Aarush looked at his mother as she carefully tucked him in his blanket. Her eyes were red and puffy yet she had tried to put up a cheerful front. He knew she had been crying in the bedroom since evening and he knew better to leave her alone for now. She kissed him on his cheek and watched her son close his eyes and float away into the land of dreams.
“He looks exactly like you Anu”, this was the first thing her mother had told her when she had regained her consciousness. She was 23 when she gave birth to Aarush, named after his father.
She turned off the lights and closed the door behind her. But no matter how hard you try some doors cannot be closed, the dark memories carefully hidden in the layers of our past come back to haunt us .And she knew that she had to face him, it was inevitable. With heavy breaths, and a torn heart she headed towards the kitchen. He was there, sitting at the table. His tiny hand nervously wrapped around the spoon as he stared down into the ice cream bowl. He was terrified, unsure of why he was in a stranger’s house and wondering when his mother would come and take him back home. Their home.
Anu had spotted the similarity the moment the devil had entered the house. Her husband was clutching a note and carried the boy’s blue back pack. The kid was around 8 yrs old, older than Aarush, and was tired and scared and for a moment Anu thought she was dreaming. It was too painful to be real but the obviousness of his similarity to his father was harsh.
They argued for hours. He tried to explain. She was crying incessantly. It was the last thing she wanted in her life-a reminder of the infidelity. He tried to convince her that the affair was a mistake, a drunken mistake.”I was young, stupid and drunk. Think as a mother Anu, the kid has nowhere to go. I love you and our son, and you know that. All this happened before we even met. Please forgive me”. He looked hopefully at his wife; as she was trying to read the letter through her moist eyes. “I need to be alone for a while”, her cold voice cut through the silence.”I will be...we will be in the kitchen...” his voiced trembled. She read the letter again, each word carefully. The woman was dying when she wrote this and she had apologized for keeping the kid’s father in the dark for all these years. The predicament was tedious but a decision had to be made.
He saw her wait in the hallway tentatively and rushed to his wife. She held his arms and slightly nodded.” I will love him like our own son, Shekhar”...Tears rolled down his eyes and he hugged the woman he loved more than anyone. He vowed never to come this close to losing her and breathed a sigh of relief ,thanking her for her forgiveness and she prayed that he would forgive her someday too.
“He looks exactly like you Anu”, this was the first thing her mother had told her when she had regained her consciousness. She was 23 when she gave birth to Aarush, named after his father.
She turned off the lights and closed the door behind her. But no matter how hard you try some doors cannot be closed, the dark memories carefully hidden in the layers of our past come back to haunt us .And she knew that she had to face him, it was inevitable. With heavy breaths, and a torn heart she headed towards the kitchen. He was there, sitting at the table. His tiny hand nervously wrapped around the spoon as he stared down into the ice cream bowl. He was terrified, unsure of why he was in a stranger’s house and wondering when his mother would come and take him back home. Their home.
Anu had spotted the similarity the moment the devil had entered the house. Her husband was clutching a note and carried the boy’s blue back pack. The kid was around 8 yrs old, older than Aarush, and was tired and scared and for a moment Anu thought she was dreaming. It was too painful to be real but the obviousness of his similarity to his father was harsh.
They argued for hours. He tried to explain. She was crying incessantly. It was the last thing she wanted in her life-a reminder of the infidelity. He tried to convince her that the affair was a mistake, a drunken mistake.”I was young, stupid and drunk. Think as a mother Anu, the kid has nowhere to go. I love you and our son, and you know that. All this happened before we even met. Please forgive me”. He looked hopefully at his wife; as she was trying to read the letter through her moist eyes. “I need to be alone for a while”, her cold voice cut through the silence.”I will be...we will be in the kitchen...” his voiced trembled. She read the letter again, each word carefully. The woman was dying when she wrote this and she had apologized for keeping the kid’s father in the dark for all these years. The predicament was tedious but a decision had to be made.
He saw her wait in the hallway tentatively and rushed to his wife. She held his arms and slightly nodded.” I will love him like our own son, Shekhar”...Tears rolled down his eyes and he hugged the woman he loved more than anyone. He vowed never to come this close to losing her and breathed a sigh of relief ,thanking her for her forgiveness and she prayed that he would forgive her someday too.
Good read!!
Nice!