After Falling Apart.

A thread of his past

2*

The first thing Sidharth does every morning is, calling his mother. She lives in Allahabad in their ancestral house. Sidharth is the youngest of her three children. Her two elder daughters are married since long time . She brought up all of them with utmost care but Sidharth has been her center of attention throughout her life. She often makes him remember that  how she sacrificed all her happiness for the sake of her son.
She is really happy for her son's success, and she believes that she deserves the biggest credit .

She received the call _' Good morning beta. Neend achchi hui na? Muh dhoya na achche se? Breakfast ready hai? Naha liya? Tune Abhi tak nehi nahaya na? '
_' Arreh mummy, mujhe kuch kehne to do. Breakfast aa geya. Main garden me hun abhi.'
_' Beta waqt zaya mat Karo.  Waqt Ki kadar karo . Maine Tum tinoko bachpan se yehi to sikhane ki koshish Ki hai.'
_' OK mummy, Abhi ja rha hun , bass puchna tha dono sisters thik hai? Niece keysi hai ? Last week uska exam tha na?  Exam keysa geya? '
_' Wo sab thik hai. Tumhe fiqr karne ki zarurat nehi. Breakfast karke nahalo jaldi jaldi. Aur breakfast ke baad vitamin and calcium,  yaad hain na?  Jao. Goodbye. ' and she cut the call.
Guddi was walking beside him. After the call ended, she asked _' Sabki Mummy sabko daant ti hai, na? '
_' Ha Guddi .' He smiled at her.
_' Achcha Guddi, tumhari mummy school main kya kaam karti hai? Cooking? '

_' Nehi nehi, teacher hai. Sab bachcho ko parhati hai .'
Sidharth did not expect it at all. Nakul is his servant and his daughter is a school teacher. It sounded very weird and unnatural to him. But then he looked at the little girl. The way she speaks, the words she uses and the tidiness of her dresses clearly prove that she's being brought up by a decent mother.

He noticed Guddi never speaks a word about her father. He asked her _' Apni papa ke barey main bhi kuch bolo. Sirf mumma aur mumma.'
_' Papa?' she asked.
_' Ha, papa. Tumhare papa kya kartain hain? '
_' Mere papa to nehi hai.' she said indifferently.
Sidharth felt a little awkward.
_' Oh, I'm sorry beta.'  He took her up in his arms and said _' Chalo breakfast kartey hain. '

* * *

As a teenager Sidharth was very sporty, studious and obedient to his mother. Throughout his life he listened to only his mother. He truly believes that the success he achieved is mostly because of her. She sacrificed all her happiness, luxury and time to make him what he is today.
He was so grateful to his mom that when she demanded him to tear apart his heart , he couldn't refuse her. He promised  to her, he would never try to keep contact with Shehnaaz. Shehnaaz Gill, his childhood sweetheart who lived in the next building.

Shehnaaz  came in his life when he was only thirteen years old.  Her mom died when she was a child. She lived with her father and grandma .

Sidharth can still remember the day he first saw Shehnaaz. She was wearing a pink fairy frock. Her long hair was braided tightly with ribbons. Sidharth was returning from school on his bicycle when their car stopped under the next building. He loved her at the very first sight. After returning home he told his elder sister _' next building main ek pari rehne ayi hai.' He was only thirteen years old then. Shehnaaz was eight .

The two families bonded really well. His sisters loved Shehnaaz , she was an adorable chubby kid . She had the power to make everyone love her. Sidharth's mother started treating her like her own daughter. She had a soft corner in her heart for this motherless child. Sidharth used to call her moti as she was chubby as a kid. But he kept calling her the same even when she was sufficiently grown up and got slimmer.

Sidharth's fondness for her kept increasing day by day. Whatever she did, he couldn't help appreciating that. One-day he ran to his eldest sister to tell her _' Di, moti ne Saree pehni hai, peheli baar! Kya lag rhi hai! '
He was obsessed with her since the very childhood  . This is why when puberty hit him,  his sisters could never feel the difference in his behavior. He was extremely fond of Shehnaaz all his life. Nobody could notice the different kind of love that he used to shower on her. He never loved anyone the way he loved her.  She had been the apple of his eyes all along.

* * *
Guddi asked _' Shab, tum breakfast kiyun nehi kar rhe ho? ' Her voice broke his chain of thoughts. He replied _' Ha beta, kar rha hun. Tum bhi khao kuch. ' He offered her a toast covered with fruit jelly.
She said _' Nehi, mumma ne mana kiya. Kisise kuch mangna nehi chahiye. '
_' Tumne to kuch nehi mangi, main de rha hun, phir bhi nehi logi? ' he asked sweetly.
Nakul was standing there. Guddi looked at him and he smiled.
_' Main ye le lu dada? '
_' Lo bitiya, Babuji de rehe hain. ' said Nakul.
She took the toast and said_' Thank you '.