71. The Way Back Home #2
She cupped my face and made me look at her.
"No."
Her answer came without a second's hesitation. "You didn't fail either."
She wiped away my tears with her thumb.
"The only person who failed was Udayveer Ranawat." Her voice was calm, yet carried years of buried pain. "As a husband. As a father. And as a human being."
She smiled through her tears before gently brushing my hair away from my face. "But my love for you......is exactly the same as it was seven years ago, my love."
Something inside me finally gave way.
All the guilt.
All the anger.
All the hatred I had carried for years. It melted into tears.
"I love you..." The words came out broken yet beautiful. "I love you so much, Mumma."
She smiled. "I love you more."
Then she hugged me again.
"I've been waiting for you for the last two days." Her voice was barely a whisper. "I kept hoping you'd come." She laughed weakly through her tears. "Every time the doorbell rang, I thought maybe it was you." Her arms tightened around me. "But you never came."
She closed her eyes. "And after a while I started believing your hatred for me was bigger than those proofs."
My heart shattered all over again.
"I'm really sorry." She immediately shook her head. "No." She kissed my forehead. "No more apologies."
Her smile trembled. "I'm just happy you came back. So... so happy."
She pulled me into her arms once more.
I closed my eyes and simply stayed there.
Seven years.
Seven long years since I had felt this embrace.
An embrace I never realized I had been searching for in every person I loved.
Nothing in this world felt safer than a mother's arms.
Nothing stopped the pain inside the heart the way they did. For the first time in seven years... I wasn't searching for home anymore. I was finally in it.
After what felt like forever, we finally pulled away.
Mumma smiled through her tears before cupping my face once again and kissing my forehead, my cheeks, and the top of my head as if trying to make up for every kiss she had missed in the last seven years.
Then her eyes shifted towards Yugant.
He was standing beside Naanu with his arms folded across his chest, quietly watching us. There was a peaceful smile on his face, the kind I hadn't seen on him in days.
Mumma walked towards him. "Thank you, Yugant."
He looked confused. "For what?"
"For bringing my daughter back to me."
His smile softened.
"I didn't do anything."
"You did." She shook her head. "You gave her the courage to come here. That was enough."
She placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "I'll always be grateful to you for this."
She was right. This happened because of him.
Only because of him.
Without saying a word, I walked towards Yugant and wrapped my arms around him.
Before he could react, I caught Mumma's hand and pulled her into the embrace too.
Yugant smiled and wrapped one arm around me and the other around Mumma, holding us both close. No words were needed. Some moments were too precious to be interrupted by them.
After that, we sat in the hall and talked to Naanu for a while. Strangely, those simple moments felt like my favourite ones ever. Nothing extraordinary was happening, yet everything felt perfect.
Mumma brought three cups of coffee and a cup of tea for Naanu.
The moment I took a sip, I froze for a second. The taste was exactly the same as years ago. Some things really never change.
Yugant finished his coffee first. He placed the cup down and cleared his throat, instantly drawing my attention.
"I think I should leave now. It's getting too late."
I wanted to say that I was coming with him, but I couldn't.
Not yet.
"Yugant-"
I was about to explain, but he simply placed his hand over my knee and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Stay here for as long as you want. Call me whenever you'd like to come back."
Oh, God. Just kill me already.
He understood everything without me having to say a single word.
Then he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out my medicines before looking at Mumma.
"These are Dhwani's medicines. The doctor specifically said she can't skip them for now. Please make sure she takes them. She never takes them on time."
So he carried them here as well? Mumma shot me a loving glare before taking them from him.
"I'll make sure she does."
Yugant gave her a small nod and stood up. "Okay, then. I should leave."
"I'm coming with you... I mean, just to drop you till the parking lot."
"You don't have to. It's midnight, and you'll probably freak out while coming back to this floor through the lift and choose the stairs instead."
I rolled my eyes. "Okay, then. I'll come till the elevator. Is that okay?"
I asked while holding onto his bicep.
He smiled and nodded. We both walked out together.
The elevator was on a different side of the corridor. The entire floor was quiet, wrapped in the peaceful silence of midnight just the faint sound of an elevator moving somewhere.
When we reached the elevator, he pressed the button. I turned him around suddenly and gently pinned him against the wall. Then without giving him a moment I stood on my toes and pressed my lips against his.
