don't let me down . . . anuseena post-marriage

mother's love

The next day, Haseena arrived at the hostel, armed with medicines and a worried expression. Nandita, although grateful for her mother's presence, couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance at the disruption to her routine.

Haseena entered the room, her eyes scanning the surroundings. The faint smell of cigarettes lingered in the air, a reminder of Nandita's rebellious habits. The sight of the half-empty vodka bottle on the table only intensified Haseena's concern but she didn't say anything, walking straight to Nandita's bed.

"Hey Mom," Nandita said weakly. The hangover from last night had also kicked in and it was not a good combination to go with, with her fever.

"Chal chal uth mat, rest kar..." Haseena said bossily, opening up her suitcase and giving Nandita a warmer blanket.

"But mom...I have classes...mumma koi notes de bhi de na toh concept toh nhi samajh aayega, class kaise miss karu." she said attempting to get up Haseena shook her head, making her sit down forcefully.

"Nhi aaj nhi jayegi tu class, notes terko mil jayenge, 2-3 ke lectures ke concepts online padh liyo, rest kar...phir dekhle, abhi rest karke 2-3 mein thik hojayega, faltu mein idhar udhar ghumegi toh zyada time tak rahega." Haseena said authoratively, while Nandita obliged knowing there was no arguing this time.

"Ok." Nandita said shortly, secretly glad to get back in bed. 11th grade for them had almost ended, and 12th was all set to start.

"Haan, ab bata, idhar Kota mein dawaiyan kahan milegi?" Haseena asked while Nandita immediately answered at that. 

"Arey woh jo cig...sorry...chai wale ke side mein ek dukaan hai, ekdam hostel se thora dur jaake," she said, cursing herself mentally while Haseena nodded before her eyes fell on a big box of different kinds of medicines kept on her bedside table.

Nandita mentally slapped her head as Haseena approached the box, trying to find a fever medicine in there. 

"Do you have any paracetamol in this?" she asked, emptying the box on the bed while Nandita mentally prayed to god.

"Haan mein dekhti hun," Nandita said trying to take the medicines but Haseena slapped her hand away, her eyes falling on a ziploc bag containing various pills of different shapes and sizes.

"Yeh kya hai?" she asked inspecting the bag with a strict look.

"Vitamin supplements, ab Kota mein bahar toh kahan nikalti hun zyada toh Vitamin D deficiency hoagyi thi, doctor ne di thi yeh" she said desparately hoping Haseena would buy the lie. Haseena nodded off handedly, picking up a paracetamol strip. 

"Yeh baaki andar daal mein dekhti hun yeh expiry vagera toh nhi hai na." Haseena said standing up.

Nandita nodded hurriedly, while Haseena turned to the other side, she hurriedly picked out the various questionable pills and stimulants she took and kept the rest back inside, sighing in relief.

Haseena, satisfied with the paracetamol strip, turned her attention to other things in the room. Nandita, meanwhile, discreetly stashed away the questionable pills and stimulants back into the box. Her heart raced, knowing she had narrowly avoided a potentially uncomfortable confrontation.

While inspecting the room, Haseena's gaze once again fell on the half-empty vodka bottle. She sighed, a mix of concern and disappointment evident on her face.

Before she could say anything, the door to her room opened loudly. It was Ritika, who was there to pick up Nandita as usual and go for classes. The girl looked as lively as ever, a big smile on her face.

"Nandita chal, late ho rha hai..." she said but just then her eyes fell on Nandita who was sitting in bed and on Haseena who had picked up the vodka bottle to inspect it. "Hello Aunty, arey yeh bottle to meri hai...mein bhul gayi yahan pe kal raat ko...I'm so sorry" she said walking inside while Haseena nodded.