Life is weird. You can never have it all planned, can you? The moment you think you have everything sorted; life will surprise you with a new problem. But guess what, I, Aditya Sinha is as stubborn as life. The more life surprises me with problems, I surprise it with solutions. As it is rightly said that every problem has a solution. No, don't mistook me as some motivational speaker because I'm not, I'm a pilot who loves to fly high up in the sky and have his feet on ground. But there are some situations from which we have no way out like death of someone you love.
Coming back to the place which once used to be my home feels strange today. As the cab passes through the familiar roads, I feel nostalgic but aloof. The locality is familiar, I know which road leads to where, I know when to take which turn to reach my home. I remember seeing these same signboards everyday while travelling back and forth from my home to school or local market but there's something amiss, perhaps, sense of belongingness. I don't feel welcomed and accepted here. One of the advantages of being a pilot is that I get to travel a lot. There are many cities I have been to as a stranger. But none of those cities has ever made me feel as lonely as being in my own hometown makes me feel today. As the distance to my home is decreasing, my nervousness is shooting up. I'm scared to know how it will be at my home. If the city itself is so cold and distant towards me, what are the chances that my family will like seeing me. Though I know my father will appreciate my thoughtfulness of visiting home at my twin brother, Devaditya's demise because otherwise imagine the shame and humility he would have to face from the relatives and the so-called society because of my absence. But apart from that, I don't know if they would really like seeing me. It's been so long since I left my home, and never looked back.
Ringing the doorbell thrice, thrice because our mother had this rule of ringing the doorbell thrice to let us know of her arrival whenever she went somewhere out. We kids when alone at home were supposed to open the door only if the doorbell rang thrice and I had picked this thing from her. I waited with bated breath for someone to open the door with two suitcases in both my hands, my eyes time to time drifting towards the swing still attached with our now old mango tree, it holds all sorts of memories of three of us, a testament of our sibling's love. I was brought out of my memories by the sound of twisting of doorknob. On the other side of the door, stood Aditi, my not so little sister, flabbergasted, poker face, her eyes swelled from all the crying, her body rigid. If this is her reaction, I don't think I have enough courage to meet my mother, Vandana Sinha and father, Vikram Sinha. Her silence is making me question my decision, should I go back? I know I'm not really needed here. Maybe I should just head back to Mumbai? But I can see her lips quivering slightly, like her mind is struggling to find the right words, maybe she is shocked by my sudden arrival, there's nothing shocking though. Or were they really not expecting me to show up at my own brother's demise? The thought unsettles me.
"Aditi, who is there?" came my father's voice, breaking her from her daze. To my surprise, he sounded tired and defeated. Maybe Dev's death had affected him too.
"Bhai" she said looking inside. I too wanted to step inside and see his reaction. Was he disappointed because I arrived late or happy that I at-least came or just nonchalant. But I didn't have enough courage. The obedient son in me will always be scared of Mr. Vikram Sinha. What if he gets angry and insults me in front of all the relatives spread in our living room, like an attempt to get back at me for insulting him in front of everyone by missing my brother's funeral ceremony. He wouldn't give me any chance to explain myself.
"Aditya Bhai" Aditi spoke again, catching my attention back towards her. She proceeded to take the suitcase from my left hand as she made way for me to step inside, a small smile playing on her lips now but unlike her my face was stoic, I was dreading stepping inside, afraid to the face the man I had once promised to never show my face again. Holding my free hand, Aditi dragged me inside the center of the lobby. I took a quick glance of the living area, not interested in making eye contact with the good for nothing relatives, they were just four to five though. I'm guessing most of them must have already left, good for me. "Where are you maa?" I murmured under my breath, handling another suitcase also to Aditi before moving towards our father who sat motionless on his favorite front seat of dining table, his eyes narrowed at me, face expressionless, it was hard to decipher him, has always been. I couldn't figure out if he was waiting to throw a sarcastic remark at me or was planning to simply ignore me or maybe, hoping against hope embrace me in a hug.
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Our Paradise
General FictionWhen Aditya Sinha visited his parental home after a long gap of three years to attend his twin brother Devaditya Sinha's funeral, he had imagined various reactions he would be subjected to, from his mother, from his father, from his younger sister b...
