"I know." I said looking into the eyes of Viola. "Babies are made in the mother's wombs."

"Everyone knows that." Might be that was her irritation on my innocence caused a frown on her forehead. "How do they come there?"

"Its god's will." I said with firmness in my voice. "God puts the babies in mother's wombs."

"Then you are ignorant. I tell you how the babies made." Then she explained the said process in a hushed voice in my ear. That was the very first time I came to know how the babies are made.

"Is it is so?" I was feeling disgust. I could not digest that new forbidden knowledge but there was a sort of thrill also in me then along with that hate feeling.

"How did you come to know about it?" I asked her.

"Don't ask about it. I have my sources of information."

Many a time I observed her talking with girls more old to her in age. Might be she come to know about it through them. I am not such a sociable type then and now also. I mostly used to keep myself to me and I have very few close friends then and now also and Viola is first and foremost among them.

Not just that we used to share each and every thing between ourselves so. In fact Viola is part of me just like my dad.

"There is only one problem to me to stay with you always." Viola often says this to me.

Only for the first time I have asked her the reason for it when she said.

"I know I am young and attractive. But I am nothing when you are beside me. You are indeed a glamour doll."

When I have heard that for the first time I felt happy. I know there is no exaggeration in that. My dad is indeed a handsome person. There is no necessity to tell about my mom. She is strikingly beautiful. It is needless to say how the output of them both would be.

"Dad, tell me about mom." On one day I asked my dad while going through the album. My dad very seldom talked with me about my mom. Even after I have asked about her, he used to say little. Why it was so? Was not she good to me? Did not she look after me well while she was alive?

"You never tell me more about my mom. Did not she look after me well? Did not she like me?" I was still looking at the strikingly beautiful figure of my mom in the album.

"It is not at all so. Talking about her rake up very sweet memories in me. I just cannot bear the thought that I have lost her. I cannot say whether I am fortunate or unfortunate. Even however little it may be the association with your mom, it is so good and so great. But I could enjoy such great company only for a few days."

I turned my head and looked into the eyes of my dad. For the first time I had seen tears in the corners of my dad's eyes.

"Beauty never attracted me. Glamour never lured me. I am a materialist and concentrated all the time on my businesses only. But your mom's beauty was that much she attracted me. I just could not escape from the influence of her glamour. She was such beautiful and such glamorous. I cannot say how much I felt happy when she agreed to marry me."

He paused for few seconds. "In fact it is not just her beauty, it is not just her glamour, that attracted me and lured me I found out later. It is her character, her purity which surpassed all other good things associated with her. Now I do say how she looked after you. She spent only six months with you. But in that half year, there is no other world to her. You are her world. She did not leave you even for a moment. I have to plead with her a lot to take you into my hands. She herself did everything of you. She did not allow even your aunt to attend any of your necessities. It may be natural to a mother to look after her children so affectionately and lovingly. But I must say it is impossible to love like that. That much she loved you. She has shown all the remaining years of love in that half year itself. She may be known the impending danger. I have become a no entity to her once you came into her life."

Tears started flowing down on my cheeks hearing my dad's words then. My mom sat in a chair and hold me gently in her hands in the photograph I am looking at. Another thing I found out at a single look is I resemble my mother in all respects. I inherited all her glamour.

Now also tears are flowing down on my cheeks. I startled. I wiped them off from my cheeks. Why she drove the car on that day? Why that accident should occur? Why she died on the spot on that day itself?

"I don't know why she interested in driving a car. She took the license also. I thought she learned to drive fully. It was my mistake indeed. Without testing her for some more, I should not have allowed to drive the car like that."

My heart became heavy. That album is just few feet distance to me now. If I want I can take that out and go through it. I can see my mom and dad also in it. But I cannot bear those sweet memories in it. Now I understood why my dad struggled like that to share the memories of my mom with me.

"Dazzle. What about lunch? Do you want to take it here itself?"

I came into this world hearing my aunt's voice. It became lunch time! Surprising!

"Why dear? You are appearing so distraught. What happened to you?" hurriedly coming near to me and looking into my face my aunt said. I know how she feels. I virtually have become a daughter to her after my mom's death.

