A Mother's unspoken grief

Tears begin to flow from Sarika's eyes, but without wiping them away, she stares intently at that dot, sinking into the ocean of old memories.

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It was afternoon. Nine months pregnant, Sarika was resting in her room. Since she was in her ninth month and carrying twins, she had difficulty climbing stairs. Because of this, Adrijay had temporarily shifted his room to the guest room downstairs. Sarika lay on the bed, resting. Apart from her, only Yamini Ji and Adhik were at home.

She had fed Adhik and put him to sleep. Just then, Yamini Ji entered the room and, seeing Sarika lying down, made a face and said, "Listen, go to the terrace and bring down the clothes! And yes, I’m going to the neighbor’s house for Sushma’s grandson’s naming ceremony, so fold the clothes and keep them in the hall. I’ll sort them out later."

Hearing her, Sarika looked troubled and said, "But, Maa Ji, you know that the doctor has advised me not to climb stairs. How can I—"

Yamini Ji glared at her angrily and interrupted, "You’re not some special mother! I have been a mother too and worked a thousand times harder than you! I barely make you do anything, and now you’re making a fuss about just bringing down the clothes. Just do as I say! And yes, I might be late coming back, so make sure you lock the door properly from the inside." Without waiting for Sarika’s reply, she left.

Sarika watched her leave and murmured to herself, "How will I climb so many stairs? The doctor has strictly forbidden me… but what can I do? If I don’t go, Maa Ji will surely do something later. I can’t give her a chance to find fault with me, so I have to go."

With that thought, she carefully got up, supporting her belly. First, she went to the main door and locked it from the inside. Then, she slowly started climbing the stairs to the terrace.

Reaching the terrace, Sarika took down the clothes one by one from the clothesline, holding them securely. Then, she carefully started descending the stairs.

Meanwhile, Adhik woke up and, not finding Sarika in the room, ran outside, calling, "Mumma, whele (where) ale (are) you?"

Hearing his voice, Sarika panicked and called out from the stairs, "Beta, I’m upstairs! You stay there; I’m coming! Don’t come up!"

Adhik replied, "Okay, Mumma," and stood near the stairs, waiting for her.

Sarika carefully descended the stairs. Only one step remained when a piece of cloth slipped from her hands and fell on the step below. She didn’t notice it and stepped forward, but her foot got tangled in the fabric. Losing balance, she fell straight down on her stomach.

A painful scream echoed through the Chaudhary House. Adhik, seeing her fall, got scared and rushed to her, placing his little hands on her face. "Mumma, what happened? Are you okay?" he asked, his voice trembling.

Tears streamed from Sarika’s eyes, but she didn’t want to frighten Adhik. Controlling her emotions, she said in a shaky voice, "Adhu… beta… my phone… call Papa… and tell him… Mumma is not well…"

Hearing this, Adhik, sobbing, ran inside, grabbed Sarika’s phone from the table, and tried calling Adrijay. But the call wasn’t connecting. "Mumma, Papa… isn’t answering," he said, crying.

Sarika sobbed but quickly wiped her tears and said, "Beta… call Chachu…"

Adhik immediately called Devansh. A few moments later, Devansh picked up, "Hello, Bhabhi! Do you need something for home?"

Adhik, still crying, said, "Chachu… Mumma…"

Devansh, alarmed, asked, "What happened to Mama? Beta, tell me!"

"Mumma got hurt, Chachu… and she’s lying on the floor!" Adhik said while crying uncontrollably.

Hearing this, Devansh panicked. "What? Okay, Adhik, stay with Mumma! Chachu will be there soon!"

Adhik nodded and ended the call. Sarika, watching him with teary eyes, stretched out one hand toward him while the other clutched her stomach. The pain was unbearable, and the hurt of Adrijay not answering the call added to her suffering.

Adhik saw her extended hand and immediately held it. Sitting beside her, he wiped her tears and said, "Mumma, don’t worry! Chachu is coming! He will take you to the hospital, and you will be fine soon!"

Hearing her little boy’s words, Sarika forced a weak smile.

Time passed, and with each moment, her pain intensified. She was struggling to breathe, but she couldn’t cry out loud because of Adhik.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Sarika weakly told Adhik, "Beta… tell Chachu… the door is locked… come through the window…"

Adhik ran to the door and conveyed the message to Devansh. Devansh climbed in through the window, unlocked the main door, and rushed to Sarika. Seeing her condition, his eyes filled with tears. After all, he considered her like a mother, and seeing her like this was unbearable. But pushing aside his emotions, he carefully lifted her in his arms and carried her toward the door. Suddenly, he stopped and said, "Go to Dadi, beta"

Adhik nodded and ran to the neighbor’s house. Meanwhile, Devansh placed Sarika in the car, locked the house, and handed the keys to a passing neighbor. "Rahul, give these to my mother and tell her Bhabhi wasn’t well, so I took her to the hospital. Also, tell her that Adhik went their only, so take of him."

Rahul agreed and left. Devansh quickly got into the car, started the engine, and reassured Sarika, "Don’t worry, Bhabhi! Everything will be fine. Soon, we’ll have both babies safe in our hands, and you’ll be completely okay!"

Sarika placed a trembling hand on her belly and looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "Devar Ji… if there comes a situation where only one can be saved… please save the babies!"

Devansh, troubled, said, "Bhabhi, what are you saying? I told you, nothing will happen to you!"

Sarika cried, "I know… only two of us can survive… we have already wasted so much time… so please, save my babies! No one in that house needs me, but at least my children will be loved… they will get all the happiness. My presence doesn’t matter."

Devansh, with moist eyes, looked ahead and said, "Bhabhi, how can you even say that? You know how much we all love you!"

