“What the hell are you doing?”
“I was taking that bag. It has some childhood pictures of us which I want to see.”
“Baby can’t you see that you are pregnant and you are not supposed to get on the chair and take stuff. What if you fall? You could have just asked me to get it for you.”
“You are worrying too much yaar, I can do this much by myself. You get back to your work dear.”
“Uff you will never listen to me na.”
“Oyy dnt complaint this to my mom. She will kill me.”
“You deserve it. I will tell her.”
She touched her tummy and said, ” Your dad has become so rude, lets not talk to him from now on”
” She is daddy’s baby girl, she will be on my side”
” How do you know its a girl, I want a boy”
” I feel its a girl, but anyways it doesnt matter, after all its our child”
He held her and placed a kiss on her forehead.
They were the happiest couple and were expecting their first child after 5 years of their marriage.
They were both orphans and met each other during an inter school competition. Something that attracted each other was music. Ayesha was into singing and Noal was a guitarist.
On weekend they would spend hours singing. It wasnt their profession but still they did practice because it was their passion.
Ayesha was born in a muslim family, she lost her parents in an accident. Her other family members didn’t accept her just because she was a girl and thought she would be a burden. She stayed with her mother’s friend till she completed her schooling and then took some part time jobs. She did rest of the studies with her own money by doing a lot of work and some loans. She was very ambitious and hardworking. Above all, a very confident girl. If it was someone else in her place, they would gave up on living. The mom she mentioned above was her mother’s friend, Fathima, a very loving lady who took care of ayesha like her own irrespective of all the restriction from her family.
Noal, on the other hand was a born orphan. Somebody left him outside the orphanage. Sisters from the orphanage owned him and gave him the best education.
After marriage, they were waiting for a baby but couldn’t conceive. But after 5 years of their prayers, they are finally going to have a baby. Both are excited to the core. Noal is super careful, he won’t allow ayesha move or do any work. Ayesha on the other hand is super confident and isnt afraid of anything. So they would always fight on this. Noal wants ayesha to rest all the time and ayesha want to shop all day and prepare everything for their child, like the room, clothes, toys etc…
Its like nine months of christmas and eid celebration for them.
Its 2:00am.
“Aaaaa Noal Noal….”
“What happened?”
“Its paining, I think its time for baby to come”
“Ohh ok.. I will call an ambulance …or lets take the car…ohh let me take the maternity bag…Do you need water?”
” Noal calm down. I have kept everything in the car. Lets go”
Its 4:00am. Nurse came out of the labour room with a big marshmallow in her hand which was Noal and Ayesha’s baby. The sweetest marshmallow. It was the most beautiful thing on earth. Just like he thought, it was a beautiful girl. Noal took her in his arms. He had tears of happiness.Her small little hands held her father’s fingers as if she already knew him.
Noal asked about ayesha’s well being to nurse. She didnt say anything at first but later asked to meet doctor. Noal was now worried.
He gave the baby to ayesha’s mom and went to meet doctor.
“Doctor, what happened to ayesha?”
” Noal you dont need to worry”
“Doctor please tell me directly”
“Noal she had a risky pregnancy which you guys know already. “
“Is she…….??”
“No noal she is alive but….”
“But what???”
” She is paralysed below hips. She wont be able to walk. Ever….”
” Ohh…”
Noal couldn’t say anything. He was happy with the fact that atleast she is alive but the ever active ayesha who is always jumping dancing and singing around won’t be able to do that anymore.
He went to meet ayesha.
She was sleeping. He moved his hands around her forehead. She opened her eyes, smiled at him.
” See like you said, its a girl”
“Yes”..He had tears in his eyes.
“If you are crying because of this paralysing thing, you dnt have to. You wanted me to rest right, now I will rest forever. You do all the chores and take care of me and our baby..hihihihi..”..she laughed.
Noal smiled and said ,” I will..always”
He knew she was sad inside and was acting brave outside.
After a month of hospital days, they went back to their home. Noal appointed a nani to take care of ayesha and the baby. At the beginning ayesha felt uneasy as she wasnt able to take care of her baby, play with her, dress her up like she always wished. But with time everything became normal. The nani they appointed was reshma. She was a really nice lady who stayed with ayesha like her shadow and took care of the baby like her own. Being in her 40’s she knew how to take care of kids like bathing them, feeding them and all perfectly.
But the only problem was that she was always silent, something was always haunting her. She would sit in the balcony looking at her diary for hours during her free time. Ayesha asked her about it but she wasnt interested in sharing her personal matters not because she is rude, she doesnt want ayesha to worry about her.
Once reshma was sleeping, ayesha saw her diary lying on reshma’s bedside. She first thought of not intervening in her personal issues but then her curiosity couldn’t be controlled. She took the diary. As she opened the diary she saw a baby’s picture. Ayesha had a smile on her face. Suddenly she felt like she has seen this picture somewhere. She rolled her wheelchair to her room, took noal’s album with childhood pictures. She was surprised to see that the picture with reshma was of noal.
How come reshma has noal’s pictures? What’s their relation? Is she his mother?
Questions started flooding in her mind. She waited for noal to come back from office.
After the dinner at night, ayesha showed noal the picture she found in reshma’s diary.
“Hey its me, where did you find this?”
“In reshma’s diary”
“Huhh what??” He was surprised too.
” Yes and I dnt know how. I didnt ask her anything about it. I was waiting for you to come so that we can ask her.”
” Okay call her”
“Reshma reshma ,can you please come here”
She came cleaning her hands with the saree ends, “Yes madam, what happened? Do you want anything?”
“No reshma..sit”
“Okay”
“Reshma, ayesha found this picture from your diary. Who is this?”
