à ANANYA Ã
"Mumma, Papa."
I tiredly glanced at my five-year-old daughter, Mysha who was standing with her Panda shaped soft toy and the blanket was lying on her shoulder. Her expression told me that she had just woken up from sleep and most probably the reason is the noise this little demon is making.
It's one in the night and my energetic one-and-a-half-year-old son, Soumil, wouldn't sleep. No matter how hard I and Sahil try to make him sleep. Nighttime is his favourite time to crawl around the house at full speed, racing with our Khajur, the rabbit.
He thinks he is a tortoise who will win a race in front of the rabbit.
We decided to not get cats because Kirti didn't like them much. And all four of us live here together so we had to consider everyone's wishes, likes and dislikes.
During the initial years of my and Sahil's marriage, we used to stay alone because Vivian had shifted abroad for his masters and Kirti used to live in the same apartment where me and her used to stay.
"Mayu baby, why did you wake up?" Sahil went towards her and picked up his princess in his arms lovingly. He is her favourite and she is his.
I still remember the time when Soumil wasn't born and Mysha was playing some bridal song and re-creating the bridal entry by keeping my red dupatta on her head, the moment Sahil saw that scene he started crying. The mere thought of her going away from him made him tear up within a second. That is how much he loves her.
At first, I was a little jealous that I had no one in my team and this father-daughter duo teamed up against me. But now Soumil is going to be in my team, his actions state that.
He's also all crack and gone case.
"Soumil," I shouted when I noticed him almost hitting his head on the table, crawling blindly. Because of my scream, he halted in his place and looked at me, curiously. The expression vanished later and he grinned showing me the chocolate in his hand.
"Choki." He mumbled and rushed towards me, wanting me to open it for him.
"Don't, Ananya. He has had enough chocolates in the morning." Sahil told me and Soumil, the smartie, understood that his father was denying so showed him puppy eyes.
He is very smart and knows how to get his things done.
"No choki today," Sahil told him strictly.
"Papa said no, Soumil." I took the chocolate from him and kept it on the table aside where he couldn't take it back. He started crying upon seeing me do this.
"Baby, Ki and Vi are sleeping inside, they'll wake up then." I tried to explain to him. Raising kids is hard. It was rather easy at Mysha's time because she wasn't like him, who would stay awake till two and create chaos. But it was my first time with her, so the fear was still present but at least she wasn't this hectic.
I wonder how my mother raised me, even though I was like Soumil, very hyperactive.
Maybe this is my karma for troubling her so much. Soumil is all set to take the damn house over his head every day.
"Papa, what are you both doing here?" Mysha asked Sahil, sitting on his lap wondering if she missed any fun.
We did nothing except recreate two cartoon scenes with Soumil while he kept giggling and cheering so that he won his race with our Rabbit, who was also very enthusiastic like him.
"We are just trying to make your brother sleep. Why aren't you sleeping yet, Mayu?" He asked her who just yawned. Seeing him, I yawned, and so did Sahil. Soumil was still not tired.
What did I eat to make him too energetic? He rarely gets tired and sleeps.
"I did not see you both in the room." She said and came and sat beside us. "Let's play, taklu."
Haw. That's so mean.
Sahil turned his head towards me and I pretended to look somewhere else because I was the guilty one here. I may or may not have started calling my Saumil, Taklu, adoringly though. Now Mysha has started this as well.
"Mysha," Sahil called out her full name for the very first time and she looked towards him.
"What? Mumma calls him that too. I'm also calling him that pyaar se." She shrugged and I bit my tongue.
"Mimi?" Soumil gazed at me and raised his truck almost flying it in the air and hitting my face.
Yeah, you had to land your truck on my face.
Also wasn't he crying like a few moments back? How is he back to normal?
I removed the truck from my face and squeezed his cheeks. "Go to sleepppppp now, taklu."
I instantly realised my mistake and felt two pairs of eyes on me this time.
"Chamatkar," Sahil stated firmly.
"Yes, love?" I asked him battling my eyelashes so innocently as if I didn't know anything.
"Papa, why do you call Mumma Chamatkar?" Mysha asked and got a hit on her face by her doll's face...?
My eyes widened in shock when I noticed that Soumil had just removed her doll's hands legs, and torso and threw the face at Mysha. She gasped at seeing the painful death of her doll.
