Devakshi One-shots/Drabbles/Short stories

"Papa"

This one-shot was is set when Suhana calls Dev 'Papa'. Sonakshi's POV. 

This is another request from a reader. 

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"Bye, Mr. Dixit!" Soha waved and ran off. Sonakshi turned to look at Dev, catching his fleeting expression of hurt.

Every time.

This happened every time Soha called him 'Mr. Dixit'. He was getting better at masking the hurt though. It didn't linger on his face for as long now. For all the animosity between them, Sonakshi could never see him hurt. It pained her immensely.

After all, Sonakshi was the only one who knew how much he had wanted a daughter. They had talked about it so many times. A tiny Sonakshi, who is just like you.. I want a mini version of you...You have to give me a daughter...a beautiful little girl.... he used to say. And when Soha was born, she had cried for hours and hours, days and days, holding her in her arms. The little girl he had always wanted was finally here, but he wasn't.

Guilt had eaten at her that he wasn't in Soha's life. There had been so many instances in their daughter's life when she had wanted to call him, because no one in the whole world, except him would understand the thrill she felt about Soha. That was the whole deal with parents. She wanted to tell him Soha had taken her first step, she got her first tooth, she tasted her first citrus, she fell sick for the first time and of course, she said her first word, 'Papa'. But every time she would think of calling him, she remembered those cruel words Ishwari Niwas's watchman had conveyed to her. 'He doesn't want to meet you. Now that you have gone from our lives, never come back again.' Sonakshi remembered how she would quietly put the phone away.

Soha and Dev had finally met in Delhi. When she introduced them, Soha had decided to call him 'Mr. Dixit'. Sonakshi had been shocked, she had not expected that from Soha. Soha used to talk about her father constantly, imagining what he looked like, if he would be funny or strong and sketch drawings of him. In fact, sometimes Sonakshi even felt jealous that her daughter was so connected to someone she hadn't even met. So, when Suhana declared that Dev may be her father, but not her Papa, she couldn't have been more taken aback. And Dev? He had been shattered. She had tried to empathize with him, but of course, in typical Dev fashion, he had blamed that also on her. Not surprising. If Dev could, he would blame everything wrong with the entire world on her.

Sonakshi wished she could just order Soha to call him Papa, but no, she couldn't do that. She had always raised Soha to make a choice for herself, her own decisions. She would give options and whatever Soha chose, she respected that. It was the way her parents raised her, and perhaps, it was also a way to ensure that Soha doesn't end up like Dev, making decisions only according to his mother and never for himself. Anyways, it would mean so much more if Suhana accepted him as her Papa herself, without any external interference from her.

Dev, on his part, had been trying very hard to prove to Soha that he was a good father, that he deserved to be addressed as 'Papa'. He was taking all her opinions in his stride. But so far, nothing.

He even participated in the games in the summer camp while injured and fell down hard on the ground in the last leg of the race. He was lying there, wincing in pain and that's when Soha called out, "Papa!"

Dev looked completely surprised, the address so unfamiliar to him, yet unexpectedly and beautifully melodious. Soha ran to him, her concern for him overwhelming. "Are you okay, Papa?", "Are you hurt, Papa?" Dev looked very emotional and triumphant, like every single struggle he had gone through in his life had been worth this moment. He reassured her that he was fine and hugged Soha tightly, as she repeated one more time, "Papa". He may have lost the race but he looked truly victorious then.

Sonakshi watched them, her own emotion choking her throat. She was genuinely happy for Dev. He had finally gotten what he wanted. His tiny Sonakshi, although she doubted that he would like Soha to be referred that way now. He despised her, so certainly wouldn't like to think of Soha as a version of her mother.

She wished she could help those tears. She had always wanted Suhana to have both her parents. She used to imagine this: just the three of them, wrapped in a hug, in their private charmed world. She and Dev and their child. It had been destroyed seven years ago and she never allowed herself to revisit that tableau ever again. And now, she could only watch them from afar. She couldn't step into that circle. She couldn't share in that joy.

It's all right. Dev had gone through so much in his life, so if she could do something to make him have even the tiniest bit of happiness, she would. They may not have been successful as a couple, but he deserved his dreams to fructify. Soha should be his strength, just as she was hers.

Her empathetic eyes met his grateful ones over Soha's shoulders. She could see his pride. She offered him a genuine smile, full of understanding and joy, as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.