Childish RIVAN #3
Something flickered across Yashodha's face.
Disappointment.
Not because Devyani had refused.
But because she knew why.
After everything that had happened...
She had no right to expect Devyani to care.
She forced a small smile.
"Hmm..."
"I'll go."
Devyani simply nodded.
But the moment Yashodha turned away
A tiny smile appeared at the corner of Devyani's lips.
Exactly according to plan.
She quietly followed behind her.
Not entering the room.
Only standing near the half-open door.
Inside...
Yashodha placed the bowl of warm water on the bedside table.
She hesitated.
Her fingers tightened around the cloth.
She had never done this before.
Not once.
RIVAN had never fallen sick in front of her.
Or perhaps...
He had never allowed himself to.
There had always been a distance.
An invisible wall between mother and son.
Today...
For the first time...
She didn't know how to cross it.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly sat beside him.
He was still asleep.
His forehead glistened with sweat.
His breathing had grown heavier because of the fever.
Yashodha carefully dipped the cloth into the warm water, squeezed it gently, and with trembling hands placed it over his forehead.
Her fingers shook.
Not from fear.
From unfamiliarity.
Softly...
Almost hesitantly...
She whispered,
"RIVAN..."
No response.
She brushed a few strands of hair away from his forehead.
"You are burning with fever."
"I'll put another warm cloth, okay?"
The moment her fingers touched his hair again...
RIVAN stirred.
His eyelashes fluttered.
Slowly...
He opened his eyes.
Everything looked blurry.
His fever-clouded gaze wandered around the room before finally stopping on the woman sitting beside him.
He blinked once.
Twice.
Then, in a voice barely above a whisper...
The single word echoed through the room.
Yashodha froze.
Completely.
Before she could even react
RIVAN shifted closer.
Like pure instinct.
Like a little boy searching for comfort.
He rested his head gently in her lap.
His eyes closed again almost immediately.
He murmured once more.
Time stopped.
Yashodha forgot to breathe.
Her fingers remained suspended in the air.
Her lips trembled uncontrollably.
Her heartbeat became painfully loud inside her chest.
He...
He had called her...
"Maa."
Not "Mrs. Thakur."
Not with cold silence.
Not with distance.
Just...
"Maa."
For the first time in decades.
The word she had spent years longing to hear had finally reached her ears.
Tears gathered instantly in her eyes.
One escaped before she could stop it, falling silently onto the back of her hand.
With trembling fingers, she slowly cupped his head.
Her other hand began stroking his hair carefully, almost afraid he would disappear if she moved too quickly.
A faint smile touched her lips.
She lowered her eyes, turned around silently, and walked away without making a sound.
Some reunions...
Didn't need an audience.
Yashodha's trembling fingers dipped the cloth into the bowl of warm water once again.
She wrung it carefully before placing it gently over RIVAN's burning forehead.
He didn't wake.
He simply frowned in his sleep, instinctively shifting closer until his head settled even more comfortably in her lap.
The movement shattered whatever strength Yashodha had left.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
Then another.
And another.
She didn't even try to wipe them away.
One hand remained on his forehead while the other slowly combed through his hair, exactly the way a mother comforts a sick child.
"My RIVAN ..."
She whispered brokenly.
"You had such a high fever..."
"Why do you always bear everything alone?"
Her voice cracked between every sentence.
"I would've come..."
"I would've taken care of you..."
"You never gave me the chance."
Fresh tears rolled down her face, falling silently onto his hair.
She immediately wiped them away with trembling fingers, almost afraid they would disturb his sleep.
RIVAN only murmured something unintelligible before unconsciously tightening his hold around her waist, exactly like a little boy seeking his mother's warmth.
That single action broke her completely.
She bent down and kissed his forehead with shaking lips.
"I'm here now..."
She whispered.
"I won't let anything happen to you."
"You don't have to fight alone anymore."
Outside the room...
Devyani stood frozen near the half-open door.
She had witnessed everything.
Every tear.
Every trembling touch.
Every unspoken emotion between a mother and her son.
Her own vision blurred.
A lump formed painfully in her throat.
She had never imagined she would witness something so... raw.
So real.
Without realizing it, tears escaped her own eyes.
Silently.
One after another.
She quickly wiped them away, but they refused to stop.
A faint smile mixed with the sadness on her face.
At least...
One wound had finally begun to heal.
She took a slow step backward.
Then another.
Quietly turning away so she wouldn't disturb the moment.
But the instant she turned
She stopped.
