Prameela yelled with surprise and happiness as soon as she saw Mounika. She hugged Mounika strongly and kissed on her both cheeks. "Where, where you were all these days?" she asked with a shivering voice.

Surprise, happiness and shock was in Sudhakar, Malathi and Sundar also.

"Somewhere. I came back safe, is it is not enough?" Mounika said.

Sudhakar came fast to her, hold her shoulder, made her turn towards him and slapped on her right cheek. "Do you know how much distressed we are all for you all these days? Could not you think what we would become if you missed like this? Your mom has become mad for you."

"Don't beat my daughter. As she said she came back safe. That is enough." Still hugging her daughter strongly, with all the vehemence in her, Prameela said.

"No, that is not enough" Sudhakar said angrily. He still held his daughter like that. "Tell me, where you were all these days? Who said to you to go like that?" he did not know he would ask like that when he found his daughter. Besides happiness and love, he was feeling anger also towards his daughter. He was thinking how much distressed all they were in these four days or so. "You must tell me why you went away like that and where you were all these days. I am not going to leave you easily." He was yelling with anger.

"Oh, leave my daughter. Don't distress her like that, please." Prameela was wailing. Her mind was not thinking anything else but feeling happy on seeing her daughter again.

"You don't come in between us until she tells me everything." He firmly said and then said to Mounika again. "You must tell me why you went away like that and where you were."

Mounika did not say anything and her face was blank. Sudhakar slapped her both cheeks again vigorously.

"Oh, god!....don't kill my daughter....please." Prameela was weeping.

Malathi and Sundar did not interfere as they thought it was necessary. They were also bewildering why Mounika went away like that.

"You receive more slaps if you don't tell me the truth." Sudhakar was still angry.

They were all observing with anxiousness what was happening there. Even Jasmine knew this type of a situation would arise; it was all quite cumbersome to her. But she was prepared mentally to all this. She thought then was the time to her to interfere.

Jasmine slowly went near to Sudhakar and said. "Uncle it is I who gave that idea to her. It is I who sent her away to some place and made her stay there."

At once they all became aghast on hearing that. Slowly they digested what they heard. It was even more shocking to Malathi and Sundar.

Malathi never knew that she could move such fast. She never has even thought that she could beat her daughter like that. She did not know how long, but she beat her daughter black and blue. She did not bother how she was beating and where she was beating. She might beat her even more but Sudhakar came in between them both and yelled "Stop....Please stop."

Gasping for her breath Malathi stopped. "It is all my fault. I have given her full freedom. I did not question her whatever she did. But I never thought that she could dare this much." Malathi was still panting for all the labour she took.

"But don't you see the great good she did to our family? Without this incident there might not have come any change in my wife. We both sure are trying so vigorously by now to get our divorce as fast as possible." Sudhakar said.

"Even it is so, what my daughter did is not good Sudhakar. I completely apologize to you both for that" Sundar said. "How hard and cruel she is! She saw how much we all have been worrying for Mounika all these days. Your wife has become a hysterical patient and almost mad. Even for once she did not say where Mounika is." He was also angry. He did not take part in beating as he thought his wife was enough for that.

"I want to test the change. I want a complete and permanent change in Mounika's mother rather than temporary." Jasmine said as if nothing has happened to her.

Everyone shocked on hearing her like that.

"No regrets. In before itself I know it comes like this and I am prepared to it. Anyhow I fulfilled my promise to Mounika. May be it is my last grand good deed. I cannot venture like this in future." Jasmine further said with a smile.

"Yes, you did it." Mounika came near to Jasmine fast and kissed on her cheek. "You said everything to me over phone. I never have expected a change like this in my parents. I am feeling so happy that I have got a friend like you. Thank you, thank you very much." Tears were flowing down on Mounika's cheeks.

Prameela came slowly there and hugged Jasmine strongly. "I never can repay your debt. You suffered because of your doing good to our family. I realized because of this incident that I was just obsessed with hate on Sudhakar and it is not real. I realized my love on that other person was not real. The only real thing is my love on my daughter." She paused for a moment before saying. "What my husband said is absolutely true. If this incident did not take place, I never would have changed. I never would have realized how much my daughter is suffering because of my adamancy. I never would have realized how much my daughter is wishing that her dad and I be together and like each other. I never would have realized......" she paused for a moment before saying "How much my daughter means to me. I better be dead without her. I just cannot imagine a life without my daughter."

Mounika hugged her mother and kissed on her cheek. "You just don't know how much happy I am feeling now." With a small voice she said.

Prameela slowly went to Sundar and said. "You never need to apologize to us. You have to feel proud that you got a daughter who worries for her friends' happiness like this. We are very sorry that we have put you both to lot of inconvenience and uncomforting all these days."

"Don't say like that. Our daughters' friendship makes our friendship also so strong. Your family is a lot to us and we are also feeling so happy to help your family like this." Sundar smiled.

"I am also feeling in the same way." Malathi came forward and said. She slowly hugged her daughter and said "I am sorry dear, I beat you like that. But I am still not feeling what you did is correct."

"I also would have done the same if I were in your place." Jasmine said. "I am also not feeling what I did was correct but I could not see any other way."

