Sophia's Freedom

Chapter 90: The Road Trip

What Aamaya di said was probably true. She constantly tried her best to protect my Abhinu, but I am still unable to figure out what changed. Until that day when Abhinu was allowed to put on the boys formal she was good to him, but then what changed. Did something happen during her days at the trauma center which changed her? Why did she behave very rudely when I or any outsiders who were close to Abhinu would be around him.

I really want to know what has happened but for some reason, my eyes have started to feel heavy. What is happening to me? Why am I feeling sleepy again?

Was I drugged again? But I didn't have anything except the water. Does that mean whatever I saw in my dream was probably something they have been discussing when I was sleeping and probably Aamaya di was telling them about it? I was unable to move a muscle and all I could feel was Mom picking me up on her arms and hugged me tightly. She began to caress my head and asked me to try to calm my nerves. I could understand that she placed me comfortably in the rear seat of the MD5. The people around me were discussing something, but my eyelids were getting so heavy that I could barely understand a thing. All I could understand was that mom was trying her level best to strap the seatbelt around me. A few minutes later I lost consciousness and don’t seem to remember what happened.

************************************

I regained consciousness with a sudden jerk. As I opened my eyes, I found we were still on the road. I tried to move but was unable to do so, at which point I realized that the seat belt is still on.

I raised my hand to check the time and found that it was almost 8:30 P.M.

Mom and Dad were exchanging words over something.

“I am sorry I didn’t realize the speed breaker on the road…”

“Yes… I know… you think every vehicle is our Asian Hornet…” it was the voice of dad…

It was Mom who was driving the MD5 now and I guess that was the very reason they were quarreling.

“You think you are a great driver… Haah… Next time don’t ask me to drive…” it was mom’s voice…

Suddenly they were interrupted by Aamaya di’s voice. She had an excited tone when she spoke “You are awake Monika…” She placed the back of her hand on my neck to check if I am alright.

Mom and dad stopped their argument and I hear dad’s voice “Are you feeling better honey…”

“Yes, papa… I don’t know why I went off to sleep…” I replied.

“That’s alright sweetheart… it’s good that both Aamaya and you got a nap… we will be stopping for a while to have our dinner and then we will continue with the remaining journey…” replied dad.

I looked towards my left and found that it was already dark outside and could only see the cars on the road because of their headlamps.

Soon after Mom stop the car with a slight right turn in front of a roadside restaurant.

“Honey we will wait here for about one and a half hours. Your Mom is hungry and that’s why she is a little grumpy right now…” I felt like dad was trying to c***k some joke.

“Do I look grumpy to you… so you can read my thought too… can you tell me what I am thinking right now?”

“I don’t need my special mind-reading skills to guess what you are feeling right now…It's pretty evident that you want to kill me with your beautiful eyes …” and suddenly he caught hold of Mom’s left hand, looked towards her, and gave a kiss on her hand…

“Aww… how romantic…” I replied as mom pulls her hand away from his grip out of embarrassment…

Dad got down from the car and went to talk with the others. We waited till mom parked the car properly and killed the engine.

As we got down, I saw the green gypsy that Sagar sir was using to keep track of us. There was another SUV parked right next to it. Sengupta Aunty and Master Kaku were standing with their back against the door of the vehicle. For the first time since I met him, I saw Master Kaku wearing a leather jacket, with blue-colored denim. He was looking pretty badass and with his horseshoe style of Mustache, he is really looking cool.

I looked around trying to figure out where we reached and found that it was Sahib Ganj.

Aamaya di and I went and took a table nearby. Sagar Sir took a side table with his driver and J.P. sir. Tribeni Dadu, Master Kaku, Miss Sengupta took the table next to us. Mom sat next to Aamaya di while Dad came and sat near me.

“I have ordered tandoori roti for the 4 of us, a plate of Prawn Malai curry for me and Aki and Butter Chicken for Aamaya and Monika.”

“I think it is Aamaya's favorite dish… Isn’t it young lady” dad smiled and asked…?

“Yes uncle… but how did you know that…” she asked happily.

“Ummm… let me think” and then replied casually, “I think Monika might have told me about it…”

*** I don’t recall telling dad about it, as a matter of fact, I have no idea what’s her favorite dish, but I decided not to comment on anything right now. ***

About 10 minutes later one of the waiters came and began to serve the food on the platter.

It took us about 45 minutes to complete our dinner. I saw Aamaya di cherish the butter chicken as if she had not had a morsel of food for a very long time. After we had our dinner, it was time for us to continue the journey.

Before the journey began Aamaya di and I decided to freshen up a little. As a matter of fact, she even helped me to add some makeup and lipstick.

She said, “Sweetie… as a girl putting on a little makeup and a patch of lipstick doesn’t hurt.” she paused a little and then said, "Do you know, a long time ago, someone told me the same thing that I have just told you..."

"Who was that great girl di?"

