Amends In Your Arms

OS: Death Anniversary

By the time Abhi arrived home from work on Friday night, Akshu was already fast asleep. He softly tucked her in underneath the covers, kissing her forehead and whispering that he loved her. He knew what day it was tomorrow, and he felt extremely guilty that he had not been with today giving her the support he knew she needed. But, he would make sure that she felt all of the love in world when she woke up...he would do everything in his power to hold her at ease. 

As he picked up the books that she had scattered across their desk, he saw her mother's diary laying open in front of his eyes. Not wanting to invade her privacy, he tried to close it as fast as he could, but not before reading the line that turned into his mission for the rest of the night. In small blue letters, Naira had written that she made a teddy bear especially for her Akshu and her Kairav...a teddy bear that would preserve her love for them forever. As Abhi processed these words, he asked himself why Akshu had never mentioned this...why he had never seen this mark of her mother's love. He picked up his phone and asked Kairav about whether he had seen the teddy bear, but Kairav said that it had gotten lost in storage a long time ago. 

"Kya mein check karsakta hoon aap ke storeroom mein?" Abhi texted him. 

"Haan, Abhimanyu, of course. Kal subha aa jana." 

"Nahi, sorry Kairav...kya mein abhi aa jaoon?"

"Bohut late hogaya hai...tumhe sona nahi hai?" 

"Mein yeh Akshu kilye kal se pehle doonda chata hoon." 

"Theek hai, Abhimanyu...aa jao." 

***

Abhi spent the next four hours searching through every box that was in the Goenka Mansion's storeroom. Kairav tried to help, but every time he looked through a box, Abhi would take it from his hands, telling him that he wanted to double check. Kairav smiled at how much this man loved his sister, how much he wanted to find this treasure for her. 

Right as Abhi was about to lose hope, he heard a sound coming from the bottom of one of the only boxes that was left..."I love you Kairav, I love you Akshu..."

Hearing his mother's voice, Kairav gasped, unable to hold back his tears. Wanting to respect this moment for him, Abhi handed him the box and told him he would be waiting outside...as he did not want to intrude upon his time with his mother. Kairav silently nodded and took the teddy bear out of the box, pressing it against his chest, letting himself release all of his pent up emotions. 

After finally pulling himself together, he walked outside to see Abhi sitting on the floor, on the verge of falling asleep. He gently tapped his shoulder, thanking him for finding what none of the Goenkas had been able to. Kairav handed him the bear, telling him to bring it to Akshu...that she would need it tomorrow. Seeing the tiredness in Abhi's eyes, Kairav tried to insist that he sleep here tonight, but Abhi was committed to being next to Akshu when she woke up. And so with that, he headed home after taking Kairav into his embrace, telling him that wherever his mother was, he knew that she was so irrevocably proud of him. 

*** 

When Akshu opened her eyes in the morning, she saw Abhi smiling at her, holding a plate of kachoris that Kairav had sent for her the night before. She slowly sat up, feeling her heart sinking with the thought of having to get through this entire day in her mother's absence. She took the plate from him and thanked him, trying to fight the water in her eyes. Abhi took her into his arms and held her against his chest, telling her that she did not have to pretend with him...that she could cry if she wanted to...that she could sob if she needed to. And with that, she burst out into tears...

"Abhi...I'm sorry...woh mein...I'm sorry..." she sobbed. 

"Shhhh, Akshu...it's okay..." Abhi responded, stroking her hair, trying to hold back tears of his own...unable to see his wife like this. He had not yet decided when he wanted to give her Naira's gift, but he knew that he would wait until she needed it most. 

By the time they made it downstairs, the Birlas were already dressed to go to the pooja the Goenkas were holding in Naira's honor. Akshu looked at all of them and smiled, thanking them for being with her on this day...Manjari embraced her, telling her to stop being silly- that Naira was their family too. 

***

The panditji started his mantras once everyone had greeted each other and  was seated at the mandir. Manish folded his hands in gratitude towards the Birlas, his heart entirely content with the fact that they were supporting his daughter like she deserved. While Akshu was busy talking to Mimi, Manish pulled Abhi into his arms, softly telling him that he knew what he had spent the entire last night doing and that he was so incredibly proud of him. Abhi smiled at the thought of  finally having made amends with the man who was his father figure. 

One the pooja was over, the families stayed at the mandir for a few hours longer, the Goenkas recollecting some of their favorite memories with Naira...Abhi did not let go of Akshu's hand for a single second, knowing that she was going through a turmoil of emotions. Everyone was at peace when suddenly stood up and Aarohi blurted, "Waise yeh sab toh theek hai, liken kya aap sab ne yeh kabhi Sirat maa kilkye kiya hai? Meri mumma kilye?" 

Akshu and Kairav looked up at her in shock, taken aback by her aggression. This was low, even for Aarohi...especially when their family had never differentiated in celebrating their two mothers. "Aaru...yeh tu kya bol rahi hai?" Akshu said, tears already falling from her eyes. 

"Joh bhi bol rahi hoon, sach bol rahin hoon...so just shut up Akshu, ok?" She retorted back, still unable to fathom how Akshu had gotten her happiness back after snatching Neil and the Birla hospital away from her. 

Unable to withstand these words, Akshu apologized to everyone before running down the stairs as fast as she could. Abhi trailed quickly behind, telling himself that he would deal with Aarohi later...right now, his Akshu needed him, and Aarohi was not worth even the slightest bit of his time. He picked up the bag in which he had brought Naira's gift, wanting to keep it close to him in case Akshu needed it during the pooja. 

When he reached the bottom of the mandir, he saw Akshu sitting on a bench sobbing...he could sense that she was on the verge of a panic attack, and he vowed that he would not let her suffer like this today. As he walked towards her, he took the teddy bear out of the bag and gently pressed the button hidden in its stomach..."I love you Kairav, I love you Akshu...." 

Akshu immediately looked up... "Mumma?" 

Abhi pressed play again. "I love you Kairav, I love you Akshu...." 

Shocked to see what Abhi was holding, she got up from the bench and took the bear into her hands, pressing play over and over again...

"I love you too mumma, I love you too..." 

Hearing the pain, the agony in Akshu's voice, Abhi could no longer hold himself together...he silently wept to himself, not wanting Akshu to see him in this state...at least not today. 

After a few moments, Akshu looked into Abhi's eyes and asked, "Abhi...yeh tumhe kaise mila?" 

"Woh Akshu...kal raat..."

But before he could finish, she jumped into his arms, holding him as tightly as she could... "Thank you, Abhi...thank you so much" she cried... "Mumma ka asli gift toh tum ho Abhi...siraf tum...."