The day was very busy for Aleena, soon all classes got called to the auditorium, and Aleena’s was one of them.  She left the class and started walking towards the auditorium, but during the way she felt that she as if she stepped on something, so she looked down and saw a piece of bread lying there. She bent down, picked it up, and placed it on the short wall next to her. She was taught from a very young age to respect both the food and public places, and she always tried her best to follow her good nature.

She felt someone's stare on her. She looked around, but couldn't find anyone, so she started walking again.
Going into the auditorium, she saw several other students. She then sat on one of the chair lying nearby.

Soon, everyone came into the auditorium, except her friends, and eventually the auditorium got filled with students. Her friends, however, came late, so they had to sit at the back of the auditorium, away from her.

She looked at her friends and sighed, realizing she had to sit alone during the whole thing.

Just then their teacher invited the special guest with respect: it was a middle-aged woman whose every action showed a distinct grace and dignity.  As soon as she arrived, she began to look at all the girls sitting there, her eyes searching, as if looking for someone.

In her heart, she knew she was searching for her granddaughter, and she wanted to meet her as soon as she could.

On the way to the auditorium, she had seen a girl who looked somewhat similar: it was probably her modest personality or her innocence that caught her attention. The lady saw her picking up a piece of bread, and her gesture made her wish that her granddaughter was too raised in the same way this girl had been raised.
Shortly afterwards, the guests were introduced to all of the students.

"Students, this is the Royal lady, as you all know. She exceptionally  spared her time and came here to appreciate the progress our University has made.
She also promised to support the university and has initiated many scholarships for those in need. She is such a humble and kind lady, welcome her with a loud applause."

All the girls looked at her with eyes full of admiration. The lady was known as the tycoon in business as well, and the grace she held mesmerized all the girls sitting there.
They all clapped and welcomed her.

The woman accepted the warm welcome, and delivered her speech, but suddenly asked a very unique question.
“Is there any girl in here named Aaira?”

Initially all of them reacted with surprised gasps and whispers, but eventually two girls stood up. They didn't know why the Lady mentioned their names, but being acquainted with the lady was a one in a lifetime opportunity, so they stood up hurriedly.

As soon as the Lady saw those girls, there was a slight disappointment in her eyes, maybe she was hoping to see the girl that she saw some moments before.

But she soon realized that Aaira was the name given to the baby by her, and it could’ve been possible that the family who adopted her had given her a different name.

Who knew what name she could have at that point.
Her assistant approached her then, and told her that the girl they were looking for was not named Aaira, but Aleena.

And that girl was doing her bachelor's degree in psychology, so certainly she belonged to the psychology department.

She motioned for the girls to sit down, and they did with slight disappointment.

The lady then turned to one of the teachers and asked.

"Is there a girl named Aleena here?She's from the department of Psychology.”

On which the teacher replied: "Yes.. There's certainly a girl named Aleena. I know her, she's a very nice girl. But what's the matter? Would you like to meet her?”

"Yes, I want to meet her." She replied elegantly.

The teacher stood up and said, "The Lady wants to meet the student named Aleena, from the psychology department."

The hall became silent for a while: Aleena wasn't a popular student, so why did the lady want to meet her?
She didn't understand why the lady wanted to meet her, either. She was as confused as everyone else.

Meanwhile the eyes of the lady were also looking back and forth, anxiously scanning the hall  to see who would stand up, who her granddaughter was.

Aleena got up from her seat and slowly raised her eyes to look at the lady.

Upon seeing her, the lady was shocked.

The girl, who the lady wanted her granddaughter to be like, was indeed her own granddaughter. She became silent for a while, and observed her.

Eyes clear like crystals, with a ting of confusion in between them, a faint smile on her lips, and her nervous gestures, the lady's eyes became watery as she stared into Aaira's face. She looked as if she was trying to commit her features to her mind.

She called her granddaughter towards the stage. Aleena was a little stunned, but she walked towards it. For a moment, seeing the lady's eyes shining with unshed tears, a tingling sensation arose in her heart too, but why?

Why were the Lady's eyes misty,  she didn't know.

"Why would she cry?" she asked in her heart.

Going to the stage, her steps staggered, and she almost fell, but the lady grabbed her and held her in an embrace.

She looked at the girl in her arms. Aleena was in a state of shock. but in a short time she regained her composure and stood firmly beside her, feeling embarrassed. The Lady asked her some questions to which she gave firm answers. Among those, she asked why she chose psychology as a field of her studies, to which Aleena replied that for her, psychology was a subject that helps a human to understand the mysteries of a mind, its thought, feeling and behaviour.
Moreover, it also helped unveil many secrets that usually hidden in the depth of one's self.

That particular answer made the lady smile a little: that was what her granddaughter should be like.