She snatched the pic from noal’s hands.
” Iam sorry reshma, I was just…..”
“Its okay madam. No problem”
“You can share your problems with us. May be we can help you” Noal said.
“No one can help me sir. Because this is the only thing I have of my son. I lost him after 2months of his birth. I had him with my boyfriend in a very young age and my parents didnt approve it. They asked me to abort him but I didnt allow them. So they took him away from me. I dnt know where he is, whether he is dead or alive… I dnt know. I pray to God everyday that even if I dnt find him, please give him a good life and protect him” She weeped and weeped…
Noal and ayesha had tears in their eyes.
“Mom….” Noal hugged reshma.
Reshma was shook.
Noal showed her the album with his childhood pics in it.
Reshma couldn’t control her happiness. She hugged noal tight and kissed him on his cheeks and then forehead. She was crying but it was tears of happiness. The reunion of a long lost mom and son made ayesha emotional. And now it was time for celebration.
Reshma completed their family. She wasn’t a maid now, she is the mother they always wished for. Reshma treated noal like a child and he was reliving his childhood days again. Sleeping on his mother’s lap, eating from her hands….everything that a child wishes for from their mother. Those were the best days of their life.
After 6months.
With reshma’s care and Dr. Rekha’s medication, ayesha was recovering.
One morning, when noal got up , he saw something unusual. Ayesha wasnt moving. He called with all his love for her, but she didnt respond. She was dead. Doctors informed that an overdose of painkillers caused the death. Noal knew that ayesha takes painkillers sometimes but he dont remember her taking it on the night she died.
With time , everyone forgot about it. Noal couldn’t, the only support now he had was his mom. She was always around him and with the baby who lost his loving mom. Noal thanked his mom for being so loving and having her beside felt like a big blessing.
In a conversation between noal and his mom,
she said, “Iam so happy that I finally got to meet you”
“Me too mom. It is magical to know that im not an orphan anymore. I finally have a mom, that too someone like you, so loving and caring.”
“Mothers are always like that my child. She can do anything for her child. May be my love for you is what made me reach to you.
I was living a poor orphaned life till yesterday but now have my son and grandchild. Its so soothing. After I lost you, I left my home and lived in the streets for months. There were days when I had no food to eat, nowhere to sleep. Then after months, i was offered this job as nani. Being from a rich family, I never had to go through these in my life but for you, I abandoned everything just to find you, my only son. “
“Thank you so much mom. Having you here means a lot to me. I dont know if I can ever repay you. But I promise you will live the life a happy woman you once was from now on.”
“No son, im happy with whatever I have”
” No mom, you deserve it”
Noal decided to give his house to his mom. It was in ayesha’s name. He called a lawyer next morning, asked him to change the owner’s name to reshma, his mom. He handed the papers to reshma.
“Mom, now you will never have to live on the streets. Even will im not there, you will have a house of your own to rely on”.
” There was no need for this son.” She had tears in her eyes. They hugged each other.
…..
During an afternoon, when noal was busy working in office, he gets a call from police station and was asked to come over. He went to station.
Officer Jay enquired him, ” Who is that lady in your house?”
” Thats my mom”
“Ohh okay”
” I found her just a month ago”
” What?”
” Yes” Noal explained the whole story about reshma coming to their house, finding the picture and their reunion.
Officer was silent for a while.
” What happened officer? Anything wrong?”
“Yes. Actually the woman at your home is a fraud. She is been involved in many robbery cases and child abduction cases.”
” What? No, that cant be true. She is my mom and is a very nice lady”
” Noal I think there is something wrong in this. We need to question her. “
” Sir please, you are been misunderstood. “
Officer jay showed him pictures of reshma in the case diaries and in newspaper articles. He was shocked.
Officer jay told him that she might have mixed those painkillers in ayesha’s food to get rid of her. Noal told officer about how he ended up giving his house to reshma. He started regreting everything.
They went to the house to arrest reshma. But the house was locked. They somehow broke the house door and got inside. Noal’s baby was missing. Now he was worried.
Officer jay informed all the police station in the entire district about this. He circulated the pictures of baby to all stations. Everyone started searching for him. From railway station to bus stop to malls and every other place, they searched for them.
At around midnight, office jay got a call from nearby station informing that they have found reshma. She was found selling the kid to some criminals and getting money from them. She was immediately arrested.
Noal and jay went to the station. Noal took his baby in his arms, kissed her all over, he couldn’t control his tears.He thanked God for giving back his child.
Noal looked at reshma, she couldn’t make eye contact with him.
When asked, officer jay told that when they saw reshma in his house for the first time he came to know that there was something wrong with her. She had those criminal features in her. And they were silently watching her from past some months. Last month she was found talking with some unknown people at their building. When he asked those people about it, they told that she was trying to sell the house. Thats when I confirmed that she was the person they were searching.
Her plan was to sell the house and the baby and get as much money as possible. She poisoned ayesha with painkillers in her food and killed her. And the picture of noal with her was a morphed one which she got made from the pictures that was found in the album at house.
After listening to the story, noal was heartbroken. Even after losing , he was a bit relieved thinking that he got his mom back but now he was an orphan again. Ayesha, his first love and the mother of his baby is also no more with him.
…………….
Verdict was out. Reshma is in jail now. She is punished for 10 years.
Noal was happy hearing the news but that won’t bring back ayesha or the love that they shared once.
Sitting in the chair outside, he looked at the baby smiling. She held her dad’s fingers with her little fingers as if she was trying to tell him that ” Iam there for you Dad”. He named her Esha Noal. Esha, his desire for a happy life and that only she can give him. Like her name, she was a miniature version of ayesha and he promised to live for her from now on giving her the best of everything.
Happy ending.