Paayal - His Scarred Butterfly ✅

37 - TRANQUIL MOMENTS

புதை மணலில் வீழ்ந்து
புதைந்திடவே இருந்தேன்
குறு நகையை எரிந்தே
மீட்டாய் என்னை!
(Falling into the quicksand,
I was about to be buried.
You recovered me
with your smile!)

"It's my....our baby," Paayal smiled, and added, "I adopted her from a service organization with the help of my lawyer who helped me to punish that pervert through court. She lost her parents in last year's Gujarat earthquake. She was one year old when I adopted her. She is now two and half years old. I killed a baby in my womb itself helplessly. Though it was formed in a disgusting way, I couldn't hate that baby. Yet I didn't have any other way than aborting it. So I did with a heavy heart and thought of adopting a baby as a reparation for my sin," She forced a smile, tears unknowingly escaping from her eyes, as she remembered those days of abortion.

She was strong yet soft. That rare combination made her unique. And that uniqueness made him fall for her again and again. He wiped her tears and spoke affectionately, "You are like a dandelion flower. Strong yet soft. You are unique. Be proud of yourself,"

She pouted, "Dandelion?? It's botanically a weed."

He laughed, "Are you a botany graduate?"

"Chemistry graduate. But, I worked as a science teacher for an year before adopting Diya,"

He laughed. "Oh, Keh.. Muh.. Stree??"

"Yes," She chuckled.

"Hmm. But don't see everything in a logical or scientific view. There is an emotional view too for everything. Science gives us reasons. But, Heart gives us emotions. And We are humans who are a bunch of emotions, not reasons. Dandelion may be botanically a weed. But, In my view, Anything that is not needed or anything that spoils the surrounding is a weed. If I don't need a rose, even a rose would be a weed for me. But, I need this beautiful dandelion to adorn my garden of life. So I didn't mean in the sense of weed. I meant in the sense of a beautiful flower in my garden,"

She smiled. "No one can beat you in words. You were already a genius. Now you turned more genius,"

"No, I am not a genius. I am a fool who couldn't recognize the game that fate was playing with me."

"In that sense, Everyone is a fool,"

He shrugged his shoulders and suddenly exclaimed, "Oh god! We are forgetting the child. What name did you say? Diya right?!"

"Yes. I don't know what was the name her biological parents gave her. But, She came as a light to my life. So, I kept her name as Diya," She smiled, and called in a loud voice, "Diya, Come here and see who is here."

Diya ran to them, her little hands gripping a toy.

"Do you know who this is?" Paayal asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Hmm, Papa," Came an instant, innocent reply.

Krishna's eyes glistened with tears immediately in a rush of emotions, as the child said him as her father.

"How do you know that it is your Papa?" Paayal asked with a smile.

"Because," Diya replied, her voice adorned with sweet childish pauses, "You both were hugging and talking. In the drawing book, You showed me how you and papa fell on the beach and hugged na. You both fell down and hugged here too just like that drawing. So this is my Papa,"

Krishna and Paayal listened to her with patience and admiration. Once she completed her words, "Come here Kuttima (an endearment)," Krishna called with a warm smile, stretching his hands towards her. Diya moved to him.