Aarna

CHAPTER 4

All the marriage rituals were going on in full swing. Everyone was jovial.

During vidaee, the atmosphere was filled with heavy emotions. Didi was crying like anything so I hugged her.

After releasing her from the hug, I wiped her tears and said with a cracking voice," I know I'm younger than you to tell you this but always remember that a strong marriage doesn't always have two strong people at the same time. It has a husband and a wife who take turns in being strong for each other in the moments when the other feels weak."

After listening to me, with a smile on her face, she said," Whenever I see you, listen to your talks, I feel as if all my problems vanish away.poof"

She then added with a laugh,"Even you remember one thing, never change yourself for anybody, for you, are very special. If people don't like you, it's their opinion and honestly speaking, their loss that they couldn't enlighten themselves with your ethical and unadulterated thoughts and virtue."

We both smiled and embraced each other. I don't why but I had a feeling that this is literally the last time we would be meeting each other.

When she left the hotel premises, Mami sat down on the stairs and bawled her eyes out.

The scene pinched my heart so I went and sat near her, saying nothing and just being there.

She stopped her crying for a moment to look at me and then leapt at me, hugging and crying.

It was awkward but then I stroked her back. After some time, she stopped her crying and looked at me and said," I am sorry, my child. I am sorry. Please forgive me."

Remorse was clearly visible in her eyes so instead of getting angry, I smiled at her. I took her hand and lead her inside.

Maa and Papa smiled when they saw us coming together.

All of us sat down in the hall where the marriage took place few hours ago. We talked about our fun-filled experiences which we had during the functions.

Soon, one by one, my relatives started heading back to their rooms. Only me, maa, papa, ashi, mama, mami and my maternal grandmother were present.

I suddenly had this strong urge to ask my parents about how they found me.

With hesitation and uncertainty, I asked,"Umm.......maa, how did you find me?"

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Aarti didn't understand why her daughter wanted to know about how she and her husband had found her. Perhaps, someone has said something to her or maybe she wanted to know and meet her biological parents.

She decided that it is best to not let negative thoughts enter her mind and ask her the reason right away.

"Aaru, why are you asking me this question suddenly? Is everything alright? Has someone said something?"She asked quickly with worry written on her face. Now that the wedding functions are done, she was all ready to pick a fight with Sandhya for taunting her daughter.

Aarna understood the thoughts swimming inside her mother's mind, so she quickly got up from her place and sat beside her mother. She held her hand and said,"Maa, don't worry about anything. I just wanted to know how you met me. That's it. Nothing else. If you don't want to talk about it, it's perfectly fine."

Though Aarna had told her mother to not tell her anything if she isn't willing to, she just hoped that her mother didn't take her words seriously.

She really wanted to know about her life before meeting her maa and papa.

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Maa looked at me with eyes filled with warmth and love and said,"I don't mind telling you about it Aarna. In fact, whenever I think about the day you came in our life, my heart fills with jubilation."

She continued," You always ask me why I love nashik, don't you? Well that is because it's the place where we found you."

Maa and papa, both of them had such expressions on their faces which clearly showed that they were reminiscing the moment.

Papa started with a smile on his face,"Before we met you, we were really busy with all the happenings in our career. We aren't complaining but me, being a doctor and your mother, being a professor, had really kept us on our toes. We wanted to have kids and spend our quality time together but it wasn't possible due to some health complications. I clearly remember, it was afternoon, aarti was sleeping, but she woke up suddenly and told me that we need to visit nashik. I was surprised, I was wondering why in the world she wanted to go there suddenly."

What papa said must have triggered something in maa because she literally jumped in her seat and started saying,"I'll say this part. After all, I was the one who saw the dream, not you."

Everyone sitting there laughed at her.
Ashi asked her,"What dream are you talking about mumma?"

Maa replied,"I know that you won't believe me but it's the truth. One afternoon, while I was sleeping in my room, I saw a dream. I saw Lord Narayan, standing in front of me. He told me to go to nashik and disappeared. I suddenly woke up and thought why not? We packed our bags and left the very next day."

I replied," Oh"

Papa was flabbergasted,"Oh? Are you not surprised?"

Maa, with a frown on her face asked, "Why?! What's wrong with it. Everyone has dreams and they might be our reality."

I whispered,"tell me about it."

Papa snickered quietly.

I ignored him and asked, "What happened after that Maa?"

"We were visiting various places here, after all, this is the place where Prabhu Ram lived along with Mata Sita and Lakshman for 14 years during their exile. We stayed here for a week but nothing extraordinary happened, so we decided to return back home. Before leaving, we wanted to go to Kalaram Temple to seek blessings. It was already late so when we reached the temple, it was nearly empty. We offered our prayers and were ready to leave but I heard someone crying. We followed the sound and found you."

Both, Maa and Papa were smiling with tears in their eyes.

Papa said,"You are a blessing for us. Everything started falling into its right place after you came in our lives."

Maa continued,"And do you know what's even more special about you? You have a birth mark behind your neck- a Lotus."

She continued saying,"You are Mata Lakshmi's blessing to us."

I just sat there processing everything my parents said. It was quite interesting but then again, I am at a dead end.

We talked for some more time and then left to our respective rooms to rest for the night.

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Mami- Mother's Brother's Wife