Yaadein - Prologue

PROLOGUE

Taking a walk at the beach during sunset, had been one of Khushi Gupta’s pastimes on weekends. There was nothing left that she hadn’t achieved so far. Business was running well. Success was at its peak and she was surrounded by people who loved her immensely. But despite all that, a part of her wondered what it would be to have someone she could call her own. She had met a few men in the past few years but none of them touched her expectations of a life partner. Something was missing. In them… or In her…

As she strolled further, she saw a little boy, around 7 years holding a piece of paper in his hand and looking at the sea blankly. She immediately panicked. What was a boy of that age doing alone at the beach side? Where were his parents? What if the strong waves hit him? Did he know to swim? As he started going in the water, she increased her pace. Within minutes she was running on the sand, towards the boy to drag him out. A wave was about to hit the boy probably even drown him if he didn’t back off, when she managed to clutch his wrist and pull him away from water. The boy struggled.


“Leave me” he groaned.

She dragged him far away from the water and turned around.

“You shouldn’t be here. You could have drowned. Where is your mother?” she snapped.

The boy mumbled something looking down. He looked upset. Probably she had scolded him badly and that scared him off. To soothe his worry, she kneeled down and pulled him closer.

“You are too young to stroll around here without your parents”

She then realized he was wearing a badge with the school name written on it. She recalled the resort she had been staying in had a group of kids from India on some educational trip. Probably he was one of them and that explained why his parents weren’t accompanying him.

“You are from Kidzi International School?” she asked.

“Yes” he replied with dreamy eyes. She had seen these eyes before. Where??

“Alright. Lets get back to the resort” she held his hand but the boy looked at the paper he had gripped so far.

“What’s this?” she asked.

He hid the note behind.

“Is that your secret?” she asked with a smile.

“Yes”

“Okay..” she pouted. “Let me tell you my secret. When I was around your age, I used to eat ice creams without my parent’s knowledge”

He smirked.

“I don’t like ice creams”

“You don’t?” she frowned. “That’s strange”

“Dad says I cannot eat sweets”

“Why is that?”

“I am diabetic”

Her smile vanished. Diabetic? Such a little boy had diabetes?

“Don’t be sad” he smiled. “I eat sugar free cakes and chocolates. I love them”

It did bring a smile on her face.

“I told you my secret, wouldn’t you share with me, yours?” she pointed at the paper he was hiding at his back.

He slowly moved his hand forward and clutched the paper to his heart.

“I wrote a letter to my Mom. I don’t have her address to post it. My friends say if I sail this in the ocean, she will receive it from the other end”

Her heart fluttered. His mother? Where was his mother? Was she… dead? Or missing? She gently took the letter from his hand and read the few sentences he had written.

‘Mom.. I am Aarav. Come back to me. I miss you so much.’

Her heart clenched reading those words. She kissed his cheeks and hugged him tight. Tears swelled in her eyes as she felt his pain. How heartless fate was to snatch the little boy’s mother?

“Will you help me send this letter to my Mom?” he hopefully asked.

Khushi had no clue what to reply.

“Why don’t you ask your dad to do that? I am sure he knows where she is and he will help you”

Aarav sighed in disappointment.

“He won’t” he looked down again. “Bua (Aunt) says my Mom is a witch. She left me because she doesn’t love me and hence will never come back”

Khushi’s heart ached. What kind of nonsense that family filled his ears with? Tears pooled in Aarav’s eyes which she wiped off gently.

“Mom’s never hate their children. If you believe this, she will surely return to you someday”

His face lit with joy.

“Really?” he asked.

“Really” she pinched his cheeks. “So, for now, lets sail this letter in the ocean. Come on”

She took him back to the water and helped him sail the note. The paper floated for some feet and then immersed inside. She silently looked at the sky and closed her eyes to pray to the almighty to send the boy’s mother back to him, from wherever she was.

As soon as she finished praying, they heard a woman’s voice.

“Aarav.. what are you doing here? Its your father’s call from India. Come on, lets go inside”

“Dad has called?”

“Yes..”

Khushi left his hand and Aarav ran towards the resort. He suddenly stopped and came back to her. He pulled her down and kissed her cheek. She was touched by his little gesture. She kissed him back and let him rush to the resort again. But as soon as he was gone, she pounced at the teacher.

“Is this how your school looks after the children abroad? How did Aarav come here without anyone’s knowledge? He could have met with an accident”

The teacher was shocked.

“Ma’am. We ensured all kids are inside the resort. I am not sure how Aarav came here”

“This is heights of recklessness. If this happens again, I will complain to the higher authority and ensure your school never gets new admissions hereon. And I don’t have to tell you that I am going to inform this negligence to Aarav’s father as well”

The teacher was scared.

“Please don’t do this Ma’am. If Aarav’s father gets to know, he will shut our school”

“So be it. You people deserve it for the carelessness you have shown here. I need his contact details”

“Ma’am please” she begged.

“Contact details” she growled.

“Arnav Singh Raizada” the teacher replied. “That’s his father’s name”

Khushi froze. Arnav Singh Raizada? Aarav was Arnav’s son? No wonder they looked alike and had a lot of resemblance. Arnav was her senior in college and if she recalled correctly, he had even ragged her on her first day of the University. And since then… their enmity began.. a cold war between the two which the whole college was aware of. But those were old times.. now they were two matured people who could handle each other better if they happened to meet again. She smiled at her thoughts and headed back to the resort.

To be Continued.


NEXT PART 

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NOTE 

Swept Memories – One of my old works from India Forums which unfortunately I could never complete. I have got numerous requests from the readers of this blog to come up again with a similar plot. Considering that, I am starting this new fiction on this blog named – Yaadein. Avoiding keeping the same name as it might create confusion between my old works and new. It will have similar plot with some Character tweaks here and there. Will begin this fiction from next week. This will be a 20 – 30 part Story only.

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