Solace

|43|soul

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VAIBHAV

Her forehead rested gently against my cheek, and I was on the brink of falling asleep when she shifted slightly, slowly removing her hand from my torso.

"Can’t sleep?" I asked softly, noticing her startled reaction. I reached for her hand and placed it back over my torso.

"No," she whispered, pulling the sheet higher to cover her arm.

"Come here," I murmured, turning onto my side to face her. She inched closer, and I carefully gathered her hair, laying it on the pillow to keep it from irritating her. My hand rested on her head, fingers softly stroking her hair.

"Want to talk about it?" I asked, pondering may be, venting these thoughts might help her.

"I don't want to relive it," she whispered, her voice a little cracked.

"Can I tell you something?" I asked, tucking a few loose strands behind her ear. She hummed in response, pulling the sheet tighter around her arm.

"Feeling cold?" I asked, gently rubbing her back.

"A little," she whispered. I pulled the blanket up to our necks, wrapping us in its warmth, but I didn’t stop stroking her scalp.

"You know," I began softly, "there was this one time, back when we lived in Lucknow. It was during the rainy season. The winds were strong, and the air was chilly."

"Maa was pregnant then—pregnant with Roshni. I was about nine years old, and Aadarsh must have been four," I continued, my voice low and soothing.

"Maa was in the late stages of her pregnancy, so she didn’t go out much, except for doctor’s visits."

"But that little boy, Aadarsh, had to go to the playground that day. He was so stubborn, absolutely determined to go, despite the weather," I added, a small smile tugging at the corner of my lips as I remembered.

"So what else could I do? I went with him. And out of all the games—the seesaw, the slides—he just had to choose the swing. The one with water and a puddle collected right beneath it," I said, shaking my head.

"He jumped onto it, played for a while, but when it was time to stop, he put his foot straight into the puddle and made a complete mess of himself."

I paused, hearing her soft giggle.

"Oh, but that’s not even the best part," I continued, smiling as I recalled the memory.

"When the swing finally stopped, Aadarsh decided he wasn’t done yet. He tried to jump again, but this time, he landed straight in the puddle. He came out looking like a mud-covered zombie."