chapter 36

SerendipityEpisode-36Megha stood outside the arrival gate of Mumbai airport at 6 p.m., glancing occasionally at her phone.Focused on the exit gate while typing something on her mobile. She had left work early and was still replying a few official emails.Her parents’ Delhi-Mumbai flight had landed half an hour ago. Her gaze drifted over the faces coming out of the gate.Amid the crowd, a tall figure caught her attention — so tall it was hard to miss.Although the person was far away, something about his face felt familiar, despite the dark sunglasses obscuring his eyes.Dressed in a light gray blazer with a laptop bag in one hand and a phone pressed to his ear, the figure had a sharp, disciplined stride. He walked, talking on the phone, his head down.‘Is that… Rajeev?’ she thought.‘No… No, it can't be. Why would he be here? He’s probably back at Supreme House, planning new business strategies.’‘Stop thinking about Supreme all the time!’she reminded herself, pulling her gaze back to her phone.Megha scanned the crowd again, searching for Radha Tai, her mother, father, and Arya might be emerging.‘They’ve been inside a while now... Why haven’t they come out yet? Could there be an issue? Maybe it’s just the luggage taking time. I’ll call instead of worrying,’ she decided, ready to dial her father’s number.Just then, Arya’s loud voice called out, "Mamma!" Breaking past the railing, Arya rushed forward, hugging Megha tightly.Megha felt her heart swell at Arya’s enthusiastic embrace. It had been ten days since she last saw her little one."Mamma, I missed you a lot, a lot, a lot!" Arya exclaimed, pressing a kiss to Megha’s cheek."I missed you too, baby… so much," Megha said, returning the embrace.Her mother, father, and Radha Tai soon approached, making their way around the railing to join her.Arya climbed over the railing and jumped across in her usual exuberant manner. Her grandmother gave a familiar sigh."Look at her, jumping around like that… I’ve had my fill of it," she complained. "The monkies in nainital were calm, sitting in one place… and our Arya was showing off by jumping everywhere."Megha, laughing, hugged Arya tightly again, pulling her close with a gentle tug at her cheeks. "That's my playful little one!""Ajji, come on! It was my vacation! If I don’t have fun, who will?" Arya countered, immediately enlisting her grandfather for support."Exactly, she’s just the right age to enjoy herself," he smiled."And what about when your grandma starts jumping instead?"Ajji retorted with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Alright now, holiday’s over — let’s head home."As they walked toward the parking lot, Megha took the luggage trolley from Radha Tai, remarking,"Looks like you all had a great time… Arya! How many photos did you take? New hobby, huh? Didn’t miss football?"As they loaded the luggage into the Innova, Arya chatted excitedly. "Mamma! Do you know there was a manager uncle at the resort in Mussoorie, and his family lived nearby?His son, Samar, was my age. His school was there too, so he’d bring a football, and we played a lot.I beat him a few times and even taught him new kicks! We only stayed there for three days, but I took uncle’s number. If I call Samar, we can still keep in touch, right?"Megha listened with pride, smiling at Arya’s open-hearted nature and her stories of new friendships made on their travels.Once the luggage was stowed, Megha walked around to the passenger seat to get in, but a silver-gray Mercedes caught her eye, gliding past just as she reached for the door. She looked back, sensing something.‘Could that be… Rajeev Mehra? Was he the tall figure I saw earlier?’‘No, there are hundreds of silver Mercedes in Mumbai,’ she told herself, brushing off the thought.‘There’s no shortage of wealthy people here.’ She got into the car but couldn’t quite shake the memory of Rajeev’s voice, his words echoing in her mind: ‘Miss Joshi, one moment, please…’To be continued....© ®️ Meghna_Yadav 2021Special Thanks to friend Gayatri and my loving daughter, my buddy.Hello Readers,Illuminate the five stars of ratings with your gentle touch. Do let me know your thoughts via comments..Thanks and Regards,Meghana Yadav...Â