Yrkkh 4- Ek Anokhi Milan

Aashiyana

"Nahi" Abhir ran behind the kitchen table.

"Please Abhir, please" Meera begged running behind him, "ek baar pucho na, just once,"

"ek baar?" Abhir ran to the other side, away from Meera, "tune kitne baar marwaya hai Abhinav sir ke hatho se mujhe," he continued running around the table, father away from Meera's clingy grip. Once she got a hold of him, she won't let him go until he does what she wants, "tu puch unko"

"he never listens to me yaar"

"toh meri bhi nahi sunta!"

"kya nahi sunta?" Abhinav asked with his usual grouchy tone.

"u-uh wo..." Meera stuttered and side-eyed Abhir to help give an excuse, but Abhir stayed silent as he crossed his arms and looked away form the two.

"wo...?" Abhinav copied, impatient for her reply.

Meera gulped as she bundled up the courage to speak, "MUJHE WO JOB CHAHIYE!"

A wave of silence flowed on shore of the kitchen. The thing that was heard was the crickets outside chirping away in the night.

Abhir sighed as he saw Abhinav pull his usual face of disapproval and walk away. Abhir looked once to Meera, she had lowered her head in defeat. She really badly wanted that retail job and now that she had turned fifteen, she was old enough to do so. But Abhinav sir was strict on the matter of her studies. She was a low performing student, barely passing her subjects. And so, with the marks she was getting, there was no way Abhinav would let her get a job.

"Jaane do na" Abhir asked with a hesitant tone. 

Abhinav stopped at the very first step of the flights of stairs which lead to his home office, his gimlet gaze landing onto Abhir's nervous face.

Yep, he was never getting used to this version of his dad. When he was a child, his father was like the moon in the night sky, the greatest source of light amongst the darkness. But now, it was like the moon had flipped to reveal it's dark side. Distant, cold and scary.

"W-wo try kar rahi hai studies mein. Bahut mehnat kar rahi hai, hai na?" Abhir looked to Meera.

Meera only give a half nod, knowing that it wasn't true. She wasn't the most studious of students. She was just never interested in all that. She just wanted to play around and have fun, and studying was not fun.

"Aur uska mann hai job karne mein, karne do na"

"Uska mann hai paisa ki piche bhagne mein" Abhinav refuted firmly. He looked to Meera, "Agar ache marks laungi toh shayad mein permission de sakta hoon, Meera. Lekin tum baar baar fail ho rahi ho. So answer is no," He looked to Abhir, "And that is final" he concluded.

'Aaj itne time baad Mr Sadu sir ke darshan hui hai, aaj toh main nahi chodunga usse' Abhir thought to himself with a smirk. And with that, Abhir had decided he wasn't letting this be his final decision. 

"Shayad wo paisa ke piche bhag rahi hoon sir, lekin uske liye paisa azadi hai!" Abhir yelled as if he were some motivation speaker. He stomped up to Abhinav, "Aap ki problem kya hai pata hai? Aap hums samaj te hi nahi ho, aap ko lagta hai ki hum sab paidaish badmash hai. Jab Parth ko phirse, bina kuch wajah, detention diya gaya, aap ne kya kiya? Kuch nahi. Bus teachers se yeh kaha ki 'please next time detention kuch wajah se dena'. Arey, yeh kya baat hui?" he complained as other children began surrounding the staircase to overhear the argument, "Ayeshah ka phirse jagah ho gaya wo gali ki auntie se, and The Smart Abhinav Sharma sir ne kya kiya? Sab ke samne Ayesha ko lecture diya ki 'nahi beta, bacho ko bade ki baat sun le ni chaihye'. Kya matlab?" he looked to the kids surrounding him with wide-eyes, "Arey wo auntie ko hume pasand hi nahi karti"

"exactly" Pranav said from Abhir's left.

Abhir continued, "Kuch na kuch ulta seedha kehti hai humare baare mein, aur tab hum chup hi rehte hai," Abhir turned to Ayeshah, "Ayeshah tumne sahi kiya!"

"thanks bro!" Ayeshah replied.

Meera slapped her forehead. There were many ways to convince Abhinav sir, but this dramebaazi that Abhir was doing was not one of them. Meera ran up to staircase where Abhir was and held his shoulder, "Abhir, leave it"

"Nahi Meera!" Abhir shook her hand away, "Aaj main bolunga aur tum- mera matlab-Mr Sharma sunega" He energetically turned back to Abhinav sir, but was met with the sight of the a blank wall. There was no one there. He looked to the top of the staircase to see Abhinav sir walk away and enter his home office.

"Wo toh chale gaye bhai," Pranav said.

Abhir pouted in annoyance and silently walked to the entrance of Aashiyana, and sat on the staircase at the entrance.

Meera followed and sat beside him, "thanks try karne ki liye"

Abhir nodded and lowered his head silently. 

"Waise bhi, Sir sahi toh bol rahe hai. Retail job kar ke ache paisa milenge lekin studies ki watt lag jayegi" Meera but noticed his face had grow sullen and resentful, "kya baat hai?"

"main manta hoon ki usse bahut struggle se Aashiyana khola hai, toh hum sab ko grateful hona chaihye, lekin wo thora sa bhi nahi time dete hum sab mein. Yesterday ki party mein bhi nahi aaye, sirf raat mein ek present de kar chale gaye kuch business meeting ki liye. Aur ph-"

"Okay Abhir stop."

Abhir looked up to Meera with a questioning look.

"Yesterday ki party mein shayad nahi aa saake, lekin party toh hui," Meera said. Noticing Abhir's still confused look, she continued, "Tumhe pata ki, jab humare maa-baap dono guzarte hai, wohi ek pal mein humari puri kismat badalti hai. Jab aap ek anarth ban jaate ho, toh bahut hard ho jaata hai ek normal zindagi jeene mein, kyuki ab koi hai hi nahi tumara haath pakarne wala. Ab tum hi rahe" Meera felt her throat begin to weaken as she spoke. Her heart grew heavy as she resisted her desire to cry, "Aur foster system bhi kuch kaam ka nahi hai yahan."

Abhir recognised that there was a lot of tears attached to her her last line. She had never told him, but he knew that she didn't have a good experience with her previous foster family. He listened to her closely.

She sniffed, "Toh aisi halat main ek Aashiyana milna is like," she looked up at the night sky, "raat ki andhera mein guzarte hui, chaand milna" she chuckled.

Abhir drew back a little. 

Meera giggled, "tumare jaisa baat karne laagi, chi"

But that wasn't the reason Abhir was surprised with what she said. All this time Abhir had hated his dad for being so far away from him, but it was because he had to be there for something bigger, Aashiyana. And for that, Abhir needed to sacrifice his relationship with his dad. He had to be willing to face the dark side of the moon, for them to see the glow of it's light side. 

There could be no other way.