The Lady then talked with teachers for a while, without dismissing Aleena, and then stood up signaling the gathering was over.

The students started to leave the auditorium then. After seeing the gathering of students begin to disassemble,  Aleena too left the podium.  That day was a very strange one. She saw such an affection and love directed towards her in the eyes of an unknown woman.

Shaking off all her thoughts, she headed towards her friends. School was soon over, and she jumped in the car that came to take her home.

It was busier than usual, so it took her half an hour to reach home.
She was surprised to see a crowd on her street: several cars she had never seen before  were parked along the road, and as she went on she saw cars parked  in front of her house too.

Her neighbors were standing around on the road in front of her house, and wanted to ask her why there were so many cars outside it, but she didn't know it either.

She went inside and noticed a strange silence.

In the deep silence she heard the sound of someone's cries. She was scared at first, but as soon as she entered the living room, the voice began to grow louder.

She couldn’t understand anything they were saying. She was standing in the doorway when her mother saw her through the door.
She called her towards herself in a low voice.

Aleena approached her mother, but was surprised to see the very same woman from her university sitting in the room with her mother, smiling with teary eyes.

"Mama, why are you crying?" she rushed towards her mother and asked her.
But instead of answering her, she hugged her, as if to feel her presence one more time.

"Mama, Mama! Are you alright?"

When she heard no answer, she asked again:

"Tell me what happened? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, not you, but me! I..."

"Mama, what are you saying? You can't do anything now, please stop crying..."

"I didn't do anything intentionally! I didn’t have any other choice at the time! Now, I want you to listen to me."

“Ok, Mama, I'll listen to you, but stop crying first or I will not forgive you for crying so much for me!" She spoke with wet eyes of her own.

"You... you're not my biological daughter!" She admitted after a long pause.

"What? What are you saying?" She could not understand what her mother was saying.

"You are not my daughter Aleena. Not my daughter." She cried.

Because of her mother's crying, she went into a trance.  What was all this?

"I didn’t have  a choice!" Seeing her still and silent, her mother spoke again.

"Twenty-one years ago, I was in the hospital, my baby was about to come into this world. She was a girl, and I was so excited, after bearing so much pain when she was born. Shortly afterwards, the doctors told me that my baby, she- she was born dead!" she replied while sobbing heavily.

"My heart was aching, I was in so much pain! She was my daughter! My only daughter! But she was born dead!"

She took a breath to steady herself before continuing.

"The next day, when I was about to be discharged from the hospital, two nurses came to my room to check me up for the last time, they were talking about a baby girl. I heard them say that someone had left a two-year-old girl outside the hospital. They said she was so beautiful, but seemed to be inconsolable in her crying, and nobody could calm her… Upon hearing that, I realized what I needed to do: the world would treat that poor lonely girl in horrible ways, so I decided to take that baby as my daughter, because she was left without parents, and I was left without a daughter. I decided I would raise that baby as if she were my own flesh and blood. I talked to your father and he agreed instantly. You know, the first time I saw you at the hospital I felt as if Allah himself sent you specifically for me. When I picked you up, you hugged me and cried a lot, Aleena. But I was the only one you allowed to hold you. You slept in my lap, and I loved you so much that I held you in my arms all night long. You also had some injuries that we couldn’t explain, and after a lot of inquiring and researching, we realized you weren’t just lost, but someone had left you there on purpose. We adopted you and gave you a name. I wanted to introduce you to every one of the relatives I hadn’t seen in a long time as my own daughter."

She finally took a long breath, finished with her story. Her eyes were filled with tears.

Aleena's face was also covered with heavy tears.

Was that true?

She was given a lot of love. Those who gave it to her weren’t her real parents?

Her heart was aching. She suddenly hugged her mother.

"I don't know anything Mama! You are my Mama and you will always be, I am your daughter and I will always be, don't tell me all of this, don't push me away from you, Mama" she cried.

That day, the events were repeating themselves, she was once again crying on her mother's lap as she had been twenty one years before.

She didn’t want to believe those things, she just wanted to be her Mother's daughter.

"You were, and will always be, my daughter, but now your lost relatives are found! I can't keep you away from them, Aleena!"

"Relatives that abandoned me in the past? Relatives who never looked for me?"
she answered in a strained voice.

"Aaira! You don't know how long I've been waiting to see you!" Upon hearing Aaira’s  accusations, the lady spoke.

"I was anxious to see you, but I stayed away only to protect you!"

"To protect me?" She looked at the woman with doubt in her eyes.

"Yes. Only to protect you." She repeated. Upon hearing that, Aleena looked at her with questions in her eyes, her heart was demanding the reason but her lips were sealed.

                              .........

Rani_dream_faith
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