16

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ABHIMANYU

I wake up and find myself in unfamiliar surroundings. I take a moment to remember where I am and then it strikes me. It is my first morning in my new home.

I look to my side and see Arjun sleeping peacefully. Yesterday night when he returned from the walk, he seemed to be a bit upset. Although he was very gentle with me, I felt he was disturbed. I cannot help thinking that probably it has something to do with me. Is he already regretting his decision to adopt me? I look at the clock. It is 7 in the morning.

I think about what must be happening at the orphanage now. The Ayamma-s would be awake now and they would start sweeping and mopping the floors. I feel sad thinking about the place. I never thought I would get used to it. But this is my new life, and I better make myself useful, else I will find myself back at the orphanage for good.

I do not want to part from Arjun. In a very short period of time, he has come to mean a lot to me. No one else has ever tried to get close to me like Arjun did. And he succeeded. There is the tiny problem of what to address him as. ‘Dad’ seems too soon. For now I am getting by without having to address him. I know the time will come soon when I will have to take the next step towards him and seal our bond by calling him as Dad. I hope I last till then.

I wake up from the bed and tiptoe my way into the bathroom. From new toothbrush to my own soap (with the box), to towels to new clothes for me, everything Arjun has arranged for. I quickly go through the morning chores. I decide to have a bath. I open the door of the wardrobe that he has specially arranged only for my clothes.

When I looked at it for the first time, my jaw dropped. Never have I owned these many clothes in my entire life. I still cannot accept that I have brand new clothes. I take out a pair of track-pants and a t-shirt that says – ‘Cool Dude”. It makes me smile. There is a separate section just for my underwear. That makes me feel both embarrassed and relieved. I did not have to go through the conversation of ‘which size do you wear’ with him. He seems to have an idea of what will fit me the best and he went according to his own estimate.

I take my own time in bathing. How this used to feel like a luxury in the orphanage! Here I can bath for as long as I want to. There is hot water available, although I bath in cold water. Feeling invigorated and refreshed from the bath I step out of the room, gently closing the door.

It seems I am the first one to wake up. Deciding that I might make myself useful, I take a broom and start sweeping the house. I start with the kitchen.

Arjun’s mother comes to the kitchen and looks at me first in shock and then in anger. She places her hands on her hips and glares at me.

“Good morning.” I manage to blurt out.

She nods. “Good morning. What exactly are you doing??”

I look down at the broom and shrug. ‘I woke up early and decided to do some work. I know how to prepare tea and coffee. What do you usually drink?” I ask her. The angry look on her face only seems to intensify.

“Whatever gave you the idea to sweep the house?” She says with clenched teeth.

I stand silently. I blew it up on the very first day in the new home, it seems.

“I will do a good job of it.” I plead.

She walks towards me and in spite of the anger in her face, she gently takes the broom off my hand and flings it away. Then she holds my face.

“I will expect you to learn all the household chores and to lend a helping hand. But I do not want you to feel as if you have to work for anyone. Do you understand the difference?” She asks me softly.

I think I do, so I manage to nod, a bit difficult to do since she is holding my face firmly.

“Everyone here gets involved in all the chores. Like them, you too will. But only because you are family now. That is the only reason.”

She hugs me tightly and I hug her back, feeling warm and comforted. This family sure hugs a lot!

“I am going to prepare Bournvita for you. You will drink it three times a day, got it?” She asks me sternly as she finally lets go of me and proceeds towards the fridge.

“All right Daadi.” The words come out on their own. They feel natural. Her hand stills on the handle of the fridge she was about to open. She looks at me, a strange emotion on her face. Then she smiles at me. When she smiles, she seems like a very different person.

“What do you want for breakfast?” She asks me as she starts preparing the drink for me.

I shrug. “Anything will do.”

She looks at me thoughtfully and shakes her head. “No, anything will not do. You need to gain weight. Look at you, a towering mass of only bones! I am going to prepare vegetable paratha for you.”

I nod my head. For someone who got by on bread and jam in the orphanage, any meal sounds like an improvement over the same. I do not tell this to her. I have a feeling that she will get emotional about it.

Daadi only looks strict. From inside, she is just like Arjun, all warm and caring. And suddenly for some reason, in spite of all the insecurities hounding me, I realise that I am finally where I belong - home, blessed home.

Read The Next Part Here!

(My part in the story ends here and now the focus will be more on Arjun and Shreya. Are you rooting for them? I know I am! Very few chapters are left in the series and they will focus mainly on our star-couple who need a lot of prodding and pushing to find each other. Will they? Let us hope so. Stay with us, dear friends! Picture abhi baaki hai! - Yours in faith, Abhimanyu)