Mathematics Of Love!

“C’mon Rashi, don’t go far,” I called out to Rashi, my 9 year old daughter, as she went running along with the group of kids playing hide and seek. The joy on her face made me recall my childhood days. Running haywire in the parks and jumping with all our strengths to touch the leaves. Shouting with all our guts to confuse the seeker, and burst into laughter when he tumbled over a pebble to kiss the ground.

Last six months had been real tough for us, especially for Rashi. Many times I felt helpless, when I heard the poor child crying secretly for her deceased mother. But there was nothing I could do for it. For the almighty has strong affinity to pure souls, whom he takes away from us, leaving behind shattered hearts and swollen eyes.

Just while I was busy writing a story, I heard Rashi’s voice. At first I thought of ignoring her, but then I realized she was crying. I ran to the spot and was shocked at the sight. A woman, whom I’ve never seen before, was holding Rashi as she tried to get up from the ground. There was blood flowing from her left leg and she was not able to walk properly. This woman was helping her to get stable on her feet.

“Wait a minute! Wait a minute!” I yelled from the back and reached closer.

“What happened Rashi?”

“Papa! I fell.” She was crying out of pain.

“So, you are her father. How can you be so ignorant?” the woman almost yelled at me.

“Ignorant?”

“Yes, ignorant. How can you leave your daughter all alone?” she again scolded me.

“C’mon, she was playing with her friends, nobody left her alone. And may I know who  you are?” I got perturbed by now.

“She is my Math’s teacher,” Rashi replied.

Somehow, I didn’t like the way she was talking to me. I wanted to remind her that my daughter was her student and not me. But then, it was not the time to fight or prove anything so I decided to ignore it.

“Thank you, for your help. Now, I’ll take care of her.”

She resisted walking, so I lifted her in my arms. I carried her to the bench where I had been sitting. The blood flow had not stopped. I looked into my bag, to find something to tie around the wound. There was nothing. Completely clueless, I looked around. Then suddenly my eyes fell on a beautiful hand extending a handkerchief in my direction. It was her.

“I knew it. You guys will never learn how to take care of your children.”

Before I could say anything, she started tying the handkerchief around the wound. I simply watched in admiration. The tenderness, the care with which she acted, made me feel as if she was her own daughter.

“Where is your wife? She could have handled it better,” she asked. I was speechless.

“Teacher, my mom left us. God took her away from us,” Rashi replied with wet eyes.

“Oh! I’m so sorry,” she realized her mistake.

I thanked the teacher for her help, took Rashi in my arms and left for our home.

Next day, I dropped her to school and went to my office. I was so engrossed with my work, that I didn’t even realize that the clock had struck 5’0 clock. It was time to pick her from her tuition classes. I reached the place thinking that she would have been waiting for quite long and would be angry at me. But she was not there. I was shocked to learn that she had not come at all for classes today. It was unbelievable. I almost felt my heart stop beating when the bus driver told me that she hadn’t boarded the bus that day. Immediately, I started driving to her school when I heard my cell phone ringing. It was an anonymous call, so I ignored it. But then the phone started ringing again, caller being the same.

“What if somebody kidnapped her?” Suddenly my whole body started shivering. With shaking hands I picked the call.

“Hi, I’m Sneha. Rashi’s teacher. We met at the park last Sunday. I called to inform you…”

“Is Rashi with you?” I interrupted her.

“That was what I was about to say. You can..”

“What? Are you out of your mind? I almost died here. Where are you?”

“I’m so sorry. She is with me at my house and is absolutely fine. Come over and I’ll explain everything.”

I reached her house and was about to ring the bell, when I heard a sweet melodious voice singing a song. At first I couldn’t believe my ears, but when I listened carefully, I realized that it was Rashi. I had never heard her singing like that. Then I also heard a piano being played at the background. The whole effect was so mesmerizing that all my fury just vaporized into the air.

Sneha opened the door and asked me in. I noticed Rashi was sitting on the couch, surrounded with soft toys. She had a new bandage on her leg.

“What are you doing here, honey? I was so worried for you.”

“Take a seat. I’ll explain.” Sneha replied.

She told me that Rashi had started crying out of pain during her class. So she took her to a doctor who applied the new bandage and gave some pain killers. Rashi was reluctant to continue the school because of the pain, so she asked for permission from the Principal and took Rashi along with her. They had thought to inform me at around 4’0 clock, but then got so engrossed playing together that didn’t even realize the time. The smile on Rashi’s face clearly reflected that she had enjoyed the company of her teacher. It made me smile too.

“Was it you singing that song?” I asked Rashi.

“Yes! Your daughter is blessed with a very sweet voice,” Sneha said looking at her.

