Broken Hearts and Strange Girls || Shivika AU FF

𝐗𝐗𝐈

Aishwarya was sitting on Adi's bed, lost in thoughts. Her son was fast asleep next to her, and she felt his little body curl around her own as he snored lightly. She smiled to herself. Adi slept just like his father.

Fathers. They hold such importance in your life. 

Aishwarya and Annika were step-sisters from completely different sets of parents. Aishwarya's father died when she was five, and Annika's parents divorced when she was three. So when Suresh Bhattacharya—Annika's divorced father—and Disha Choudary—Aishwarya's widowed mother—first met, they met as heartbroken individuals who had nowhere to find solace except for in each other. Before she could understand what had happened, seven year old Aishwarya had a five year old step-sister and a new father. 

Aishwarya had been young when her biological father died, and naturally remembered nothing about him. Aishwarya had even started getting used to it being just herself and her mother. However, she couldn't help but stare after children with fathers, a sense of longing thrumming in her chest. And so, when Disha announced her marriage to Suresh, Aishwarya had been delighted. 

Suresh quickly became the only father she had ever known, and he raised her as his own daughter. There was never a difference between Annika and Aishwarya, for they were two in a million for Suresh. 

Annika used to complain when Aishwarya got even the slightest more attention than her, even though she was only joking. Aishwarya would jerk her head over to her stepfather, tears making their way to her eyes and fear settling in her heart, when Suresh would smile and hug Annika. He'd then say, "Anni, do I have only one eye?" 

Annika would frown. "No, silly. You have two!" 

"Do I have only one daughter?" he'd ask.

Annika would look at Suresh seriously and then look over at Aishwarya. "No, Papa. You have two!" 

"Then, tell me. Can only one daughter be the apple of my one eye? What good of a father would I be then? As God has given me two eyes, He's blessed me with two daughters. And as He's given me two arms, He's given me two angels to hold in each. Does that make sense?" When Annika nodded with a small smile, he would pull her cheeks lovingly and look over at Aishwarya. "Annika," he'd say, "I think one of my arms is empty of its angel. Do you know where she's gone?" 

Before Suresh could finish his sentence, Aishwarya would dart into his open embrace and hug him with all her might, as though he'd slip away if she let go. 

Aishwarya smiled at her childhood memories. Those dull moments had been filled with color as though Suresh and Annika had played Holi in her heart, giving it a new beat. But now, their father hadn't seemed as carefree as the one she'd remembered. 

It's because he's missing an angel, Aishwarya. He's missing the apple of one eye. And you're the one who knows where she's gone. For Papa, Aishwarya. For Annika, because you know she misses him as much as you do. 

With that, Aishwarya slowly stood from her son's bed, tucking him in once again before stepping out. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through the contacts, until she found his name. The line rang once, twice. 

"What happened, Aishwarya? Are you okay? Why did you call so late at night? Is it Adi?" 

"Papa, ghar aa jao."