Journey of Hope

CHAPTER:- 25

Arav's Pov

Life is the biggest teachers. It made us to the person we are now with its lesson. Same was the case with mine.

Arav Singh was my name. But now I have an identity. I am the personal assistant of the Pratik Ahuja, one of the leading businessmen of India. As his shadow, I followed him every where. I am his most trusted man.

But, my life was never an easy one. It taught me so many things. And from that mess, I learned. I will be always grateful to Pratik Sir, for his help. He was the sole reason behind my identity.

Otherwise, three years back, I was nothing less than a loser, who was going to loose his everything. It was three years back, when I had just completed my graduation. I still had not collected my certificate. It was under processing.

Like every teenager brat, I was so thrilled in my college life to noticed my mother's poor health. I ignored everytime she coughed, thinking it as normal cold. I never checked her when she told me that she was having pain in chest. I was busy in my life to sat beside her once. We talked only when we need money. And all these were too normal for me.

And this normal life of mine continued till one day, I was faced with the harsh truth of my life. One fine day, I asked my mother a question, that I always asked her, 'Who was my father?'. As always, she avoided the topic with the same lie that my father drowned in sea, when I was in her womb. But this time I didn't buy her lie.

I was aware of the truth. I knew that even she had no idea about who my father was! I had heard the story about her colourful days of youthfulness, when she was on high demand at the red light area. I had heard the stories of her p**********n. I had bore the humiliation for being a son of a p********e.

"Your Mom had spent so many colourful nights. Don't know, whose son he is!"

"Your Mother really has a figure... I always thinks that she is something."

My friends' and their mothers' voice was buzzing inside my mind again and again. I screamed, yelled and said so many things to her. I was so mad. After yelling my frustration out, I went inside my room and slept. I didn't care about the effect of my words on my mother's sensitive heart.

My mother's name was Sunaina - like her name she had those captivating pair of eyes. They were normally glossy. It was hard to identify when those eyes cried. Her parents died when she was only 5. A neighbour sold her in a brothel. Her parents had no relatives as they had a love marriage. She was brought up in that brothel, among those prostitutes. They ruined her innocence and ruptured her heart. To impress the clients, she had to show her skin, she had to seduce them with cheap moves. They forced her to smoke weeds. She did everything against her will. But, one day she found out some strange changes in her body. And it didn't take her more time to realise that she was pregnant.

When the brothel's head got to knew about all this, he asked her to abort the child. She was the most desirable one at that time. So he didn't want to loose her. To protect his business, he pressurised her for abortion. She had no idea with how many she had slept. She didn't know who was the father of the child. But the only thing she knew was she was the mother. She had to carry her child, she had to show her child the light of the world. Earlier she had no meaning to live. She had no one to love or care. She was just an orphan.

But now, she had a reason. She had a child to call as her own. She fought as a mother and escaped to protect her child. She had thought that it was the end of the darkness. She assumed that she had left the hell. But the world out side the brothel was worse than the hell. It didn't took a lot effort for her clients to identify her. Her beauty had become a curse for her. She heard people's taunts. She bore them all inside her. But she never lost hope. She fought against all circumstances and gave her son a life to love. But that day, she couldn't bear it, when her own son accused her. She felt pain inside her chest, but in real the heart was hurt.

I woke up in the morning to find her unconscious on the floor. My anger was melted. I shook her body, but she didn't respond. Then I admitted her to the hospital and that's when the doctor told me about her health condition.

"She has a hole right inside her heart. It might be caused due to excess drug consumption." The doctor said looking at me. "She talked with me after getting conscious. She wants you to know that she loves you. She never choose that life, but life destroyed her."

I looked at the doctor in astonishment. "She talked? Won't she talk to me now?" I asked. My voice choked.

"She is in coma." The doctor said and left to attend other patients.

"She is in coma. She won't talk to me now. She is angry on me. I misbehaved with her." I sat on the floor with a thud. I cried, holding my knees.

Days passed and turned into months. Soon month turned into years. I ran and ran only, from one address to another. I requested and begged for held. Neither I got work nor I collected money. That moment I felt, how my mother survived in this cruel world. She fought alone for me. And What did I do? I accused her for what? For giving me a life to live? I felt miserable. And laughing on my miserable situation, life passed.

"Arav! We need to do the surgey operation at any cost." The doctor said me one day.

"I know, Sir. I am trying to collect money." I said looking at the ground.

"I am afraid. Money won't matter if we will lost the race with time." He said patting my back.

"But, Sir..." I was about to request him, but he left shaking his head.

I didn't wish to move behind him. Or maybe I had no strength left to run behind these fake hopes. In my twenty years of life, I was always raised as a prince. Not that we were rich, but my mother never let me feel like we don't have money.

Then it came on me to save her. I realised the value of money. I was heart-broken. I realised how my mother had felt years back, when she wanted to save and she had no one beside her.

At that moment, I accidentally collided with someone. He was none other than Pratik Ahuja. I was just a college going boy, who had no idea about him. I knew that Pratik Ahuja was the number one business man of India, but I had never seen his face.

"Hey, Young man! Watch the way." He said patting my shoulder.

"Sorry Sir." I politely said. From his attire, I assumed him to be a big businessman. I felt a little nervous around him.

"No problem." He said with a smile.

"Baba!" We heard a girl coming from the other end. "What are you doing here? Come on, Doctor Uncle is asking for you."

