Shan stopped the car in front of malhothra mansion which was decorated with auspicious flowers to welcome their little princess. ..

He came to Sumo's side and  held the baby in his arms. .sumo got down and he transferred his sleeping bud into her embrace. .

As they reach the  doorstep, kamini chachi and nirmala rushed with the aarthi plate. .

    " welcome  princess. .."

They did the ceremonial rituals to welcome their new member. ..

As sumo was weak and tired, shan wrapped her around the shoulders. Nirmala made sumo to sit in the couch.

  Kamini chachi came with the tray of sweets. .she fed sumo and shan with sweet. ..

" you both filled  our house with happiness. ..stay blessed always. ."

She blessed them with moist eyes. ..

" arey. ..nothing to cry with. ..happy happy moments yaar. ..beta. ..hamesha kush raho. .."

Lala ji wished them in his way. .He stuffed shan with a scoop of sweets. ..

With that, he loaded his mouth full with sweets. .at the next moment, he choked to face  kamini 's  death glare. ..

" too much of sweets. ..I don't know when will you grew up. ..you are at your 50s. ..can't you control your cravings. .?"

Lala ji hung his head down and smiled sheepishly. ..

" leave kamini. ..let him enjoy the moment. .."
 

This time ramnath saved him from further damage. ..

Pushkar laughed out loud with the melodrama of his mom and dad. ..

" isshhh. ...pushkar. ..keep calm. ..baby is sleeping. .."

Kamini warned him at low tone. ..

" Shan beta. ..sumo is tired. ..she needs rest. .just make sure you are with her ...we will see the channel's routine and pushkar will be there with us. .."

   Nirmala carresed Sumo's face. ..

"Sumo . ..we were shattered to see your condition. ..by God's grace, you brought back the happiness. ..take care of you... beta. .."

Her eyes were moist. ..she turned to shan and pinched his ears. ..

" and you. ..stop troubling her. ..do you know how much she struggled to get you back. .? Hold her hands always. ..importantly, while crossing the road. ..now get lost ...take rest. .."

 
   It was a mere statuary warning . shan bowed his head reverential. ..

" as you said ma. .."

  Everyone bursted into laugh at Shan's gesture. ..but this time as mute as they could. ..

__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A week passed just like a cloud. Sumo took good care of baby. .Initially, she scared to hold her delicate little princess . shan taught her to hold her tiny tot. .He spent his most of time with sumo and baby. ..

He even helped in bathing her. ..He was keenly noticing her minor discomforts. Infact, their princess was more warmth and comfort at her papa ' s  arms ..

No wonder she was papa ' s  Lil bud. .

  To be frank, sumo didn't bather much  about their bond since she herself needed rest. She was confused with the baby's routine. ..sometimes the baby slept for the whole night without much trouble. ..another time, she never slept at night. ..sumo had to comfort her for the whole night without a single wink. ..

 
Sometimes, shan would accompany sumo to pamper their baby. ..so, for now, sumo would be  happy if someone took care of the baby.

  For all these days, baby had developed a rapport with everyone in the family. .But, her bond with shan was unique. .it seemed that shan was her second mother. ..

   In between, their friends and business people visited  formally. .no wonder that the days flew faster. ..

__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

  It was the day for the pretty angel's naming ceremony. .

As sumo and shan wanted it to be in  a simple way, the ceremony had  been held at MM itself. ..

Very close relatives and friends took part. ..

Since Joshi was in UAE, he conveyed his greetings the day before itself. ..

The priest asked shan and sumo to sit for pooja with the baby. ..shan embraced his doll who was sleeping in his lap. Sumo dressed her with silk frock , a gold chain with an  intertwined ' S'pendant ...the baby was too gorgeous. .

Shan had a steady look at sumo. ..she was in a silk saree with simple look. ..He gestured sumo to sit for pooja. Then, he kept the baby at her lap. .soon, the ritual began. ..

The priest performed pooja for baby's health and happiness. .sooner, the priest asked to call the baby by name which was  selected for her. .