“Papa, teacher is also very good at piano.”

It was amazing that they had developed a good bonding within such a short time. This was the first time when I carefully looked at Sneha. She was a beautiful woman with an immaculate dressing sense which clearly reflected that she belonged to a well off family. Over tea, we started talking. It was heart shattering, when I learned that she was a divorcee. And even terrible fact was that it was a love marriage and her husband asked for divorce just because she could not conceive. I could feel the pain in her eyes, when she told me her story.

I told her about Radhika and how happy we were when she had given birth to a girl. How we had decided the name of the girl taking Ra from Radhika and Shi from Shikhar. How we had started planning from her education to her marriage, right from the day of her birth. And after her death, how we had been trying hard to fill the void which she had left in our lives. After expressing our gratitude, I took Rashi and left for our home.

“So, how is my teacher?”

“Nice,” I said as I pulled the blanket from under her legs to cover her.

“She is hot na?”

“What?” I couldn’t believe my ears.

“C’mon, stop acting. I saw you were checking her out.”

“What? Are you crazy?”

“You liked her, didn't you?”

“Just shut up and sleep. You’ve school tomorrow.” This was simply outrageous. I couldn’t believe this was my 9 year old daughter talking to me.

Rest of the week went quite normal. Rashi was much more insistent than ever to visit the park on this Sunday. It was a pleasant surprise to meet Sneha again at the park. Even more pleasing was to see her join the kids in their game of hide and seek. At that moment, it hit my mind.

“Is Rashi planning all this?” 

I thought over it for a few minutes. But she was too young to play these mind games and this was the real life not the reel life. These things don’t happen in real life.

The trend continued for almost two months. Since the day, she had started giving company to Rashi, I had felt quite relaxed. Then one Sunday, as a gesture of gratitude I invited Sneha for lunch with us. She agreed. At that time, I had not even fathomed that I was stepping on axe myself. My only intention was to thank her for helping us out, but Rashi had some other plans.

On Saturday night, while I was busy reading newspaper in my bed, Rashi came into my room.

“Papa, can I ask you something?”

“Sure darling. What is it?”

“Do you like my teacher?”

“C’mon, honey. Don’t start it again. ”

“You are lying. I know you like her.”

“Yes, dear, I like her because she is so kind and takes good care of you. But why are you asking?”

“Then, why don’t you ask her to come live with us?”

“What?” I almost jumped out of my bed. My innocent daughter was too young to understand what she had just requested. I almost burst into laughter.

“I’m serious, papa.”

“It’s not possible dear. We can’t live together.”

“Why?”

“Because… Because…” I tried to search for some words to explain it, but there were none.

“Because what papa?” she was insistent.

“Because…because...a man and a woman can live together only after marriage. Sometimes it’s too tough to answer your kid’s questions.

“Then marry her!”

“What?” I looked at her innocent face.

My heart was full of mixed emotions, one half laughing at her and one furious at her. It was not her fault, so I tried to keep it on a lighter note.

“C’mon, Rashi. Marriages are not like games. And nobody marries twice.”

“You are lying. I’ve seen it on TV.”

I cursed all the producers of those daily soaps, whom have made marriages look like a game. They don’t understand what impact they are leaving on these young kids.

“It happens in TV only, not in real life. Try to understand.”

“That is what I’m trying to do. Mom is not here, her husband is not there. Then why can’t you both get married?”

“It’s not that simple, Rashi. You can’t think like that. You don’t even know whether she wants to marry again or not? And even if she wants to, why will she marry me? She is too young for me.”

“Because she likes you…”

“What? How do you know?” I felt as if I was hit by an earthquake.

“I know. I know it for sure. All you have to do is ask her.”

“Stop this rubbish honey, enough; go back to your room and sleep.”

“Trust me, papa. She likes you and will marry you. Just ask her. Please.” I could see tears filling her eyes.

“Ok. I’ll ask her. Now stop crying.”

“Promise me.”

“Promise dear.”

I spent the rest of the night wondering over the stubborn behavior of my daughter. Day by day, it was becoming too tough to handle her. I was worried how I would be able to teach her all these social and moral aspects of life. And just while I was looking for a probable answer, suddenly the face of Sneha flashed in my mind. She was also all alone in this world and would be missing a partner to share her thoughts, her feelings. Just like I’d been missing Radhika. Rashi was definitely going to need the support of a mother, especially in her growing years and during transition to adolescence. In fact, we three needed each other.  But, she was a beautiful, educated woman and far too young to marry me. So, I shrugged it off my mind.

