Love Arranged

Chapter 2

It was Sunday at 10 AM when I woke up. Surprisingly, my sister did not wake me up today before 10 AM, I was happy that I got to sleep till late in the morning. I mean how often do you get to sleep in late till 10 AM? It’s a golden opportunity when you get the opportunity to sleep in till late and no one bothers you to wake or even disturb your sleep.

But then I was also very much surprised because she does not let me sleep till late in the mornings even on a weekend. So, I quickly got off the bed and folded the sheets, and made the bed before I could go and see where my sister was. I had to make the bed because my sister had OCD for cleanliness and she would lose her mind if she happens to see my bed unkept. It’s a daily routine to wake and go and see my sister's face first. Never has a day ever gone by when I have not seen my sister's face first thing in the morning. She is everything to me and means the world to me. So, I just hurried out of my room and was going around the house in search of her from every room and bathroom, I checked the storeroom as well, but she was nowhere to be seen. I was starting to panic and worry and even scared now as this had never happened before. She never leaves without telling me and now she disappeared all of a sudden on a Sunday morning. I mean how can she disappear all of a sudden? I kept asking myself all these weird questions and coming up with weird answers to calm myself down.

I was unable to find her, after searching every nook and corner of the house. Finally, I thought I would go look for my pops, I went and checked in his room and he was not there, then I went into the garden and he was not there as well. Now I was starting to freak out as I was unable to find both of them. I started pinching myself to realize if I was still dreaming, Ouch! I am definitely not dreaming. What the hell!!! Where did they go now? Why dint they tell me or even wake me up? Couldn’t they just wake me up before disappearing like this? Now I am getting scared. Let me go check my phone once. What if Rachel di or Pops left me any message? Just in case. Let me just be sure.

I go into my room and search for my phone. In a panic, I forgot that I left the phone on my study table. When I finally found my phone, I started searching for calls and messages from Rachel di and pops. To my surprise, I did not get any call or message from them. I had calls and messages from my friends. This is not helping. My head is going to burst. I need to do something. Let me just call them on their phones. I definitely didn’t like such stupid jokes early in the morning.

Ugh! There better be a perfect explanation from them when they come back home. Or else, I won't be taking to them at all for a month as a punishment.

“I am so not talking to them now,” I thought to myself and Angrily I sat in my room.

I called them and they were not answering their phones. The best part was Pop's phone was in his room. I don’t understand why did he get a phone for himself if that was to be left in the room? to hatch eggs? Ugh! I am just losing my mind now. I did not want my Sunday to be like this. I hate this totally hate it. I had such amazing plans for today and they just had to ruin it like this.

It’s been already like 3 hours now…

I cannot wait anymore. I kept calling my sister again and again now and I was about to cry when I heard the door creaking sound. I understood someone was opening the door. When I saw it was my sister and my pops, I just ran into her arms crying. I was so scared thinking what had happened? Why did they disappear like this?

“I thought you had also disappeared like how mom had disappeared one fine day suddenly” all crying I was yelling to my sister.

I could feel she became stiff with my statement as I had never spoken about mom in these many years and never did, I ask her as to what had happened and why mom never came back home. She never bought the topic in my presence and dad was also very mindful to not talk about mom in Infront of me. This statement of mine definitely shocked my sister and pops. But after a few minutes, she relaxed.

When suddenly I felt her hands on my back, she was holding me in her arms tightly. And she just stood still and stroked my hair and rubbed my back to calm me down. It’s not that I am a kid but when something like this happens, I get so scared. I am scared of being left alone like this. I just kept crying for some time and then she keeping cooing me to calm down. She just dint say anything because she knew I did not want her to speak anything. I just wanted her to hold me and not leave me at this point.

After she realized I had stopped crying. She moved back to look at me and she wiped my cheeks of the tears. Now I was looking at her and I could see she was worried for me and I could see that she has teary eyes as well. I did not expect my sister to get emotional this way.

“We thought we would be back before you woke from your sleep,” And she spoke up…

“still are you not supposed to tell me something before leaving like this? Leaving me all alone like this? I was having all these bizarre thoughts” I continued while looking at her.

“And pops what’s wrong with you? why did you leave your phone at home? What if someone has an emergency and calls you for help?” I just glared at my pops.

“It was an emergency Pihu. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have rushed this way to the hospital and would have definitely woken you up sweety.” Spoke to my sister this time.

“HOSPITAL….????” I was shocked to hear this from her. I was not expecting this statement from her.

“What happened? Who is in the hospital? are you fine? pops is something wrong with you?” I frantically started asking them questions by looking at both of them… I just hate this suspense. Why can’t she spill the beans all at once?

She suddenly chuckled at my reaction and then her expression changed and she said Akshay Pa’s mom was admitted to the hospital and when she got the Call in the morning they had to rush to the hospital and they couldn’t waste their time by waking me up. So that’s the reason they disappeared this way and couldn’t inform me or take my calls as it was chaotic in the hospital and they realized it was late and I would have woken up only when Akshay pa asked about me. So that is when they rushed back home.

