Dedicated to everyone who decide to give this story a try.

Two weeks later .

     Lavanya Sanskar Maheshwari looked around and smiled at the newly decorated Dinning hall in the Orphanage .

        The balloons were hanged. The tables were filled with cakes and the gifts were hidden in the kitchen for the moment till it was time to distribute them .  She turned to see Arnav bhai and Gauri chatting silently , while Kavya was busy adding the final touches to the decoration .

It was been two weeks since she realized how lucky she was to have a family like hers and because of that she invited her entire family for tonight party at the orphanage .

Gauri and her cousins opted to help her with the preparations . It was almost over. The kids were getting ready and Lavanya hoped the clothes she picked up makes them happy .

She had went to great length while preparing the list. Not only did she have their size from Savitri dida ,she asked their favorite color and the type of dress they want individually while making up the list .

If she could , she would have taken them all to shopping but taking over 50 kids out was not something possible by a 16 year old. So she  decided to go with what she can , she wanted them to be happy.

When selecting the presents ,she went shopping with her family last week . It was just like old times but the familiarity after the brief heartbreak she endured made it more special .

Two years ago she tried asking them what they want for a gift for the first party , When little Ishaan wanted his dad back she realized asking them meant someone of them will be disappointed if she can't procure it , so she went with surprise gifts .

Later that night after shopping , her family were seated in the living room watching a movie together  , and when the movie ended she helped her mom clean up and after bidding Good night to her parents and brother ,she entered her room to find a gift placed on her bed .

There was no card written on it ,but she knew it was meant for her ,and she also know it was from her father as he often surprise her with gifts. She opened it up in excitement and froze when she saw the familiar mermaid doll starring up to her .

The Mermaid doll was the first  gift his father brought her and it was always a remainder that she was loved by her parents . When Yuv broke it as a child, she was heartbroken about it as a child because the doll meant so much to her .  Even though she no longer was in an age to play with dolls , she cherished the thoughtfulness behind her father gift .

She placed the doll in the shelf and took a picture of it and sent it to her father with the caption " Loved it and Love you " .

And few minutes later when no message came back , she walked to her parents room and knocked their door .

Her mother opened the door half asleep and she felt bad waking her up .

" Sorry Mom , did I wake you up " Lavanya  asked feeling little guilty .

" It okay beta ,come in " her mom spoke up and she went in and only then realized her dad wasn't inside the room .

" Where is dad?  " she asked when she found him missing .

" So you come to see your dad not me " her mom teased but Lavanya did feel bad about it .

" Well he brought me a gift and I just wanted to thank him but he isn't replying to my message ..so.." She hesitated speaking further .

" Your father is downstairs working on a case ,his phone is here in charger. And Lavanya Beta don't  you know how happy I am to see both of you comfortable with each other again . So don't feel bad this only makes me much happier . " her mom spoke up and Lavanya smiled at her words .

After  hugging her mom and bidding  her good night again  ,she went in search of her father .Knocked at his home office  door and entered to find him immersed in files .

" Where did you buy the doll dad ?" She asked as a way of greeting as she didn't see it in the shop today when they were shopping .

" Did you like it Princess ?" He asked as he looked at her from his files with a smile

" You know I love it . After all it the first gift you bought me , and dad back then you told me you left home to buy the doll was it true " she asked him as she remembered herself crying thinking he left her . 

     Lavanya was surprised by how much she remember about that time of her life, she was six year old and yet she remembered the day clearly, it was the day her parents came to pick her up from the orphanage and when she walked inside her grandparents house ,she was bit overwhelmed and happiness but few hours later,she realized her father wasnt around anymore which made her cry for a long time thinking he didnt want her anymore until he came back with the Mermaid doll , telling her that he went to buy it for her. 

    It was the first gift her father brought her,so it was very precious to her until Yuv broke it but she didnt blame her brother because he was more precious to her than the doll . Her little brother ,yet know she cant help but voice out the question wondering why her father went missing that night .

" No .It was the first doll that caught my eye when I walked into the shop after your mom called and told me you were crying " he said and she was glad he didn't hesitate while saying it , she didn't want her father to be afraid how she will interpret his actions  .

" Why did you leave that night " she asked finally comfortable enough to ask those question without worrying what the answer might reveal . He looked at her for awhile before walking from his chair and sitting beside her in the couch .

"Our marriage didn't happen under the best circumstances , I tell you about it when you grew up a little bit more .

Just know after her first marriage with Siddharth ,your mom wasn't ready to take a risk when it comes to our marriage and when Siddharth dad came to know about her marriage with me , he reacted badly about it ,in short your mom left me thinking it was for the best so that I won't be affected .

Then only she came to know about you being alive from Siddharth dad who threatened her   with your safety  , then only your mom told me about you being alive .