  As far as sumo knew, they hadn't discussed much about the name. .hence, she looked shan...shan smiled broadly. ..

" sumo. ..she is our life and she is like a  glimmer in the dawn, a fragrance in our love, a depth of our one soul, a saviour of her mumma and pappa. ..so she would be the' LIGHT' of our life. ..her name would be 'Diya '. .."

  Sumo was mesmerised at his eyes which were moist. .

   They both held the baby and they called her by name together. ..

    " Diya. ..Diya. ..Diya. .."

  As per the ritual, they placed the baby at crib which was decorated with flowers. ..

" Oh. ..pretty flower. ..

   On the night, you were born. ....
 
    The moon smiled with such                             wonder. ..that the stars peeked in to see you. ..the night wind wishpered. ..

  ' there had never been anyone like you ever in the world. .'

  Heaven blew every trumpet and played every horn on the wonderful, marvelous night you were born. ..

Stay blessed. ...pretty angel. .."

   Nirmala and kamini blessed Diya with  unbounded  happiness. ..

   One by one, the blessings and gifting moments went on. .the guests were started to depart. ..

  Diya moved with discomfort. She started to cry. ..sumo took her from the crib and comforted her. ..she didn't stop crying instead it peaked by time. ..

Sumo looked shan panicked. ..

" sumo. ..she was tired. .nothing wrong. ..check the diapers and feed her. ..she will be okay. .."

  Sumo pranced to the upstairs. .she hurriedly checked the diapers .though it wasn't wet, she changed it. Diya hadn't stopped crying. ..sumo tried to  feed her ..her cry was constantly increasing as if she was irritated with something. ..

  Sumo was desperate. ..her eyes leveled with tears. .she needed Shan's help. ..shan was busy with the guests. .

As Diya 's cry getting louder. ..shan reached the room with haste. ..

" Oh. ...oh. ..papa ' s  girl. ..why you are crying. .?"

  He scooped Diya softly. ..He comforted her by stroking at her back. ..shan removed her clothes that seemed to be irritative. ..

" Diya. ..papa is here. ..papa loves you. ..papa don't like Diya crying. ..papa is here. ..papa loves you. .."

With his soft cuddling, Diya's  sob calmed down. ..shan embraced her closely. ..after a while, Diya  slept ...He placed her at crib. ..

   He surprised to see sumo crying bitterly. He sat beside her and lifted her face to look at him. .

" sumo. ..what happened. ?why you are crying. .?"

" Shan. ..I was scared to see her crying. ..I felt bad for her. ..i couldn't bear her pain. .."

Her words cameout with sob. ..

" my pretty lady. ..it's quite normal that newborns would behave wired. ..she is okay. ..now. ..stop crying. ..she is fine. .."

  He dragged her to hug. ..

" seems that I have to take care of two kids. ..."

  Shan's face turned out to a  mischievous smile. ..

" Shan. .."

Sumo hit him playfully. ..

" okay then. . . take rest. ..i will  check with the remaining guests. ..."

Shan pressed his lips on her hairline ....

Sumo smiled at him with a nod. ..

__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

  When shan was returning, Diya was awake. Sumo was cuddling her ...With a lullaby. ..

" mmm. ..thare rare. ..thare rare. .

In the sky stars are bright,

May the moon's silvery beams bring you sweet dreams. ..

Close your eyes now, may these hours be blessed. .."

    Shan was got carried away with her soft tone of lullaby, he started to play the piano by low notes. ..it was a perfect blend to Sumo's lullaby. ..she smiled at him and continued to sing. ..

" ra re. ..ra. .re. ..ra. ..ra. ..

You are mother's delight. ..

I will protect you from harm...

Close your eyes, for I am right beside you. ..

Guardian angels are near,  sleep without fear. ..

Ra. ..re. ..ra. ..re. .rare. ..rare. ..

Sleep through the night. ..

Sleep through the night. ..."

With that Diya slept with a soft snor. ... Sumo placed her at the crib. ..

