Around 5:15 in morning, as soon as Sehar stepped out of the plane cold winds licked her bare face and palms. Vapors made their way out from her nose that had turned red and occasionally from the purple lips which had a ting of blue around the corners. Feeling the goosebumps all over her body and gently chattering teeth, she tightly wrapped her coat around her.

Slowly and steadily she walked towards the baggage claim and patiently waited for luggage to arrive. Since it was still dark outside, she decided to stay back at the airport waiting for the light to make its way. In about one and half hour, when the sky visible through the glass walls wasn't dark anymore, Sehar took a deep breath before getting up and picking her luggage. With slow and visibly tired steps, she dragged herself to the exit terminal and booked the first cab that crossed her sight. As the cab moved towards her destination, she rolled down the car windows allowing the morning fresh air to touch her skin. The air didn't feel that chilling to the bones, probably because of the rays of the rising sun which induced a little warmth in the atmosphere. The roads were relatively empty at that hour of the day. Thirty minutes later, Sehar found the cab stopping in-front of a bungalow situated in Chattarpur Farms, Delhi. Paying the cab driver, she stepped out of the car while the driver unloaded her luggage. She stared at the nameplate for some-time, wore her sunglasses to hide the wounds around her eye and rang the bell next to the nameplate that read, "Rajput Residence". The watchman opened the main-gate.

"May I know, who are you...??"; Watchman asked

Shehar stood straight and spoke in an animated tone "Mitti, khatti, namkeen goli ki dibiya...indradhanush ke sabhi rang hain....";  (A box of sweet, sour and salty candies, the one who imbibes all colors of the rainbow is...)

"Humari Sehar bitiya (Our Sehar) "; completed the watchman

"How are you kaka..??"; asked Sehar

"We are doing good beta and now that you've come, we will be even better...very happy to see you after so many years"; replied watchman

Sehar smiled in response and walked past him to enter but halted after taking a few steps while the watchman closed the gate. She was busy admiring the place she spent her childhood in when the voice of the watchman broke her trance,

"Child, why are you standing here ... let's go inside, sir and madam will be very happy to see you" ; he said.

Sehar nodded in response and walked inside while the watchman along with one servant took care of the luggage. She placed her palm on the knob on of the house door and took a deep breath before twisting it thereby opening the door wide open.

Meanwhile inside the Rajput residence, Neena Rajput was busy instructing the servant, "Khelu, Let's clean up the store today, and decide upon what we need to take with us and what can we sell off"

Ishwarchand, however, interrupted the conversation saying; "Mrs Rajput, before you begin this "Safaai Abhiyan" (Cleaning Campaign) of yours, how does having a hot cup of tea sounds, sounds great right..!!"; to which Neena replied, "Sounds good but Mr. Ishwar I think you've forgotten that you had your last cup of tea just an hour ago or wait have you lost the track of time"

Ishwarchand frowned at his wife's comment but before he could reply, Khelu remarked, "Dadiji, I think all his life Dadaji was deprived of tea for finding tea in Jung-ke-Maidaan (War zones) is not so easy, that is why I think he is fulfilling his desires by having it every hour"

Ishawarchand lightly slapped Khelu on his head and said, " Barkhurdar (Mister Smart pants), the time you spend in talking, try using it for something fruitful, go and make tea for in your words, I need to fulfil my desire to drink tea"....

Khelu got up to move to the kitchen when they heard the house door opening. Ishwarchand instructed Khelu to look whose there but Neena stopped him saying she would go and she herself

---------------------------------------

As soon as Sehar entered the hour, she heard a male voice which she recognized at an instant for after all it belonged to her grandfather, her dearest Dadu.

"Khelu, I heard the door open, whose there..", Ishwar spoke

"Khelu wait let me check"; Neena replied while walking towards the door, "...!!..Must be the delivery guy from the grocery store, I had called to 15 min ago deliver for a few groceries for home, very fast delivery I must... " ; however, words betrayed her when she looked at the girl standing in front of her, her angel, her darling grand-daughter.

"Delivery hasn't improved Dadi, it's not the delivery guy, it's me"; Sehar spoke looking at the grandmother whose tears had made their way out. Sehar took small steps and touched Neena's face wiping off the tears but the silent tears turned into loud sobs as Neena took Sehar in a warm embrace. A hurricane of emotion flew past Sehar's heart too but none showed on her face, may be because her eyes got too tired of crying and weeping. The sound of sobs reached Ishwar's years as well and he to rushed to the gate in an instant. However as he reached closer, his reaction too was similar to his wife's except that there weren't any tears for his army training had taught him to hide the tears. Somewhere in the corner of his heart, he wanted to take his grand-daughter in a hug just as his wife did or may be a tighter one but then he chose to maintain a rigid posture to cover his numbness for, being a retired Field Marshal, he never showcased his weaknesses to anyone but he forgot that the person in front of him was not his enemy but his granddaughter and that the place he was standing on was not a battle field but his home.

Finally after a few minutes, Neena asked ; "Sehar, why didn't you inform that you were coming, we would have sent someone to pick you..??"

