CHAPTER 2
One week later…
Isha sat on the couch in the living room staring at the swinging pendulum on the wall, lost in thought.
She was still in a daze and could not remember anything about the flight she caught one week back, in a hurry after getting the call from Ashok about her brother and sister-in-law’s fatal accident.
Why was everything happening to her? First her parents and now her brother.
She wrapped her arms around her as the feeling of helplessness enveloped her.
She felt all alone in the world again, just like she had twelve years ago when her parents passed away.
She was grateful for her aunt who raised Isha as her own but she felt the void every moment.
Now with her brother gone, it felt like she was left with no anchor in life.
Her aunt’s health suffered from hearing the news about her brother’s death and she could not travel with her.
“Monisha,” a male voice cut through her thoughts. She looked up to find Ashok standing by the door. She had not heard anyone address her by her full name in years, it felt odd. No one after her parents passed away.
“Is the lawyer here?” she asked.
He nodded and gestured to her, to follow him.
She got up and felt weakness in her legs.
She was still numb from the news of her brother passing away and was in no position to attend the reading of his will and trust details, right after the funeral so she asked for it to be pushed out.
Nothing would change anyways. Her brother was not coming back nor her parents.
She followed Ashok to the office space in her brother’s house. Her eyes fell on the large picture on the wall, one of the last pictures taken with her parents, the day her brother was going to college.
A lump started to form in her throat and she looked away from the picture to greet the lawyer. After brief introductions, Isha and Ashok sat across from the lawyer who took a few moments to lay out a few sets of sheets on the table in front of him.
The lawyer finally looked up at them and said, “Mr. Dev and Ms. Varma, you were listed as the primary persons on the will of the late Mr. & Mrs. Varma, your siblings.”
Isha suppressed the sob, batting away tears at the mention of Ravi and Sami. Her chest heaved and she kept her eyes downcast as the lawyer waited as if to let Isha gather herself.
Ashok gently tapped her shoulder and said, “If it is difficult for you, I will—”
“No,” she said and looked at the lawyer. “I’m fine. Please continue.”
The lawyer flipped through a few pages as she read out the assets that belonged to Isha’s brother and his wife.
Then on to inheritance from Isha’s parents and none of the details mattered to her.
She didn’t know why the reading of the will was so important and that the lawyer had specifically stated that Ashok and Isha be present in person.
“And now to the most important part of the will.” The lawyer’s words made Isha look up. She watched the lawyer put a piece of paper in front of her and Ashok.
“Mr. & Mrs. Varma’s wish is that you two hold joint custody of their twin children and raise them in this house.”
“What?” Isha was shocked. Her brother chose her to be one of the guardians to their children.
Her? The last person anyone should be trusting their children with.
Why would her brother choose her when he knew she had no ability to take care of kids?
The lawyer tapped her finger on the statement on the piece of paper placed before Isha. “Please refer to this section.”
She leaned closer to the desk but her vision started to blur. She could not read anything printed but nodded. After collecting a few signatures, the lawyer got up to leave and Ashok followed the woman to the front door. Isha sat in the chair frozen, processing the last few words she heard.
Her brother and his wife chose her as one of the guardians for their children? They chose the person who didn’t want kids of her own and sucked at handling them to be responsible for their precious twins, why?
Her blood was rushing through her head making her dizzy when she heard footsteps approaching.
“Monisha, are you okay?”
She was finding it hard to breathe. “I… I can’t do this.”
Ashok stood by the desk, his pockets in his dress pants. “Monisha, calm down.”
She looked up at him, her eyes spitting fire. “How do you think I can calm down? I just lost my brother, damn it.”
“And I lost my sister and my best friend.” His words and high tones hit her like darts.
She let out a sob, shaking her head. “I can’t take this. The children, I can’t deal with them. I don’t want anything to do with them.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “The children you are talking about are—”
She interjected and stood up. “I know. They are my niece and nephew but…I’m not… I can’t take care of them.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “We can’t let them stay at our friend’s place forever.”
She shook her head, unable to find the words.
“Let’s go bring the kids back. They need to be in their home.” He looked around the room before his eyes rested on the picture of the happy couple.
“I don’t want to… I don’t want to go.” She shivered.
“Monisha, I am no expert with kids either. I could use some help.” His tone was unforgiving.
She shook her head. “I can’t look at them. It will make me very sad and—”
“You are not the only one dealing with a loss here.” His elevated voice made her look up at him and he added, “Those kids have no one, but us. If you don’t want to do anything with them, you’ll need to hang around at least until I figure out what to do.”
He was right but she had no energy left in her to think about the children. “I… I’m sorry, I—”
“Let’s go bring the kids back to their home.” Ashok’s words were curt but she decided she had no option but to work with him.