  Shan stopped playing the piano.

    He stared sumo with loads of love. .He recalled the day when he met her first. .He wondered how a bubbly girl had metamorphed to a caring mother. .He reminisced how she screamed during the childbirth. .the way she clutched his hands. ..infact, he thought that his fingers were crushed by her grip. .He shook his head in thought of her pain...

    Sumo turned and stood still to see her life is staring at her. ..

" Shan. .."

Shan turned away to hide his tears. ..sumo touched his shoulders and made him to turn to face her. ..

" Shan. ..I thought of asking you. ..I never heard that you will play a piano. ..why is like that. .?"

 
  This was a question that buried deeper in her mind from the day she saw him playing piano. .

" sumo. ..I didn't practiced it professionally ..it was just  to impress girls. .."

Shan jerked his shoulders. .and bit his tongue for what he had told. ..

  Sumo threw a death glare. ..

" dear pathidev. ..do you use this technique even now to impress girls. .?"  Sumo asked furiously. ..

" defenetly no. ..my simple look and a smile would be more than enough to impress the girls. .."

Shan beamed with pride. ..

" I knew. ..I knew. .."

Agitated sumo chased him to kick. ..

  " sumo. ..stop. .
You asked me. ..just I answered that's it. ..I had nothing personal. .believe me. ..sumo. ..stop. .."

  Sumo was throwing  water bottle, mobile, a magazine. .. ...to shan. ..shan had to catch everything by leaping here and there. ..

When she had nothing around her to throw,  shan reached her and wrapped her around. ..

" leave me shan. ..I said leave me. .."

Sumo waggled to be free. .

Shan tightened his grip. ..

" idiot. ..do you think I will think of another girl. ..I have only one angel sofar. .it's you. ..my pretty wife. ..hence forth, I have two angels. ..Diya and you. .."

  He placed a soft kiss on her cheek. ..

A tear made its way down to her cheek.shan brushed her eye canthus with his index finger to get some kajal. ..He pressed it behind her ears. ..

" nobody should keep a bad eye on you. ..you are  the prettiest ...."

  Though   sumo fell on his hypnotised words, she looked into his eyes intensively. . .

" am I pretty more than your little angel. ..?"

Her brows arched expecting his favorable reply. .. (what to do? ..girls are girls. ..😉)

Shan laughed at her innocence. ..

" yes. ..ofcourse...you are the prettiest. ..."

He lifted her at his chest. ..sumo kissed  his glorious timples. ..shan was not in a patience to wait anymore. ..He snuggled his nose around her neck. ..His  lips settled down the neck. ..He placed her in the bed and brought her on top of him. ..He was about to unbotton her. ..

" Shan. ..Diya. .."

Sumo wishpered. .

" no problem. . . " he winked...

"She knew well that her pappa is quite busy with his wife. ..."

Shan smiled tenderly. ..

" chee. .." sumo blushed hardly. ..

His mesmerising eyes and ever gorgeous smile soared the love and lust in sumo. ..

She let his hands to measure her. ..the night brought them with  another new episode. ...

   They started up with one of the great stories, no one on earth has ever read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before. ...

So. ...

              .......The End... ......
  

__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

  Hello friends. ..

Finally, the climax is here. ..now I felt as if I lack something. .I will miss shan sumo and Diya. ..very badly. ..

Coming to the track, I penned down to my best. S1 was focused on their confession and journalism. ..s2. ..I over blended with emotions I guess. .but. . I loved shan and sumo much in their own way. ..

I thank all my continuous supporters. ..of course, the silent readers too. .to talk openly, your comments made my day. .it was a pleasure to travel with you guys. ..i felt a friendly bond moreover. Hats off to my commentators. ..you were brought in valuable thoughts. ...thank you so much. ..

I guess I will meet you in my other stories . who knows, I may come up with the sequel in future. ..

About this chapter. ..I hope you will like it. ..do comment. ..I love to read your craziest views. ..miss you all. ..tq for being with me. ..

" adios amigos. ..."