"Aree beta aaraam seh khela kariye. Gir gayin nah aap. Lag gayi dekhiye" A worried Kaveri said with a raised tone,as the little girl playing in front of her in the garden fell down and hurt her knee. With no one at home that day,Abhira had asked her if she was okay seeing her for sometime as she had to urgently leave for office to submit a few files. Kaveri had happily taken up the responsibility,considering it as an opportunity to spend some time with Maahira.
"I'm sowwy Shupel Dadisha. Meya dhyaan nahin tha"
"Aap kyon sorry bol rahin hain beta,aaiye,utheeye ham first aid kar dete hain." Dadisa lifted Maahira up,seated her on the sofa and grabbed the water jug on the table to wash her knee. As tears trickled down dadisa's face when she cleaned her wound and applied the antiseptic liquid,Maahira didn't even budge,hiss or make a sound-something unnatural for kids her age,who fear even the sight of the Dettol bottle for the itchy and burning sensation it leaves when poured on a fresh cut. Dadisa stared at her in amusement and pulled her closer in her lap after she was done with the bandaging.
"Aap tohh bohoth strong hain Maahira. Aapko dard nahin hua ittu sa bhi?"
"Yeh toh bas innu shi ouchie thi S Dadisha,Maahi tohh isshe big ouchies pe bhi nahin loti. Agal Maahi loyegi,tohh Mamma bhi loyengi nah,unko tenten(tension) ho jayegi. Main nahin chahati meyi Mamma meyi wajah she dukhi dukhi ho jayein. Meyi Mamma din-laat hawwork(hardwork) kalti hain,phil laat ko aake mujhe bhi palhati(padhati) hain,meye shath time shpend kalti hain. Agal main apni hal ploblem ke liye paleshan kaloongi tohh woh time ploblems dishuss(discuss)karne mein hi chala jayega nah,mamma ke shath 'me time' she minutes cut ho jayenge "
"Aap tohh bohoth bahaadur hain,badi sayani gudiya hain aap. Par aap mamma ko bata diya keejeeye beta. Aap itne small hain,akele kaiseh deal karenge aap big problems se?" Dadisa smiled softly as she caressed Maahira's face and looked into her eyes,how could she have been so indifferent to those beautiful pair of emerald eyes,that yearned for love? How could she be so heartless to a child with such a pure heart of gold? Her heart ached at how quickly a mere 3.5 year old was being forced to grow up and mature,suppressing her pain and shushing her cries-just to make sure that no one is bothered by her.
"S Dadisha,you hate me nah?" Maahira whispered with a sad pout as she wiped Dadisa's tears with her small palms.
"No beta,why would I? Aap tohh is ghar ki eklauti rajkumaari hain nah?"
"Meyi wajah she Cha-"
"Shh..Aapki koi galti nahin thi beta. Aap tohh is duniya mein bhi nahin aaye the tab tak"
"Agal aap mujhe hate nahin kalte tohh apne mujhe DJ,meya matlab hain Dadi jaan ke shaamne aishe big big eyes kalke kyon dalaya?"
"Apni maa jaisih pyaari hain aap. Sorry beta,usdin ke liye I'm very very sorry. Ab apni S Dadisa ko maaf kardeejeeye please. Aur muskuraiye" Dadisa grinned and tickled Maahira when she mimicked how she had glared at her that day.
"Aapko chamma kiya vatsa!" Maahira playfully replied showing her bunny teeth.
"Chamma nahin Kshama. Kal TV pe hamare kamre mein chup chup ke aapne Mahabhaarat dekhi thi nah,jab ham soh gayein the?" Dadisa smiled,playfully slapping her shoulder.
As Maahira's merry laughter resonated in the surroundings, Dadisa remembered the incident of that day,her smile vanishing from her face(author's note: refer Chapter 1)
As Kaveri peeked through the curtains and saw the little child happily having her food with Manisha,she couldn't control the urge to go near her,pamper her and ask her about how her day was. In the past, she had not interacted with her much and her two and a half years of paralysis that had rendered her mute were to be blamed. But now,being completely fine and free to walk around without being bound to the wheelchair, she had been wanting to bond with the great-grandchild she once had prayed for,so honestly, for the past six months. But episodes of her blackmailing,would always make Dadisa take a step back-afraid of letting the child be harmed because of her.
(author's note: Guess who is the'her' mentioned?)