We weren't together when we adopted you and after I dropped you at your grand parents house . I didn't want overstay hence left . I thought leaving without a word would be best at the moment ." her father spoke up.

Lavanya who always saw her parents together was surprised that at one point of time they weren't together but also was relived of the assurance she wasn't the reason for the separation .

" If you weren't together. Why did you adopt me ?" the question was asked as it made no sense , and  on what faith her father adopted her when he wasn't even living with her mother .

" It was the easier way to adopt you quickly ,then to go to courts and prove that your mom was your birth mother , Siddharth dad was powerful and if we didn't act quickly he would have gained your guardian ship . The process for adoption move easier if they are a couple instead of a single mother ." her father spoke and waited for her to realize what he meant .

" Oh" the one word was all she could utter but she quickly masked her reaction and smiled at her father ,the reason did come as a shock but she trusts him now and won't subject him to her doubts any longer

" So what happened next .And how I never gotten to hear this part of your life " she asked him which made her father relax as she told her about how they got back together . And when she returned back to her room later that night she wasn't plagued with doubts only happiness that her parents found each other .

It has been a week since that day and Lavanya was happier than ever before at the new found calmness . She was lost in her thoughts that Gauri had to shake her up to gain her attention

" What were you thinking ?" her best friend asked her .

" Nothing ." She replied back and concentrated on the preparation till latha warden rushed in panicked . They soon find the reason as one of the kids from the orphanage was missing .

Soon everyone was searching for her , and after 15 minutes of search Lavanya and Gauri heard a crying voice from the small storage room and when they checked and found the little girl ,Lavanya sent Gauri to inform everyone while she stayed behind .

At the sounds of footsteps the girl panicked but when she saw who it was she relaxed and went back to crying , Lavanya who had no idea how to help a crying child stood beside her waiting for savitri dida or the warden to come but one minute later the girl spoke up making Lavanya aware that some questions doesn't have correct answer .

" Why does no one want me " the girl named Meera asked and Lavanya who was aware of the reason for the tears had no answer .

She heard from the warden the girl went missing after they told her the couple who promised to adopt her changed their mind at the last minute .

When Lavanya was in the orphanage, it had happened often but most of the kids used to be babies that they weren't hurt by the rejection un like Meera who was five year old .

" Dida wants you , Latha warden wants you ,everyone in here wants you Meera ." she spoke but she knew those words won't comfort the little girl and she desperately wished for someone else arrival .

" Ishaan doesn't want me , he isn't talking to me " the little girl spoke up and started crying again .

" Why is Ishaan not talking to you " Lavanya asked so the girl will stop crying .

" Because I was happy that someone came to adopt me , he said I forgot my parents and it wrong to accept someone else as my parents but I don't even remember them " Meera spoke up and Lavanya heart went out for her .

She understood Ishaan who lost his parents at the age of 6 and he was also the same kid who asked for his parents as a gift .

Lavanya and Meera who grew up in the orphanage without the memory of the birth parents were more receptive of being adopted than kids like Ishann . Lavanya understood it yet she didn't know how to convince the little girl from crying either .

" It not wrong Meera to want someone to adopt you , your birth parents would have wanted you to find someone to love you , do you know I lived in the orphanage for 6 years and no one adopted me .

I used to cry like you as well , but if I was adopted earlier I would have missed meeting my parents, and I believe if you wait a little longer you will get to meet your parents as well " Lavanya spoke up and hoped the little girl wish does come true

Lavanya wasn't deluded enough to think every kids get adopted but she hoped that every kids find someone who loves them and adopts them . And hope is such a strong emotion and she didn't want to take it away from Meera at least not yet .

Lavanya was thankful for the arrival of Savitri dida at the moment , she left the girl and went to the dining hall to find all the guests have beginning to arrive , Adarsh uncle and Kavya parents arrived first and she laughed when Arnav took few steps further from Gauri at the sight of Adarsh uncle in his police attire .

      Then Rohit uncle and Sanjana arrived followed by Laksh uncle and Ragini aunt with Yash . Her grandparents though were invited already declined it , so she wasn't expecting them .

      Soon the kids were allowed to enter the hall and Lavanya wondered why her parents were late. Everyone she invited arrived except her parents and brother . And she was beginning to worry when she saw them enter at last with Savitri dida .

She saw her parents hand in hand walking up to her  with Yuv and Lavanya smiled at them relived to find them safe .

" I was worried ."she spoke up when they reached her .

" Sorry it took a little longer princess " her father spoke up .

" It okay dad , I am just glad you came " she spoke up and smiled at him.

Lavanya was at the moment not only talking about that day but the words were said as an echo of her feelings that her father came in search of her ten years ago

Talking with Meera made her realize , she was  very lucky to have her family and they were worth waiting not just 6 years but a lifetime .

P.S : " That it for now .Let me know your thoughts and feedback. hit the votes if you liked it "

Love

Nita