SHIKWA (✔)

#16

"Mumma, whele ish dadda?" asks Aanya.

"Wait for a while baby, we'll meet dadda soon. Okay..." says Ragini as she sits down on a bench and makes the girls sit on her either sides.

They keeps waiting for an hour but no one was telling them anything about Laksh's condition. Ragini looks at her daughters who fell asleep, waiting for their father. She gets up and keeps their heads on each other's shoulder and head to make them comfortable.

"How much more time they'll take?" she asks impatiently to Ankit.

"Don't know! None of the doctors have come out and the nurses aren't telling anything." he tells her.

"Excuse me, who are you?" asks one of the police officer to Ragini.

Ragini looks at the officer and then at Ankit. She wasn't getting what to say. Who's she?

"She's Laksh sir's relative." answer Ankit on her behalf.

The inspector was about to say something but Ankit cuts him off.

"Don't worry! They're of no harm to him. They're family." says Ankit.

The inspector nods and moves to the other officers.

"How did this happen? Who did this and why?" she asks.

"We were on our way to the airport when we got attacked by some men with guns. I used my gun to fire but I couldn't compete with them alone and they got successful in shooting him. They immediately ran away from there because he was their aim and they got what they wanted. We have an idea about who did this but we're not sure yet. The police is investigating." he tells her.

Ragini nods. Just then a doctor comes out of the OT.

"Doctor, how's he? He'll be fine, right?" she asks in a broken voice.

"He has been shot on his neck and we all know how sensitive that part is. We're trying our best. I don't want to give false hopes to you. The chances of his survival are almost nil. Still, let's hope for the good." says doctor before moving away.

Ragini stumbles as she keeps both of her hands on her mouth in shock. The tears which got dried till now again starts flowing from her eyes.

"He can't leave us now. He can't leave his daughters. He just can't go, leaving me. He have to fight for us. Nothing will happen to him Ragini. Just calm down. He'll be fine." she starts assuring herself.

"Mumma, did dadda come?" asks Aanya as she looks at her mother while rubbing her sleepy eyes.

Ragini looks at her daughters who were awake now and somehow fight backs her sob. She moves towards them and sits down besides them.

"No baby. He's on the way." she says caressing their hair.

"He's sho chlo." complains Ishanvi pouting.

"Yes, he is! You both scold him when he comes, okay?" says Ragini.

"Otay..." says Aanya and Ishanvi smiling widely.

***

One month later

Ragini was sitting in the hall in her house, working on her laptop. After sometime, she closes all her files and keeps staring at the desktop picture of her laptop. It was the selfie which Laksh clicked that day, with three of them sitting on him. Tears starts falling from her eyes as she thinks about the last one month.

Ragini's pov:

One month! It has been a month that he left us! I still can't believe that he's no more. The only man I ever loved is no longer in this world. My daughters lost their father forever. They'll always be deprived of their father's love, protection and care. Their family will always be incomplete. He came and left like he never came. He made our daughters used to of his presence just to leave them forever. He came back in my life and brought back all my feelings just to leave me alone and broken!