Beyond the Beats

Chapter 24. Focus

There was only one day left for our final performance of the second evaluation round. Yesterday, my team had stayed for one hour extra after the practice hours, but I had to leave a bit early because I lived far away as compared to my teammates.

I knew Tejas wanted us to devote most of our time towards polishing our teamwork, and I also wanted to stay in the studio as much as I could, but I had some limitations. Therefore, even after trying to reach the studio early, I couldn't make it on time.

Fortunately, Tejas let the matter slide. He excused me as Yukta had also gotten late, and he didn't want to waste more time. To avoid making the same mistake as yesterday, I woke up early and got ready to catch the first train, but my mother again spoiled my whole plan.

"Bhoomi, I need some help, beta," Mom said just after I placed my right foot outside our home.

"No, Maa, I can't this time. I am already late," I complained.

I knew Mom would have started blackmailing me again, so I decided to dash out of there. I would have helped her any other time, but not today. Just as I walked a few steps further, I heard a deep cough that lasted for a minute.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Mom clutching her mouth with her saree's pallu, her body arched forward. I instantly rushed towards her and held her before she fell down.

"Maa, are you okay?" I asked.

Mom's coughing turned violent. I moved her inside the house and made her sit down. My sister looked upon us helplessly as I gave our mother some water.

"Why don't you go to the doctor?" I scolded.

Mom shook her head, her eyes shifting towards her bed-ridden eldest daughter. Dhara Didi blinked rapidly as unshed tears pooled up in her eyes. Beside her, my niece, Srishti, was sleeping peacefully.

"Di, you sleep. I will take care of Mom," I told my sister.

"This is all my fault. I shouldn't have come back," Dhara Di cried. "Only if I had stayed there... only if I hadn't divorced him..."

As soon as my sister started crying, my mother also began wailing silently. Seeing them like this broke me. Even if my sister had returned to us three years ago, her mind always reminded her of the torture she suffered at her in-laws' place.

I consoled my mother, but soon, Dhara Di's situation started getting worse; she kept mumbling same stuff over and over again. Mom told me to grab the medicines while she held Dhara Di.

I checked the medicines kept on the window sill and all of the bottles were empty. I looked for the new ones on the top of television box, but those were also finished.

"Maa, why aren't there any medicines?" I asked as I kept searching here and there.

I received no reply. I looked at my mother, and she was staring in the distance, her face contorted in anger. I shook her and asked her about my sister's medicines. Mom took a deep breath and looked at me apologetically.

"I couldn't buy the medicines, Bhoomi," Mom said.

I looked at her in confusion. "But why?"

"Because there's no money left."

"What?!"

Before I could process why my mother was saying that since only half of the month had passed, she showed me her wallet to prove herself.

"How is this possible, Mom? Does Dad know about this?" I asked.

"No, and please don't tell him," Mom said.