She kept looking at her son's lifeless face with her head on his chest. Apparently tears stopped rolling down her eyes as if tears dried up in her eyes after crying since the past five hours.

“Shiv—Tell him—Tell him to open his eyes. Tell him mumma is not angry with him” She whispered to him and he gulped as he tried to ease the pain in his chest. She was just being Ansh's mother but he had two roles to play. One, of the husband who had to support his wife emotionally and the other, of a father who had just lost his son.

“Tell him mumma won't ever force him to drink milk” She whispered to him and he rubbed her arms for that was all he could do.

Tej, his father bent to his level and whispered something to him while he nodded. Suddenly the coffin was lifted and she raised her head startled.

“No! Where are you taking my son? Leave him!” She told proceeding to get up but he held her back and shook his head.

“Shivaay they're taking our Ansh! Ansh!!! Mumma ko chodke mat jao!! Shivaay tell them not to take him” She paused and looked into his teary eyes “Why aren't you saying anything? Tell them!!” She told holding his collars as tears rolled down her eyes.

“Shivaay tell them—Please Shivaay. Let me see my son for some more time. Please Shivaay” She cried against his chest and he held her tightly in the circle of his arms.

Their mothers together took her away from Shivaay as he had to do the burial rituals of Ansh. How unpredictable was life? A son had to usually do the cremation of father but here opposite was happening.

Keeping stone in his heart, he did the rituals for burial as in Hindu mythology, babies and children are not supposed to be cremated but only buried under the ground.

As he looked at his son being buried under the ground, he felt a part of him being buried with Ansh. Ansh had become his whole life the moment he lifted the little one in his arms for the first time and never had he thought even in his nightmares that he would be witnessing such a day. All the memories starting from the day he was born, flashed in front of Shivaay's eyes, the first time he held Shivaay's little finger, the first time he gave a full fledged toothless smile, the first time he crawled, the first time he called Shivaay papa, the first time Ansh curled his little fingers around Shivaay's big index finger and kept the first unsteady steps. Each and every little moment passed in front of his eyes as if it happened just yesterday.

Only when he tasted saline water did he realise that he was crying. He kept strong in front of everyone but his heart was aching. The father in him was being tormented.

*****

She walked into the room with his coffee and kept it on the table silently as usual before turning to walk.

“Anika” He called and she stopped but didn't turn.

“How many more months?” He asked and she turned to him slightly.

“For what?” She asked but just felt him hug her from behind. Dried up tears returned back to her eyes as he clasped her in his arms.

“I miss you. So much. So much that I—I feel dead from within Anika” He whispered as tears rolled down his eyes.

She turned and hugged him tightly.

“I'm trying but I can't Shivaay. When I try smiling, his face comes in front of me. I know I'm isolating myself from you. I'm being cruel to you. I know you're as depressed as me but still you're doing everything you used to do but I can't help it” She whispered and he caressed her hair.

“Take your time. I'm not forcing you but talk to me. That's all I need. Come and sit with me for sometime. I feel all alone in this big mansion when everyone is around me and I need you. I'm being selfish here, I know but I can't go on without you Anika” He told and she parted from the hug to look at him.

“I'm sorry” She whispered before kissing his forehead.

“Let's be the old Shivaay and Anika. Let's just imagine that—that—all these seven years didn't exist in our life” She told in choking voice and he pulled her to his chest.

“We can't do that however we try. He was our life right? Why Shivaay? Why did he leave us? Did we not love him enough? Ok I may not have loved him so much but you—you loved him so much right? Then why?” She asked as she cried hard.

“I don't have answers Anika. All I know is, he is happy somewhere. I know that our baby is happy somewhere in some other world” He whispered and she nodded with her head on his chest.

*****

“Three years” She whispered caressing Ansh's photo. He sat beside her and she turned to him with a faint smile.

“Aren't you coming??” He asked as on Ansh's death anniversary every year, instead of simply sulking, they decided to distribute sweets and gifts in orphanages to children who didn't have anyone to gift them all those.

She kept her head on his chest.

“He will be happy right?” She asked and he hummed.

“Shivaay”

“hmm”

“I saw two lines” She told softly and heard his quick heartbeats in her ear.

She took his hand and placed it on her stomach with a smile.

“Our Ansh” She whispered and all she felt was droplets of water rolling down her forehead.

She raised her head to look at him and held his face between her palms. Wiping his tears while shaking her head, she joined their foreheads together.

“I told you he'll come back to us” She whispered to him and he hugged her tightly for that was all he could do at that moment. This day three years back, they lost him and on this day three years ahead, he returned back to them.

“What if it's not a boy this time?” He asked after sometime and she shrugged.

“Boy or girl, it's our baby right?” She asked and he smiled before kissing her forehead.

“Did you really move on?” He asked and she smiled.

“I can never move on from him Shivaay. But now whenever I think about him, I don't feel like crying instead his memories bring smile on my face. I don't know if that's what is called moving on but I learnt to smile thinking about him” She told softly and he smiled as he caressed her hairs. He had a similar answer too.

••|To Be Continued|••