"Anjali, we are damn lucky to get an all furnished house at this price. I still can't believe it. I mean, it's in a tower, with all the latest amenities, gym, club, swimming pool. Moreover, it's in the heart of the city. Our friends and family are already green with envy."
Ashish was hanging up all the frames, while I arranged the books in the cupboard.
I chuckled and commented back feeling equally exuberant, "I'm waiting to see everyone's expressions when they come for the housewarming party." So saying, I ambled to the bedroom.
In two years of courtship, all we talked about was having a house of our own. We are newly married and had been staying in a rental house for the last six months, saving every penny to buy an apartment of our own. Our landlady found this flat for us. When we came to see it for the first time, both of us were mesmerized by the open plan and tall french windows. It is on the fifteenth floor and the view of the city from up here is breathtaking. The best part is that it is fully furnished and well equipped.
At that time, Ashish and I had exchanged a crestfallen glance and understood that it would be totally out of our budget. Maybe in the next life. In this lifetime, it was impossible. However, we were dumbfounded when the owners, a retired aged couple, Mr. and Mrs. Malhotra told us their expectations. It was surprisingly much lower than the market value. Mr. Malhotra gave us his reasons for doing so. "Our daughter died in a car accident and now we are all alone. We are both heart patients, and there's no one to look after us. That's why we are selling this house as it is. We are shifting to an old age home which is also a sanatorium. This money will help us sojourn peacefully for the rest of our lives."
Ashish and I felt sorry for them, but thanked our stars that we were the fortunate ones to have crossed paths with this elderly pair. Of course, a bank loan was required, but we simply grabbed the golden opportunity. This house is beyond our dreams.
"Ah...! Oh My God! What's this? Ashish, come here, see this."
I had opened a drawer in the chiffonier to store away all the toiletries, but it wasn't empty. There were two envelopes inside and one had our name on it; "For Mr. and Mrs. Arora". Ours was sealed and the other one was open.
I fished them out gingerly, when Ashish joined me. "What happened? Why did you squeal?"
I handed the envelopes to him and he was as befuddled as me. We sat on the bed and he opened the one which was addressed to us. It was from the previous owners of our apartment. Keeping a hand on his shoulder, I leaned in to peep in the letter.
"
Dear Anjali and Ashish,
The moment we saw both of you, a hope sparked in us and we felt that you could be the one we were looking for. There is absolutely no force or compulsion of any kind. Just a humble request. After you read the other letter, we pray that you will act upon it selflessly, with love and kindness. God bless you abundantly.
Thank you so much.
Blessings from,Mr. and Mrs. Malhotra."
Bewilderment wrapped around us, as we kept gaping at each other. "What is this even supposed to mean?"
"Anjali, that we'll come to know only after reading the other letter."
The second envelope had a letterhead of an orphanage. The crux of it was that before she died, Mr. and Mrs. Malhotra's daughter had left her illegitimate baby girl at their doorstep. They had proof and now wanted to check if the grandparents were willing to come and take her.
Both Ashish and I sat speechless, trying to interpret this chunk of information in our own way. A barrage of questions were taking rounds in our heads. The silence engulfing us was smashed, when Ashish asked me, "Anjali, have you comprehended this same as me?"
I swallowed hard before replying, "I....think so. What should we do?"
Ashish turned to face me. "I don't want to cloud my judgement by guessing. So spell it. What exactly have you understood?"
Taking a deep sigh, I took a second longer hitherto responding, "I think Mr. and Mrs. Malhotra want us to adopt their daughter's baby girl. Ashish, you tell me, what should be our first step?"
He always bit his lips and chewed them, whilst pondering over problems, and never voiced out till he didn't have a solid answer. Now it was no different. I had to wait for full two minutes, before he finally said pragmatically, "Let's pay a visit to the old age home and derive the complete story from The Malhotras."
* * * * * *
"We are compelling ourselves to believe that it was a car accident. But actually our daughter committed suicide. She was never reckless, in fact Maya was a very proficient driver. I know, she didn't want to face us after her boyfriend cheated on her, and fled the minute he realised that Maya was expecting."
Mrs. Malhotra couldn't stop crying, nonetheless her husband managed to compose himself and give us the details. He affixed further, "Sadly, we weren't very compassionate parents, and Maya went away to live in a PG accommodation until she delivered. We never contacted her in between. News of her accident was brought to us by the police, and two months ago that letter from the orphanage came in."
Sympathy for their belated daughter and disgust for the old couple was growing in equal measure within us. I could see it in Ashish's eyes that he shared my emotions. Nevertheless, we both refrained from saying anything, thereby allowing Mr. Malhotra to complete what he had to say. "First old age, then guilt and now loss of our daughter; all put together has shattered us to the core. We are incapable of taking care of ourselves, how will we do the upbringing of an infant?! Not to mention that both of us are heart patients and our days are numbered."
All four of us sat quietly, each one battling with an internal brooding of their own. Eventually, Ashish took Mr. Malhotra's hand in his and said gently.
