*What is the right age to be divorced?
*What is the right age to stand up for yourself?
*Who comes first? Self or family?
Trust me, no woman will be able to answer these questions when her own life is breaking apart.
And, I pray nobody should ha...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
It took a while for Padmini's anxiety attack to subside; which left Parul, Neha, and her staff in panic. For Neha, it was the worry of Mrs Malhotra becoming ill under her roof. God forbid something happened to Padmini she could be charged with a 'murder attempt' case.
For Parul, it was terrifying beyond comprehension. Padmini was her friend, sister, and mother figure; rolled in one. She would roll up her sleeves and go on a head-on war with even Lord Yama, the God of Death for her 'Minu Di'.
"For a few moments I thought I would lose you Minu Di! Don't you ever scare me like that ever!" Parul hugged her and sobbed like a kid. Padmini was pleasantly surprised when Parul addressed her by the nickname she used for her in childhood.
She gently pat her back, "I'm fine Choti. Relax please" her soft voice dropped close to a whisper, and both of them sighed in relief.
She pulled away from the embrace, "what happened Di? How come you had an anxiety attack? Is this the first time? Have you had it before? Does Paarth know this? Should I call him?" Parul's mind and tongue raced together, especially when she panicked.
"Choti! shh.. shhh.. enough! Listen" Padmini had to grab her paranoid little sister-in-law's face to gain her complete attention. "I'm alright and no, this... whatever happened now.. some attack that you say.. has not happened before"
She had to lie through her teeth. She has been having these episodes often for the past few months, fortunately, or unfortunately, she had been alone while it happened.
"Maybe the stress of Appu being married and getting separated from her got to me finally.." she let out bitter laughter, eyes glistening with tears. "I'm alright now" nodded her head reaffirming.
Parul hugged her again. A little later they proceeded with the jewellery selection for Aparna. She willed herself to divert her mind to the jewel selection, once she started thinking about Aparna and Sneha, she completely forgot about everything. She was used to putting her family before herself, that's how it always was.
"Bhabi, promise me one thing. Before I leave, I want you to come with me for a complete health checkup." She plastered her palm on Padmini's mouth, "No, I'm not even letting you speak. It's an order!"
"Acha choti! Fine I will go for the checkup on one condition. Please do not let anyone know about this. I don't want to snatch away Appu's happiness. And Sneha also might get worried which is not good during pregnancy. Please!" Padmini's earnest request and the genuine reason made Parul agree to her condition.
~~~~~~
Padmini's turmoil...
The sight of the house next door kindled a painful memory. On the way back, she shut her eyes and leaned back on the seat; letting her conscience do all the fight and talk within. While Parul thought it was the physical exhaustion and let her 'sleep'.
