There comes a time in everyone's life, where they get put in their rightful spot. Their ego and pride comes crashing down, slowly then all at once.

Karma does the deed. And it did so even now, in case of the Pandya family back in Somnath.

After Shiva and Raavi's departure that day, when they got to know they won't be coming back, everyone thought it was a joke and they'd be back after a week or 2, and it's not like the house will crumble in their absence.

Wrong. A month went by, and they didn't come back, and it finally sunk in that they had left permanently, for their own good, or so it was said.

Without Shiva, Gautam had to handle the store alone, given that Dev was useless, with his MBA degree that was lying in some corner of his cupboard and his utter vanilla skills at handling a store.

He couldn't handle enormous bills or help out with the heavy lifting. And if you gave him too much work at once, he would goof up everything and ruin it.

And Krish? Krish was nothing but Saif Ali Khan from Kal Ho Na Ho, trying to woo girls with the '6 Din Ladki In' method, which was utter nonsense, as claimed by the youngest Pandya. Tried and tested, he complained.

With his brothers being incompetent to run the store, and Kaka finally retiring with his Kaki, Gautam had needed some help in managing the store, not being able to handle it alone.

Which resulted in him hiring a third person to help out with the heavy lifting and vendor bargaining, meaning a part of the earning was subtracted in form of salary, something Gautam never had to worry about in all these years.

Money started to get tight, what with Gautam and Rishita being the only people earning in a household of 6 people, of which one was a partly paralysed mother with many medical needs.

Speaking of Rishita, she had goofed up one too many times at her job, with Suman sitting on her head about working AND doing the housework WITH Dhara. Once and for all, she announced that her job was more important and she wasn't going to to do ANY housework, so Dhara can have the house all to herself, as she so clearly wanted all these days.

Dhara came to realise she was old as a stick, and Raavi would have been of so much help around the house, given that it was now 6 adults that had to be taken care of, that too alone.

But what she failed to understand was that, for Raavi, her college would have been of utmost importance, and even if she had the choice of helping at home, which she was obviously good at, she'd choose the store.

Simply because she was better at doing that. Especially tallying the bills. The entire house had once agreed that she was the best at this job, even better than Shiva, when they all weren't able to figure out how the loss in the store occurred. Until she sat down and solved the issue, proving that it was actually a profit, a bonus for the store.

Shiva was secretly impressed by his Chipkali, but masked it with annoyance.

Shiva and Raavi had their own importance in the Pandya house. Which no one realised until they had left.

And now, now was the time to suffer. Karma is a bitch, indeed.

...

3 weeks. 3 weeks since they spoke properly, even though they lived in the same house.

Shiva wrapped up the class, assigning all the homework to the batch sitting in the living room, preparing for the last batch, the 10th graders.

The kids put their books in their bag, thanked 'Shiva Sir' and left, happy, smiling and giggling.

Sir, you ask? Well, what had happened was that little Jai dhindhora peetofied to the other kids in the park that day, that Shiva is the best teacher ever (kid language)

So naturally, the kids told their parents, and by their words, the parents assumed Shiva takes classes, and came to enquire. He was originally going to deny that he was a teacher, but after giving it a second thought, he took up the offer, asking the parents to come back the next day to discuss the fees and dates.

And so, Shiva started taking classes for Grade 5 kids, who had siblings in grade 9 and 10, who also came to Shiva for class. Possibly, all the kids of all grades in the colony came to him, and enjoyed just as much.

Shiva was an awesome teacher. And according to the girls in the class, pretty cute.

As he closed the door, he sat down on the sofa, hoping to nap for a while before the next batch came in, last one for the day.

Raavi just stepped out of the room after his class, and saw him sleeping on the sofa. His neck was tilted in a weird way, and he'd definitely wake up with a strain.

She slowly placed a pillow under his head, looked at him longingly for a while, before grabbing a bottle of water and retiring to the comfort of her room and laptop.

It had been too long, they only spoke to each other when they had to ask the general questions, tension heavy and thick in the air.

