Chapter 26
The late afternoon sun hit the tiled balcony in slanted streaks, spilling through the potted basil plant Kashvi had once again forgotten to water. The old chair beneath her creaked softly every time she shifted, her knees pulled to her chest.
Siya hadn’t moved in over an hour, not since she began pouring over her old reports she’d found buried in the box of her mother’s belongings. It had sat in the corner of Kashvi’s bedroom for months, wedged between an unused suitcase and a stacks of books that no longer fit in the shelves.
She’d not meant to open it, but desperate for a scrap of comfort, she’d sought it out and made the mistake of opening Pandora's box. Tucked under her mother’s old sketches, she’d found her old medical reports.
She flipped the page again, even though she knew the line by heart now. Her fingers stroked over the slightly faded words, but the warning was unmistakable.
My recommendation is corrective surgery as soon as possible and within the year at the maximum. Any further delay may result in long-term damage to the uterus, leading to infertility. Signed: Dr Lalita Mehta.
It had been right there in ink, yet her family had refused for their self-serving reasons. Now, her life was stuck in limbo. A cramp in the lower abdomen made her tense, and she tried to soothe the pain by caressing where she’d taken local anaesthesia.
She’d come back home to Kashvi three days ago, and it had been chaotic ever since.
Three days of appointments from one clinic to another, blood tests and imaging scans, and now her phone pinged with the comprehensive test results.
She didn’t have the courage to open it, so she continued reading the report.
Just then, her phone buzzed on the table and she answered the call without looking at the caller ID. ‘Hello?’
‘Siya, it’s Dr Lalita here. Is this a good time?’
She sat up straighter, feeling the heavy thump of her heartbeat. ‘Thank you for calling, ma’am.’
‘Of course, I got your message. And please call me Lalita. Now, I’ve reviewed your new reports, even the hysteroscopy scans and… I thought we should talk.’
Her heart sank when she heard the hesitation in her approach.
Her poor, hopeful heart nestled in her chest felt too brittle for the inevitable news.
She’d seen the doctor’s medical profile listed in the top hospitals of the country, and with five decades of experience in the field, her verdict would be the final nail in the coffin.
‘I found my old reports,’ she told her. ‘I was just going through your notes, especially about the surgery.’
There was a heavy pause on the other end, then Lalita sighed.
‘There was no other option. You didn’t have a seatbelt on, so the brutal impact against the car headboard caused damage to your pelvis and uterine lining.
When we began seeing early signs of scarring, I recommended the surgery.
Even though he never visited the hospital premises and only spoke through calls, I insisted it over and over, but—’
‘But my father refused,’ Siya finished her sentence. It was a poison pill she had to swallow eventually, and it started with accepting it aloud.
‘Flat-out,’ Lalita agreed. ‘He didn’t even hesitate, just said that I was overreacting, and to not scare you with such nonsense.
Your grandmother called when I threatened to go to the committee, and said how you’re young, healthy and you’d grow out of it.
I told her that they were gambling with your body, but they didn’t really seem to care. ’
‘Was it an extensive procedure that required long recovery?’ Siya asked the one question that kept nagging at her.
‘Due to your injuries at the time, a little longer, but the timeline could have been expedited with good care.’
Care? That would require her father or grandmother to take time out of their fun, busy schedule. So they chose to rob her of the joy of motherhood instead. Siya wasn’t even surprised anymore, not after seeing their true faces during the family dinner.
‘I even scheduled you for a pre-op consult without telling him, hoping I could change his mind. But the same day, his assistant got you discharged, and I never saw you again after that.’
She didn’t realise she had curled her hands into fists until her nails cut through the soft flesh. ‘And what’s the word now?’ she asked finally, unbearable to wait any longer.
Lalita sighed softly, and Siya braced herself.
‘The new scans show extensive scarring. Your uterine lining is very thin in some places, which makes it difficult for a fertilised egg to implant like and hold pregnancy till term. In your case, the chances for natural conception are likely to be nil. Even with assisted procedures, there would be massive and life-threatening complications. In my opinion, it’s too late, my dear. I’m sorry.’