"Our deep condolences to you. Although we're really sorry for your loss, currently, I can't make any promises. We need time to think."
We came back home. Out of the blue, from being happy newlyweds, life was suddenly riding on a rollercoaster. We thought and thought; discussed day in and day out, weighing all the pros and cons. Laughably, we had planned to begin a family only after two years.
A notion had been nagging in my subconscious mind and I poured out my heart in front of Ashish, "The only thing that's pinching me is, what is the fault of that baby, in all this drama that the adults have woven? Why is she paying the price of growing up in an orphanage?"
Ashish took my hand in his and said softly, "Anjali, I totally empathise with what you are saying. But this is a huge responsibility and we are not yet ready for our own kid, then this is somebody else's. Moreover, it's not a matter of a day or two, here we're talking of a lifetime."
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and continued, "We're still building up our career. We haven't even begun to enjoy our marriage. So quit thinking emotionally and be practical."
I didn't argue, but at the same time, that little girl was in my thoughts 24/7. One Sunday evening, over coffee, very fleetingly, I triggered the topic again, from a different perspective. "Ashish, can we at least go to the orphanage and see the girl?"
He smirked meaningfully and shook his head. Flicking my nose, he chuckled. "You aren't gonna practice a laissez-faire attitude, are you?"
I furrowed my brows, "What?"
"You aren't leaving things to take their own course madam! Alright, let's go."
We took the letters with us, met the matron and explained everything to her.
"We've only come to see the girl."
Ashish clarified, making sure that she didn't get any wrong ideas nor did I become very hopeful. We sat in the waiting area, while she went to bring the baby.
The caretaker came into view when she took a turn in the corridor, walking towards us. She was carrying a nine months old baby girl. We stood up to greet her, as she came closer. The girl had her hands clasped together and eyes trained on us. Some chemistry was revolving in the universe. Even before the matron was within reach, the baby leaped out, wanting to be in Ashish's arms. His hands sprang automatically and he caught her mid air.
The toddler was milky white and had brown curls, tucked under a flower hairband. Her raven black doe eyes resembled googly buttons. Lips were a perfect cupid's bow that enhanced her philtrum. With chubby dimpled cheeks, she was a splitting image of a cute little doll.
And then something happened. "She said, "Pa!!" Ashish was utterly hypnotized and our insides melted. She patted his cheeks and jiggled with a gurgling laughter. Bringing her to his chest, he hugged her tight and I embraced both of them from behind. Tears of joy escaped our eyes and Ashish kissed her forehead.
We sat down. Ashish kept the baby on his lap, squeezed my hand and peered into my eyes. We kept looking at each other for the longest time. A wordless understanding passed between us.
"Anjali?" He whispered.
The little angel had peeped in our eyes and travelled straight into our hearts. I gripped his arm and nodded my agreement. In the wake of sharing an identical smile, Ashish glanced at the matron and proclaimed firmly, "I presume the adoption formalities will take time, but from this point forward, Aaradhya is ours."
I couldn't stop my lips from curling up into a deep grin. We'd always talked about naming our first girl child Aaradhya.
"I have no words to express my gratitude. My soul bows to your selfless love and generosity. We are indebted to you forever." Mrs. Malhotra's songs of praise seemed never-ending, as she thanked Ashish and me profusely.
I took both her hands in mine and said smoothly, "Please don't say that. We're not doing you any favour. We really love
Aaradhya and are feeling blessed to have her."
Mr. Malhotra helped us with all the legal proceedings and it took six months of follow up. In that duration, we visited the orphanage everyday to be with our girl. She was truly adorable and time spent with her never seemed enough. At home the topic of discussion was only Aaradhya and we utilised the hiatus in decorating her room and stocking it with all that she would need. The wait for our baby was equally exciting and we were literally counting days.
Ashish took it upon himself to help the orphanage and we made handsome donations, so that other kids were also taken care of in a way they deserved.
The bated breath anticipation culminated into a beautiful beginning; a life filled with promises with our daughter Aaradhya. The THE day was here. We invited the Malhotra couple as well, after all they were her grandparents.
Nobody knew her real birth date. Therefore Ashish and I decided that the day we bring our girl home will be her birthday. The house was decorated with all kinds of trimmings, to welcome our baby and celebrate her birthday as well.
"Aunty, you do the arti before she steps in. Your love and blessings are very important for her."
Mrs. Malhotra became sentimental and was more than happy to oblige.
The Jamboree was a grand success and we proudly introduced our daughter and her grandparents to all our friends and family. After the party was over, we stayed with Aaradhya till she was sound asleep. Ashish got up only when he was certain that she was in deep slumber. We sauntered out to the living room and Ashish put his arms around me, pulling me in his warm embrace. "Anjali, never ever in my wildest dream had I imagined that the turn of events in life would be so phantasmagorically magical."
I looked up at him and asked,
"Are you happy?"
"More than ever before. You know Anjali, from this entire experience, I've started believing in one thing very strongly."
"What?"
"Love begets love!"
Shamim Merchant,
Mumbai.
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