Sarika didn’t respond and leaned back, closing her eyes. Tears streamed down her face.

A few minutes later, Devansh stopped the car in front of the hospital, brought a stretcher, and helped place Sarika on it. The ward boys and nurses took her inside.

Devansh rushed behind them. Inside, Dr. Anamika saw Sarika and asked, "What happened?"

Devansh explained, "Doctor, when I reached home, I saw Bhabhi lying on the floor… she had fallen on her stomach… please, save all three of them!"

Dr. Anamika took a deep breath and said, "I don’t want to give you false hope, Mr. Chaudhary, but looking at the condition, I doubt we can save all three."

Sarika, crying, folded her hands and begged, "Please, Doctor! Save my babies, not me! Please!"

Devansh, frustrated, said, "Bhabhi, how can you say that? Don’t we matter to you?"

Turning to the doctor, he added, "Doctor, please try to save all three!"

Dr. Anamika nodded and took Sarika into the OT.

Just then, Devansh’s phone rang. It was Adrijay. Devansh told him everything, and Adrijay immediately left for the hospital.

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(What happens next has been covered in previous parts, so this section focuses only on Sarika’s perspective.)

Three hours after the surgery ended, Sarika regained consciousness. Panicking, she placed her hand on her stomach and said, "My babies!!!" Then, hastily trying to sit up, she asked, "Where are my babies???"

The nurse, who was checking on the baby, immediately walked over to her, gently laying her back down. "Please lie down, ma’am. You’re still weak!"

Sarika, still anxious, asked again, "My babies???"

The nurse took a deep breath and said, "You gave birth to twin boys. One is completely fine, but the other… he didn’t make it. I’m sorry… we couldn’t save him."

Hearing this, Sarika’s heart shattered. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she muttered in a daze, "It’s all my fault!!! Everything happened because of me!!! I am responsible for everything… My baby has gone far from me!!! Because of me, he… he… died… No! No! He can’t leave me like this… He can’t go away from his mother like this… He wouldn’t leave me like this…"

Sobbing uncontrollably, she suddenly screamed, "My baby can’t leave me like this!!! You’re lying!!! Stop lying to me… understand?!!! I will find my baby myself… He must be somewhere here… You must have hidden him…!!!"

Saying this, she tried to get up and started pulling out the IV from her hand.

Seeing this, the nurse panicked and called out for the doctor. Just as she shouted, Devansh, who had just returned from the baby’s last rites, rushed into the room. The moment he saw Sarika’s condition, his eyes filled with tears.

As soon as Sarika saw Devansh, she hurriedly went to him and desperately pleaded, "Devar Ji, where is my second baby??? Look, this nurse is saying that he is no more!!! But you promised… You said the doctor would save all three of us… She’s lying, right, Devar Ji??? Please tell me… Where is my second baby??? Please, Devar Ji, tell me! I beg you… I… I will never give anyone a reason to complain at home again… I will do all the work silently… I won’t let Maa Ji complain ever again… Just tell me where my baby is!!! Please tell me, Devar Ji, please…!!!"

Saying this, she folded her hands in front of him and broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

Devansh couldn’t bear to see her in such a state, but he couldn’t utter a single word either. With teary eyes, he turned around and walked out of the room.

Just then, Dr. Anamika arrived and, with great difficulty, inject an injection to Sarika, making her unconscious.

Tears rolled down Sarika’s cheeks as she recalled that horrific day.

Just then, Adhik came running into the room and said, "Mumma, look! Tanu is teasing me!!!"

Hearing Adhik’s voice, Sarika quickly wiped her tears and composed herself. She hurriedly hid her medical reports in the cupboard, shut it, and then turned toward Adhik. "Adhu, you and Tanu fight a lot!"

Before Adhik could say anything, Tanishk entered the room and clung to Sarika. "Mumma, I never fight! Bhaiya is the one who always fights with me. I am very sweet and innocent, right, Mumma???" He looked at her with an adorably innocent face.

Sarika smiled softly, gently tugged his ear, and said, "Oh yes, you’re very innocent… I know exactly how you trouble Adhu!"

Tanishk quickly freed his ear from her grasp and pouted. "Mumma, you always take Bhaiya’s side!!!"

Sarika raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "Oh? Is that so?? Really???"

Before Tanishk could reply, Adhik, who had been observing Sarika closely for a while, suddenly asked, "Mumma, were you crying???"

Startled by his question, Sarika stammered, "N-No… No, beta… Why would I cry???"

Tanishk, now also observing her carefully, said, "Mumma, you were crying! But why??? Did Dadi say something again?? If she did, tell me, Mumma! I’ll teach her a good lesson!!!"

Hearing this, Sarika panicked and quickly stopped him. "No, Tanu! Your Dadi didn’t say anything! Please don’t go to her like this!"

Tanishk looked at her suspiciously and asked, "Then why were you crying???"

Avoiding his gaze, Sarika replied, "I… I was just missing my Maa and Baba. That’s all."

Tanishk nodded and said, "Oh, that’s it, Mumma? Then you should go and meet them!!!"

Sarika shook her head and said, "Let it be… Come on, let’s go! I’ll get you both something to eat. It’s time for your milk too, isn’t it?"

Tanishk and Adhik left the room with Sarika.

Meanwhile, standing at a distance in the corridor, Adrijay, who had been watching everything, stepped out from his hiding spot and whispered to himself, "Sarika is missing Maa Ji and Baba… Then why doesn’t she go and meet them??? Anyway… this time, she’ll get lots of surprises on Tanu’s birthday! Maybe this will help reduce the distance between us, even if just a little…"

Saying this, he smiled.

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