She took one last glance at him, before the bell rang and he woke up.

...

"Shiva, dabba banau?" Raavi asked, walking to the kitchen.

Since Kavita got a job, she informed them she wouldn't be coming, and Raavi decided to do all the cooking until they found someone else to help out.

"Haa." Shiva replied, monosyllable reply, as usual.

She made and packed his lunch, and informed him, keeping it on the dining table.

A while later, after he had left, when Raavi stepped into the living room, she noticed that his lunch was on the table only.

"Shiva?" Raavi called out and looked at the time. He definitely had left by now.

"Idiot kahinka. Mujhse dabba banwake, leke bhi nahi gaya. Kaise pati hai? Sab pati same hi hote, by god." She huffed, grabbing her purse and keys.

"Ek min. Woh gadhede ko dabba kyu du mai? Mujhse baat bhi nahi karta woh."

Karne aaya tha. Tune hi muh fer liya 5 din tak. Ab uski sunn nahi rahi thi, toh kitna aayega woh tere paas.

"UFF. Jaati hu. Bhootnath kahinka"

Saying show, she stepped out of the house, and caught a rickshaw to his factory.

15 mins later

"Bas bas, idhar hi rok dijiye. Bhaiyya, aap do minute zara idhar rukiye, mai ye aage gate pe chodke aati hu, phir aap waapas gaadi ghuma lijiye, jaha se aaye the wahi jaana hai, please?" Raavi requested, and the rickshaw wala uncle complied, given that she was heavily pregnant right about now.

Raavi walked up to the gate, but the watchman wasn't there, so she decided to wait outside till he came.

She peeked through the entrance and saw him. Shiva. He was talking to the owner of the factory, presumably.

Raavi couldn't help but stare at her well-built, handsome husband. He was all hers, but there was something thrilling about being one of those girls who stared at hot people from afar.

Except this hot person was all hers. And fighting with her right now, but that was not the point of concern.

He has his shirt wrapped around his waist, standing there in his vest and jeans, hair ruffled, sweat dripping down his arms and neck, rugged look as always. Oof koi maar dalo mujhe mera pati itna hot kaise hai.

When the smile crept on her face, she didn't know. She shook her head, and was about to call out to him directly to take the dabba, when his demeanor changed.

Shiva now stood with his head hung, nodding at whatever the owner was saying. Or yelling. He was definitely yelling at Shiva, pointing fingers at him from time to time.

Raavi was stunned. Only she knew how hard he worked. There were times when he came home and just threw himself at the bed, other times he woke up with a stiff back, which Raavi would have to help him with.

And here, this owner who sits on his ass in an office, is yelling at him?

'Meri woh hasiyat nahi hai Raavi'

'Meri kamai se iss ghar ke sirf kharche uthte hai'

'Ek 10th pass insaan ko aisi kaunsi naukri milegi Mumbai mai?'

'Mere bas mein nahi hai filhaal'

His words from their spiteful argument rang in her ears, as the gravity of his words finally sunk in.

Her emotions hit her like a truck, as she faltered in her steps, walking backwards. She really had failed at understanding him, hadn't she?

All this while, he was looking out for them, and she just placed her decision in front of him, expecting him to agree, like always. He just wanted their life to be easy, whichever way it came.

It was as if someone placed a stone on her chest, and it wasn't ready to budge. Raavi spotted the watchman, thrust the lunchbox in his hands, murmured 'Shiva Pandya' and left hastily in the autorickshaw waiting for her.

What had she done.

...

Shiva sat down at the park bench, hearing the rustle of leaves, chirping of birds, and happy squealing of kids in the park.

It allowed him to think, without any intervention or interruptions.

And right now, he was just thinking about what his boss had said. It was a baseless argument. If Shiva was in charge of keeping a track of all the physical work happening in the factory, it wouldn't harm anyone if he helped out the poor labourers in his free time.