"Anyhow, now tell us, where you send her, where you made her stay all these days?" looking affectionately into Jasmine's eyes, Malathi asked her.

The elders there were so eager to hear what she was going to say.

"You know my friend Ranjitha. Her family is rather poor and her brother, mother and Ranjitha are living in a small house. I helped Ranjitha a lot. When Ranjitha's mother was seriously ill, I have given all my saved money to Ranjitha and took some money from you also to give her for her mother's treatment.

When I said to them the purpose behind my keeping Mounika in their home for few days, they easily agreed to that. In fact......." Jasmine paused for a moment before continuing again "Ranjitha's mother came to the railway station to take Mounika with her. Mounika was quite safe and comfortable in their home all these days. I was making her upto date with the affairs here and she was so eager and desperate to come and see her mother but I stopped her. As I said before, I just want to confirm myself that the change in Prameela aunty is permanent."

"You devil! I just don't know what to say." Malathi once again became involuntarily angry. But when she remembered the good her daughter's naughty deed did, she cooled down and smiled.

Prameela laughed and said "Anyhow Jasmine are you confirmed that the change in me is permanent now?"

"If I am not confirmed like that I would have made Mounika stay there for some more days." With a smile on her lips Jasmine said. She has forgotten the vigorous beating she received in her mother's hands.

"You are too much Jasmine. I never thought that you can be this much tough and cruel." Sundar said.

"The good Jasmine did to my family no one ever can do." Sudhakar said. "Particularly myself, I never can repay her debt. I never have thought a change like this is possible in my wife. It's a miracle! How Jasmine thought Mounika's going away from home works out like this I cannot understand. I can say that children sometimes think more maturely than elders."

"My husband is absolutely right." Prameela said. "The trick played by Jasmine made me realize what really I want. I just want my daughter and my daughter's happiness. I thought I wanted to go away from Sudhakar and live with the memories of that other person I loved before but it is just a myth. I realized my daughter's suffering cringe my heart also. I feel happy only if my daughter feels happy. I cannot bear even the thought of my daughter's separation from me."

Mounika hugged her mother once again hard and burst into weeping "How sweet and how good you are! How could I make you worry like this! Sorry mommy. I never do like this again."

"If you do it like this again, you cannot see me alive dear. I just cannot bear this type of torture again." Prameela said.

"No, No, No, I never do it like this again." Mounika vehemently said.

"Now I am making a promise to you Mounika. I never from now on think about divorce. Not just that, your dad and I shall always be so as you just want us to be so. We three are going to spend a very happy future from today." Prameela said.

"You just don't know how much happy we are feeling on hearing you like this! This must need celebration. We must celebrate this happy occasion." Malathi said.

"What my wife has said is true. I never felt this much happy before." Sundar said. "This sure needs celebration."

"There is sure going to be a celebration. But that celebration shall be in our home. You three lock your home, come to ours' and stay there until the celebration is over." Prameela said with a happy expression on her face. The present situation was quite contrary to the situation she was in until few hours back.

"We sure shall do so." Malathi said.

All of them burst into laughter. They were all laughing with happiness. Mounika went near to Jasmine once again, hugged her and kissed on her cheek once more. She just did not know how to express her gratitude to her other than that way. This marvelous girl made something impossible to possible. She still could remember the firmness and confidence in Jasmine when she made the promise to her that she would see that her parents never take divorce and love and like each other. Mounika could not even imagine that then.

"In that celebration Jasmine needs special treatment. She is the heroine." Mounika said.

"You are no less." Returning the kiss on Mounika's cheek, Jasmine said.

Epilogue

Mounika was so happy with her parents now. She just could not believe her eyes as her parents were moving so intimate with each other, talking with each other, loving and liking each other always. They both were loving their daughter in the same equal measure.

Promod could persuade Ragini. He could make her understand that it was not possible to them to live together without marriage and the marriage was not possible before they become majors. They decided to remain just friends until they become majors. With Jasmine's advice, they both have further decided to study hard and settle in their lives before they marry each other. The noteworthy point here was except very few, no one else including Ragini's mother also, knew what happened between Ragini and Pramod.

Mrudanga Rao, the principal of the high school 'Rose Garden' had seen the meaning in what Jasmine said. He understood that he was doing a mistake in beating the children like that. So he strongly decided not to beat the children unnecessarily. All the students were so happy for the change in him. He stopped beating and criticizing his son and instead of that started appreciating and encouraging him. Mukund so happily and assiduously was continuing his studies. In all the unit tests, quarterly and half yearly examinations also he scored good marks.

Anupama's brother Ranjan also just continued in the same way. He also scored very high marks in all his examinations.

Anupama's worry was vanished as she became a woman just after her annual examinations. A grand celebration was also organized by her parents on that occasion and Jasmine's family and Mounika's family also attended to that.

Now they were all enjoying their summer holidays and eagerly waiting to start the new academic year with all the enthusiasm.

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As you are here, I hope that you read the novel. Thank you very much that you preferred to read my novel. If you bother to write a review also, I shall be so much grateful and thankful to you.

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