Life: A Story | ✔

Part- 2

Years passed, and the baby managed to grab everyone's attention with her big doe eyes, innocent gestures, and an adorable smile.

The woman who once had been in hysteria about being called a grandmother to a girl, was now smitten by her innocence. The baby had become her favourite person in a short while.

How surprising is it that the hatred for the gender goes away from people when something undiluted reaches their hearts. I cannot say why that woman was so keen on having a boy, but now when I was looking upon her, all I saw was a grandmother loving her own grandchild, and showering her with immense care and adoration.

I must say, sometimes even humans surprise me to no end.

Soon, the baby girl became three, and the day arrived when she was going to go to her school for the first time.

"It's a part of everyone's life, Gargi," Sakshi, the grandmother of the child spoke urgently when she saw her daughter-in-law cry. "Everyone has to go to school! Devika will too! What's the point of crying about it?"

But Gargi was too occupied in crying along with her daughter that she did not hear a word her mother-in-law was saying.

"Now, come on," she insisted once more "Get up, wipe your tears and call Mudit. If you can't take her, Mudit will, afterall he is the father," But once again Gargi was occupied in wiping her daughter's tears, and she didn't pay any attention to the elderly lady's commands.

Sakshi just sighed out of exasperation and called Mudit, her son, herself to order him to take Devika, his daughter, to her school.

When Mudit was called downstairs, he emerged from his office and made his way down.

"Do you even care about your daughter's first day of school? How can you be so ignorant about it, Mudit?" Sakshi chided her son for his ignorance.

"But, I thought Gargi was to take her. I'd so much of work pending, so I was sorting everything out before heading to office," Mudit answered sounding confused.

"Now now, if only. But, I can't see those two," she shook her head and turned her head towards Devika and Gargi, who were in a tight embrace. While Gargi's tears had stopped, Devika was still wailing. "So, take her to her school. Otherwise she'll be late, and that too on her very first day,"

Tentatively he looked down at his daughter, and picked her up. She stopped crying and watched her father with suspicion. He just smiled and promised to buy her chocolates. Tears vanished from her eyes as if they weren't even there. Chocolate was one weakness she'd had and like every other child, she was excited with the prospect of getting some. Her eyes lit up, and she happily waved in her mother's direction; Gargi waved back while clutching her heart.

And they set off towards her school. After buying her some chocolates, and diverting her attention, Mudit managed to make his daughter giggle. For her, it was yet another fun ride with her 'Papa' on his motorbike. But he knew, soon he will have to drop her to her own school, and set her free. It was the first step in making his daughter self-sufficient, he knew it was important too, but somehow, his heart was heavy with unspilled emotions unlike Gargi, who'd managed to cry along with their daughter.

He had thought his mother would make Gargi go despite all her crying, but all his hopes of not seeing his daughter cry shattered when his mother called him, and ordered him to drop Devika off to her school. He'd no choice, but to follow his mother's command with a heavy heart.

To delay the time of departure, he even took a long route to the school, but was now in the vicinity of it. His heart constricted.

Finally, to his dislike, they arrived and they set off towards the entrance.

When Devika saw kids her age with her parents, she smiled.

When she was inside the school premises, the same smile turned into a frown as she saw the same kids carried away from their parents by some horrible looking ladies. Her heart plummeted in her chest and she got scared. Not wanting to go any further, she even halted in her tracks, but her father kept pushing her gently in the same direction where kids had disappeared while crying.

In her mind, the whole scene was horrible, but at least she had one assurance; her father was clutching her hand tightly. But that too vanished soon, when an elderly woman came towards her, and after talking to her father clutched Devika's hand to be taken to the same room other kids had disappeared to. Now her pink plump lips quivered and she looked up at her father.

He smiled and said "It'll be okay. You'll have fun. Papa will be back before you know it. Promise."

But Devika heard none of it, and finally cracked when her father slipped his hand away from hers and the lady, not giving any attention to her protests, dragged her away. Big fat tears spilled from her eyes, and she turned back in the hopes her papa will come back and stop the lady.

For a moment, he stood and watched his daughter cry thinking it was a necessity and he will have to leave her to this learning world. But, as he watched his daughter once more, her face so pink and blotchy from crying, her eyes puffy yet so hopeful, her voice desperately calling out to him; he couldn't hold himself anymore, and caught up with her.

Then he smiled and took her small hands in his, and stooped down to hug her. She clung to him as if he was her life-line. It was the proudest moment for Mudit. He soothed her with his sweet little reassurances, and turned away from the learning world with an assurance of tomorrow, and led her outside for yet another fun trip on his motorbike.

That day, I was good in someone's eyes. But Devika being still so young, didn't have the slightest idea who I was. I couldn't say I didn't try, as after some time, I wanted attention too. But believe me, I tried to delay it for as long as I could.

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