Hey,
This is my first attempt at a Short Story. It is divided into three parts since it is a bit long (But I think it still remains a short story!!!đ)
Disclaimer : All characters are purely fictious, any resemblence to a person or event, living or dead, is purely co-incidental
The name of the Story is that of a Dream theatre song, but that's where the similarity ends.
PartI: pg1, PartII: pg4, PartIII: pg7
Lifting shadows off a dreamâŚ
"Youth lives on hope, old age on remembrance"
Sitting on the porch, on a rocking chair, Bani was deeply engrossed in something. Her hands moved over the photographs which reminded her of all the beautiful moments, the memories and the times well spent. Moving her hand over a photograph of her wedding day, she went into some sort of trance.
A young girl, all of 20, she had dreams and ambitions. Being strong headed, she had always wanted to do something in the world of entertainment, the creative field. It had always fascinated her. Studying mass media at one of the top schools of India, she knew she could achieve what she wanted to, but life had other plans for her.
Bani Dixit came from an upper middle class family. Having come from a broken family, she valued relationships more than anything else in life but she also didn't let anyone come too close to her. Trust for her was everything. She did not want to be in the situation her mother was in, ever.
Alka and Arun Dixit were her ideal couple, at least for the first 15 years of her life. Alka Dixit, was a housewife, she lived for her husband and now her only child. She had already lost her son in a drunken driving accident 2 years ago. That had left a scar that would last forever, emptiness in her heart that would be there, always. Coming from a middle class family and an orthodox one, life had been tough, it had been a struggle but more so after the loss of her son.
Arun Dixit was a pharmacist by profession. Educated in the best schools, having got scholarships whenever possible, he was the ideal son most of his life. Coming from an upper middle class family he never faced any real hardships. His marriage, though arranged, soon became his life. He loved his wife immensely and did not shy away from showing this love. He was elated when his son was born and then 2 years later his daughter. He was the perfect son, the ideal husband and the loving father.
Dev had been an intelligent child, almost a replica of Arun. His father had great dreams from him, great expectations. He looked for a young him in his son. He had planned out his future. As much as Dev liked this, he didn't like the fact that though he got everything from his father, education wise, his sister wasn't so lucky. The gender bias, as in most Indian homes, was very evident in theirs too.
Coming back one evening after his cricket practice by the local trains of Bombay at peak hours, didn't prove to be the luckiest day for him. The train having unusually stopped for a few minutes, Dev peeped out to see the reason for the same. As luck would have it, the train suddenly started and he hit his head on an electric pole. That was the last time his eyes were open and he was fully aware of what was happening around him.
Immediately people searched him completely, finding his club ID and after making a few calls located his family. His father was distraught hearing this news. He did not know how to say the same to his wife and daughter. Mustering up courage and telling them, all broken, left for the hospital he had been taken to. A few panic phone calls to doctor friends, Arun had arranged for treatment at the best hospital.
Dev had hurt his head very badly, and the internal bleeding was tough to stop. After an emergency surgery and a successful one at that, he was shifted to the JRT Hospital in Bombay. He was yet unconscious and in serious danger but in the way doctors speak, his condition was improving. The family had hope. Alka used to be praying all day long, and Arun finding all the information he could garner.
Soon, Dev slipped into a coma. He never came out of it. Treatments all over the world, the best doctors, nothing helped. He stayed in that state for more than a year. Arun did not leave any stone unturned. Loans from banks, from friends, he did all he could but he could not save his son.
Instead of this unfortunate accident bringing the family closer it took them to a point of no return. Loosing her brother ended Bani's life, or so she thought. All their lives were over, at least for the first few months. 15 at that time, Bani did not know how to deal with all of this. Her father rarely spoke to her mother now, and her mother generally locked up herself in a room and cried.
Whenever she tried speaking to any of them, all she got was glances. She had lost her brother too but that didn't seem important. Dev's death had ended her parents' relationship too. Over the next year what transpired, no one could have imagined. Frequent fights about the most inconsequential things, her father coming home late or not coming home at all was a common routine. He was a changed man, and not a good change that was.
One day, standing outside her parents room, she over heard another argument. This time, it affected her and played on her mind like no other ever had.
'Stop those tears of yours. What are you crying for Alka?'Arun questioned irritated.
'How can you be so unaffected with what's happening. You have found a way to deal with this, but have you ever thought about me or Bani?' she questioned.
Arun replied with something he should have never said 'It should have never happened and even if it did, it should have been BaniâŚ'
This was so out of the blue; Alka did not know how to react to this statement. She just looked at him, not
knowing what to say.
Caught by surprise, Alka answered 'what do you mean by thatâŚshe is our daughter ArunâŚshe is also our child'
'But she is also a girl and she is not what Dev could beâŚhe would have taken my name forwardâŚ' he said, speaking like a true Indian man, believing in gender bias.
'This sounds very amusing, coming from an educated man like you. Bani is also our child and she deserves everything in life, just like our son would.' She said, and not wanting to continue this conversation any more and stormed out. Alka saw Bani standing outside the door with moist eyes and an 'I will do something' spirit in her eyes. That was the end of the conversation; it was never brought up in their house again.
A few months later the unforeseeable happened, Bani's father, who even after all these views remained the perfect one, asked her mother for a divorce. They weren't doing well financially and they weren't a family like they used to be now. His father was with another woman. He said he had found solace and companionship elsewhere and didn't need Alka anymore. He had broken their trust, but mostly broken all the promises he had made to Alka. She didn't know how to react, Bani was growing up and now was the time she needed her parents the most.
Bani did not know how to react. She blamed herself for it. The conversation she over heard a few months back, never did leave and it may not leave her for the rest of her life. She had started toping all her classes, all the extra-curricular activities, had started using her energy in things that would matter. She had to prove a point and now she had to support her mother and not let her down. She had hope for the future; she preferred an optimistic point of view.
But Bani now also had a strong sense of fear. The feeling of security, trust and family had gotten lost in this plethora of new emotions. For her, her house seemed safe at night because her father was around. Even after everything he had said, she believed he loved her no end.
(This is something I came across the net, a statistic and an article explaining the psychology behind it, it caught me by surprise!
It pointed out that fathers of sons divorce their wives less often than fathers of girls. This is because fathers without sons need someone to play with so they choose a female.)
After the exit of Arun from their lives, Alka did not have time to think or grieve about what had happened. Bani was approaching her teenage years and also soon would have to be enrolled into a college. She did not want Bani to not have things she did deserve. She started working, first with petty jobs and slowly worked herself up to a position where she was getting in enough income for the two of them. As any mother, she had plans for Bani's wedding and had started saving since the day she could.
Bani too had worked hard and got into the best colleges and on part scholarship, saving a lot of money. She was never frivolous in her spending and all of this just made her more aware. She had matured over night. The mother â daughter together were leading a life that was happy but had a certain sadness and emptiness in it.
PartI: pg1, PartII: pg4, PartIII: pg7
Cricket
Mahadev And Sons
