• The Way Back Home •

6

Ram rested his head on the window sill and sighed. Watching the beach stretch out into the horizon while doing nothing was one of his favourite things to do. Over the years, he had barely gotten the time to do so but now he was free. If he was being completely honest, he was too free. Too free, too idle to have a plethora of thoughts; a lot of them ugly and a lot of them too dark to be even thought about.

"Sir..."

Ram's head snapped to the side. He was mildly shocked to his new personal assistant standing there with a little child. Maybe she was the new PA's daughter. Something flipped in his heart on seeing her. But he gathered his wits.

"What are you doing here?" questioned Ram.

"I..." the assistant fumbled with her words. "Aditya sir was busy. So he asked me to look after you."

Ram's eyes bulged. "Look after me? I am not a two-year-old who cannot take care of himself. I can manage. Just leave."

On hearing Ram's rather curt words, the little girl twitched a little. Seeing that, Ram felt bad. He let out a sigh and asked, "Is that your daughter?"

The assistant nodded rather sadly. "Yeah."

Ram felt his body sag. He felt tired. He was exhausted by the constant conflict he was in these days. He didn't like it one bit.

He glanced at the kid. She looked so much like him. She had the same eyes, the same skin and the same mouth. But above all, she had the same vulnerable eyes. She had the same questions in her eyes. She had the same demeanour. She looked tired too. Something broke in Ram's being. Why did a small child look that sad?

Ram extended a hand towards her and introduced herself. "Hey. Ram. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

The girl chewed on her lower lip as if she was controlling herself. But then, she slowly took Ram's hand in hers and shook it lightly. "Pihu. Nice to meet you too."

A small smile came onto Ram's face. She was adorable.

The assistant butt in. "I am sorry for bringing her along but I couldn't leave her alone at home."

Ram ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Adi bhi na...look, I am sorry. It's a Saturday and you aren't supposed to be here. I will talk with Adi. Go back home."

"But we have nothing to do at home!" Pihu chimed in. "I get so bored! I want to stay here. Please!"

"Yeah!" her mother nodded. "It's better if we sit here and look after you. So you will also not feel alone and not us too."

Ram's eyes remained on the cherubic face of the little girl. He had to give in. He smiled. "Okay."

Grinning, Pihu readily hopped onto the little seat by the window and sat down beside Ram. He was a little confused because it felt like she was familiar with the room and the things in it already. But before he could think about it more, Pihu spoke.

"You know when we lived in Pune, we didn't have such a pretty view."

"So you like beaches?" Ram quizzed her.

"Yes!" Pihu replied dreamily. "They are wonderful and fun. What about you? Do you like beaches?"

Ram simply nodded. "You guys lived in Pune?"

"Pune and around. We are always moving. We both have travelled so much!" Pihu regaled. "It is so much fun to set up a new home while watching movies and cartoons. We also cook."

Ram's heart ached. Another person who had someone. Another person who had an anchor. Another person who had a family. Unlike him.

He forced himself to appreciate it. He forced himself to smile. "Nice."