GOING HOME
| By : Sharila Surpal ( Posted on :09 Oct, 2006 ) | Total Views : 971 | Previous | Next |
It was a warm sunny morning and the garden looked illuminated with the sunshine falling on each petal,leaf and grass.The butterflies danced and hoped near the flowers,the bees were humming and the birds were twittering.
Mehak,stood in one corner of the garden,watering the pansies.Everyday,she would wake up early,get into her gardening attire,a white t-shirt and faded blue denim shorts and tie her long brown hair into a tight pony tail to get onto her job. Gardening was not her hobby but it was her passion.She looked after the plants like little babies,wiping them,cleaning them and then supplying them with all that was essential for them to grow well.She would get into the intricate details of all the plants.She would spend half a hour each day in the garden before leaving for school.
But today was different.It was a Sunday, so no school.She had all the time in the world to give to the garden.Suddenly, something caught her eye. She saw the leaves of the money plant,some fresh and some burnt.Immediately,she trimmed the leaves and then remembered,how one day she came back from school,all tired and weary.Her mom immediately gave her a glass of chilled lemonade which refreshed her and quenched her thirst.Then,in her own special way Mehak watered the money plant and gave it all the much required attention that it needed.Soon,it looked green and fresh again.
“Mehak,come in baby.It's time for breakfast”cried her mother from the kitchen.Mehak quickly wrapped up her gardening and cleared the trimming off the plant and walked in.
Mehak was the only child of her parents and definitely unique.She was a perfect person.At home,she was a loving daughter.Her father,a strong man,an army official,would often get jittery thinking about a life without his daughter.Her mother,a peaceful and calm lady cried tears of joy and pride to be blessed with such a fabulous child.At school,she was matchless.Her teachers were proud to be a teaching a student so competent and her friends followed her.She was a true example for them.The garden was a true reflection of her,elegant and proper.
As she walked inside, she overheard the conversation going on between her parents,”I am so glad I have not given birth to a baby, and had to get one aborted due to our thalassemia”said her mother.“Why do you say so, dear?”enquired her dad. “For the simple reason then we wouldn’t have got Mehak.Don’t you remember the day when we both bought her from the adoption agency,eighteen years back.She was a little baby,our treasure”.“Yes, of course the minute she stepped into this house she wiped away all our problems and was a true bundle of joy.It certainly has been blissful.We are blessed”agreed her dad.
After hearing all this Mehak was numb.She was dazed with all that she heard.By now she had cried a million tears.”Was this the harsh reality that was in store for me? Were all those eighteen birthdays I celebrated,fake?Was I never their daughter?Were they never my own parents?” A million questions flashed across her mind and she suddenly felt cheated and defeated.
“Mehak, where are you? Your breakfast is o….”and before she could complete her statement Mehak passed by the two strangers who were her parents and went straight into the room and slammed the door before their faces.A storm of worries hit them as they saw their daughter crying and now howling.Then Mehak came out and said with tears trickling down her cheeks,“I have heard what both of you were talking.You are not my parents biologically,just plain simple guardians.Do me a favour,just drop me where you got me from,it will save you from a lot of troubles and worries.”She went back into her room and banged the door hard, locked it up and stayed that way for the rest of the day.“Please come out,we love you a lot,we cant live without you”cried both her parents.But there was no response from Mehak.All they could hear was her sobbing.
Hell broke loose in their happy household.For days together,Mehak did not attend school,but if she did she would not concentrate on her studies,just keep crying.As a result,she got poor grades in the running semester.
Her behaviour became a cause of worry.She would lock horns with everyone at home,make it a point to humiliate her so called parents in front of any and everyone.She stopped eating,rather ate only to live.Her weight was decreasing and then she looked deathly pale.Mehak had snapped the beads of bonding.She now lived among strangers who had just been nice to her.She never stepped into the garden also.The plants also begged for her attention. Some were dying, some were dry.No body cleared the falling leaves and nobody cared much for them.
Day and night her parents would pray for their daughter and wish that she would accept them once again.The silence in the house was deafening and each one felt lonely.Days passed by,but nothing changed.Her parents were completely crestfallen. It seemed as if the family had been cursed.
One night Mehak again overheard a conversation between her parents.“ Will she never be my Mehak again,would I never have a one to one conversation with her,will we together never play pranks on you again?”the worried mother asked her husband.He lay there and did not respond.For quite some time he stared into the ceiling and finally broke the silence”God bless her.”
Mehak felt her cheeks.They were wet with tears. She felt her heartache listening to her parents whom she had tortured enough.Realization dawned upon her.She went back eighteen years and saw the joyous times three of them spent together.“So what if I am not their daughter biologically?Those eighteen birthdays were not fake,they were blessings showered on me”and a million such thoughts her and she was ashamed for the pain and anguish she made them go through.Mehak tiptoed into her parents bedroom,and went upto her mother, who was not sleeping but silently weeping in the dark.”Ma”,said Mehak.Mehak’s mother sat up and hugged Mehak.”I am sorry Ma,I love you and I realize that may be my own parents wouldn’t have done so much for me.I am yours forever mom.”She looked at her dad who had a strong exterior but inside he was melting with pain.She wiped her tears and then his.“I love you Mehak”said her dad. “Thanks for being a wonderful dad,I am sorry for all that I did and thanks for adopting me and making me a part of you.”She looked at both of them and said“I am back home.”
Written By : Sharila Surpal
