Doosra Chance

Chapter 4

Didn't quite make it in by the end of the week, but close enough I guess!

That night, Aarohi stayed back with her parents, and she walked into their room, carrying a tray with glasses of warm milk for all of them. Her younger sister, Aadhira was already sitting against the headboard, snuggling with their mother. "I brought warm milk for everyone, since it's been a long day. To help relax." She handed out the glasses but perched on the opposite corner of the bed. Everyone was drinking their milk silently, lost in thoughts. 

Aarohi cleared the glasses, but instead of taking the tray downstairs, she placed it on the nightstand. Mustering her courage, she squeezed in between her mother and father, hugging them both with one hand. "I'm sorry," she whispered into the silent room. Anu and Arvind looked at each other, then each wrapped an arm around Aarohi, reciprocating her hug. "We are angry, beta," Arvind stated, unwilling to keep his daughter from understanding his emotions. "But we are more disappointed. When you said you wanted to be married young, you convinced us with so many reasons, but were any of them true?" Aadhira sprang up, unable to control herself now that Anu and Arvind had spoken. "Yeah, and why did you forgive that cheating bastard?" "Aadhira," Anu said sternly, holding a finger to her lips. She gestured to let Aarohi speak. 

"I'm really sorry. I was so selfish; I'm only now realizing how you guys must be feeling and must have felt these past several months. All the reasons I quoted for you guys were true, lekin sab chote mote reasons the, uss waqt. Sabse bada reason yeh tha ki mujhe bacche adopt karna tha. Kam umar mein hi maa banna chahthi thi. Maine bohot research kiya, aur realize kiya ki meri situation mein uss waqt, adoption namumkin tha. Unless I got married. Shaadi sirf ek problem ka solution nahi tha, balki saari problems ka solution tha. Mujhe laga ki agar humare beech mein intimacy nahi hain, toh kisi aur ko kya dikkat hain. 

Matlab bacche adopt kar lenge, baaki zindagi saath bithayenge, baaki sab husband aur wife ki tarah hi honge. Aur humare beech sabse important rishta tha, dosti. Sab kehte hain ki dosti ek relationship ki foundation hoti hain. Akhir Shah Rukh Khan ne bhi kaha ki 'pyaar dosti hain'. Hum sabse ache dost toh ban gaye, kuch mahino baad mujhe laga work out ho jayega. But as they say, life is what happens when you have plans. Aur usse zyaada, main overconfident ban gayi thi. Tab tak, mere saare decisions sahi the, aur mere saare sapne bhi realistic the. Iss 'ideal shaadi' wala sapne ko jodthe jodthe, shayad main bhool gayi thi ki hakikat kya hoti hain." 

Aarohi sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, yeh sab aapko bohot dukh pahunchaya hoga. Beti ki itni jaldi shaadi, aur phir utni hi jaldi divorce. Sab aap par ungli uthayenge. Mujhe pehli hi aur soch samajh kar decision leni chahiye thi." Arvind smoothed her hair while Anu shook her head. "Beta, kuch bhi hojaye, sabko koi bhi waje se ungli uthana hi hain. Aur humne kabhi samaaj ke baaton ko importance diya jo aaj denge. Your health and happiness are the most important things in the world for us. Humse zyaada tum par ungli uthayenge, lekin koi nahi. Hum sab tumhare saath. Hum sambhalenge. Ab bohot der hogayi hain, sabko sojana chahiye. Aarohi and Aadhira left to their respective rooms and fell into an exhausted sleep.

Waking up, Aarohi felt right at home the next morning. That was not to say that she hadn't gotten used to staying with Rishi and her in-laws, but it was hard to break the feeling that was over twenty years old. Aarohi woke up earlier than usual and was surprised to see both her parents already in the kitchen preparing chai and coffee. Her mom usually woke up a half hour after Aarohi's usual time, and her dad even later. "Good morning, how are you guys up so early?" "It seems like we both had a lot to think about, and we ended up waking earlier than usual." 

They carried the mugs out to the patio, Aarohi and Anu settling on the swing as per their old routine, and Arvind on an armchair opposite. "Maa, this feels so good. Tumhari haath ki coffee maine bohot miss ki." Anu raised an eyebrow, "Par pichle kuch saalon se har roz tum hi toh coffee bana rahi thi." "Issiliye main keh rahi thi ki bohot din hogaye aur maine bohot miss kiya." "Aaru, tumne jo kal batayi, uske baare maine socha." It wasn't usually her father who started the more emotional conservations but her mother, so Aarohi was surprised to see her father breaching the topic. 

"Mujhe lagta hain, ki tum sahi thi. Apni decision mein aur apni approach mein. Shayad sunne mein kuch ajeeb laga, lekin log saare requirements lekar life partner ko choose karthe hain, aur tumne bhi wahi kiya. Bas ek hi difference thi ki tum bacche peda nahi karna chahthi thi, adopt karna chahthi thi. Baki sab toh same tha. Aur agar different bhi tha, toh kya hua. Har shaadi shuda rishta alag hoti hain, aur sirf miya biwi ke beech hi hoti hain. Shayad hum sab ka kismat mein hi tha, Rishi aur Rhea ka phirse, aise, milna. But you were not wrong gudiya, and you were no more selfish than you should have been. Don't doubt yourself, ok? I am, always have been, and always will be proud of you." 

Aarohi perched on the armchair, hugging Arvind and letting him peck her forehead. "Thanks, papa. Really, it means a lot." Anu scoffed in mock irritation. "Kabhi kabhi aap kitne tubelight hain, Arvind. Matlab, jo kal raat maine turant samajh gayi, who aapko samajhne mein aaj subhe tak laga." Aarohi laughed and let the morning breeze flow over her. Life was looking good right now. The comfort of being back in your childhood home, being with family, feeling the nostalgia of the (fairly recent) past. Nothing could beat that. Her shoulder unconsciously relaxed, as if relieved from the pressure she had been unknowingly carrying for the past few months.