Although you don't vote, but I can't do wrong with My sunshines who do votes all the time.
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The silence was prevailing in the room when she started speaking "I was nine when this happened. It was my parent's anniversary. My papa and My mamma." She smiled. "They were the best parent in the world. My angels. I call them angels because when they were with me, they always fulfilled all my wishes and even after their death they were there to support me, to make me strong," she said.
Aashrit looked at the smile on her face, it was a contended smile, childlike smile. It was neither the fake smile she gives to others nor the smile with a blush he saw during their proximity, it was the most genuine smile he had seen on her face for the first time and he felt to stop the moment right here to appreciate her.
But her smile disappeared when she continued " And we decided to have dinner in my favorite restaurant because I insisted them to, it was at an hour distance from our house." She said as her expressions started changing.
She looked at him with pain in her eyes reminiscing those moments again. Taking a deep breath she continued "It was late when we left the restaurant. While on the way back home, it started raining. I always loved rain and got even more excited. It was thundering and lightening in the sky. We all were happily chatting and I was telling my father about my first crush and he was fake angering, getting jealous that his daughter was giving attention to someone else." She stopped for a moment as a chuckle left her mouth like she was in the moment. While telling all this she was seeing everything happening in front of her.
" All the happiness disappeared in a moment when suddenly a truck collided with our car making our car lose balance and bump into the tree." Her smile faded and was covered with shock. Aashrit felt his heart stop on hearing her.
"I saw everything. I saw how my father's head struck the side glass and then on the steering wheel while his hand was at the back saving me from the effect of the bump, my mother's head struck the side glass and she fell out of the car when it struck with a tree. I was stuck in the back seat with my whole body injured and blood flowing from my head. I called for my dad and mom but they didn't speak anything ." She said with tears in her eyes.
Aashrit rubbed her back side hugging her. He knew he couldn't even feel what she must have felt.
Meera continued "I laid there in a pool of my parents' blood for 2 hours until we got help. And till then Papa has lost his life while Mamma was fighting for her last breath. I remembered her last word 'Beta please live for us' And I lived, losing them." She said with her lower lip trembling looking at her husband. It was the first time she shared this with anyone. It was the most horrifying experience of her whole life which she dared not to relive again but don't know how she got the courage today in front of him.
She looked at Aashrit's eyes with her red swollen eyes while his heart was constricting thinking about her. He never knew this innocent, sweet, soft girl had such dark secrets hidden inside her. He wiped her tears with his thumb and said "And that's when your tau ji and taiji adopted you?" he questioned and she shook her head in no. He furrowed his brow with the change of expressions on her face.
She put her head on his chest while he caressed her head and she continued "My dadaji took me with him but my dadi didn't like me. My mamma and dad had love marriage. She never liked my mother and then I was born which angered her even more. She didn't like that her favorite son's first born was a girl. And she started hating me more after the accident because I was the only one to survive and she lost her favorite son. One day when my dadaji was out of the town she threw me out of the house at night. I was just a 10 year old girl who recently lost her parents."
She was tightly clutching his shirt around his waist while Aashrit's hand stopped caressing her head and felt tears collected around his eyes which he blinked away while she continued "And I was there in the chilly night outside the house with a thin t shirt and lower. The next day, when my dadaji came home from his trip, he saw me in that condition and took me to the doctor. He has to visit other cities because of his work and he couldn't trust me with my dadi anymore neither he could take a little girl on so many trips. So he left me at my Tauji's house in the hope of a better future." She finished hugging him tightly.
"Meera" He called her with a bit shaky voice " Can I ask you one thing?"
Meera could just hum in response.
"Did they...... I mean your tauji's family. Did they treat you well?" He asked praying to God for a positive response.
Meera didn't say anything and just shook her head in no and his heart broke into pieces. Now he was understanding why her eyes looked like she was craving for love because she never got it "But my dadaji did. He loved me the most but he also left some years ago due to brain tumor." She said with a hoarse voice due to crying.
"He did and that's why he took a promise from my dadaji. Maybe my dadu also knew your pain and that's why he always told me to be gentle with you" He thought caressing her head.
"You are the best gift I got from my dadaji." Meera said looking at Aashrit while he caressed her cheeks.
They both sat there for some moment while Aashrit kept on showering some little kisses and sweet words in her ear until he heard soft snores. He looked down at his wife and found her sleeping peacefully in his arms. He then looked at her clothes and noticed they were wet due to him hugging her.
"She would catch a cold if she slept in these wet clothes," He thought and took her in his arms and moved out towards his study room. He didn't have the heart to wake her up.
He called a maid and asked her to change Meera's clothes while he also went into the dressing room to change. When he came out, he saw Meera in a new set of clothes sleeping with discomfort on her face. He went and laid beside her covering her in his arms and soon her discomfort was replaced with peace and a slight smile on her face. He slightly kissed her forehead and caressed thinking how much pain she was hiding in her heart. He decided to fill her life only with love and no pain. Thinking about all this, he didn't realize when he slept. And now he knew what he has to do with those who made her life hard and specially that old lady.
NEXT DAY
Meera and Aashrit were sleeping in each other's embrace when the ringing of the phone disturbed them. Aashrit opened his eyes and looked at his phone to see Abhishek calling him. He attended the call and heard his younger brother's voice
"Good morning bhai" He wished her while Aashrit just hummed in reply and he continued "Bhai Maa told me that you came early yesterday but you didn't come for breakfast yet so I was just checking upon you." He finished.
Aashrit looked at his wife and thought about the last night. He didn't want her to wake up alone, especially after what happened yesterday. He caressed her cheek when he heard Abhishek's voice
"Hello ........ Hello ..........Bhai are you there?" He asked in a bit concerning voice.
"Yeah." He said in a stoic voice.
"So should I prepone Sindhiya's meeting at 10," Abhishek said
"No" Aashrit replied in one word.
"But bhai they are very important clients." Abhishek replied instantly.
"Not more than my wife," He said and cut the call.
Aashrit put his phone aside and looked at his wife and saw her wide awake now looking at him with her small eyes.
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SPREAD LOVE AND HAPPINESS.