"Princess! It's just a routine check up. Why are you so worried?" He asked the girl, who came near us carrying an worried expression on her face.

I saw one glimpse of hers. She was looking no less than an angel. Everything was so perfect about her face, except the frown on her forehead. She was indeed an princess.

"Baba! I will calm down after seeing your reports normal. You just go inside. Doctor uncle is waiting for you." That girl said faking an angry face and pulled the man's hand to take him inside.

"Calm down, Princess. I am going only. But first let me buy the BP medicines." The man said, resisting the girl's pull.

"What? BP medicines have finished. You didn't even find it important to tell me. You are being careless day by day, Baba." The girl said, folding her hands in front of her chest. "By the way, You go inside. I will bring the medicines." She said.

"No, Princess. I am not leaving you alone. You stay inside the doctor's cabin. It's too hot outside. I will go and bring my medicine in five minutes." The man said to the girl, who was stubborn enough to move inside.

"Sir! Give the prescription to me. I will bring the medicine." I suggested them. Both of them noticed my presence. While the girl gave me an unknown look. "Only if you don't have any problem." I said, shifting uncomfortably.

The man scanned me from top to bottom. "I never fail to recognise people's true self. We are there, in Doctor Kundra's cabin." He replied with a smile, forwarding a two thousand note towards me.

I nodded at him and moved towards the medicine shop. I had no works to do. No body was really interested to give chance to me. After all I was just a twenty-one year old fresh graduate. Who will want an inexperienced candidate in their company?

I couldn't really gather the whole money for my mother's surgery. The needed amount was twenty-six lakh, which was too much for me to think. I had no ways. I hadn't miss the worried daughter for her father and the father's tension for his daughter. So I decided to help them. At least some one will be least tensed.

I moved towards the chemist shop and asked for medicines mentioned in the prescription. The shop owner recognised me, as I was a regular buyer there. He packed the medicine and I forwarded the two thousand note to him.

"For whom you are taking the medicine? It's so expensive?" He asked, preparing the bill.

"A patient came for regular check up." I replied shortly.

"Oh! That's what I thought. This particular BP medicine is so expensive, not for everyone to afford. It is imported from Germany at a very high cost. Must be a rich man who is buying it." He said, forwarding the change to me.

"How much does it cost?" I asked him counting the money he returned to me.

"Fourteen hundred and thirty seven." He said and looked here and there. "By the way, I have prepared the bill, beneficial to you." He added carrying a crook smile on his face.

I was a little confused with his words. Before I would have asked him anything, I spotted the man moving outside the hospital with his daughter.

"Sir!" I ran towards them. They stopped on their track and turned around.

"Oh, Young man. I forgot about the medicine thing. Thank you." He said.

I forwarded the medicine, prescription, bill and remaining money to his daughter. The girl smiled at me and took everything.

"Princess! Give the remaining money back to him." The man said.

"Sorry Sir. It's yours. I just helped you, nothing else." I politely replied.

"I insisted you." He said again.

I was about to deny, but his daughter interrupted me. "Excuse me. You have returned five hundred and sixty-three rupees to me." She added.

"Sir had given me two thousand. The medicine costs four-hundred and thirty-seven. So I returned you the remaining five hundred and sixty-three rupees. Is there any problem miss?" I asked being offended.

"Yes, There is." She replied, while the man looked confusedly at her.

"Princess! What are you saying? Leave this matter. It's just issue of a hundred rupees." That man tried to calm his daughter. His voice carried arrogance of his earning.

I was feeling the accusations in the voice of that man's voice, when he asked his daughter to the matter. But I didn't felt insult when that girl asked me about money. Her face carried some kind of confusion but there was no accusation.

"But Baba! It's not about money. Look at the bill." She showed her father the bill. "It's written eighteen hundred and ninty-five. He is giving us extra money." The girl said.

"No Mam, You must have some misunderstanding. I have asked the shopkeeper. The actual rate is fourteen hundred and thirty seven." I said.

"See it yourself." The girl said, forwarding the bill towards me. I showed it was written eighteen hundred and ninety-five. I worriedly looked around. My eyes landed on the chemist shop.

"Wait for me. Only five minute Sir." I said and ran towards the shop. "Hey! Come here." I pulled the shopkeeper with me.

"Hey! What happen? Arey... Why are you pulling me?" He kept shouting, while I pulled him towards the hospital.

Those father and daughter were still standing there.

"Tell them the rate of the medicine." I said to the shop keeper.

"I am sorry, Sir. I didn't know that it's you for whom he was buying the medicine. I thought another rich man has given him the money. So I made a fake bill, so that he can keep the rest of the money." He said folding his hands in front of the man.

"But I never asked you to do so." I said in anger.

"Yes, You haven't. But I have seen you suffering here. So I thought to help you. I know you need money. You are always good to all the patients here. So I thought just to help you." He said.

"So you cheated another person to help me?" I asked coming closer to him.

"No Arav! I thought the man for whom you are buying such expensive medicines, must be a rich man. It won't affect him right? But you need money." The shopkeeper said.

"I am glad that you think about me. But this is not a way to help someone. Money doesn't grow in trees. He is rich but he has earned by himself to be rich. So you don't have to think about his money." I sternly said to him and turned my face to other side.

"Ok, Leave the topic here. You go to your shop." The man ordered. The shop keeper went away.

We three stood there in silence. "Why do you need money?" The girl asked interrupting the silence.

I looked at them not knowing what to answer.