MishBir Off-Tracks: Short Stories

The Bliss of Motherhood - #5

The Bliss of Motherhood - #5

A frustrated Abir on leaving Mishti alone in the veranda had been pacing on the streets of the nearby market in fury. While Mishti had chosen the silent treatment and refused to shed a tear; for Abir the wound that Kuhu inflicted on them had been coming out as hatred for Kunal.

It took some rounds of the market for Abir to realize that Mishti hadn't called to check upon him since a long time. He checked his pocket, only to realize that he left his phone on the table in their veranda. His worry soon turned into fear and he strode back home.

Two steps inside the gates of his house and Abir felt an uneasiness in his chest. Something was amiss.

His heart raced in rising fear as he sprinted up the steps to enter a house that didn't have Mishti in it.

Parul, Kunal, Kuhu, Nidhi, Kaushal, Ketki and Meenakshi – all stared at Abir taking slow steps inside, scanning the entire place for the one person he could find nowhere. Parul's whimper brought his attention back to the family staring at him. Ignoring all the red flags, Abir was about to walk upstairs in search of Mishti when Parul's quivering voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Mish..Mishti chali gayi Abir."


His heart stopped beating. Parul tried to put in his ears how Mishti informed them of a project, took her bag and walked out of the Rajvansh House, not even wanting to wait for him to return. His gaze landed at a nervous Kuhu, standing in the middle of the hall with her bags, and Kunal continuously blaming Kuhu's presence for Mishti to leave. Abir ran outside the house to check his phone to see if Mishti had left him a message.

The world may have empathized with every bit of Mishti's sufferings, but Abir's pain had been well-hidden behind his contagious smile. They found it easier to not recognize what Abir must be going through than sit with him through his pain. Every single person in his life had chosen to see their own hurt, own happiness above his and today, by walking out of the house with her baggage of afflictions, even Mishti did the same.

Abir walked back to his house to see his mother and Kunal arguing at the top of their lungs. Mishti's message rang in his ears as he blankly stared at the phone in his hand.

"Abir... I know main galat kar rahi hoon."

He watched them fight while they forgot to even spare him a glance.

''Kash mujhe pata hota sahi kya hai.''

He stared at his family, not a word registering in his head.

"I don't know tumne Kunal ko kyun nahi roka divorce ke liye, but I stopped him Abir. And yes, tum sahi soch rahe ho... main bhool gayi thi ki jab Kuhu lautegi, toh uske saath woh sab laut aayega... jis se main 20 din se bhaagne ki nakaam koshish kar rahi hoon."

Amidst the chaos and people justifying their actions, nobody even noticed when Abir quietly walked upstairs and locked himself in his room. He unlocked his phone and stared at the message.

"Main toh tumhe batane wali thi ki tum kitne galat ho. Lekin Abir, you were right."

Abir sat down on the bed with a thud. He very well knew why she escaped before he even returned. Abir wanted them to shift to their Mishbir house, and that it had been on his mind since that fateful day of miscarriage, was a fact well known to Mishti.

"Kuch log dard hi aisa de dete hain, ki dard se peecha chhudane ke liye khud se peecha chhudana padta hai. Main wahin jaa rahi hoon jahan mujhe hona chahiye. Please don't find me."