Aradhana: His only worship

III

VOTE!

Ye teri hansi par main mar hi na jaun

Teri hi baaton mein khona main chahun

Teri hi aankhon mein doobna chahun

Teri hi yaadon mein so na main paun

✨

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AUTHOR'S POV

At 5:05, she arrived at her grandfather's place. Peering out of the car window, she surveyed the building that housed her entire childhood and where she had also gotten married.

Two years had passed since her divorce, and this was only her second visit back in that time. She laughed softly at the irony of her life and stepped out of the car.

Taking in her surroundings, she noted that everything appeared unchanged. She walked to the gate and rang the bell.

Nair Niwas

The door swung open to reveal her stepmother, Priya Nair, who looked at her with a scrunched nose and an expression of disgust.

"Who is it, Priya?"

A voice came from behind, and she instantly recognized it as her father Rakesh Nair's.

"Your daughter has returned! Who knows what she wants now? First, she ruined her well-settled home and dragged our honor through the mud," she declared, blocking the entrance, not that she wished to enter. Hearing his wife, Rakesh approached the main door, and that's when she saw her father for the first time in two years. They exchanged glances, one filled with disgust and anger, the other devoid of emotion.

"What do you want?" he asked in an angry tone. He wanted her to leave; what would people think if they saw her here? The thought of people assuming he was harboring his divorced daughter at home was unbearable. Rakesh was determined not to let that happen.

"Umm... Dada Ji," she said, and saw her grandfather approaching with his cane, a smile gracing his face upon seeing his granddaughter. Aradhana returned the smile and, as he drew near, she touched his feet to seek his blessings.

"May you always be happy," he said, patting her head affectionately. She knew that even if the whole world turned against her, her grandfather, Aalok Nair, would never let her down.

He was the only one who witnessed her suffering at her in-laws' house and supported her decision to divorce her ex-husband.

Her father, on the other hand, ignored her pleas and suffering, just as he had when she told him about the mistreatment from her stepmother and stepsister, who made her work like a maid and beat her, yet he paid no heed.

The day her mother died, she had hoped her father would understand her and they would be enough for each other, but her dreams were shattered when he brought home Priya, her stepmother, and Neha, her stepsister, just four days after her mother's passing.

At just seven years old, what could one expect from a child? She had hoped for a happy family once more, but it all fell apart as her father began to ignore her, and her stepmother, she was the witch.

"Let's go!" she heard her grandfather's voice, pulling her from her reverie. She glanced at him, then at her father, who was still looking at her with disdain. She nodded and began to walk away, with Aalok following close behind.