The Misfit Fallen. ✅

Chapter 5-Unwanted.

Opening the door slowly, he peeped into his little boy's room.

"He's asleep." Manyata spoke,  standing just behind her son.

"Yeah I know." Nakul replied turning his face towards his mother.

"He was desperately waiting for you." She said plainly.

"Mom, you only asked me to make the arrangements for tomorrow." He frowned.

"Nakul, you're not getting my point. With business and these new responsibilities, you'll be always late like today and Aakash needs someone to be there with him always and what will you do once I go back to America? you only tell me, who will look after him?" Manyata exclaimed while Nakul sighed.

"Mom, can we have this discussion tomorrow as I am already tired." He said rubbing his temples.

"Alright dear, did you eat anything?" She asked him understanding his worries.

"Yes." He replied avoiding eye contact with her.

"Nakul, stop lying to me." She scowled.

"Okay fine. I didn't." He gritted his teeth.

"See yourself. How can I leave Aakash with you when you're not even concerned to think about yourself?" She remarked while he grunted mentally.

"Mom please, don't start it again."

"Okay. go get freshen up. meanwhile, I'll heat up the dinner." She said and he nodded as he made his way towards his room.

Once inside, he got out of his clothes and stepped in the shower area to let the hot water descend down his body.
His mind flashed images of the little girl wearing that pendant.
He was trying to contemplate whether the doctor whom he met today was really her or not.

"Nakul, are you in there?" His mother knocked the door.

"Yeah." He replied.

"I've placed the plate on table. Please for god's sake, have it.
I'm tired so I'm going to sleep. Good night son." Manyata said.

"Good night mom." He wished her back while she left smiling.

He turned off the shower and stepped outside wearing his bathrobe.

He rubbed the towel off his head wiping the wet droplets. His eyes shifted to the covered plate on the table near the recliner.

He knew how angry his mother can get if he didn't eat. He remembered the time of his mother's indignation for finding his and his brother Mayank's school lunch boxes uneaten or even untouched.

He even remembered that once his mother had caught him feeding his tiffin to a stray dog and she was so mad at him for it that she didn't talk to him for a week until his father interfered.

A smile crept on his face as he reminisced those pleasant memories.

Without wasting anymore minutes, he lifted up the lid, uncovering the food completely.

Tears threatened to fall out as he noticed that all which was cooked on the plate was his brother's favourite delicacies.
Indeed the mother was missing her other son.

He tore the piece of chapaati (Indian Bread) as he dipped it in the mix vegetables gravy and shoved it in his mouth.
He really liked the food his mother prepared. If his aunt's condition wouldn't have been that bad then he wouldn't had let her mother go ever away from him but he feared more thinking about Aakash departing. He knew how it felt to be all alone.

Calling himself a very selfish person, he didn't denied the fact and neither cared about it.
No matter what, he would do anything to let the boy stay with him. His 'small shot' to stay with him.