Just One Chance

Chapter Eleven

It had been five years since the incident happened.
The scene shifts to Shimla, India's paradise. A large wooden house comes into view, with an antique and exquisite interior.
A ringtone echoes from the hall, and a girl with long hair, dressed in a light pink suit, hurriedly runs to pick it up.

"Yes, Shankar Chacha, please come at 10 AM. I need to take some bytes from a few local people here." She puts down the phone.

"Bela, before you leave today, you have to eat halwa puri. It's a ritual I follow every year, and today, you must uphold it too."

"Everyone forgets this day, but you always remember, Aiyee."
Bela touches her Aiyee's feet and takes her blessing.

Aiyee holds her and embraces her."How could I forget my kanya's birthday?" Aiyee says, holding Bela’s chin and caressing her."

"Okay, Aiyee, I’ll eat, but my driver will be here at 10 AM. Can you have it ready
before then?"

"Today as well?" Aiyee asks, slightly irritated.

"You know, Aiyee, this is work..." Bela starts, but Aiyee interrupts.

"And there's no holiday," Aiyee exclaims.

"You've said this so many times. But listen, today I'm not taking no for an answer. Yes, work is important, but promise me you'll come back early today. Madam strictly told me to remind you."Aiyee looks at Bela's face, noticing she doesn't seem excited."Bela, how long will you stay angry with your mother? They’re coming especially to celebrate your birthday."

"Oh please, Aiyee. You know how she treats you. She thinks of you as a maid."

"Beta, sometimes we have to compromise... and what’s wrong with that? That's the reality, right? I really am a—"

"Stop, Aiyee," Bela interrupts. "Don't ever say you're a maid. To me, you're my mother. You're the only one left for me now. How could I ever think of you that way?"

"But you had choosed this life na, to being a lonely." Aiyee ambiguously said.

Bela hurted by Aiye's words but didn't react.

......................................
Bela had been living in Shimla for the past two years for her project. She was covering interviews with local people about geo-political matters.She arrived at the meet-up point where her team would join her.

The team consisted of five key members: Akash, the cameraman; Shilpa, Amir, and Abhishek, the technicians; and Abhishek, the team leader and Bela's mentor.

"Hey Bela, happy birthday!" The team greeted her as they arrived.

"So, are you throwing a party, or should we invite ourselves?" Shilpa and the others teased her about hosting a dinner party.
"Sorry, guys, but I have a family dinner tonight."

"Family dinner? Bela, are your parents in town?" Abhishek overheard their conversation while packing up his equipment.

"Okay, bye, Bela. Take care and have fun. And don’t think we’ll let you off the hook so easily next time!" The team members teased her before they left.

Abhishek continued, "Hmm... I thought you'd celebrate your birthday with us."

"I wish I could... but..." Bela sighed.

"It's okay. Shall I drop you off?"

She nodded.

......................................................................

Bela opened the door, and immediately heard her parents singing "Happy Birthday." They hugged Bela, and she reciprocated. They celebrated her birthday together.

Aiyee was serving dinner when Bela held her hand."Please sit, Aiyee. Have dinner with us."
Bela’s father also urged Aiyee to sit with them, though her mother didn't seem too pleased. However, she ignored it and the family continued their conversation.

"Bela, I’m so proud of you. You’ve made a name for yourself without relying on anyone’s help. You’ve become the person you always wanted to be." Bela's father patted her on the shoulder.

"Yes, beta, you’ve proved yourself. Are you happy now?" Bela’s mother asked her, a simple question that wasn’t so simple for Bela to answer.

"Happy? I don’t know... maybe... maybe not." Bela replied after a long pause.

"Excuse me," she said, walking towards her room and closing the door.Once inside, she sat on the floor against the door, took out her phone from her pajama pocket, and opened the gallery. Looking at old pictures, she began to cry silently. "Please come back... please."

In the bedroom, Bela's father, Mahesh, spoke with her mother. "I can’t stand seeing her like this. She’s living her dream, doing what she loves, but she’s still not happy. What’s wrong?"

"She’s lonely, Mahesh. No one can live their life alone. Everyone needs a companion," Sarika replied.

"I know, but if she won’t give her love life another chance, what can we do?"

"Today, you’ll talk to her about the proposal," Sarika said, glancing at him.

"I don’t know if this is the right time, Sarika. She might misunderstand us again, thinking we’re here with our own agenda."

"You said you couldn’t stand to see her like this. Then you have to do this," Sarika insisted, turning off the light and going to sleep.

Mahesh sighed deeply. After a while, he knocked on Bela’s door.Bela opened the door, her face tear-streaked.

"You’re still awake, Papa?" she asked, trying to hide her sobbing.

"Bela, sit." He sat with her on the bed and continued, "I know you’re upset with us... especially with your mom. But as your parents, we have the right to know what’s going on. Are you still dealing with the depression and the nervous breakdown?"

"No... I mean, I don’t really know, Dad. Sometimes..."

"Sometimes you feel lonely," Mahesh finished for her. "Are you still stuck on Anubhav?"

Bela didn’t respond.

After a long pause, Mahesh spoke again."Bela, you have to move on. You can’t live like this. At least give love another chance."

Bela started crying again, unable to hold back her tears.

"Papa, I made a huge mistake. I miss him. I miss him so much," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

Mahesh immediately consoled her.

"It’s not your fault, Bela. You have to let go of Anubhav. You have to."

"Mahir," Bela whispered the name ambiguously.

"Who’s Mahir, Bela?" Mahesh asked, confused.

She explained everything—how Mahir was there when she had a fracture and how they became close afterward."I made the same mistake again, Dad. I didn’t follow my heart, and now I miss him."

"Why don’t you go to him, then?"

"I thought about it, Dad, but I’m scared. I hurt him so much. He was there for me, and I behaved so rudely. How can I go back to him now?"

"Look, Bela, making one mistake is okay. But if you keep repeating it, you’ll miss your chance. Life doesn’t offer too many chances. Don’t wait, Bela. If you can’t go to him, I’ll go. Do you want that?"

"Dad?" She embraced him tightly. "I love you, Papa."

"This was your mother’s idea, actually. You should thank her," Mahesh confessed.

Bela looked over and saw her mother standing at the door, holding a ticket to Mumbai. She was perplexed.

"Mama... Papa...I am sorry...I took both of you grunted " Bela whispered.

"We found out everything last week from Aiyee," Sarika said.

"We can’t bear to see you so lonely. No one can live alone in this world, Bela. It’s too hard," Mahesh added.

"Stop wasting time... give your life another chance," Sarika urged.

"Go, Bela," they both said in unison.