For a brief second, he seemed surprised. The next moment, his arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me impossibly closer.
His hand moved to my jaw, tilting my face up as he deepened the kiss. We kissed each other as if we were trying to memorize the feeling.
His lips moved slowly against mine before the kiss deepened, tender and desperate all at once.
I could still taste the faint bitterness of coffee on his tongue, mixed with something that was uniquely him-something familiar, comforting, and unbelievably intoxicating.
The world around us disappeared.
When we finally pulled away, neither of us moved far. He kept me close, our foreheads resting against each other while we shared the same breath.
His eyes searched mine for a moment before he whispered softly, "I love you."
A smile immediately found its way onto my face. "Love you too."
He smiled back and placed one last gentle kiss on my lips.
Right then, the elevator doors opened. He take out my phone from his pocket and handed it over to me.
Oh so he carried it as well?
I reluctantly stepped back tightening my grip over my phone. He walked inside, his eyes never leaving mine. " Come back soon."
" Yeah!" I waved. A second later, the doors slowly closed between us.
As I walked back inside the flat, I found Mumma waiting for me in the hall with a glass of water in her hand. Naanu had already gone to his room.
"What's all this medicine for?" she asked as I sat down beside her.
I placed my phone on the table and took the medicines from her hand, swallowed them with the water, and then answered quietly.
"Hyperthyroidism... and low Vitamin D."
She simply nodded.
Then, without saying a word, she patted her lap, silently asking me to rest my head there.
I did.
The moment my head settled on her lap, her fingers automatically found their way into my hair, gently running through it.
And suddenly, everything felt different.
Like I had finally reached home after being lost for a very long time.
I didn't know when my eyes began to feel heavy.
The warmth of her touch, the familiar comfort, and the overwhelming feeling of being loved wrapped around me like a soft blanket.
My mind slowly drifted into a haze, carrying away all the noise, guilt, and exhaustion I'd been holding onto for so long.
??????
My sleep broke at the sound of something scattering across the floor. I frowned and slowly opened my eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the darkness around me. For a moment, I couldn't understand where I was. Then I remembered.
Mumma's flat.
Yawning, I slowly sat up and realized I was still sleeping on the couch.
Looking around, I noticed the curtains were still drawn, stopping the bright morning sunlight from entering through the balcony doors.
As I turned my head, I found a maid quietly mopping the floor, though her eyes kept drifting towards me every few seconds.
Weird...
I looked around again, searching for Mumma.
Instead, my eyes landed on a little girl standing frozen near the entrance of the living room, as if she had been about to go somewhere. Money were scattered all over the floor around her feet, along with the broken pieces of a pink piggy bank.
She must have dropped it by mistake.
Is she...
She must be Mysha. Who else could she be?
"Hey..." I waved gently, giving her the warmest smile I could. "Come here."
She didn't move. God... I seriously didn't know how to talk to children. I still wasn't comfortable talking to Pihu.
And this little girl looked even more difficult, though she seemed older than Pihu.
"Good morning."
Mumma's cheerful voice reached us as she walked out of her room, adjusting the tiny diamond studs in her ears.
"Good morning," I wished softly.
She smiled before walking straight to the balcony and pulling the curtains aside.
Golden sunlight instantly flooded the apartment, making the entire place glow.
"Mysha..." Mumma looked towards the little girl. "Why are you standing there, love?"
The maid answered. "She accidentally broke her piggy bank,Madam. The noise woke your guest, so she's scared."
Mumma chuckled.
"Oh, my baby... You don't have to be scared."
She sat down beside me on the couch and stretched out her hand. "Come here."
Mysha slowly walked towards us, taking tiny hesitant steps. Her big doe-like eyes never left my face. The moment she reached us, Mumma gently pulled her closer and made her sit between us.
"Why were you scared?" she asked softly.
"I woke her up..."
"So what?"
"I don't know..." Mysha whispered honestly. "I got scared seeing her."
Mumma smiled. "Why, baby? She is your Dhwani Dii." She gently brushed Mysha's hair behind her ear. "Say hello to her."
Mysha looked at me again before tilting her head.
"Dhwani Dii?" She frowned adorably. "She looks different."