Siya lowered her head, and a tear escaped from the corner of her eye. ‘I should’ve opened the box earlier when we moved in here. I should’ve read this back then. I should’ve—’
‘You were a grieving child who was suffering from a pelvic fracture and multiple injuries. You were too young to fight the choices your family made on your behalf. This isn’t on you, Siya.’
‘I do wish I’d fought harder, though,’ Lalita continued, when she stayed silent. ‘I tried to, but the Chief of Surgery rejected my appeal. It didn’t surprise me, since he was a well-known friend of your father.’
Siya shook her head. ‘I always thought I was exaggerating his cruelty in my head, that in some corner of his heart, he did care about me, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.’
‘I’d often heard stories about how dedicated Kartik Kashyap was to his business and relationships, but the man I met didn’t seem family-oriented at all. You deserved better. I’m truly sorry, Siya. If you ever wish to talk, please feel free to reach out.’
Siya bid her goodbye and the line went dead with a soft click.
She had raised Kashvi as a child. She had tied her shoelaces, memorised bedtime stories and sat through school meetings with a practiced smile.
She had dedicated her life, her time and her youth to her younger sister, but she would never be able to do it for her own child.
Somewhere, someone, was weaving a web of cruel irony through her life.
The thought that she might never get to cradle a baby of her own pulled her apart, thread by thread, grieving a future she didn’t know she’d lost a long time ago.
Her mind went unbidden to Abhay.
He’d listened to her, given her space, and she was grateful for it. She needed the time to lick her wounds alone. But he’d always lingered in the back of her mind like a haunting phantom.
How was he? Did he miss her? Or had he already spoken to their family lawyer, trying to figure out a way out of their messy arrangement? She dreaded the thought of receiving a neat, manilla envelope that would tell her, in official language, that he had chosen to let her go.
If Abhay wanted a life with kids, and she couldn’t give him that, then he deserved to find it somewhere else. If he wanted a clean break, she would give it to him, even if it meant breaking her heart in the process.
She quickly wiped off her tears and a picture caught her attention when she bent to pick up the box. She quickly pulled it out.
It was a candid shot, its colours softened by age. The polaroid was faded at the edges, but the handwriting was unmistakably her mother’s. My best mates.
Siya studied it closely and gasped in surprise when she realised the woman next to her mother was a young Neena. She stood in the middle, her features highlighted with minimal makeup and long curly hair, but her face was the same.
Looking effortlessly familiar even two decades younger, Mihit stood to her one side, his arms casually flung over her shoulders. Arohi stood on her other side, her smile carefree in a way Siya had never seen. They all wore a college logo on their t-shirts, showing up their trophy.
For a moment, Siya just stared. Neena had never said a word about her mother. What was she missing?
Her phone rang suddenly, making her jump. She reached around for it and saw the caller ID.
Raghav
She hesitated before answering. ‘Hello?’
‘Siya, where are you?’ his voice came through.
‘At Kashvi’s place, why?’ She realised she had called this her sister’s place because she’d already left the one place that felt like home.
‘What are you still doing there? It’s better to leave now to beat traffic,’ static warbled his words.
She frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘It’s Meera’s birthday today.’
The guilt hit her instantly, sharp and deep. ‘Damn it,’ Siya whispered. ‘I completely forgot.’
‘No worries,’ he said quickly. ‘We’ve arranged for a private event for the celebration. I’ve sent the location in our group chat.’
‘I don’t know if I can come,’ Siya said. ‘I just… I’m not sure I’d be in good company tonight.’
Raghav went silent for a moment before softly saying, ‘I get it. If you really can’t make it, I won’t push you. But I want you to know that you’re not alone. We’re all with you, through thick and thin.’
Gratitude choked in her throat, and suddenly, she craved the comfort and warmth of her found family. Her gaze flickered to the picture of Arohi and Neena and the words scribbled there left a quiet, haunting ache in her chest. ‘Okay, I’ll be there,’ she said, after a beat.
‘I’m glad. Any special day would feel a little hollow without one of us. I’m already here, making sure everything is ready, and you’re only five minutes away from here so come over. I can use some help.’
Siya nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. ‘Thanks, Raghav.’
She wanted to ask him if Abhay would be there, but before she could, she quickly disconnected the call. They deserved a face-to-face private conversation.