And It Rained Again

 Anaya looked at the envelope placed on the table knowing well what its contents had to say. The raindrops lashing on the window panes caught her attention and she turned her head that way. It was raining continuously since the morning. Her eyes turned back to the envelope. She sighed and got up. She walked towards the window and opened it. The rain was falling heavily outside. She felt a tsunami of emotions swell within her, ready to burst out and rain down her eyes, just like the rain that was drenching her outstretched hand from the window. With an immense effort, she gulped down her agony and closed the window. She walked back to the parlor and sat down on the sofa. The closed envelope stared back even harshly at her from the table. Her eyes fell on her mobile phone lying near to the envelope. She had a brain wave and her lips curved into a tiny smile. She picked up her phone and typed a message – ‘Hi, how are you?’

She pressed the ‘send’ button and passed the message to her best friends Mahi and Diya. She waited eagerly for her friends to reply keeping her eyes glued to the phone. The first one to respond was Mahi. After usual chit-chat, Anaya’s enthusiastic fingers typed the question she was dying to ask Mahi – ‘How are your kids?’

The real reason behind the query was not to enquire about the well being of Mahi’s kids. Anaya wanted to make Mahi ask a similar question in return.

‘They are fine.’ Mahi’s reply came instantly, ‘how are yours?’

‘They are good.’ Anaya typed as quickly as possible, ‘My son Abhi had topped his class this year too and my daughter Mehak won a gold medal in the state level dance competition.’

‘Congratulations, Anaya!’ Mahi replied, ‘you are such a proud mother!’

“Yes, I am,” Anaya said to herself as tears glinted in her eyes.

‘I too have some good news to share with you.’ Anaya read Mahi’s message with moist eyes.

‘What is it?’ Anaya typed.

‘I got a promotion last week. Now I am the new in-charge of my office.’

‘Wow! Mahi, I don’t understand how you play the dual role of a homemaker and a working woman so easily? Congratulations and best of luck.’

As soon as Mahi went offline, Diya’s message dropped in.

‘I am good Anaya, how have you been?’

‘I am fine Diya,’ Anaya typed with a jubilant smile, ‘what had kept you busy all these days?’

‘Well, my husband had started one more business firm,’ Diya replied.

‘That’s great, Diya.’ Anaya smiled as she typed, ‘your darling husband is on his way to become a business-tycoon!’

‘Thanks Anaya, but I have to go.’ Diya typed hurriedly, ‘someone’s calling on my landline.’

Diya’s terrified eyes turned towards the phone that was beckoning her. She knew it was someone who had lent money to her bankrupt husband. She buried her face and sobbed violently as she had no idea how they were going to feed their kids after selling her jewelry to repay the debt. Her sobs were muted by the heavy gush of rain falling outside.

 

 Mahi looked at the rain outside and her eyes filled up with tears of remorse for lying to her best friend Anaya whom she hadn’t met in ages. Under the pressure of his mother, Mahi’s husband had forced her to resign from her well-paid job to take care of the family. She was close to the much-coveted promotion at that time.

 

 Finally, Anaya held out her hand to pick up the envelope that seemed to smirk at her. She opened it and her moist eyes could read only one word typed in bold letters on it – ‘Negative.’ The test was negative which meant that she couldn’t conceive even after undergoing ten long years of various infertility treatments, praying, fasting and what not. She folded the paper and thrust it back into the envelope. The only way she could fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a mother was by enacting one before her best friends Mahi and Diya. She closed her eyes and tears drenched her face. It started raining again as the three friends wept out their sorrows in solitude.