ETHEREAL

.4.

"What?" It was Sarah who exclaimed first following by other few.

"It's their family taking them back and they don't want to go? Why would anybody do that?" Uncle Sam said.

" Few days back they were talking about how much they wanted to see their grandson and yet they don't want to go back." Samantha, another helper just like me, shook her head.

But then she looked at sanyukta and made a face of disgust.

And she understood why she is getting those glares.

They are not leaving because of her.

She is the reason.

That's sounded to insane.

But she felt selfish when she was happy about that.

Suddenly the voices stop to register in her mind. She wanted to feel happy. She wanted to feel loved that the couple choose to stay with her.

Not their family.

Their family who is there to take them back.

Almost every person in this old age home is begging for this day and yet they denied to go back to their family.

She suddenly felt guilty.

If that red Ferrari belongs to the family of zara and zayn then they are going to get better nourishment and health care at their house than here.

She just decided that she has to talk to the couple about this. She has to make them leave and go for their better life.

If this doesn't work then maybe she will apologize to the family.

"I need to talk to them." She declared to the people around her.

"You better." Samantha comment. "Because you are just their attachment at wrong times while they are their family."

Sanyukta knew she didn't like her but now she think Samantha hate her.

Sanyukta have to do this now. She had to convince aunt zara and uncle Zayn to leave.

Without waiting any further time she left the hall to make her way towards the office.

Knocking lightly on the door she entered after hearing a 'come in'. The room was silent when she entered. She saw her boss sitting behind the desk. His grey hair look disheveled. Then her eyes fall on the couple sitting in corner. Slumped in their seats but as soon as they saw who entered, their face lit up.

"Oh you are finally here." It was zara who was delightful to have a glimpse of sanyukta. While uncle Zayn took a deep long breath of air as if filling his lungs with the presence of sanyukta.

Aunt Zara stood up to reach sanyukta but sanyukta was quick to reach her instead.

"We thought you won't come today." Aunt zara had tears in her eyes and sanyukta felt her eyes getting blurry again.

Aunt zara hugged sanyukta tightly as she was already missing her. Sanyukta saved the feel of this embrace feel inside her heart.

But then she remembered why she came here.

"You should ... You should go." Sanyukta whispered to aunt zara and uncle Zayn heard it too.

Nobody said anything for a couple of minutes.

"Sanyukta." It was her boss. "We need to talk." He said pointing outside.

She made aunt Zara sit on her seat comfortably. Then smiling at them she left the office with her boss.

He sigh deeply, he look pissed.

"For how many times I have told you not to get them so attached to you. I pointed it out to you almost everyday." Her boss tried to keep his voice in control.

"I did what I needed to do." I answered.

"Right. So now every person is going to resist going back to their family?" He taunted. "Why they are not attached to Samantha or Reema? Why only you? They are choosing you over their family. I warned you about it." Her boss shouted this time. Like she would have known that their family will ever be back to take them.

It was her work to comfort them emotionally.

" I will try to convince them." Sanyukta told him.

" Try? What do you think I and their grandson was doing there for the past two hours?" Boss taunted again.

Their grandson.

They love him. They wanted to see him. Meet him. They talk about them almost everyday.

"What do you want me to do now?" Sanyukta ask her boss hopelessly.

" Make them leave. Their grandson is ready to pay me as much as I ask if I could convince them to leave with him. " The boss voice fall lower.

Wait a damn minute.

"You want them to leave because you are getting money out of it not because you want them to be with their family." Sanyukta voice was turning up.

Her boss just glared at her.

"...and you are getting that money to convince them to leave. They are not going because of me. So indirectly you are getting that money because of the attachment you were shouting at me about." Sanyukta was sure everybody could hear her now.

She would never like to see this man ever again in this life. Or in any life.

Without listening to her boss anymore she walked inside the office again.

" You should go with your family. There is no point in staying here if you were staying because of me." Sanyukta told aunt Zara, kneeling down in front of her.

"what are you saying?" Uncle zara asked.

" I'm going to resign. "

Aunt Zara hold sanyukta face.

"Did your boss said anything to you? Is it because we choose not to go? Oh god, we are so sorry, we didn't know .."

"No. It's not because of you. I don't want to work here anymore." Sanyukta smiled. "Maybe it's the time when we both say goodbye to this home." She laughed a little to lighten the mood.

Uncle Zayn pat her head with love.

But then aunt Zara blinked her eyes as if thinking something interesting.

"Why don't you come with us?" Aunt Zara whispered. Then she turned to uncle Zayn.

"She can come with us now." Aunt Zara was looking hopefully into uncle Zayn's eyes and only by looking at him anybody can tell that he can never say no to Zara.

"She can. Right?" Aunt Zara asked again when uncle Zayn didn't respond.

I was ready to protest when I heard the door open behind me.

At first I thought it was my boss. But then I felt a wierd and foreign sensation spreading in my nerves. My skin erupted with goosebumps when I felt a presence few feet behind me.

Then aunt Zara looked behind me her eyes wide with hope and she asked

"Can she come with us, Randhir?"