The entire Thakur family was standing in the corridor.
Virendra.
Dadaji.
Dadiji.
Payal.
Aradhya.
Rudraksh.
Virendra.
Not a single person spoke.
They had all unknowingly gathered outside after hearing Yashodha's broken voice.
And every one of them had witnessed the impossible.
Yashodha...
Holding RIVAN in her lap.
RIVAN...
Calling her "Maa."
No one needed an explanation.
No one asked a question.
Because every face carried the same emotion.
They understood.
They understood exactly what Yashodha must be feeling.
A mother who had waited years...
Decades...
To hear one simple word.
"Maa."
Virendra quietly lowered his gaze.
His eyes had turned red.
Dadiji silently wiped the corner of her eyes with the edge of her saree.
Dadaji looked away, blinking repeatedly.
Even Aradhya, who was usually incapable of staying serious for more than a minute, stood speechless, tears silently rolling down her cheeks.
Payal reached out and held her mother's hand tightly.
No words were spoken.
None were needed.
After a long moment, Virendra took one quiet step back.
Without making a sound, he gestured for everyone to leave.
One by one...
They silently walked away from the corridor.
Giving a mother and her son the privacy they had unknowingly been waiting for all these years.
And behind them...
Devyani stood for one last second.
She looked toward the half-open door, where Yashodha was still gently changing the wet cloth on RIVAN's forehead, humming softly through her tears.
A peaceful smile finally appeared on Devyani's face.
Then she turned...
And quietly walked away.
Yashodha carefully changed the cloth one last time before placing her palm against his forehead.
A relieved smile appeared on her face.
"My stubborn child..."
she whispered, gently brushing his hair away from his forehead.
He had finally fallen into a deep, peaceful sleep.
For a long moment, she simply sat there, watching him.
Memorizing every feature.
Every tiny expression.
Almost as if she were making up for all the years she had lost.
Then, quietly pulling the blanket over him, she stood up.
Before leaving, she bent down once again and kissed his forehead.
"Get well soon..."
Her voice was barely audible.
"Maa will be waiting."
With one last glance, she switched off the brighter lights, leaving only the curtains half-open for the afternoon sun to enter.
Then she quietly walked out of the room.
Noon.
Warm sunlight spread across the bedroom.
RIVAN slowly stirred.
His eyelids felt unusually heavy.
A dull ache throbbed behind his eyes.
He frowned and rubbed his forehead.
"Damn..."
His head felt like someone had smashed bricks into it.
The alcohol.
The fever.
Everything hit him together.
He sat there for a few seconds, trying to gather the scattered pieces of last night.
Small flashes appeared.
The bar...
Reyansh...
Calling Reyansh his wife...
He immediately shut his eyes.
"No..."
Another memory surfaced.
A familiar lap.
Soft fingers running through his hair.
Then...
"Maa..."
His eyes slowly opened.
He remembered.
Not everything.
But enough.
Yashodha...
She had been sitting beside him.
She had placed wet cloth on his forehead.
She had touched his hair.
She had stayed.
A small, genuine smile appeared on his face.
"So..."
He whispered to himself.
"Maa really took care of me..."
For reasons he couldn't explain...
His chest suddenly felt lighter.
As if a wound he never acknowledged had quietly begun to heal.
Still smiling faintly, he placed one hand on the mattress and tried sitting up.
The moment he lifted his head
He froze.
His smile disappeared.
Right in front of him...
Barely six feet away...
Sat Reyansh.
Cross-legged on a chair.
Looking unusually calm.
Which was already terrifying.
In his right hand
A knife.
He was casually twirling it between his fingers.
In his left hand
A gun.
Also casually spinning around his index finger.
His expression?
Completely blank.
Like a serial killer patiently waiting for his victim to wake up.
RIVAN blinked once.
Twice.
His brain immediately reached one conclusion.
I'm definitely dying today.
Without making a single sound...
Without even breathing loudly...
He slowly lowered himself back onto the pillow.
Closed his eyes.
Pulled the blanket slightly higher.
And pretended to be asleep.
Perfectly asleep.
Absolutely unconscious.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
If he stayed still enough...
Death would leave.
Silence filled the room.
A few seconds passed.
Then
Reyansh looked up from the knife.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
"Oh..."
"So you're sleeping?"
No response.
RIVAN didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't even breathe properly.
Another few seconds passed.
Then Reyansh sighed dramatically.
"Bhonsdike..."
Silence.
"...uth."
Nothing.