As she sensed the presence of no one around,she walked towards the dining table,assuming it to be a right time to interact. But as she looked up and saw her standing on the second floor with her arms crossed against her chest, she scrunched her nose and then uttered what she did not want to,and stared intently at the child who walked away from her without looking back.
.
"Beta suniye"
"Yesh S Dadisha"
"Aaj hamne jitna time spend kiya nah,promise me you won't tell anyone about it. Promise me"
"No"
"Huh?"Kaveri nervously smiled as the child blunty refused,something she was not expecting at all.
"Plomish nahi,pinky plomish kaloongi dadisha. But pleashe meyi ek condition hain. Kya aap meyi mamma ko ek huggie aul kichi (kissie) de dengi? Meyi mamma aajkal bilkul bhi theek nahin lehti. Unki tabyat bhi khalab lehti hain. Huggie kichi dene she mood achcha ho jata hain nah? Toh aap tohh ghal mein shabshe wise old ho,aapko huggie kalke tohh Mamma ka mood double achcha ho jayga?" Maahira yawned and started slipping into slumber in Kaveri's arms,tired of playing the entire day without any imposed restrictions.
.
"I don't deserve her" Abhira who had stood there hidden behind the pillar all this time,filming the entire scene that she watched with open eyes,was already a crying mess by now,thanking and questioning god for blessing her with a child so selfless and cursing fate for 'blessing' her child with a fate so cruel,a mother so 'selfish'.
Kaveri who saw Abhira trying to run away,made Maahira lie down on the sofa comfortably and rushed to wrap her in a tight hug. As Abhira broke down on the grass floor in her embrace,Dadisa was shocked,her heart being pricked by thousand needles as she heard Abhira's painful screeches. She had never seen the girl she knew,in a state so raw and vulnerable. She rubbed her back and wiped her tears while Abhira shrieked as she pulled her hair and tried escaping Dadisa's hold, "Meri bachchi ek pari hain. Aur mujh jaisi maa jo useh rakshaso se nahin bacha sakti,woh usehh deserve nahin karti. I hate myself"
"Chup ladki! Ek dam chup. Kya badhbadhayi jaa rahin ho tum haan? Zyaadah bolne ki aadath tumhari abhi tak nahin gayin nah? Tum ek bohoth achchi maa ho aur Kaveri Poddar kabhi jhooth nahin bolti hain samjhi tum? Tum kaam mein bhi maahir ho,aur apni beti ko sambhalne mein bhi. Stop doubting yourself beta" Dadisa sternly said as she kissed Abhira's forehead and hugged her tightly,letting her cry as much as she wanted to.
.
"Th-thankyou Dadisa. Thankyou" Abhira whispered with her eyes lowered,as she got up after half an hour of her breakdown.
"Dekho Abhira,hamein andaaza bhi nahin hain ki un dhayi saalon mein jab ham apne hosh kho baithe the,tab tumhare saath kya hua hoga. Uske baad hamare 6 maheene doctor ke chakkar kaatne mein lag gaye. Phir hamne 6 maheene koshish ki Maahira se ek rishta banane ki,aaj jaakar ham apni khwaish poori kar payein hain. Yeh baat yaad rakho,ham boodhe bhale hi hain par hamara dil bohoth mazboot hain. Agar tumhein Maahira se judi koi bhi baat karni ho tohh hamse aakar kar sakti ho. Aur haan,ham tumhare bhi jaan ke dushman nahin hain ab ladki. Bhagwaan ne chaaha,isliye dekho ham bhi ab tumhare rang mein rang gaye hain. Pyaar ham karte hain tumse,kuch samasyaayein ho tohh bata diya karo hamein.
Ab jao,muh dho lo. Warna tumhari beti tumhein dekh ke pehchan nahin payegi,poora kajal apne chehre pe jo failla liya hain tumne"Dadisa smiled as she lifted her chin up,staring into her puffy red eyes and made her smile softly with the gesture.
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So added a new twist,Dadisa is a completely positive character now! But she will take time to become the old hitler dadisa again. Even after that,she will not turn negative for Abhira.
YOU ARE READING
Hi Maahira-A Failed Promise○
FanfictionArmaan's promise to his family had drifted him so apart from his daughter that she's now a mere stranger to him, and his wife no longer loves him the way she did. Will he ever be able to win them back? Does he deserve it?
