Love or Retribution?

Chapter - 4

"Subha ma, careful, the soil is wet from the rain, you might slip", her father's voice came from behind but little too late as she was already on the floor covered in mud.

He stopped and looked at his daughter covered in mud, eyes full of tears, trying to wipe off the mud from her elbows.

She could see her father standing there suppressing his chuckles.

"Daddy", Subha almost screamed at him in a whiny tone.

"Hehe, sorry sorry, did you get hurt?", he came running and lifted her right away.

"No Daddy, but I spoiled my dress and now amma is going to get super pissed", Subha whimpered amidst her sobs.

Even though she said she was not hurt, she could feel her father's eyes scanning all over her to make sure she was not.

"Daddy?", she called and lifted his chin up to look into his eyes, those brown eyes that she had inherited from him looked back at her with so much warmth and love.

"Hmm?"

"Do something, before amma comes", Subha whined.

"Right, go, get that shovel", he said pointing at a small shovel.

Subha immediately obliged  and within next few minutes they started cleaning the back yard, removing all the weeds that were growing uncontrollably.

"What is happening here?", her mother's voice made them both stop what they were doing

"Ma, we learnt in science that, it is easier to clear out the weeds when it rains as the soil will be loose, so me and Daddy decided to  test that theory and guess what, it works", Subha said in an excited tone while winking at her father, who winked back at her.

"Meaning you two are not up to any mischiefs, you were just experimenting ? ", her mother asked looking at them with fake anger.

"Yes, just studies, no mischiefs", Subha jumped at answering back

"Okay then, go and get yourself cleaned, we are going out to dinner as a reward", her mother replied making Subha jump with joy

"Shall we invite Bhargav too? ", Subha asked still jumping.

"Sure, now go get ready", her mother replied patting her on her head.

"Yay!!", Subha squealed and ran towards the rest room.

"Good job in getting her to help you with the weeding, she wouldn't have done it if you had asked her directly"

"Ha ha, so her reward is dinner, what is mine?", her father asked side hugging her mother.

Subha who came out to get her towel, saw this scene, even though she did not understand the context, the way her parents were looking at each other and the happiness and love that radiated from them was enough to make her too happy.

Indira looked around the almost clean back yard, it looked exactly same like that day, slightly wet and muddy thanks to the evening rain with little weeds popping out from here and there.

"How did I forget all those moments and started to doubt my own mother of killing my father, it is not only others who failed my mother but me too, I trusted them and not the love I had seen growing up, why did I do that?" Her own conscience screamed at her.

She moved to a corner and took a sickle that the cleaning crew had left behind and started chopping the weeds.

Tears started flowing down her eyes as the same happy scene kept on repeating in her mind, that she showed her anger and frustration on the creepers by tearing them apart.