The Ties That Bind

  Read Chapter 4 Here! ARJUN I can’t resist smiling, looking at Kiddo. Her hair, as usual, is all over the place, curly and unruly. She has still retained the puppy-fat that has been her trademark since her childhood and which I find cute as hell. I feel like pulling her chubby cheeks, the way I used to do always. She may not like it now. She looks pensive, lost in thought. I clear my throat. “So how is everything with you? You look worried. Is that boss of yours giving you any trouble? Do you want me to come to your office to have a word with him?” I ask her. She smiles, flashing cute dimples and shakes her head. “You know I will do that, right?” I say very seriously. I have always been protective about her. She lightly bangs her fist on my shoulder. “I know. So what is the big news you have got?” I clear my throat. “I have decided to adopt a child.” It takes me a moment to realize that she has stopped walking while I surged ahead. I turn back and see her staring at ...

  Read Chapter 3 Here! SHREYA I run a comb through my unruly curls and give up in exasperation. No matter how much I comb, there are always some stubborn and adamant curls that refuse to set in and stay wavy and aloof. I sit by the bed for a while. It is after all only 7.45 and I do not want to appear too eager to meet Arjun. I check his messages yet again, like I do every time he sends them. I can still remember the feeling of dismay when I read his message about having some news to share. For a while, I thought for sure that this time he has met someone special. All the fears and anxieties that usually hoarded me whenever he met a girl to consider a marriage alliance, came rushing down on me. You see, I have loved him almost all my life. If you ask me when and how it began, I will have to say that it all started when I was ten years old. Yes, I found the true love of my life when I was ten. It wasn’t love at first sight or a lightning-strike revealing him in a new light. It...

  Read Chapter 2 Here! ARJUN Leaving Tinu at the orphanage to return to my home, has been, by far, the most difficult thing I ever had to do. I could feel his insecurity when he waved bye to me. I have promised him that I would return as soon as possible. And for me, that means dropping by tomorrow. There is a horde of legal paperwork to go through. One step at a time. First things first, I need to give a heads-up to my parents about Tinu. Some fun-facts about my parents – they are cool, no other word to describe them. While my mother is a tiny, 68-year old packet of dynamite who can kill with just a look, my father is the fittest and handsomest 75-year old I have ever come across. Mom has various areas of interest – pestering me to get married, arranging charity events in the colony where we live, going for weekly book-club meets (she is a voracious reader), searching for a prospective daughter-in-law for herself, gloating about me to anyone whom she meets and adding a note at...

  Read Chapter 1 Here! TINU ‘That guy was kind, right?’ I tell the baby who just rubs his tiny plump fists over his eyes, a sure signal that he is about to sleep. I take him to a room and sit on a bed. Placing the baby on my left shoulder, I slowly rock to and fro in a rhythm. Sometimes it amazes me, the speed in which I learnt to look after an infant. But I guess that is what living alone does to you. You learn to take up responsibilities that seem overwhelming at first. You learn to brush off the doubts that whisper – ‘Can you do this?’ You learn to be self-sufficient and self-reliant. Because there is no one else to do it. This is probably why all the Ayyamma-s here say that I am an old soul. I do not have anything to complain. I have made peace with my life. There was a time when I longed to be with a loving family. I did get a glimpse of my fantasy for two years. It is unfortunate that they had to return me. I do not begrudge them. They did what they could do. I did no...

  ARJUN How did I end up here? The building looms large in front of me and I feel a touch of panic. How sure am I about this? Is it just a bad case of mid-life crisis? Am I ready to take up such a huge responsibility? I stand outside the gate pensively, developing cold feet at the last minute. It all started a week ago. I was on my way home from office, when I happened to glance at the orphanage situated beside the road. I pass by it every day, but that particular day, I saw some kids playing in the compound. Something about their happy laughter broke my heart. It is strange that some people have everything and yet find a zillion reasons to be unhappy, while some people have a lot in wanting and still, a simple moment is enough for them to bring smiles of pure joy and happiness. I do not know for how long I stood and watched the children play. And that is when the idea struck me. My immediate reaction was to brush it off as an impulsive thought. But the more I tried to fi...