I knew Akshay pa’s mom was suffering from mouth cancer in the last stage. She used to be in a lot of pain. However, aunty was recovering is what I felt when I last saw her. Maybe it was because the medicines that she took made her look a little better. I did not know what to tell to my sister. I just nodded my head and asked her how was Akshay pa holding up. I knew Akshay pa was very strong he must have anticipated all this and would have made up his mind as well. He is also like di very planned and meticulous.

While I was lost in my thoughts and thinking about Akshay pa. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I snapped out of my thoughts I saw it was pop's hand on my shoulder. The next thing he said shocked me the most. “Pihu we are not going to leave you and go away like mom. Mom left because she did not have a choice and she did not want you to see her pain and sufferings any longer. She just wanted to see you happy and smiling always. You were her little princess. So never again say that we might leave you and go just like how mom did”. In so many years after mom had passed away, pops never spoke about mom. Never did he tell me anything about her nor did he remember her in front of us. I know how mom looked she was very beautiful. Pops has many pictures of them in their bedroom and never did he move even of the pictures from those walls.

I know what happened with mom. Once my sister had a breakdown and she was missing mom a lot and that’s when I heard both of them talking to each other about mom and how her condition got worse and she had to be admitted to the hospital in the middle of the night and how she passed away in the hospital and it was her last wish that they not bring her home or show her body to me as I would not be able to take it all in. she wanted to leave me with all the sweet memories of hers and I was only years old when she passed away. I have some vague memories of her not very strong memories of her.

I still remember that day very clearly, I was jumping with joy that I got selected for the dance competition and was headed to tell this news to my sister. And that’s when I saw my sister sitting on her bed and was crying. I pushed the door a bit and saw pops sitting beside her and asking her not to cry and to calm down as I might come any moment and they would not be able to tell me things. I didn't understand why they spoke that way. So, I just stood out of the room and quietly. Then I heard her telling “couldn’t see a mom that way dad. I just couldn’t bear it anymore. I don’t know how am I going to bear this pain in me. Pihu happen to ask me the other day what happened to mom? Where is she? I don’t know how to lie to her dad? I don’t know how to deviate her mind from mom? I don’t know if I can love her enough so that she doesn’t bring up mom ever again?

My mom suffered from a brain tumor. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor in her 4th stage and we couldn’t do anything about it. The doctor was shocked to see the condition as she had no symptoms and was leading a healthy lifestyle. Suddenly one day when she fainted in the kitchen, dad rushed her to the hospital. Where they performed various tests and did not find anything wrong with her. Then one doctor suggested they perform a CT scan of the brain as she fainted and fell. They suspected that she might have hit her head and there might be any internal inquiries as such. So they performed a detailed CT scan of her brain and that’s when they found a tumor on her sensory nerve. It was in-operatable and the doctors told her the situation of her condition and how it was not treatable and the growth was not controllable as well. Mom was put on heavy steroids due to which her health started to deteriorate and then one day she has to leave the house and move to the hospital. As soon as she reached the hospital, she had a cardiac arrest and she went into a coma. She was in a coma for 3 days when the doctors finally declared her brain dead and my dad had to make a call to take her off life support. I don’t know how he was able to make that decision for her. I now understand how difficult it must have been.

When they came home, I asked them about where was mom and they couldn’t tell me first as to what had happened, and then pops told me that she had gone on a trip and would be back soon. And then I would ask every day and they would tell me the same. Slowly, my sister started giving me all the attention. Pops and Akshay pa also started giving a lot of attention and they enrolled me in a lot of activities so that I was always busy. I became the center of all of their universe and their lives would revolve only around me. After some time I stopped asking about mom as I understood that she was never coming back.

Pops and Rachel di would cry when they were alone and no one was watching them. But today when I spoke about it, I felt like I stuck a nerve to them which I shouldn’t have done. And maybe they understood that I knew the truth and was not talking to them intentionally.

Mom must be very happy seeing Rachel di and pops as they took care of me very well. She must be proud of Akshay pa as well who is going to be a great son-in-law for the family.

I went back to the day when I got to know the hard truth about mom and I was just lying down on the bed when I heard my room door being opened and I saw Rachel di came in. I looked at her and it felt like she wanted to tell me a lot of things but was protecting me from the pain which I would go through after listening to all of that.

I looked at her and smiled. She came sat on the bed beside me and I rested my head in her lap and stayed like that silent and quiet. I could feel she was looking at me stroking my hair lovingly and she was lost in some far of land in her own thoughts, and I decided not to disturb her thoughts. I don’t know when but I dozed off in that feeling of motherly love that I was getting from my sister. Feeling all safe and warm in her lap.