"Soumil." Sahil said.
"Es?" He replied while giggling and showing one small tooth. I love the way his eyes get smaller when he laughs. And he has a habit of saying Yes as Es.
"T-That was my kid" The mother came to the rescue of her murdered child. Her eyes brimmed with tears and she threw the leg of the barbie at Soumil.
"He'll get hurt, Mayu," I said softly. She stood up from Sahil's lap and came to hug me.
Only a mother can understand another mother's pain. I feel so bad that her daughter just died-
I need to take her seriously. Her doll just died.
"We'll get you another doll. Don't cry." Patting her back, I wiped her tears once she pulled away.
"He is so bad." She complained pointing towards Soumil who shifted in front of Sahil to get some defence.
"She is crying because of you. Bad habit, Soum." Sahil told him and made a sad face as well. Soumil continuously shifted his glance between the three of us who were having a sad expression.
"Soli, didi." He mumbled and crawled towards her and forwarded his arms asking her to hug him.
[Sorry.]
This was constant in our house. He would create trouble for all of us and then come and tell us sorry with such a sad baby face that anyone falls for it.
"He's just like you, chamatkar, a total Tufaan" Sahil commented.
"Do I trouble you guys so much?" I asked him trying to wipe my nonexistent tears.
"Yes."
He's just a mean husband.
"Papa, you didn't answer," Mysha shouted irritatedly.
"What, little star?"
"Why do you call Mumma chamatkar?" She repeated. I thought she forgot about this when her daughter's head hit her.
I am not ready for this embarrassment, especially in front of my kids.
"Let's go to sleep-" I said and glanced at Sahil who had this evil smirk on his face right now.
That is so mean. He is having fun.
He is just teasing you.
With each passing year, he just keeps getting hotter and hotter.
Have some shame, Anu, he's your husband now.
"Storytime!" Sahil exclaimed happily.
"Storytime!" Mysha repeated and clapped her hands.
"Yayyy" Soumil danced in his place seeing Mysha so excited because I was so sure he understood nothing.
See he is just like me, finding your reason for happiness in other's happiness. That is how good we both are and they keep telling us that we trouble them.
Mean. Very mean.
"I'm going to sleep if you do any storytime here. It's sleep time. And Sir, you alone are going to make sure both of them sleeps, if they didn't I'll make sure you don't get to sleep as well." I pointed a finger towards Sahil, warning him.
"What if they are ready to sleep after one story? Yes, Mysha?" Sahil asked her and she nodded.
"Yes. Only one story." She nodded vigorously. Soumil copied her and nodded matching her speed as well.
"Es, Poppy" Soumil will address Sahil as anything but Papa. He calls him, Pop, Polly, Pap, Papi and so many different stuff, but he will not call him Papa.
"Okay. See they agree. Let me narrate just one story, chamatkar." He is having a lot of fun.
"Do whatever you want. Just make sure they sleep." I replied and yawned.
Parenting is tiring, I was better off as a fly.
"So when I met your mother for the first time, she introduced herself as Chamatkar..." By now Sahil had managed to gain both their attention.
I can say he is the smart one whereas I'm the impulsive parent. He manages everything with patience whereas I get irritated by everything so easily. And I'm so blessed to have these three in my life. A family which I can call my own.
It's been seven years to our marriage and let me tell you, he is the best thing that has happened in my life. I may be called Chamatkar but he is the miracle that changed my life.
Seven years and my love for him has kept increasing with each passing day.
Even during the time of my first pregnancy, he stood beside me from thick and thin, craved every one of my wishes, and gave me massages when my body started hurting like anything. Even his mom has come to our place for the whole nine months, she said she didn't want me to feel alone during that phase.
When I say I'm very grateful to him, I mean it with all my heart. He did not just make me the mother of his kids but also gave me the parent's love which I was always deprived of.
And when it comes to parenting, he is brilliant at it. There's no argument on who's the better parent. It's him. And the cooler one is me, of course.
I smiled seeing Saumil sitting on Sahil's one leg and Mysha on the other side and he was dramatically narrating both of them some story. Both of their expressions told how much they were involved in the story.
That's it. This is what I've always needed.
They are my definition of love
My whole world.
*
So we have the next book in the series as well, if you loved this one go check out the second book named "When Our Stars Collided". To know about the leads, description and summary Scroll to the next chapter.