Bitti gently adjusted her clothes and smiled softly as she said, "Maa, it wasn't that I didn't have time. It's just that my health hasn't been quite right lately. This year, the winter arrived suddenly, without any warning, and the cold has been unusually severe."
As she spoke, her voice grew slightly heavy with emotion, yet a faint trace of peace lingered on her face. The moment she stepped across the threshold of her maternal home, it was as if all her exhaustion had slipped from her shoulders.
Her husband, Sudhanshu, stood at the doorway, smiling warmly. With Bitti's belongings and her bag of medicines in his hands, he walked in with easy familiarity and bent down to touch Maa's feet in respect."Maa, please bless both of us. You are soon going to become a grandmother."
Maa's heart melted at the sight. She had never seen such serene calm on Bitti's face before."Come inside, both of you," Maa said, ushering them in.
"Why are you standing out here in the cold?
And you too, my son—this house belongs to both of you.
"Bitti glanced at her husband, her eyes silently asking why he had revealed the news so quickly. It could have been shared later, at a more relaxed moment.
Yet in that same gaze was the familiar trust and quiet devotion—the same unwavering care that had looked after Ranjana (Bitti) through this harsh winter, and had brought her here to her parental home so that her spirits might lift.
Besides, his parents were soon leaving for a pilgrimage, and she would have been alone at home. Sudhanshu's duties often kept him away at night, so this arrangement seemed best for everyone.
As she settled onto the sofa, Bitti took her mother's hand in hers. "Where else could I have gone, Maa?
A mother's home is the only place where the heart is understood without uttering a single word."
Maa gently stroked her daughter's head. "And it will always remain so, no matter how bitterly the cold may bite. Your coming has brought joy to my heart as well."
A soft, moonlit glow seemed to spread through the room. Bitti, Sudhanshu, and Maa became absorbed in conversation. Meanwhile, Arjun quietly slipped into the kitchen and returned with a tray beautifully arranged with four steaming cups of tea, mathri, savory snacks, and Bitti's favorite roasted chickpeas.
"Here, everyone—hot tea has arrived," Arjun announced with a cheerful smile. Maa breathed a sigh of relief. "
Ah, wonderful, Bittu. In this cold, there is no better medicine than this. Come, son, place the tray here." The atmosphere of the house had transformed into something reminiscent of an old, soul-soothing melody. Otherwise, silence had reigned for so long.
Bitti, Sudhanshu, and Maa sat lost in their own little world, talking about the past days, her health, and all those small, everyday things that had gone unspoken for months.
Sudhanshu lifted his cup of tea. His fingers seemed to melt into the warmth of the cup, as though the weariness of many days was dissolving with a single sip.
Bitti held her cup with both hands, as if she were not merely drinking tea, but receiving some healing potion prepared by her brother's hands—along with the bonus of familial warmth and the chance to rest her head in her mother's lap once again.
With the very first sip of tea, the conversation in the room shifted. They no longer spoke of illnesses or hardships, but of smiles, cherished memories, and the hopeful days yet to come.
Maa said warmly, "You did the right thing, Sudhanshu, bringing Bitti here to her maternal home. My heart is filled with happiness. Not every son-in-law comes to his wife's home with such affection."
Sudhanshu replied with gentle modesty, "Maa, Bitti's health wasn't good, so I thought if she spent a few days with all of you, she would recover completely and remain cheerful."Bitti looked at him, her eyes brimming with a tender "thank you."
Sudhanshu returned her gaze with the same quiet, reassuring smile. Arjun was busy distributing the snacks. This was the same Arjun who always knew how to lighten the mood of the house.
Bitti teased him affectionately, "Brother, you've turned into a proper chef!"
Arjun burst into laughter. "If both of you start behaving like guests, then I'll have no choice but to become a chef. Anyway, who becomes a chef just by making tea?"
Laughter filled the room. For the first time in a long while, everyone appeared at ease, without any trace of tension or haste.
Bitti's heart, too, began to heal slowly, as though an incomplete story had finally found its rightful direction.
Sudhanshu caught Arjun's hand and said, "I've come with some free time today, dude. Come, let's go up to your room and talk like old times. Maa and Bitti will also get some time alone together. Work has been so hectic lately that I couldn't speak with you properly, even though I wanted to."Lost in conversation, the two friends soon found themselves upstairs in Arjun's room, unaware of how quickly time had passed.
Arjun said thoughtfully, "A mountain has no friends. No one rests their head on a mountain's shoulder and weeps. With whom does a mountain share its joys and sorrows?"
Sudhanshu looked at him and smiled. "My friend has become quite the philosopher these days, and he never misses a chance to throw subtle jabs at me."
Arjun remained silent for a while. In the night air, old memories seemed to float gently around them. Without looking at Sudhanshu, he spoke in a low voice, "Friend… even a tiny recollection can shake the entire heart, isn't it? Just now, the scene from that fair suddenly came rushing back to me. The moment Rani's hand slipped from my fingers, the restlessness that rose within me has never fully subsided to this day."
He had slipped deep into that old memory. "That crowd, that noise, and amidst it all, my desperate calls for her… Every single moment followed me like a shadow of fear. When she came running towards me, crying… that was the first time I realized someone had become so deeply embedded in my life that even her absence could wound my heart."
Sudhanshu knew well that offering consolation regarding Rani would be of little use.
Arjun suddenly broke the silence, as if an old knot had loosened once again. "Do you remember that day at the fair, Sudhanshu?
Rani vanished into the crowd in the blink of an eye, and I was seized with panic."He had called out her name countless times, running frantically through the sea of people in search of her. When he finally found her, he heard the fierce pounding of his own heart for the first time.
It was in that moment he understood what it truly meant to fear losing someone dear?
His voice grew softer as he continued, "That day, I realised Rani was not just a friend to me. The mere thought of her being gone had left my heart hollow. Strange, isn't it?
© Copyright Pushpa Chaturvedi
All publication rights reserved.