"Well... it was none other than my Alena..." she paused a little and then continued "there was a time when I never like putting on makeup and stuff, so one fine day Alena came up to me and said 'as a girl putting on a little makeup and a patch of lipstick doesn’t hurt and that day she taught me how to apply makeup and look beautiful..." she paused again and then said "forget about my past you know you should be fully prepared, you know… for the dance…”

“What dance???” I asked…

“Oh come on sweetheart !!! everyone knows about the dance… I might have been a bad girl hurting Abhinu whenever I had the chance… but I still remember you and Abhinu challenging each other to dance and so I have been teaching him how to dance, you know, as his elder sister it is my duty to make sure he is prepared for the dance and now its also my duty to ensure that his date looks absolutely stunning.” Aamaya di replied.

I replied playfully “We will see about that, di… He might be a good dancer, but he has a very tough competition ahead of him.”

*** It took us about 10 minutes to return to our car. Mom told us that we had to wait for a while. They had to put a cover on Captain Sagar’s Gipsy since the place we are going is a part of the lower Himalayan range, the temperature is going to decrease drastically as we proceed, and if they don’t cover the Gipsy, the occupants would literally freeze. Dad and Mom helped them get the vehicle covered.

It took them about 40 minutes to place the cover over the vehicle and our journey started. There was a small change. Aunty Sengupta wanted to ride with us, and we all agreed. Dad decided to drive for the rest of the journey.

Dad told me that during the night, the highway is almost empty. Dad was a pretty good driver, and upon taking a closer look at the speedometer the speed was nearly touching 100 kmph. ***

“So… what are you going to do when you are going to meet Abhinu? Have you thought about it…?” I never expected Aamaya di would ask me this question. It was out of the blue.

“Huuu… You said something…” I asked.

“How are you going to react when you meet Abhinu again? Have you thought about it…?”

*** At that question, Mom suddenly looked back as if she too wanted to know what my answer would be. Aunty Sengupta also looked at me to know my response … The way the 3 of them looked at me, was becoming uncomfortable. ***

“Well, di… to tell you the truth, I really haven’t thought about it… First, I just want him to be alright… after that, I will think…”

“Aww… don’t worry, sweety… you know our Sophia… she is made up of different equipment… Nothing will happen to her… and your love for her always protects her from all trouble…”

*** I felt like telling Aamaya di that her failure to protect Abhinu's actions nearly sent him to Coma. It was only by the grace of God and our prayers that he survived. Her sisters almost succeeded in their endeavor to eliminate Abhinu. However, the promise to Jessica Aunty stopped me from reacting. ***

I pretended to blush at Aamaya Di’s reply. I saw mom turn back and smile at me. Dad was trying to ignore the conversation.

“Actually, I want to know too… how are you going to react?” mom spoke in a sarcastic tone.

“Don’t be mad at me for what I am about to reply… you guys asked for it…” I replied playfully.

“Go ahead, dear… I want to hear it…” my mom intervened…

“Very well… when I see Abhinu in front of me I want a strong breeze of air to start so that my beautiful hair starts to float in the air… the leaves of the trees should hustle nearby and then I give him a nice hug. I want the time to stop so that the precious moment will remain engraved in my soul for the rest of our lives, and then I am going to ask him for a basketball match…”

“WHAT…” the four of them replied in a shocked tone… “A BASKETBALL MATCH…” and then all of a sudden it felt as if dad applied the breaks as hard as he could and parked the car by the side of the road.

"What the hell Jairus... what's wrong with you?" Mom shouted in an angry tone, but before she could continue, he started the car again and began to drive. "I am sorry everyone..." and then the driving continued.

I knew dad was surprised at my answer and so he applied the break out of shock. If that was not enough, to my utter embarrassment, Aunty Sengupta and Mom began laughing at my answer. For some reason Aamaya di was quiet.

Mom, still giggling at my answer, suddenly replied “Are you alright dear… are you feeling nauseated…”

“Why…” I asked

“Whoever has heard about asking her long-lost boyfriend to a basketball match instead of a kiss…” replied Mom.

Suddenly, dad replied, “Honey, you should be taking lessons from me on how to ask a girl out on a date… You know everyone in my unit still gives examples, about how I asked your mom out…”

“Stop it Jairus… everyone in the unit knows who took the first step…”

*** Everyone in the car suddenly started to laugh at the way they were trying to make fun of each other. Things felt really different and awkward at the way dad was behaving today. I have never seen dad being so funny ***

Suddenly Aamaya Di interrupted “Uncle, Aunty… if you don’t mind, can I say something…”

“Yes… go ahead sweetie…” replied Mom…

“I don’t mean to offend you …” she paused and continued with slight hesitation, “but when both of you were exchanging your differences earlier in the car you reminded me of my parents…”

“I have never seen my parents behaving towards one another likewise. It really shows how much the two of you love and respect each other…” she paused a little and then continued "I wonder how my birth parents are... I hope they are as lovely as the 2 of you..."

I saw my mom blush at Aamaya di’s statement.

TO BE CONTINUED...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~