But the damn boss just had to take his frustration out on him, for merely helping out. That idiot of a boss just had his needle stuck on one end, 'Ye extra kaam karne ke paise mai nahi dene waala tujhe. Toh mat hi kar. Inhe karne de inka kaam'

Shiva was furious at that. Only he knew, how difficult it was to lift heavy sacks all the time. The times he would want help, he'd have none, back at his Pandya Store. Shiva valued the hard work these young men were putting in, and hence wasn't as harsh on them.

But that didn't matter, because Shiva had decided to still help out the men. Just not in front of that taklu. Were all bosses the same? Ugh.

Just then, there was this little kid, who had one bunch of balloons left to sell for the day, riding away on her bicycle.

Balloons. Raavi loved balloons. Especially the ones that came in a bunch, each balloon being one colour of the rainbow. She even looked like one too. A cute balloon.

Shiva smiled and called the little girl, buying whichever balloons were left in her hand. Her innocent smile made his heart melt as she skipped away happily.

Just as Shiva was putting his wallet back in, he noticed the two pictures that he had kept. One was of him and Raavi, and the other was one of her sonogram.

Specifically, the one she had after the baby had moved for the first time.

Shiva took out the sonogram from his wallet and looked at it, a wistful smile creeping it's way up as he remembered all the times Raavi would tell him about any developments.

'Shiva, ye dekh, aaj humne baby ki heart beat suni'

'Shivaaaaaa! Iske chote chote fingers dekh na!'

'Baby ka sarr kitna chotu sa hai, dekh na!'

'Tune mujhe chipkali bulaya na, isse bilkul pasand nahi aaya'

He chuckled as he remembered how she had given him one tapli for annoying the baby last time, and a single tear drop fell on the sonogram he held.

He slumped back against the bench, closing his eyes in all these memories. It was like a small ray of sunshine on a gloomy day.

And as if he had an epiphany, he sat up straight, when he realised:

He loved the baby. He loved the little ball of sunshine that was growing in her womb, so much that he didn't want to let go. Ever.

Shiva looked around in disbelief, not being able to believe his own emotions. He loved his little champ. He WAS attached to the baby. Raavi was right.

But...

He took out his phone, googled a few questions, noted down the calculations, and stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

What had he done.

....

Shiva opened the door and entered the room directly, shifting Raavi's gaze towards him. Almost immediately, to avoid her gaze, he grabbed his towel and entered the bathroom.

"Shiva..." Raavi called out, but the voice died in her throat as he shut the door.

10 mins later, he stepped out, just the towel wrapped around his waist, water dripping from his hair, ruffling through the cupboard for his trousers and vest.

That's when Raavi saw the little bruised on his back. It wasn't very noticeable, and probably came from something weirdly pointed in one of the sacks he carried.

But it was enough for the heavy stone to settle on her chest again, as she called out to him again.

"Shiva." Her voice croaked, and it was enough to grab his attention.

"Kya hai?" He asked, getting dressed, without turning around.

"Woh.... Mai... Tu...." She tried, but had to stop the emotions crawling up her throat, covering her face with her palms.

Shiva turned, and saw her sitting that way, and it was enough to grab his attention.

"Bol. Kya hua?" He sat down in front of her.

Raavi lifted her head to look at him, and earnestly was able to say only one thing.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Shiva." She bit the inside of her cheek to stop her tears.

Shiva looked at her surprised. He didn't understand, had he missed something?

"Woh... Mai tere factory aayi thi aaj. Tujhe dabba dene, bhul gaya tha ghar pe." Raavi said meekly. "Waha aayi toh.... Woh taklu tujhe daat raha tha. Sab ke saamne. Mujhe bilkul accha nahi laga."

She looked away from him, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"Raavi tu-"

"Tu kyu karta hai waha kaam Shiva?" She asked him, tearfully.

"KYU matlab?" He looked at her, perplexed. "Raavi, ghar kaise chalayenge hum? Kya bol rahi hai?"

"I don't like it. Kitna chota feel karaya hoga uss taklu ne. Nahi Shiva, tu ye kaam mat kar." Raavi choked on her voice.

