Broken Ties - I

Broken Ties- I

The cries of the baby filled the tiny room shattering the silence that hung in the air. The woman looked at the man who walked out without any word. She held the baby close to her as tears fell from her eyes, “don’t cry I’m here. Your Maasa is right here.”

The woman sat down exhausted from the long day and sighed at the empty bed. He had taken to sleeping on the couch ever since she had placed the cradle in the bedroom. He was acting unreasonably- there was no way she was going to let her baby sleep alone. It’s better this way she thought at least I get the bed to myself. He can have a backache she smiled to herself.

The man frowned on seeing the bedroom the empty. He asked the maid who pointed towards the garden- the lady was smiling in encouragement as the baby crawled over the green grass. Their eyes met and time stood still. He loved her, and she knew but he was unable to overcome one obstacle, and she refused to go to him. Tiny hands broke the moment as the baby turned the woman’s face away from his. He looked at her and walked away from there.

“Maa” she ran as fast as her tiny legs allowed her, carrying a flower that she got for her mother. Her Maasa would be so happy to get the flower for her prayers from her. She turned the corner quickly only to collide with something. She looked up to see eyes glaring at her.

“Shama kijiye” she stuttered “I wanted to take flower for Maasa.” She showed him the flower only to see him walk away without a word. She looked at the flower; maybe it was not as beautiful as she thought while picking it up.

“Is the flower for me?” her mother’s voice made her look up. She took the flower from the tiny hands and smiled, “it’s beautiful.” The girl smiled at her mother, “you think so Maasa,” the woman nodded her head in agreement. “Come let’s do the prayers together.”

“I want to see Maasa” she demanded from the maids that stood in her way. They looked at each other and then at the young girl who refused to listen to anybody. “Why have they taken her to the hospital?” She pushed past the maids and made through the main doors only to see the man standing there. 

He seemed dressed up and about to leave

“I want my Maasa” she demanded from him refusing to let him scare her away. The man looked at the girl and turned his back towards her. He gave instructions to his butler, “I’ll be in the hospital. Take care of things here and keep her away” he walked out completely ignoring the cries of the girl who was being stopped by both the maids and the butler.

The elderly lady looked at the man disappointed, “she’s your flesh and blood. Stop treating her like dirt. She did nothing wrong, and you know it.” The man stood steadfastly, “she means nothing to me.” The girl stood behind the door shocked, the present she had lovingly crafted for her father fell on the floor with a thud. The pearls spread all over the floor as she walked away not aware of the eyes that had seen her pain.

He smiled at the twins who crawled all over the playroom. He laughed at their antics and got worried when one of them started to cry. She looked at the scene with longing in her eyes. She wasn’t allowed in the playroom when the man of the house was present, and even in his absence the butler and two maids would make sure she maintained distance from the twins. She placed the stuffed toys she had handmade for her siblings on the table outside and walked away.

“Why does he hate me so much, Maasa?” she sobbed hard unable to control the tears and questions inside of her anymore. Her mother took the shaking body of her firstborn in her embrace unable to answer her questions. He had made it clear through his actions that he did not like the child and preferred the twins over her. The number of fights they had over the issue was too many to count, but she had always held on to her hope that maybe he would come around and accept her.

He slapped her hard unable to control his rage. He told the butler to take the twins back to their room and clear the mess in the playroom. She stared at him in shock; if she hadn’t arrived in time then her brother would have crushed underneath the cupboard then why was she being punished?

“What did I do wrong?” she asked, “Why do you hate me so much?” He looked at her tiny, frail frame shocked. Her eyes demanded an answer, and her rage only fueled his further

“You want to know” he looked at her in pure anger, “you are a murderer. You killed my son – your brother.”

“Rao ji” her mother’s voice rang out loud in the room as she came to stand between the duo. “You have said enough, Raoji,” she told her husband and then looked at her daughter. “Ajabde” the girl didn’t respond to her. She was in shock, and the last thing she remembered was the anger filled eyes of her father before the world went dark.

“Kakasa are you alright?” Ajabde asked her father’s old butler who seemed to be lost in thought. “Shama kijiye baisa” he responded humbly, “I was just blown away by the fact on how much you have grown up.”

She smiled as she gave him the folder. “You know what to do Kakasa. The file has all instructions and enough ammunition to rile Raoji to come to Bijolia.” 

He took the file and nodded his head.

“I’ll make sure the work is done as per your expectations but are you sure this will work Baisa. I mean with DheerBai ji and the others” she smiled at the elderly man

“There’s only one person in the whole wide universe that both Rao ji and I love more than anything and that’s Maasa. I assure you that this very moment, Raoji’s informants are at work in Bijolia trying  to get as much information as they can, and this file will make him come running back home.”

The senior man drove away in his car praying that this plan might work and maybe the relationship between father and daughter mend for a better future.