MALANG

Epilogue

18 months later
kabir

Life had been good so far.

Eighteen months ago, I got married to Nitya (yes, yet again). She wanted me to stay at my parent's place for a speedy recovery from the transplantation surgery, but I decided otherwise. I settled in Jaisalmer with her and started my career afresh. I contacted Emily, my event manager, and asked her if she could arrange for any concert or maybe a small musical gig in India. What Emily had initially said was a little disappointing. She informed that due to my consistent absence from the industry for almost a year, my market had been relatively destabilized. But then she also knew what exactly was going to help me fix this problem. She asked me to go annonymous once again. This time, on youtube. She said that albums and records are for millenials. Gen Y prefers social media more. Once they start liking my songs, there will surely be no looking back for me.

Seems like she was legit correct. I started penning down songs, my greatest inspiration being my beautiful wife, and uploaded them on youtube under the pretext of 'Bira'. Very soon I came to know that not everybody had forgotten their annonymous rockstar. They still looked for me, still loved me like before and what was more was that they cared to share my songs to as many people as possible, thus making my new venture a huge huge success!

Nitya had been beside me all this while. She not only took care of her sick husband, but worked overtime to repay the debt of the Somanis. My surgery had cost them a loadsome amount. Though Vani and Vivek never asked for the money, I knew they were too rich and generous for that, yet both Nitya and me felt like returning the money to them. It was going to take time, and of course, a great deal of hard work, but we had finally started making upto it. Initially it was all Nitya's money. But now even I had started contributing given that my channel had crossed more than two million subscribers in just eleven months with an average of 200k views on each new song.

But no, today I am not here to rant about my success or how good my life was going with Nitya. Today I am here to talk about Vivan... our little baby potato.

Vivan was born today, somewhat four hours back. Biologically he wasn't ours, but technically we were his half parents since Nitya was his godmother!

I know that we Indians don't follow the concept of godmother and all. But what do you call the woman who is the first one to get to hold her bestfriend's newborn?

Yes, Vivan was Vivek and vani's first child. Ofcourse you understood that from his name, right? Well, Nitya suggested it when she handled me the tiny bundle for the first time.

"Vani is still unconcious. Dr. Madhura asked me to look after him till his mother gets up and breastfeeds him."  She mumbled looking at the sleeping tot curling in my arms. "I think he likes you."

I smiled as I touched his soft, teeny tiny hand. I received the greatest surprise of my life soon after when I found him curling his entire fist around my forefinger. My hand looked so huge in his tiny grasp, but man, what a feeling it was! I had never held a baby in my life, let alone holding a newborn. I wandered whether holding babies always feel this magical?... so much so that I wanted to have a baby of my own right then and there??

"You are crying?" Nitya giggled as she dabbed my face dry, thus breaking my reverie. I shook my head at her. This was all so overwhelming.. but... but there was more into it.

"What is it? Tell me." She asked again.

I clutched Vivan to my chest and looked at her intently. "I am sorry, Nitya"- was all that my cracked voice could permit.

Confused, she crunched her brows slightly. "For what?"

"Had I not been an asshole ten years ago, we would have been holding our child today."