Next day, we met at the park. She looked absolutely stunning in that red sari. Her long brown hair danced with the cool breeze. There was no makeup, but still she was resplendent and left me staring at her with my eyes wide open. Had I been 6-7 years younger and single, I would have proposed to her right then. I noticed Rashi making gestures at me. I knew what she was waiting for. It was really embarrassing, but I had no choice. I knew scolding her wouldn’t stop her. My only option was Sneha. I knew it would be too embarrassing for her and too demeaning on my part and that she may even stop seeing us in future. But I was not bothered about that. Once she rejected it, it would stop Rashi once and forever.

“Sneha!”

“Yes!”

“I…I…I wanted to talk to you about something,” I had always been poor at it.

“Sure. Tell me.”

“It’s just…It’s just that I wanted to thank you for everything.”

“Thank me, for what?”

“You’ve been such a great help. I mean, since the day you’ve come in our lives, everything has changed. And especially for Rashi. She keeps talking about you all day.” I knew I was beating around the bush and saw Rashi staring at me.

“Oh! No! No! You don’t need to thank me for anything. She is a sincere child and is going through a tough time. She is just like my daughter and I also enjoy her company.”

“Would you like to be her mother?” It was abrupt, unromantic, nothing like what we see in blockbuster movies. It was a total blunder, and I didn’t know how it happened. It just happened.

“What?” It was time for the after effects.

“I’m so sorry. I know it sounds a bit strange. But it’s just that we were thinking that...”

“That?”

“That, we three need each other. Rashi needs a mother. You and I also need someone in our lives to walk along. So, if… if we can…” I couldn’t gather the guts to complete the sentence.

“If we can?”

“See, please don’t take it otherwise. And please don’t misjudge me after this. But I was wondering, if we can marry each other, we three can live as family together.”

“What? Are you serious?” she stood bewildered. I knew I was dead.

“I know this sounds insane. But trust me, it’s just a thought. You can deny it straight away.”

“I can’t believe this. I have got to go.” She picked her bag and left.

It was all finished. At first I felt a bit relaxed as my trick had worked. But then, Rashi, was disheartened. I felt bad for her, and somewhere I felt bad for myself as well. At that moment I almost felt like I’d fallen in love with her. Somewhere inside I really didn’t want her to reject me. I left everything on god and slept.

At around 6’0 clock in the morning, I heard my cell phone ringing. It was Sneha.

“I wanna talk to my daughter.”

“What?” I almost jumped out of my bed.

“Just give the phone to my daughter.” I couldn’t believe this.

“Your daughter?”

“Yes, you heard it right. She is my daughter.”

“Are you serious? I mean…”

She was serious indeed. I couldn’t believe what was happening in my life. I was unable to fathom what had changed her mind, that too overnight. I’d never heard of a love story like this. But then there was no time for it as well. As soon as Rashi got to know, she started jumping and shouting. Her joy knew no limits that day.

Nobody believed our love story. We all were so happy together; Sneha was such a good partner and an amazing mother for Rashi. Many times, I myself wondered how it all happened. But I never knew that I would find my answer very soon.

One fine morning, Rashi reported pain in her stomach and started crying. I took her to a hospital. It was a normal problem caused due to indigestion. Sneha, was waiting at the door when we returned. She looked really worried. I told her that everything was fine, but still she seemed scared of something. Later in the night after Rashi was asleep in her room, she came to me.

“What did the doctor said?” she was dead serious.

“Nothing serious. She is fine,” I replied. I couldn’t understand the reason for her worry, when there was actually nothing to worry. I continued reading the newspaper.

“Don’t hide it from me. Tell me everything.”

“I’m not hiding anything from you and why would I, dear?”

“So how many days?”

“By tomorrow.”

“What? By tomorrow?” I nodded.

“How can you read a newspaper at this time? We just have one day,” she almost started crying.

“Hey... hey. What happened? Why are you crying?”

“Stop acting. I know everything. I know she is suffering from Thalesemia and doesn’t have much time. But tomorrow is so soon,” she continued crying.

“What? What the hell are you talking about?” I couldn’t believe my ears.

And even more bewildering fact unearthed when she told me that Rashi had told her all this, that night when I had proposed to her. In fact, she had convinced Sneha to take care of me and support me after she died. I couldn’t stop from bursting to laughter when I heard all this. I spotted the killer rage in her eyes when she saw me laughing. Later, when I told her that it was all a set up, a trap set by our 9-year old daughter, she also couldn’t help it. We both went to Rashi’s room. She was sleeping with a big smile on her face, as if she was watching us.

“Love stories are love stories. No matter how they start, the end is beautiful,” I whispered in Sneha’s years.

She turned around, looked into my eyes. I took her in my arms and we both went to our room.