A mother's love is strange. She can give up anything for her child- even herself- if she knows that it will make her baby flourish in the end.
When Arnav's Ma took her life, she took it without thinking. It was a split second decision, driven by the utter despair that comes with betrayal.
She was ashamed to say that she hadn't thought of her beautiful daughter at the time, her princess that was about to have her happiness snatched away from her. She had not thought of her khadoos son that hated birthdays, but would light up in pure delight when she would bake his favorite chocolate sugar-free cake with the delectable, creamy frosting. She had been selfish, and she loathed to admit it.
Even if her children put her up on a pedestal, justified her actions with her emotions, she felt in her heart of hearts that she had been cowardly.
Since then, she had made every attempt to rectify her mistake by silently cheering on her daughter and her son from above, lending them a gentle push whenever they needed it. She would whisper quietly in their ears as they slept, advising them softly and reminding them of the little things that only mothers can pass on.
Devi Maiyya was often irritated with her for interfering in the daily routine of life, but she let it go because she knew of the guilt Ma held for leaving her children far too soon.
Ma was proud of her children, but she held regrets. She regretted that she had not pushed Anjali to be more independent, to fight for herself and her beliefs. But she reconciled that because Arnav took the utmost care of her darling Anjali.
The one regret she was not able to reconcile was Arnav's cynical attitude towards life. Despite her betrayal, Ma had learned to see the positives, the beauty that love could bring to a life. She had nearly lost all hope for her son when Khushi fell- quite literally- into Arnav's life, spinning a whirlwind of emotions that her son had suppressed for so long.
Ma watched with pride as Arnav slowly softened, breaking the tight exterior facade he had so carefully built up and revealing the boy only she knew to the girl with the beautiful hazel eyes.
And then, it all shattered. The wicked man her daughter had married tricked her sharp son into believing the girl he had fallen so deeply in love with was a traitor. Ma knew the effects of betrayal all too well, the sharp sting of the knife that plunges deep into one's soul, driving a cut nearly impossible to heal. She knew that Arnav's love for Khushi would cause him to believe Shyam's betrayal, that their family history would not allow him to trust the vivacious, innocent beauty.
That night, she fell at Devi Maiyya's feet and begged. She hadn't even shed thay many tears the night she found out about her betrayal. She pleaded, grabbing her feet and sobbing for her son. She would rather her daughter be far away from that sorry excuse of a man, than have her deal with him for the rest of her life in the name of her marriage.
She knew Arnav would take care of Anjali, but who would take care of Arnav if Khushi was not there? She pounded her chest, holding Devi Maiyya's feet and pleading with her, desperate to give her son the last bit of hope that would give him joy that he had lacked for so long.
But Devi Maiyya was not to be swayed. She insisted that good would win out, and asked her to give it time. The time that was so precious to a mortal being.
So Ma watched in agony, feeling as if the knife was being driven through her once more as she saw the anger coursing through his veins. The reddened eyes that were so familiar to her because of the tantrums that he had thrown as a child, the tightening of his jaw.
But as his mother, she also saw what everyone else missed. She saw the tears of devastation that came from the utmost betrayal fill his eyes as he swiped angrily at them, not wanting to believe that the girl he had lost his heart completely to was a traitor as his respected brother-in-law insisted. She could see the war within him, his shards of hope breaking as Shyam drove the dagger in deeper, asserting that the love the wicked man and Khushi shared was above all.
That night, she saw Arnav cry for the first time since her death.
-***-
So Ma waited, as Devi Maiyya had ordered. She waited as her son tortured the girl she now held a soft spot for in her heart, throwing her out of their room and locking her in the dark she was so terrified of. She watched as Khushi bounced back, throwing back the spears her son threw at her one by one, and picking up the broken pieces of their life, gluing it back together painstakingly.
She watched as Arnav's frustrations grew at not being able to tame the feelings thumping from his chest, causing him to lash out further. But her daughter-in-law never gave up, patiently putting up with every single tantrum in the sanki way only she knew.
She watched as it all came to a head, with Arnav pulling her off a ledge only to throw her back down again, accusing her of the most heinous crimes. She watched as her daughter-in-law broke down completely, shattered by the realization that her husband had married her out of pure hatred. She turned away, unable to look as Arnav walked away from his wife's desperate pleas of innocence at the airport.
She watched as Khushi pulled herself up once more, doing the impossible. Her daughter-in-law was nothing if not tenacious, with a sharp brain that rivaled her husband's.
She watched as the daughter-in-law she had grown so fond of slipped off the edge of a cliff into a deep, unforgiving ravine, a terrified call of "Arnav!" echoing out ominously into the wilderness.
She could not hold back any longer. She ran back to Devi Maiyya's feet, pleading with her to have mercy, to save the girl she had fallen in love with and come to hold as a daughter. She threw herself at Devi Maiyya's feet once again, screaming that her son would not be able to handle heartbreak once more, the loss of yet another he held so dear to his heart.
Devi Maiyya only smiled softly and gestured to the scene beneath them, the scene of her son cradling his wife in his arms.
She felt her heart stop beating as she watched Arnav shake Khushi with the desperation of a man in love, his voice rising frantically at the lack of response. She watched as Arnav berated Khushi, yelling at her in the only way he knew how and ordering her to wake up.
You can't leave me like this. I won't let you. Talk, Khushi. Damnit, say something Khushi! Say something, please. Anything. Khushi!
Her throat choked up as Arnav's voice grew hysterical, clutching his lifeless wife to him in sheer agony and cradling her against his heart. She felt her own, hot, wet tears stream down her face as Arnav shed hot tears for the second time, his facade crumbling onto the floor as he cried out his wife's name in a never ending plea.
He grasped Khushi's hand in his own, bringing it up to his beating heart that was slowing down with hers, nearly sobbing with the pain that seared through him.
Dhak dhak, dhak dhak...
Khushi jerked her head in response to her husband's beat, his name on her dry lips as she opened her eyes slowly.
Ma felt her heart fly with Arnav's, their identical, disbelieving chocolate gazes focused on the girl with the hazel eyes, the long, lush hair, and the infectious smile.
And for the third time since her death, she saw Arnav's tears spill over. This time, they were not of hatred and betrayal. They were not of desperation and fear. They were out of one emotion, the emotion he had held away for so long.
As she watched him sweep up Khushi into his arms, her own tears spilled over. She knew that he had finally found what she had wanted to give him for so long.
Cricket
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
272