Home, at last!!!

Manish was starting to regret the idea of spending 2 more hours in the party and he knew Rhea wanted to be at home. There was a time when both of them would have jumped at the idea of partying. In fact, it was in a New Year’s Party they had met for the first time and fell for each other. It was like a dream come true for both of them, meeting the right person and getting married within a year. Rhea was everything he had ever dreamed of, she was like a sunshine in his life. She had so much of energy she couldn’t sit still and then there was so much of love in her. Oh, she loved him!!! Even after 5 years of marriage, the thought never failed to bring a smile on his face.

Just when he was thinking, he looked at her. She was sitting at the far end of the table, looking beautiful in a pink saree. She was always beautiful for him. When she glanced back, he was looking at her. She smiled at him but the smile did not reach her eyes. There were shadows below her eyes and how much weight had she lost in the last year. He wanted to make her happy, listen to that rich laughter again. He just wanted to erase all the memories of the past year. Loosing their baby was a great setback for both of them and then there was Junaid. Rhea had found him near the market in an unconscious state. He was a four year old boy who was beaten badly by his drunken father. Rhea had literally fought to bring him back to life and fallen in love with him. She had found her lost boy again. Even Manish could not help being attached. But adopting Junaid, even the thought scared him but Rhea was very firm. The adoption would be a messy process, Manish thought; Junaid’s father had already sensed money. And then there were his parents, who opposed the idea of adopting a non-Hindu boy. But most of all, he was not sure if Junaid wanted them. The boy looked like a lost puppy, always expecting them to throw him out of the house or beat him up. The boy would get scared if he went near him. But Junaid was trying; he seemed to have accepted Rhea. But Manish wanted to be there for him, to play with him, to soothe him when he woke from a nightmare, to spoil him and to be a father again.

A sudden blast of music brought him back to senses. Oh boy, what was he thinking!! He had dragged Rhea to the party so she could have a little change and here he was sitting in a corner. He stood up and walked to his wife and said “Hey Beautiful, wanna dance with me?” She just smiled and walked into his arms.

By the time they left for home, it was 11. Rhea said “I hope he’s alright, I’ve never left him alone”

‘Come on Rhea, he’s not alone. There is Shyam to take care of him. He’ll be fine’

“He might get scared. He gets nightmares; I should have stayed with him.”

“Rhea, I know he’s been through a lot but he’s young and he’ll heal faster. We will help him. It will not help if we keep hovering over him, he needs some time for himself.”

“But..ok” Rhea thought it was best not to argue and Manish had a point or she would not have gone with him.

When the car pulled up in the gate, Junaid was sitting in his bed, sweating badly. He had dreamed of his father again. In his mind he knew he away from his father and was safe with his new parents. He kind of liked them. They never scolded him, even when he had dropped the plate the other day. He had been pretty sure Manish would beat him up when he had come running towards him but actually he just wanted to make sure that he was not hurt. He did not have to go hungry, he always had nice warm food. He had a room to himself. They brought him presents. He wanted to be happy and forget everything but these nightmares brought all the memories back. He did not want to go back to that place again, so he just lay there.

When the door creaked open, Junaid closed his eyes tightly while his heart was beating wildly in his chest. When a soft hand touched his cheek, he knew it was Rhea and wished his heart did not beat so fast. He did not want her to know he was crying, he did not want her to think he was a coward. Rhea simply brushed his hair from his forehead and kissed him lightly on his cheek. He wanted to get up and hug her back, but was too afraid to do so. So he laid still while she fussed with his blanket and left the room quietly. But when the door opened for the second time, Junaid went very still. He could hear the sound of shoes approaching him. All he could think was Manish. He must have gone to some party and got drunk. And now he has come back to beat him up. He wanted to run, yes he could. But he could not breathe, what was he going to do. His body went limp when a hand touched his arm.

Manish looked at him, in the little light that came through the door. Junaid’s face had gone pale, his body was stiff as a stick and he could still see the tears on his lashes. He knew Junaid was scared of him. He wanted to tell him he would never raise a hand at him, he wanted Junaid to trust him but he could not do anything about it. So he just stood there for sometime, frustrated, raking his fingers through his hairs. While he stood there, Junaid realized Manish was not going to beat him. Not now, not ever. God had guven him a second life and he could not afford to loose it this time. When Manish walked back towards the door, he thought he heard a voice. When he turned back, he saw Junaid sitting up in his bed. Junaid looked at him and no more scared of him, called out ‘Papa, can you stay for some more time?’ For a moment Manish just stood there, astonished. He had called him Papa, for the first time. He thought his heart might just burst out of happiness and he would blabbering anytime. So instead he went to the bed and held Junaid and rocked him. It was then Junaid thought, he was home at last and held him back with a smile on his face.