"He didn't know she fell for him but she didn't know that he has been loving her since eternity"
- Jane Austen
*****
"Hey cutie pie... What makes you laugh?"
The child continues to laugh.
Ananya : Ma... I don't understand one thing... Anand love Jessica wholeheartedly but why hasn't he adopted her yet?
[I refer to Anand's mother as Radha as it may confuse the readers to call her as Anu.]
Radha : Actually he wants to do, we are his opponents.
Ananya : There must be a reason for that, right?
Radha : Yeah... Anand is ready to adopt her but we don't know about his future wife's thoughts. If she doesn't like Jaju, it will affect all three lives.
Ananya : Ma... If she doesn't accept Jessica, will you send her back to the orphanage?
Radha : No no... I can't even imagine it. If she cannot be Anand's daughter, she will be my daughter and we adopt her as our daughter.
Ananya smiles at her and the smile shows that Ananya is satisfied with Radha's answer.
Housemaid : Ma'am... Someone is waiting for you downstairs.
Radha : Ananya... You stay with Jaju, I'll be back soon.
Ananya : Don't worry Ma, I'll take care of this little angel.
Radha smile and left.
"Mamm Ma..."
Ananya : Ah ah, Mom will be back soon.
"Ma... Ma..."
Ananya : Did you call me "mom"?
Jaju giggles...
"You naughty..."
Ananya took the baby in her arms and gently hugged her. And praised her with some kisses. Ananya gently patted her back and lulled her to sleep.
"I want to do mom but I don't have that much time." Anand argued with his mother about something.
"Ushhhh... why are you shouting, Can't you see her sleeping?" Ananya intervenes in their discussion.
"Ananya... You are not allowed to be on his side. Please let him understand. Jaju's 1st birthday is coming up in a week. We want him to prepare for it, but he keeps saying he doesn't have time." Radha said in a sad tone.
"Mom... There is no need for you to complain to Ananya and for her to advise me in this matter."
" Okey fine... If you listen to my advice, no one else will need to advise you..." Radha told in a teasing manner.
" Oh c'mon mom... I don't want to be a big brother to such a little sister And Being a parent to such a young child at this age is not so pretty for you either....lol" Anand try to change topic.
"I don't care about such things... If you want to be her father, you should go shopping. If you need help, take Ananya with you."
"No... Ma... What can I do about this?" Ananya disagrees with them.
Anand is not one to admit defeat so quickly. Those wonderful few hours Anand spent with Ananya came into their lives once again.
The little girl who thought the moon chases the car every time, fall in love with the moon. A girl who thinks music is the reason for her heartbeat falls for a musician.
They don't know exactly how long they've been together. But she had no recollection of him leaving her hands during the time he was with her.
Ananya : I think it's time for go back.
Anand : Let's wait for the stars, shall we?
Ananya : But why?
Anand : Sunset doesn't feel like poetry today, so I'm going to give the universe one more chance.
Ananya : Haha...That's so crazy... let's give a chance to music too.
Sharing your headphones with others is not a simple thing, but if you do, I believe that person is really special to you.
*****
Back to home...
"Mom... Come here and see how many things we have bought for Jaju." Anand entered there with big shout.
"I think we both meet after a long time"
Anand turned towards the direction of the voice and Dhanushree and her father were standing there.
"Uncle... What a pleasant surprise? You are right, even at the award ceremony, you are missing out."
"But I heard you brought many awards from there."
"Uncle... By the grace of God..."
A long conversation continued between the two. Ananya stood quietly listening to the conversation because she did not know who the two new arrivals were.
David's mother came to Ananya and took the bags from her hand and took Ananya inside.
Ananya : Ma... it's so surprising... Are you also in Anand's house?
Mariya (David's mom) : Actually Anand came to reunite me with my son but now Anand has become my son too.
Ananya : Anand alone can create a place for himself in the mind of the beholder. His pure heart could also be a reason for that.
Mariya : If what you say is true then surely God would have given him a good life.
Ananya : What is missing in his life now? As far as I know he owns all the happiness in this world.
Mariya : What you say was true until yesterday but who knows how it will turn out.
Ananya : I don't understand what you mean, can you be bit more clear?
Mariya : Don't you see them both sitting in the hall? I'm just talking about them.
Ananya : Actually... I don't know who they are.
Mariya : Her name is Dhanshree and that gentleman is her father.
Ananya : Oh i think I know her. She is the reason why Anand became my friend.
Mariya : She is not such a do-gooder. If you had told me that she was the reason for someone's breakup, I would have believed it.
Mariya, who always speaks with character and patience, speaks angrily, causing Ananya a bit of confusion and laughter on the other hand.
Ananya : Haha... Ma... Why are you so angry with her?
Mariya : I could never understand. She doesn't deserve Anand even 1%. But she has come today with her father to talk about her marriage with Anand. How is God looking after all this cruelty? Anand's good behavior towards Dhanushree makes me even more angry.
"MARRIAGE...?"
Ananya, who had been listening to Mariya's talk for so long with a smile on her face, was now sitting like an emotionless statue. She sits there, but emotionally unable to move, and she feels that everything here is fake. Ananya had to struggle to keep herself normal.
Ananya : Ma... What others think about this marriage?
Mariya : Everyone in this family already knows that Dhanushree has such a mindset. Both the families are well-to-do in society. There is no problem of social status among them. Dhanushree's father has helped Anand in many films. Apart from that, Anand knew Dhanushree very well from childhood. I do not see any reason on either side of the family to refuse this marriage. I think all the rumors about Anand and Dhanushree that were spreading on social media are coming true today.
Mariya kept on talking, without knowing the billions of thunders that were pounding in Ananya's heart. No matter how much Ananya tried to control it, tears kept flowing from her eyes.
Ananya got up from there, quickly went to the bathroom and locked herself. She sat on the floor of the bathroom, leaned against the wall, covered her face with both hands, and started crying.
After several minutes of tears she washed her face and came out. If something like this happens to Anand when she thinks of him as a friend, she is the first to be happy for him. Today, for the first time, she realized that her feelings for him were more than just friendship, it was also true that the minutes of walking hand in hand with him gave her boundless happiness.
Although she knew that she was not worthy of him, That feeling made her walk away from him.
Ananya wanted to quickly grab all her things and get out of there. When she unlocked her phone the picture of the two of them and the pure smiles on both of their faces made her cry again.
[Anand had set their first photo as wallpaper when he gifted Ananya the mobile. Ananya never thought of changing that wallpaper till today]
Ananya : Maybe we were the parallel lines we walked together, but what's the point when we were never meant to end up together!! I know "It start with us but it didn't end with us".
Avanya left the place without telling anyone. Her feet were moving without even knowing which way to go. This time she didn't try to hide or suppress her tears.
It was late at night and there weren't many people there. As there was no one to control her on that lonely road, she sat down in the middle of the road and started crying. At that time, an unexpected rain accompanied her. So far she has only shared her happiness with rain. For the first time her tears were mixed with the rainwater.
The ringing of her mobile which had been going off for a long time brought her to her senses.
"Shree ma... Where are you, dear? I'm in your hotel room, why haven't you come to your room yet?"
" Pappa.... Pappa.... i lost myself somewhere in the darkness... please come pick me up... I can't stay here alone for long... I'm so scared... please pappa"
*****
To be continued...
