Eshana was sitting on the passenger seat of the car. She'd never sat in a car before let alone a Mercedes.
She looked beside her towards the man driving it. The man who just entered her life a few hours back but managed to create a chaos in her mind.
"How long have we known each other?"
She asked and he smiled. He had been doing that a lot.
"Not long. We knew each other for a week before our engagement. Our engagement happened a week before your accident."
He said and she frowned.
"Why such hurried engagement?"
"Actually one of my distant relative was on his deathbed. And we wanted the auspicious event to happen before that. Kyunki ghar mai death hone ke baad bhut time tak engagement nhi ho paati and everyone wanted ki atleast rishta pakka kr le. Shaadi ki dates baad mai nikalti rahegi."
He explained and she nodded.
"So you've known me only for like 2 weeks?"
He nodded and she sighed.
"How did that accident happen?"
She asked after some time. His smile fell remembering the most painful three months they spent thinking she had died.
"You had an important business trip. You guys were in a bus. Full of your colleagues. They said that the whole bus fell into the cliff. Almost everyone's bodies were recovered. But we never found yours. Now we know why."
He grinned at her and she looked out not knowing how to feel.
It was true. Eshana's body was never found. They even searched the river near the cliff. Only if they travelled in the direction of the river to and where it met the ocean, they would have known what happened to her body. Her body, which now was drowned under 1000s of feets of water.
Eshana didn't know what to expect where he was taking her. Home he said. She never had one.
He stopped in front of a house that looked so pretty. She looked all around.
Feeling a hand on her back she turned to see Hridhaan smiling at her. His eyes held so much happiness that scared her.
He took her inside and looked around the house admiring the interiors. It was so beautiful and homely.
"Let's meet maa. She had been terrible these months."
He whispered and took her towards a room.
Eshana's heart thudded. Maa. It was not a word, it was an emotion. She had read somewhere. But she didn't know.
He opened the door to a room and Eshana saw a woman who looked in her mid-fifties sitting on the bed with her head thrown back on the headrest.
She was staring into oblivion while her other hand massaged her younger daughter's hair who laid in her lap sniffing.
Eshana gulped. What was she even doing here? Was she trying to dupe these people? Did she want to experience the love everyone talked about? Yes! Was she becoming selfish? She wanted to. For once.
"Maa! Look who's here?"
Hridhaan said excitedly but her mother didn't budge. Hridhaan had been coming almost regularly after the accident. Even for 10 minutes but he came.
And when he couldn't he made sure to call. All of them had formed a great bond with him. He was truly a nice man.
The young girl sniffing turned around at her brother-in-law's voice and her eyes fell on the figure beside him.
She cleared her tears and looked at her carefully. She rubbed her eyes thinking she was imagining things but the magnanimous smile on her jiju's face told the tale.
"Dida!"
She ran and launched herself in Eshana's arms hugging a surprised Eshana tightly. She sobbed and complained hiding her face in her chest.
"Chhod kr chale gye mujhe. Ek baar bhi yaad nhi aayi. Ye nhi socha ki mai kaise rahungi."
Eshana didn't know what to do. Her heart was beating in her chest wildly. She had never been hugged.
Her mother who was in a trance looked at her hearing her daughter's voice and tears fell her eyes.
This was the first time she cried since the news of the accident. She had been sitting with that lost expression throughout the time and everyone was worried that she would slip into depression this ways.
But today she cried.
"Maine kaha tha sabse. Ki kuch nhi hua meri beti ko. Mai zinda hu abhi. Toh wo kaise kahi jaa skti hai. Lekin koi sunta kaha hai meri. Meri bachi."
She cried taking Eshana in her arms and Eshana felt her throat constrict.
"Mu-mumma!"
She whispered and her mother hugged her tighter.
"Haan mera bacha."
Eshana didn't know why but her tears didn't stop. This what it felt like to have a mother.
She too hugged the woman tightly. No! She was her mother now. Eshana wanted to be selfish just for once in her life.
"Where's papa?"
Hridhaan asked and her mother looked at him teary eyed.
"Wahi jaha itne mahino se milte hai. His favourite place to spend time with his princess. Bhut khush honge wo tujhe dekh kr. Go meet him. He has been waiting for you at your favourite place."
Eshana looked at Hridhaan who nodded and led her out of the house towards the backyard.
There he was. Sitting there looking like he had lost his hopes in life.
Eshana felt a sob take through her body as she cried.
"Papa!"
She didn't remember the next moments. They were a blur of emotions as she met with her supposed father.
Was this how having a family felt? She loved it. They were so loving here. She could finally call someone as hers. Even if temporarily.
"Maa! Papa! Actually after that accident Eshana lost her memories. She didn't remember any of us."
For some time everyone was quiet and then Manisha, her little sister spoke up.
"Koi baat nhi. Dekha jaaye toh mera toh faayda hai. Ab aap mujhe blackmail nhi kr paaogi na."
She said to lighten the atmosphere although the pain in her voice could be heard.
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