Apartment B-250, Purvi's House
"Beta aapka cartoon aa raha hoga abhi TV par. Aap dekhiye. Mumma khana bana rahi hai raat ke liye".
"Theek hai mumma. Pihu aapki good girl banegi. Vaise mummy, Rohan bhaiya ke saath Pihu ko bahut mazaa aaya. Kya hum phir unhe ghar bula sakte hain?"
"Dekhenge, abhi aap TV dekhiye".
Saying this, Purvi headed to the kitchen. She switched on Sa Re Ga Ma Caravan and started to put on the apron but stopped suddenly on hearing the track:
Aaj unse pehli mulaqat hogi
Phir aamne saamne baat hogi
Phir hoga kya,
kya pata kya khabar....
{Movie-Paraya Dhan(1971); Singer-Kishore Kumar; Music-R.D.Burman)
She stood transfixed for a moment with a hint of tears in her eyes. This was their song, her and her parents. She hadn't seen them in 7 years and not a day went by without her remembering them. She tried to call them many times but each time pulled herself back. Today, after many days she heard this song and was reminded of happier times, her childhood and her mother's arms. Controlling herself, she turned on the gas and began cooking...
Apartment B-253, Kavin's House
"Rohan aapko kaha tha na maine ki aap ussi jagah park mein rehna phir aap vahaan se kyun gaye. Papa aapse bahut gussa hain!" Kavin's voice was not loud but showed disappointment at his son not following his clear instructions.
Before he could get up and turn back towards the kitchen in a huff, he felt two small arms hugging him from the waist. As he looked down at his son and saw puppy eyes plus the cute pout, he melted once again.
"Achcha. Batayie kya hua tha?"
Rohan mimed writing in a notebook so Kavin got him a notebook.
Main dar gaya tha aur Ramesh Kaka ke pass jaane ki koshish kar raha tha. Pathar nahin dikha aur gir gaya.
Reading this in the notebook, Kavin's eyes turned moist and he hugged his son tightly.
"Mujhe maaf kar dena beta, main aap ko vahaan par aisa akela chod ke chala gaya. Aage se papa kabhi bhi aapko aise chod ke nahin jaayenge".
Rohan gave a beautiful smile squished against his father's chest and hugged him tighter. Kavin dropped a loving kiss on his head and said,
"Ab chaliye, uthiye. Hum exercise karte hain. Aaj nahin ki na? Doctor ne kal kahaa tha ki aap exercise karenge toh jaldi daudne lagenge."
Rohan made a puppy face again as he didn't want to exercise. But Kavin was stern on this point.
"Rohan, chaliye, jaldi papa ki baat maaniye. Yeh is tarah chehre banaane se kuch nahin hoga. Main chaahta hun ki aap jaldi is leg brace ke bagair chalein."
Rohan saw that his ministrations will have no impact on his father. So, he reluctantly got up and started prepping himself for the exercise.
"Good boy!", said Kavin. Rohan nodded with a small smile and continued the warm-up exercises for his legs.
~Next Day~
Apartment B-250, Purvi's House
The sun rays filtered through the window and fell on the sleeping mother-daughter duo. Pihu stirred awake first and exclaimed,
"Good morning mumma!"
"Good morning mera bachcha! Aap toh aaj time se uth gaye, mumma se bhi pehle!"
"Haan na momsie. Aaj naye school jo jaana hai!"
"Chaliye, Mumma ready kare aapko? Phir aap khaana kha lijeye aur mein ready ho jaati hun. Uske baad aapke liye ek surprise hai!"
"Kya, sach main mumma? Mere liye surprise? Yay!! Chalo na phir, mujhe jaldi jaldi ready karo na!", saying this she jumped off the bed and rushed off to the washroom. Purvi got up and went after her to help her get ready. Afterwards, she gave her breakfast while she herself prepared to go out with her.
"Mumma, aaj toh aapne formal waala dress pehna hai na. Toh aaj kuch khaas hai?"
"Yahi toh aapka surprise hai beta! Aaj aapki mumma aapke saath school ja rahi hai. Aapke hee school mein unka English teacher ki post ke liye interview hai!"
"Kya, sach mein?" Hearing this news, she jumped with joy and started dancing around.
"Main aur meri mumma ab ikathe school jaayenge! Yay!"
"Beta abhi kuch pucca nahin hai. Interview bhi toh sahi jaana chahiye na. Toh abhi uchaliye mat!", Purvi responded, not wanting to upset her lest she did not get the job.
"Nahin Mumma. mujhe pata hai ki aap bahut achcha interview dengi. Main God se pray karungi ki aapka interview sahi ho", said Pihu while hugging her tightly.
"Tumhe pata hai beta, main bahut zyaada nervous ho rahi thi. Par tumhaare is vishwaas bhare hug ne mujhe fir se confident bana diya. Meri bachchi toh bahut badi ho gayi na", replied Purvi while hugging her daughter back.....
Apartment B-253, Kavin's House
"Yeh ho gaya mera handsome beta tyaar! Ab hum school chalein? Lunch box kahaan hai?"
Rohan showed him his bag. Kavin checked that everything was in order and said,
"Good boy, chaliye ab. School ke liye late ho jaayega aur phir Papa ko bhi kaam par jaana hai na?"
Saying this both Kavin and his son held hands as usual and walked out of their apartment door.....
Saint Mary's Convent School, Bandra Kurla, Mumbai
As Kavin drove up to the school, he felt the usual twinge of anxiety while getting down from the car with his son. He was always worried for him since the time he had stopped speaking abruptly. He always blamed himself for it although he knew it was far from his fault.
They walked up the pathway leading to the school gate. Suddenly, he felt a small tug on his hand and saw Rohan pointing towards somebody just behind them. As he turned around, both the adults in their respective groups exclaimed together, "Aap!"
~To be continued~
Who do you think Rohan pointed towards?
YOU ARE READING
TERI MERI KAHAANI
FanfictionFirsts are always special! This is a republishing of my first ever story... Now that I have re-joined, I would really like your support and acknowledgement. You will also see previous chapters with the amount of views, votes etc. included. Hope you...