"Accha accha rukh," Shiva tried to pacify her, keeping his palms on either side of her face, "tu mujhe ye bata ki Pandya Store pe aur ye factory pe jo kaam karta hoon, kya farak hai?"

"Hai na farak!" She said, "Pandya Store ka tu maalik hai, ye factory ka nahi. Store pe tu apne marzi se kaam karta tha, yaha majboori mein karna pad raha hai."

"Raavi-"

"Nahi tu sunn meri puri baat. I'm sorry maine teri baat ko nahi samjha, bohot buri hu, I know." Raavi shrugged his hands off her face, while he continuously nodded 'no'. "Mai nahi samjhi, jab tune kaha ki baby ko paalna humare affordability se bahar hai. Maine ek baar bhi nahi socha ki tujhe kitni mehnat karni padegi iss sab ke liye."

"Shiva, sunn na. Ye sab mere zidd ke wajah se hua na? Mumbai aaye, aur tujhe ye sab karna pad raha hai? Mujhe waapas Somnath jaane se problem nahi hai, mai daat kaat ke reh lungi udhar, at least waha log teri izzat karte the Store mein. Yaha jaise nahi, jab dekho chillate hai tujhpe." She wiped the tears, that were blurring her vision, away.

"Par na, maine kuch socha hai. Baby ko abhi nahi paal sakte, lekin baadme toh kar paayenge na? Toh tab tak baby ko foster care mein rakh lenge, aur fir adopt kar denge, okay?" She said, frantically looking for some papers she had kept aside

"Jaan-"

"I swear, tu bas chal yaha se."

"Ae chipkali-"

"I promise, aur koi zidd nahi karungi-"

"RAAVI!"

She looked at him and placed her palms on the side of his face, resting her forehead on his. "I'm sorry." Raavi whispered.

Shiva sighed and leaned against her forehead, eyes closing of his own accord. He held her hand, an md ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"It's okay. Aur maafi toh mujhe bhi maangni chahiye." He whispered back, making Raavi look at him.

"Shiva?"

"Aaj mai jab garden mein baitha tha, toh mujhe woh saare pal yaad aaye tere saath, jab bhi tu bacche ko leke excited ho jaati thi. Especially woh din, jab champ ne decide kiya ki 'aaj mujhe dance karna hai'" Shiva chuckled, and Raavi smiled softly.

"Tu sahi thi. Mujhe alag nahi hona hai champ se. Usko dekhna hai ek baar, bas ek baar godh mein uthana hai. Lekin...." He sighed, looking away.

Raavi could sense him holding back, and if she didn't as him now, he'd never say. So she shifted closer to him, and made him look at her. "Sun rahi hoon."

"Darr lagta hai."

"Mere bhoothnath ko kisi cheez se darr bhi lagta?" She tried to crack a joke, but obviously had bad timing. "Kyu, Shiva?"

It was a long time before he spoke, "Tujhe Papa yaad hai?"

"Kiske?"

"Mere. Mere baba yaad hai?" Shiva looked at her, clearing her confusion.

"Darshan Uncle? I mean, Baba?" Raavi squinted her eyes, trying to recall any memories of him. "Zyaada nahi Shiva, hum kitne chote the."

"Wahi toh. Mujhe mere Baba zyaada yaad hi nahi, bada hone se pehle chale gaye woh. Uske baad, jo the, sab Gaumbi the. Woh mere bhai kam, papa zyaada the. Mujhe humesha unke jaise banna tha, pata hai? Kyuki woh mere role model the. Humesha. Jaise unhone apne chote bhai ko apne bacche jaise bada kiya, sochta tha ki jab bhi papa banunga, toh unke jaisa banu."

"Par uss din, unhone jo tere saath kiya, Bhabhi ka saath deke jo tera dil dukhaya, mai unhe kaise maaf kardu? Bohot pyaar karta hoon apne parivaar se, par utna hi tujhse bhi karta hoon." He looked at her, his hand grazing her cheek.