"Relax Dadi, it was a sudden plan and I thought of surprising you guys, anyways you keep asking me to come, so here I am"; replied Sehar

"That is.."; Neena but but the was cut in the middle by Ishwarchand who was quite till, "Neena lets go inside and talk, Ramu (the watchman) and Suraj ( the other servant who accompanied Ramu with luggage) , keep her luggage in her room, Neena will send someone to clean the room and (a little louder) Khelu make it 3 cups of tea, Sehar you drink tea right or should I ask Khelu to make coffee  for you..??"

"Tea will be fine Dadu..thank you"; replied an emotional Sehar, after all this was the first conversation in the 10 years that she was having with her grandfather.

Sehar walked in the house, walking past the garland covered picture of her late parents in the hallway. She sat on her Dadu's rocking chair in the hall just like she used to in the childhood for as a kid, for her, sitting on this chair was synonymous to sitting on a swing. Ishwar and Neena remembered the old days, when little Sehar climbed up the rocking chair but it didn't move a bit which made her sad, but how could Ishwar let his princess be sad so he quietly sat on the floor behind the chair hiding from his angel and starting swinging the chair slowly. The whole house echoed with little Sehar's innocent laughter as soon as the chair started swinging.

Their visit down the memory lane got disturbed when they saw Sehar getting up. "Sorry Dadu, please sit, I will sit on the sofa"; she said but before Neena could say anything Ishwar moved forward and sat on the chair while Sehar and a dejected Neena took the seat on the sofa. In the whole commotion, Sehar however missed the prying eyes of her grandfather who was watching her every move and therefore the slight pain that she felt in her back while getting up and subsequently sitting did not go unnoticed by Ishwar and he remarked; "I don't know what is wrong with today's generation, just a little movement is enough to cause pain and by the way Madam designer Sehar Rajput, is it a fashion these days to put sunglasses inside the house..??".

Not able to come up with an excuse, Sehar silently removed her glasses only to make her wounds visible which made her grandparents instantly worried. But before Neena could voice out her worry, Sehar spoke, "I got entangled in a mess of bedsheets and fell down from stairs which resulted in some injuries and sprains, nothing to worry".

Her answer didn't quite satify Ishwar; "Are you sure it happened because you got entangled while washing clothes because you see you are a designer and I presume a designer knows how to wash clothes...right..!!"

Neena, however, interrupted, "Can you please stop with this investigation, she is in so much pain, listen Sehar, we can go and get a check up done by the doctor here if you want..!!"

"That is not needed Dadi, the wounds are almost healed, these are just marks"; replied Sehar

Ishwar still not convinced remarked; "Are you Sure they are healed..??"; Neena glared at her husband; "Aray I mean we can go to the doctor if you want."

"No Dadu, I am fine"; replied Sehar

Once she answered their doubts, her Dadi asked their house help to clean her room which made Sehar voice the question running in her head, "My room..??"; to which her Dadu instantly replied; "We keep ourselves prepared for unprecedented situations." Neena rolled her eyes at him and said; "Sehar, just because you don't live here doesn't mean you won't have a room for you in your own house". Sehar immediately felt a sense of belonging she craved for since a very long time. Soon enough tea was served and after about half an hour, Sehar moved to her room to rest.

-----------------------------------

A few hours later, Neena entered her bedroom only to find her husband rolling a bedsheet over him. Rolling her eyes, she spoke; "You don't believe her do you..??"

"Don't tell me you bought the bedsheet excuse, come'on you and I both know that is not true, I am just wondering what's stopping her from saying the truth out loud"; replied Ishwar

"I don't know that either but I trust her enough to know that she would eventually come around or may be Ishwar she is right, maybe she actually fell off from stairs"; Neena said

"Come'on Neena we have seen the house, the stairs only has 2-3 steps, the injury can't be as grave as the marks around her face show it and also if she got entangled in the bedsheet, the bedsheet too would have cushioned her body a little providing protection"; remarked Ishwar

"Agreed but the wounds are not deep enough to suggest an accident or something"; Said Neena

After thinking for a second Ishwar spoke; "That is probably because we just saw a part of her wounds today, just the ones on her face, she was fully covered otherwise which is weird because.."

"Because Sehar doesn't feel that cold, in fact even in heavy winters she used to wear a sweater and a jacket that too if she's going out otherwise it was just a sweater at home for she found jackets suffocating"; Neena completed her husband's sentence and continued futher; "But today she was wearing a coat the whole time she sat inside...What is she hiding Ishwar..??"

A grim Ishwar stood next to room window and replied; "Things with her had gone bad I had sensed that, that is why I had asked you to call her here, and thankfully your continuous calls got her here without getting suspicious, but her actions bring me back to my question I had a month ago, 'Why is she hiding whatever she is hiding?'"

-----------------------------------

She thought she could hide, She thought they didn't care
Little did she knew, , They were always "aware"
Though not the details,
Though they weren't next to her to hold her hand or pat her head
Though not visible but they were always "there"

-----------------------------------

Hope you like the part

Take Care....Stay Blessed....Cheers...!!

Love,

Akriti