Abandoned (Part-2)

It’s almost 11 a.m. in the morning and I feel tired and exhausted. As I switch on the T.V, I hear the continuous knocking of the door. I open the door and go numb seeing the person standing in front of me. I can see the same beautiful familiar eyes that I saw 19 years ago. The girl standing in front of me is undoubtedly Preeti. I can’t believe she is here. So many features of her face are still the same and that’s why I could recognize her easily. She looks so damn young even at this age. She is looking like a 16 or maybe 17 years old kid. This is so strange to see her all of a sudden after so many years. 

Is it a dream? Is it the result of the overthinking of last night? I don’t know how to respond. Should I run away? Should I close the door?

“Aaliya, you remember me?” She finally speaks. I haven’t heard that name of mine in the last so many years.

“Of course I do.”

“How are you?”

I can barely speak now. “ I am fine. How are you?”

“I am also fine.”

There’s a moment of awkward silence and then I ask her to come inside. As she enters, I notice that she has come here with her luggage. Is she going to stay here? Man, this is gonna be awkward. Looking at her outfit, I realize that she too probably was adopted by someone after I left.

“ Would you like to have breakfast?” I ask her.

“No, I am not hungry...Actually, I’ve come here to tell you that Sister Thomsina is sick. She wants to meet you.”

“What happened to her?”

“Problems related to old age. But it’s kinda serious. She thinks she doesn’t have much time.”

I feel like shit now. I never went to meet her after being adopted. I’ve been so selfish all these years.              

“I’ll go and meet her for sure,” I tell her.

I go to the kitchen and bring some snacks. As I sit again with her, I know it’s the time to face the truth.

“Preeti, I am sorry for what happened all these years ago in the orphanage. I didn’t mean to break our promise or to leave you when you were sick. Whatever happened was very much unexpected and sudden.”

“Hey, come on...It was a long time ago. Tell me how have you been all these years?”

“Life has been awesome. More like a dream. I’ve got everything I ever wanted.”

“Did you miss me initially after getting out of the orphanage?”

“Yeah. A lot. I used to pray for you every morning. I felt terrible and guilty. I wanted to meet you but I didn’t have the guts to face you.”

“My health deteriorated after you left. I was adopted after 8 days and then taken to a hospital for treatment. Those were the longest days of my life. I felt betrayed and angry and decided to never contact you.....But look...Here I am!”

“I am sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She says with a smile. “And yes I am sorry about your parents.”

“Don’t be.”

Since I don’t wanna talk about my parents I try to divert the topic. “ Tell me how have you been all these years?”

“Everything has been good. My parents are wonderful. I have an elder brother too. They take care of me very well.” With tears in her eyes, she continues. “ But you know what? I could never become a good daughter. I tried hard but I couldn’t open up. I never got attached to them. They wanted to see me happy and lead a normal life but I just couldn’t do that.” She cries like a kid while saying this.

“Hey, please don’t cry. It’s fine if you couldn’t open up. You tried your best. Right? And so it’s okay.” I say this trying to calm her down. I continue after a pause. “ And what do you mean by that normal life thing. I didn’t get you.”

“I told my parents that I’ll never get married.”

I laugh, thinking of it to be a joke. “ Hey don’t be kiddish.”

“ I am serious. I can never trust a man. Men are rascals.”

“Are you alright Preeti?”

“Yeah.” 

“All men are not the same dear.”

“ Sister Thomsina told me that my biological mother used to visit me until I was 18 months old. She had been gang-raped by 4 men and thrown in the outskirts of a village. She then opened her eyes to a hospital. The police enquired but took the case lightly. She wanted those men to be punished but her husband told her not to spoil the name of the family. When she came to know that she is pregnant, she ran away from the house. She knew I wasn’t her husband’s child. When I was born, she was all alone. And when she brought me to the orphanage she told Sister Thomsina that the day her husband finds her he will kill her. She last visited me when I was 18 months old. And then she never came.” 

“I am really sorry.”

There’s a long pause. And then she says, “I think I should leave now.”

“Are you busy? Where do you have to go?”

“I’ll check into a hotel.”

“ Why? You will stay here with me. And we will go to meet Sister Thomsina together.”

“But I don’t want to trouble you like an uninvited guest.”

“You aren’t my guest. You are my long lost friend. You should take rest now. You must be tired.”

“Sure. Thank you.”