CHAPTER 43
Prakram always wakes up on time according to his schedule, but lately, he has started purposely delaying his wake-up time because he enjoys sleeping after cuddling with Aashi and Avishka. He smiles and looks at Aashi, who is sleeping with his left hand. Every night, Aashi sleeps on his chest, spending a lot of time talking to her mother. In the morning, he only finds her on the other side because she either slips into sleep or moves between the two to sleep comfortably.
Smiling, he looks towards his right hand, where Avishka is sleeping very comfortably while placing her hand on his heart. He is only smiling at her because, in the past, she would try to wake up quickly and leave, but for the past few days, she has been sleeping peacefully. He gets up on time daily to capture this beautiful scene when Aashi and Avishka are sleeping close to him. He loves to see them as they are. He doesn't want to get up from there at all, but he knows that Avishka is going to get up in some time, so he will also get up. He is just looking at Avishka's face with a smile, the innocence of which attracts him a lot. Avishka moves lightly in sleep while rubbing her cheek on his arm slightly. She stirs a little before waking up.
He immediately closes his eyes because he knows that she is about to wake up, and if she sees herself so close to him, then she will become more uncomfortable again, even though they have been together like this for many days, but every time she starts feeling very uncomfortable. Avishka's eyes open, and she first tries to see Aashi on Prakram's chest, who is not there. She gently turns her head upward and smiles softly, seeing Aashi sleeping on his other hand. After that, she sees Prakram, who is still sleeping very comfortably, and a very slight smile appears on her face.
She tries to get up from there very slowly so that Prakram and Aashi do not face any kind of disturbance because of her. It's not that Prakram will feel awkward if he sees her close to him, but she often prefers to wake up before him because she doesn't want to face the looks that sometimes tease her. A smile appears on her face immediately. When she notices that Aashi is still holding her stall, she removes it, allowing Aashi to sleep comfortably with her stall, under the assumption that her mother is still sleeping beside her. Then, as soon as she starts getting up, she finds her hair under Prakram's arm, and this often happens to her. She rests her elbow on his arm and slowly begins to remove her hair, all the while focusing her full attention on Prakram's face, wondering if he might awaken due to her presence. Prakram can feel her eyes on his face very well, and somehow he is liking these gaze on himself so much that he wants to. She just kept looking at him.
Prakram is well aware that Avishka makes every effort to leave the place during the night, and he has frequently observed that she attempts to do so after they fall asleep. However, frequently, Prakram either places her kurta on his back to prevent her from pulling herself out, or he tucks her hair beneath his hand or waist, thereby compelling her to sleep there. He is confused about why he is doing this, but it is definitely known that he does not feel any guilt in doing all this; he feels a strange happiness in doing all this. After a struggle, she pulled out her hair from under his arm. And look at him very attentively because she has started feeling a lot of change in herself because she has started feeling much happier now. She wakes up very comfortably every morning, looks at both of them very well, and feels only happiness.
After adjusting their blanket, she gets down from the bed, smiling because she feels very good, like every day. It is estimated that, just like every day, Prakram will also wake up after some time due to his strict habits; he must exercise after waking up in the morning, which is why he always tries to wake up on time.
All Avishka's belongings have been shifted to Prakram's room, so after kissing Aashi's head, she immediately goes to the bathroom, and as soon as Prakram hears the door closing sound, he opens his eyes and looks at the bathroom door first to see if Avishka has gone inside or not, and then, as soon as he is satisfied that she is not there, he puts his hand under his head with a smile and looks at Aashi, who is still very comfortably sleeping next to him. He gets up after kissing her forehead. After standing up from the bed, he looks at Aashi's face very lovingly and then looks towards the bathroom door with a smile and starts feeling very happy in himself.
When Avishka comes out while wiping her hair, Prakram is not there. She starts looking only at Aashi because last night Aashi insisted that she wanted to see her mother in a saree, which is why she selected one today. She is wearing the same saree, which she is waiting for. Prakram must have gone to the garden for his exercise; that is why she comes and stands near the window from which she has been secretly watching him for the last two weeks.
She doesn't know whether to accept these changes properly or sink into the darkness of her sorrow again, but she just wants to be quietly happy about everything. She is gradually feeling her inclination towards him, which is very beautiful and new for her. Often, old memories scare her a lot, but every time she opens her eyes, she finds Aashi and Prakram in front of her, which just makes her smile. The truth is that ever since she started sleeping with Prakram, her scary dreams have been controlled to a great extent, and if ever she feels scared, she just opens her eyes. Instead of getting scared, she checks herself and gets up. She is finding all these changes in herself quite surprising.
Prakram is exercising only in his sweatpants, and his entire body is drenched in sweat. The weather here is very cold, yet whenever Prakram exercises, his entire body becomes drenched in sweat. Seeing him like this, the smile on Avishka's face automatically starts increasing. She tries to talk to her father while smiling lightly, who is always on her mind.
From what I have seen at the moment, it does not seem that this man is related to the mafia... Is something wrong with why I am feeling this way?
Man's actions tell a lot, and man's behavior is sometimes very different... He's a gentleman... Regardless of his Mafia connections, he consistently demonstrates gentlemanly behavior towards you.
Is this right?
What's wrong with this situation is that his behavior towards you is very good; he respects you, which is what girls expect from their life partner. If you are receiving all of this and, in return, he makes a place for himself in your heart, then what's wrong?
I find it difficult to comprehend the sudden onset of these events in my heart. After all this, I had forgotten how to live, so why is this happening suddenly? It appears as though I may have only recently begun to experience life.
I will reiterate that there is nothing wrong with this because there is nothing wrong with loving your life partner, especially when he respects you so much and pays you so much attention. Your love for him is extremely precious.
Papa, I am very scared.
And I have to tell you that you should now leave your fear behind and become that same Avishka again, who was never afraid... You are very brave...
You were my strength, and as long as you were there, I was not afraid of anyone. I had only learned to fight for myself. But now that you've all left me, all I can feel is fear. You want me to live, but even in this life, I feel scared all the time.
That is why I am telling you that you are not made to be afraid. You are the one who can scare even fear. I never taught you to be afraid, I taught you to fight. And I am proud of you that you have always been fighting for yourself. Today, when you have a storehouse of happiness, you do not want to accept it just because of your fear. Throw away this fear from yourself and then once again spread your arms and feel your happiness. Then you will know how much happier you can be.
Avishka starts looking very closely at Prakram, who is doing very intense exercise, and then closes her eyes for a few seconds. A few drops of tears naturally trickle down her cheeks, and she utters these words to herself.
"You instilled courage in me and taught me how to face the world. My family was my courage, because of which I always used to fight, but after losing you all, my courage has also been lost somewhere. You used to drive my fear away from me. You all were my courage; I lost you all... That is why I gave up my courage too. I have experienced the agony of being completely alone, helpless, and possessing nothing but an empty palm....How do I explain to you that yes, everything is very good, everything is very beautiful, and happiness is all around me? But you people are not around me or in my life. I lost you people, and because of me, I lost you people. How can I embrace this happiness when I know that I have lost everything because of me. I have lost it because of this beauty."
She looks at Prakram, who has finished his exercise. She knows that he is going to come inside soon. She turns and sits near Aashi, caressing her head very lovingly. Seeing her smile, she says softly to her.
"Neither am I afraid of loving you, nor can anyone stop me; I love you very much, and my life is completely incomplete without you... You are the only truth for me... I love you, my sweet daughter.... Mumma loves you so much.”