The Distance Between Us

Track Twenty Nine - Everything Has Changed

Riddhima was still lost in thought, thinking about her conversation with Shilpa. At first, she'd been a little disgusted by the fact that Shilpa had abandoned her father, no matter what the circumstances, in his hour of need. True, what he'd done was really deplorable and completely unforgivable, but he'd done that to her mother. Shilpa was nowhere in the picture when it all happened, so, why should she take it upon herself to punish him for a crime which didn't affect her in the slightest?

But, listening to her reasons, Riddhima was able to understand that in ways, Shilpa was right. She couldn't imagine what she would have done had she been in her place. She shuddered to even think about it. Her relationship with her father was rocky at best, too many things said and done, but, at the end of the day, he was her father and she loved him. If she ever found out that he had a kid somewhere who he'd chosen to ignore, who he had not accepted as his own, despite knowing where Riddhima herself came from, she couldn't begin to fathom how things would change between them.

Thinking about it all from Shilpa's perspective, listening to her side of the story, gave Riddhima an insight into a lot of things. Number one being that Shilpa was a good person, no matter how flawed. She wouldn't have done what she had if she wasn't. Looking after her father, best as she could, given the circumstances, and also, trying to find her when she learned the truth. It made Riddhima smile, thinking how she'd gone to such lengths just to find her.

Some part of Riddhima, the one that believed in fairytales and Happily Ever Afters, wanted to accept Shilpa, no questions asked. For Shilpa to become her sister, for them to love each other, for them to be family. But, that was a very small part of her, a naive Riddhima, who didn't understand how the real world worked, who refused to believe that fairytales were just that, tales, and not something that happened in reality.

Because, the reality was that her mother had suffered insurmountable grief because of Shilpa's father. And she couldn't forgive that. Ever. Wanting Shilpa to be a part of her family meant wanting Shilpa to be a part of her mom's family, too. That wasn't something Riddhima would wish upon anyone - to accept the daughter of the man who abandoned you and your unborn child. There was so much bad blood there.

Forget her mother, Riddhima herself wouldn't ever forgive that man as long as she lived. So, how could she accept his daughter? Seeing Shilpa, day in and out, would only remind her of the betrayal her mother had faced.

She knew that Armaan was right, that it wasn't Shilpa's fault, but, even after that, even after knowing and agreeing to that fact, how could she ever make Shilpa a part of her family when her father was the reason she'd lived without her mother for most of her life? It seemed impossible today. She didn't think that it would change in the future, too. Shilpa was Shilpa and she'd never be a part of her family.

Riddhima exhaled and closed her eyes. Why was everything so complicated? Why was her life so complicated? Why couldn't everything be the way it had been 10 years ago? Her life had been so great then, so simple. She had her family - Nani, Papa and Di, her friends - Muskaan, Atul, Rahul & Armaan and her job at Sanjeevani, that she absolutely adored. Her life had been so happy then. No tensions, no problems, no complications. Ahhh, what she wouldn't give to have that life back!

She felt a hand caressing her hair, making her open her eyes and look up. She saw Padma smiling down at her and gave her a tentative smile of her own.