"Nothing. Don't worry too much." I came off from the bed fast. I don't want to give much chance to my aunt to probe and worry. I am already feeling embarrassing.

I straight went into the dining room and settled myself in one of the chairs there. Already the butler is there to serve the food to me. Everything is neatly arranged.

"I serve myself. You go." Looking at the butler I said. He nodded his head and left that place.

I served the food into my plate and about to eat then my aunt came there. She put her hand on my shoulder and I looked into her face. I can see only concern in that.

"If you are worrying for anything please let me know. I don't want you to suffer yourself in this way."

"Why you are thinking that I am suffering from something?"

"You are appearing like that. You did not go to the office either on this day."

For a moment I have tempted to say about my experience in the bathroom and my dream to my aunt but I do not. I know how she does feel and behave if I say about those to her.

"I felt some headache. It is nothing more than that."

"Why did not you call the doctor?"

The worry in her voice is embarrassing to me. "It is not that much big of a headache."

"You did not go to the office either on this day." She said it again.

I hissed out heavily and said. "I just want to spend this day in the home itself. Nothing more than that." I am managing to eat amidst my talking.

"Are you feeling embarrassing with my talking like this with you?"

I left the fork and spoon in my plate and hurriedly looked into the face of my aunt. "Why are you thinking like that?"

"No... I cannot say...Sometimes I am feeling ....that I am too much interfering with your affairs."

I remained looking into her face. I am feeling strange. My aunt who is almost my mother is thinking like that!

"But I cannot dear. I cannot remain without interfering...without probing...without knowing... if you are suffering with something. You are more than a daughter to me."

I put my both hands around her neck and kissed on her cheek. "Oh, aunt! How you are thinking like that? Don't you know me? I have grown up in your hands. You are more than a mother to me."

"I am feeling happy hearing like this." my aunt said.

"But I am not feeling happy." I said. "How you can think like that? How you have thought I do feel your inquiring into my matters as unnecessary interfering? Did not you understand me at all?"

"I am sorry dear." My aunt kissed on my left cheek. "Mistake is mine. How and why do you think like that?"

I did not say anything at all. I continued my eating again. The food is not much tastier to me. It is not the fault of the food. I am not just feeling hungry.

"You are thinking about dad?"

"How do I remain without thinking about him?" managing talking while eating the food I said.

"I can understand. But you are worrying too much. It is more than six months that he passed away."

I did not say anything. I continued my eating.

"We have talked about this many a time. I know how much your father loved you and you loved your father. But worrying like this without gap would not be helpful. You must understand."

"I am not worrying that much as you are thinking of." I smiled. "I am thinking about my dad a lot, but I am not worrying as much as I did in the beginning. I am telling you the truth."

My aunt did not say anything at all. But the concern in her face towards me is just like that.

"But what that my dad wanted to talk to me I cannot understand. Why did not he say anything about that to anyone else? Doctor Nickerson, you, Williams and Viola. You are all so near to him. Why did not he prefer to share that to anyone of you?" I once again left the fork and spoon in the plate and leaned back in the chair.

"He did not expect that he would die like that, I am sure of that." With firmness in her voice my aunt said. "If he expected that, he would have told that to you in the phone itself."

"You are right." I nodded my head. I saw some sense in what my aunt said.

"It is not so that he shared each and everything with me. He did not prefer to share business matters with me. It is just because I cannot understand any of that. Of course that may not be a business matter that he so desperate wanted to tell you. But it may also be something that beyond my understanding and he did not want to disturb me. He is intimate with Nickerson. And Viola. He is as much intimate with Viola as he is with you. But Viola is not here. She is doing her practice at a faraway place. How could he share this with her?" she paused for a moment and then said. "He just might not want to tell that matter and disturb Nickerson and Williams also. The most important thing that we have to notice here is: he did not think he would die that fast. If he had foreseen his death so, he would have sure made arrangements to let you know about that matter."

(..........to be continued)

(I hope you enjoyed it so far. Please don't forget to rate and review it. I update the next chapter as early as possible.)