"Darr lagta hai ki accha papa nahi banunga. Aisa kaun hai meri life mein, jo mujhe rok ke bataye ki 'Shiva, bacche se aise bol, toh woh teri baat sunega. Shiva, tujhe ye sab seekhna padega, ye sab face karne ke liye ready ho jaa'? Naa papa rahe mere paas, aur naa hi papa jaise Gaumbi. Mujhe guide karne waala koi bhi nahi hai, Raavi. Koi nahi."

"Bas itna chahta hoon, ki mera baccha garv se bol sake, ki 'Ye dekho. Ye mere papa hai.' Par mai jaanta hu, woh ye nahi bolega. Isliye darta hoon. Aur uss darr mein, tujhe bhi kheench raha hoon. I'm sorry."

Shiva sighed and rested his forehead on her shoulder, not knowing what else to say. Raavi pulled him into a hug, his head resting in the ridge of her shoulder blade, arms around her as she kissed his head.

"Dekh meri taraf," She broke the hug after a few minutes, wiping away the silent tears he had shed, "Koi bhi parents banne ke manual ke saath paida nahi hota. Sabko experience se hi hota hai. Aur sab galtiya karte hai, koi bhi perfect nahi hai. Okay? Hum dono milkar humare bacche ka khyaal rakhenge na? Mujhe bhi nahi pata, kya karna hai, kaise karna hai. Par seekhungi. Dheere dheere. Tu bhi seekh jaayega, dheere dheere. Okay bubba?"

"Par tere paas kam se kam mami hai-"

"Accha. Agar tujhe help chahiye hoga, toh mausapa se puch lena, okay? Haq se puch sakta hai tu unse." Raavi offered him a soft smile, as he hugged her again.

"Tu nahi hoti toh kya hota mera?" He mumbled against her skin, making her giggle.

"Kya hota? Tu balbrahmachari reh jaata, aur kya?" She chuckled, making him smile.

"Accha," He broke the hug, wiping his face of any tears that were left. "Tune khaana khaaya?"

"Nahi...."

"KYU?!"

"Pehle socha tere aane ka wait karu, fir yaad aaya ki mai gussa hoon. Ab nahi hoon." She sheepishly replied.

"Ae chipkali, humare bacche ko aisa bhooka rakhegi tu?"

"Shiva, mai keh toh rahi hu-" Raavi began, but stopped mid-way in shock. "Kya kaha tune?"

"Maine kaha," Shiva placed his palm in her stomach, "humare bacche ko bhooka rakhegi tu?"

Raavi looked between him and his hand on her stomach, over and over again, until she realised he wasn't joking.

"Hein?" She said, voice no louder than a whisper, as she saw him nod. "Par tune kaha tha-"

"Kaha tha. Phir baithke calculations kiye. Ghar ke kharche aur humare kharche ko baju rakh ke, maine yaha aane se bohot pehle apne account mein saving rakhe the. Upar se thode bohot investments kar raha hoon, jo filhaal humare faayde mein hai. Toh baby ke treatments 1- 1.5 saal tak handle ho jaayega. Uske aage, I'm counting on you, ki tu koi acchi si naukri dhundhe aur meri help kar de, iss buddhe ki kamar akad gayi hai." Shiva explained, chuckling at the last line and stretching for added effect.

"Shiva, tera matlab hai ki-"

"Raavi Pandya, ab toh mera favourite dialogue maar de." He took her hands in his and looked at her with his million dollar smile. When she didn't understand, he dramatically said, "Shiva, mai tere bacche ki maa banne- oof"

He was thrown off balance as she lunged forward and hugged him tightly  crying happy tears. "I promise, pure mann se padhai karke, job lungi. Pakka, pakka, pakka promise. Humara baccha-" She chuckled, kissing him softly.

"Ab. Jaise ki maine kaha tha," He pecked her lips and helped her up, "Mere bacche ko bhooka rakha tune?"

"Hello, humara baccha hai. Aur biwi bhooki hai, ye bhul gaya? Haww Shiva, very bad." She walked out of the room, and sat down on the dining table, followed by Shiva.

For the first time in 3 weeks, they had a peaceful dinner.