The Addiction of Love

EPILOGUE

"Daneen Ashar Syed, get here right this second." Avira's voice echoed in the Syed home in Dehradun.

A five year old girl dressed in a white frock, with a brown colored teddy bear in her hand slowly came out from under the table.

"What is all this?" Avira kept a hand on the hip and pointed at the mess of toys in the middle of the living room.

The little girl stayed quiet.

"I'm asking you something, Daneen." Avira's voice was shrill.

The little girl knew she was in big trouble because her mother was calling her Daneen, and not Dani.
And there was only one person who could save her from her mother's wrath, and that was her father. Luckily for her, Ashar got back home just at that moment after buying sweets and dry fruits.

Daneen rushed to her father and raised her hands to gesture to him to pick her up. He kept the shopping bags aside and lifted his daughter. She hid her face in his neck, and he questioned Avira, "What's wrong?"

"Seema ne abhi poora ghar saaf kiya tha, aur aap ki ladli ne phir se apne sare khilone bikher diye. Kal eid hai, hum ek taraf se ghar saaf kar rahe hai aur yeh dusri taraf se ghar ganda kar rahi hai." Avira said in a pissed voice.

Daneen tightened her grip on Ashar.

"Acha koi baat nahi. Bachi hai, jaane do. Mai iske khilone samet deta hoon." Ashar said while comforting Avira.

"Bahut acche. Aur bigado ise." Avira snapped and left the room.

Ashar sighed and sat on the sofa with his daughter still in his arms. Daneen pulled her face back and looked at him. He gave her a hard look but it just made her grin.

"Why do you trouble you mama?" He asked her while tucking her hair behind her hair.

"I just wanted to play." She pouted.

"But you should always pick up your toys after playing, right?" He taught her.

"I'm sorry, papa." She said in her baby voice. It had been five years since he had first held her in his arms, almost four years since she spoke papa for the first time, and yet his heart still melted listening to that.

"It's okay, baby." He kissed her forehead, "Now go and clean up your mess. Don't trouble your mother anymore. You know she's carrying your sibling inside her."

Avira was five months pregnant and Daneen was damn excited to meet her baby brother or sister.

Daneen listened to her father and got to cleaning her mess right away. After she was done, she rushed to her parents' room to find her angry mother.

"Maa?" Avira was folding Ashar's clothes when she heard Daneen's voice.

She didn't reply. A few seconds later she felt a pair of tiny hands wrap around her hips. "I'm sorry, maa."

Her anger vanished in a second. She turned around and looked at her babygirl. Avira sat on the bed and pulled her closer.

"Mai aapko aur tang nahi karungi." Daneen promised her mother. "Aur maine apne khilone samet liye hai."

"Mera baccha," Avira hugged her cute daughter. "Aapko pata hai ki mama aapse bahut pyaar karti hai?"

Daneed pulled away and smiled, "Bilkul. Main hoon hi itni pyaari." She dramatically flipped her hair.

Avira chuckled at her daughter's antics.

"Yeh kya haal bana rakha hai apne baalon ka aapne?" Avira looked at Daneen's waist length hair, which was tangled.