Short story #8: The wait of pride and faith

She waited for the bus, anxiously looking at her watch every few seconds. It was 5.45 already.

As she peeped to see if the bus was there yet, she noticed the big-bellied man with briefcase stare at her again today. Uncomfortable, she adjusted her already-perfectly-pinned dupatta and thanked God as she saw the bus arriving towards the stop. She got in hurriedly and sat down for the 25-minute journey, hoping there wouldn’t be any traffic. She stared out at the orange sky, the sun shone like a bright glowing ball; both of them watched each other go home, as the wind blew on her tired face.

This was her life every evening. She rushed back excitedly from work to be with her 6-year old daughter, Aaryahi. Her little sunshine.

‘Aaryaaa!’, she happily screamed out, as she reached the first floor of her apartment, unlocking the door to their flat and removing the electricity bill sheet stuffed in the handle of the door.

‘Mommy!’, came the joyous little shrieking voice, as the girl came running out of the neighbour’s door, with arms open to hug her mother. Mahima hugged her daughter, pushed the small fringes from the girl’s forehead and kissed it, as she thanked Mrs.Deshpande, like she did every day. Of course, she has been kind enough to offer taking care of her daughter every evening after school until Mahima returns home. A fifty-something petite widow, she had no children of her own and pampered Aaryahi like her own granddaughter.

“Mahi.. The doodhwala had come to collect his monthly bill.. “, Mrs.Deshpande started to say..

“Oh aunty, I’m sorry.. I forgot to give you the money! How much was it?”, asked Mahima, anxiously. “600 rupees.. I have paid him... Not a hurry, give me later”, said Mrs.Deshpande with a sweet smile. Mahima thanked her again and gently closed the door.

“Mommy, do you know what happened today in social science class? Ruhi and Preeti were fighting over a notebook and then Braganza Ma’am….”, it went on. Mahima patiently listened to her daughter, as she changed her into her karate clothes and packed her little bag. She fed her a few pieces of apple and a glass of milk as she quickly gulped down a cup of tea.

“Let’s go, baby”, chimed Mahima, as she buckled the belt of the small red helmet on Aaryahi’s head, held the tiny hand of Aaryahi and rushed her down. They both quickly hopped on the scooter and left. As they scooted through the busy evening lanes of Andheri, Aaryahi was filling her mother in with stories from her school. “Mommy, let’s go to the beach, please mommy’, chirped Aaryahi.

“Not today, baby. I will take you there on Saturday, okay?”, promised Mahima, as two young boys whizzed past on an expensive sports bike, driving zig-zag, missing Mahima’s vehicle by inches. Aaryahi closed her eyes in fear. ‘Weren’t you scared, mommy?’, she asked innocently. “No Aarya.. we both are wearing helmets, we are safe .. but did you see that those two bhaiyyas were not wearing helmets? So they are the ones who should be scared of getting hurt while driving like this.. don’t worry,”, assured the mother whose heart was racing in the thought of what could have happened.

Mahima dropped Aaryahi in the Martial Arts Centre and left to the market. Aaryahi was the youngest student at the martial arts class. Her colleagues often asked her why she wanted to put her little daughter in the martial arts and football classes when she is too young for them. She smiled and said, ‘I am training her to be tough, to face the big bad world’. Isn’t that why she named her after Goddess Durga? Strong and fearless, she thought.

Mahima parked the scooter a little away from the crowded corner of the market and went purchasing vegetables and necessary groceries. She also bought a beautiful watercolour set and some craft materials for Aaryahi’s school project. She heard a faint sound of music and then she realized it was her phone ringing. By the time she searched through her bag to get to the mobile, it stopped ringing. 3 missed calls. From Major Dev. She dialled him back, the line didn’t get through.

Her heart was racing again. It has been a week since her husband Rohan had called. But it wasn’t abnormal, she thought, as she dismissed any possibility of scary thoughts. She has been assuring herself every single day of the last 8 years that ‘Rohan would be fine’. Being the wife of an army officer is never easy, she was always told. Yet she had gone against her family’s wishes to marry him. With the vows of the wedding, she had also vowed to be strong and support him the most.

She had stayed true to the vow. She had been strong, independent and understanding. She did everything possible to make life normal for Aaryahi.  There were days when she missed her dad, there were days when she didn’t remember him much. There were nights when Mahima shed some silent tears missing Rohan. As much as she was proud of her husband spending sleepless nights to guard the country, she also had her own fears and nightmares that she silently suffered through. There was always a cloud of uncertainty looming over their lives. She met him for a month every year and waited eagerly for his phone call every other day. It had been 10 months since he had come home. One more month to go before she could see him.

Why had Major Dev called? Was anything wrong? The tensions were severe in the Indo-Pak borders after the recent Uri attack and surgical strike. She remembered watching the news clips where the martyrs were brought home. A chill went down her spine. As she shook her head subconsciously, she hated herself for letting her mind travel through these thoughts. She looked at her watch again. 7.30. Time to pick Aaryahi.

She pushed the thoughts away temporarily and smiled as she picked Aaryahi up. “We learned a new kata today.. Heien Yondan”, she shrieked happily as she got on the scooter. “Wow..will you do it and show me after we reach home?, asked Mahima. “Sure mummy, KIAI”, Aaryahi playfully screamed and giggled and punched her fist up in the air.

The ten minute ride felt like ten years. Terribly worried, she was only hoping that her worst nightmare wouldn’t come true. Why did Major Dev call? She couldn’t stop wondering. As she parked her vehicle and went up to the first floor, Mrs.Deshpande was waiting by her apartment’s door, ‘Mahi, can you please come inside for a minute?’, she said. Growing more anxious by every passing second, Mahima rushed inside holding Aarya’s hands.

She thought she was paralyzed for a moment and her heart skipped a beat. She saw her husband standing there, arms open, tears welling up in his eyes. She couldn’t believe what she saw. The moment seemed frozen, those few seconds when Mahima and Rohan started into each other’s eyes, a lot of unuttered words exchanged silently. The silence was broken with a loud ‘DADDDYYYY!” as Aaryahi ran to hug her father. He bent down on his knee, held her close to him and kissed her cheeks. Mahima joined the hug and smiled through sobs of happiness and relief.

“Rohan..Rohan..I was..very worried..”, Mahima spoke through sobs. “I know.. I know, Mahi.. I wanted to see you both, I couldn’t be away.. So, here I am”, replied Rohan. There were no words to describe what they both felt.

The next few minutes were their happiest. Rohan lifted Aaryahi up in the air and played with her. Mahima couldn’t stop hugging him while still in tears. It was an evening filled with the biggest surprise for her. All those fears and anxious moments faded away as she held his hands now.

“I wouldn’t be able to take my yearly one-month off this time.. but you understand, right? It is an emergency situation. War could break out any time. So I thought I’ll visit home early for a week and get back”, he said.

“I understand, it is okay.. I’m glad you came”, she said, not telling him that she was scared for him, as both of them exchanged understanding glances.

The next seven days, their home was filled with so much laughter and happiness. They cherished every minute together until it was time for him to leave.

Mahima waved him goodbye, holding her daughter closer and blurredly watching him disappear around the corner of the road. She had hope and faith to grip her, until she saw him again.

This is just one story out of a million more stories. Dedicated to the families of 1.5 million active personnel in the Indian Armed Forces. The brave men who choose to dedicate their lives to safeguard the country, leaving behind a love-filled home and family members waiting to hear from them.

Salute ... Jai Hind!