The Other Woman

Again

 Three chapters in three days :) 

🎶 Billie Eilish - What Was I Made For? 🎶

He arrived early in the morning. I strictly warned him to be polite with my mother. Laksmi was beside us the whole time. When my mother saw him in front of her she lay staring. For a second my heart jumped in fright thinking if she had left us but thankfully she was still here. She took out her oxygen mask and looked at him.

"Are you really here?" she questioned.

My heart broke seeing how happy she looked seeing him. After all these years.

He quickly looked at me and then at her. He gave a nod.

"I heard...." he cleared his throat. "you were.... sick,"

"I won't be here for long," she whispered.

She looked at me asking me to leave them alone. I glared at him for a second. I left the room followed by Laksmi.

After an hour he walked out of the room.

"I guess I am done here," he murmured.

I rolled my eyes not bothering to talk to him and walked in. I heard Laksmi say something to him but ignored it. I wish she punched and thrown him out of the house.

My mother seemed relieved in bed. I wanted to know what she told him. Did she tell him how much she missed him or waited for him?

"I was fifteen," she whispered with difficulty. I tried to put the mask back but she shook her head. "when I fell in love and twenty-five when he left,"

She pulled the mask towards her and took oxygen and then she finally made eye contact with me.

"I think I forgot to grow up after that," she paused. "I remained twenty-five forever,"

She took my hand in hers.

"I am sorry I failed to be a good mother,"

I shook my head.

"You are everything a mother could be,"

"I don't regret anything. Loving him or keeping you and giving birth to you," she whispered.

"What did you tell him?"

"Something he needed to know,"

After a week of returning to Hetauda as per my mother's wish, she left me. Waking up to find your mother's death in bed was horrible. We did the last rites with just a few people surrounding me. I wanted to call Mausam. I wanted to call Alan. At this time if anyone could comfort me it was Alan. Mausam left a few messages for me but I couldn't bring myself to text her. Alan was always there with her and I was afraid he would come running to me after hearing the news. Would he?

"They were secretly married you know," Laksmi whispered to me one day.

"What?"

She nodded.

"That's why she took his surname and refused to abort you,"

I was speechless.

"I was the only witness,"

"They ran from their house and came here. Lived here for few years and then...." she sighed. "His parents called him and he never returned,"

"Her life spent on waiting. The worst fate anyone could have,"

"She couldn't live after he was gone,"

"Your mother was a married woman. She wasn't the other woman as his parents called her," she looked into my eyes. "I just wanted to let you know,"