a week we didn't talk. I thought maybe at last someone cared. But forgot one thing-
A one day attention didn't mean that.
I needed to stop looking for every opportunity to find someone to look for, to care for, and someone who would do the same for me.
Sitting on the park swing near to my house, I started pushing the empty swing when a shrill yet extremely sweet voice called from behind
"If you want to push that swing let me sit on it!"