'Maa'

A loud scream from the room next to her woke up Khushi from the deep slumber she was in.

Panicked, she rushed to the neighbouring room, only to see her son, a 6 year old Aarav, sweating profusely and terrified about something. 'Probably a nightmare', she thought and rushed to comfort her adopted son by taking him in her arms.

'Aarav, dear, its just a nightmare. There is nothing to worry', she assured him, when he was not even ready to open his eyes and absorb his surroundings. He was very much into his dream that reality seemed far for him to reach.

'Maa, please dont leave me', he cried in his sleep, instilling more fear in Khushi as she was helpless and did not know how to console the poor child.

Still, she tried her best to bring him back to the real world, as the virtual one, only held bad memories that needed to be forgotten.

A child of his age, who was destined for dreams full of fantasy, was having nightmares and as a mother, her heart went out to her child, at the same time, guilt stabbing her heart for not being able to comfort him.

'Aarav, Maa is here. I will never leave you. Wake up dear. I am right here, in front of you', Khushi spoke, her words being barely coherent as she herself was trying her hard to control her own tears that trickled down her cheeks.

She chided and blamed herself for not being able to console her own son in times of distress. She berated her own ability of being a mother.

Pushing back all her thoughts, she concentrated only on Aarav as he needed her attention than anything else. What if she did not give him birth, what if he was still hesitant to accept her as his mother after the ruthless betrayal from Sheetal, what if he still feared whether she too would leave him, what if he never allowed her to get close to him, he was still HER son! Blood related or an adopted one never mattered! A heart to heart connection is enough for a mother to provide everything for her child. And Khushi had already accepted him as her own.

Gently lifting the curled up figure of her son in her arms, she settled down on the bed, with him on her lap. She caressed his hair with the pure love she had for the child, wiping the sweat on his forehead and tears in his eyes simultaneously.

She hugged him to her chest, swaying back and forth, placing occasional kisses on his forehead and his hair, waiting for him to calm down.

After a few minutes, Aarav's sobs subsided and he slowly opened his eyes, to find himself in the arms of Khushi. Finding him awake, a huge relief spread through her whole body, and her worried face was immediately replaced by a full blown smile that had the power to lighten up everything around her.

'Aarav', she exclaimed, her voice laced with love and only love for the boy. 'Thank god you are alright. It was just a nightmare. No need to worry. I will never leave you. Your mother will never leave you. I will always be there by your side.' She spoke rather hurriedly, to assure him and to reassure herself that he was no longer frightened.

Aarav had a tear rolled down his cheek which was wiped the next moment by Khushi, nodding her head. 'Dont cry Aarav. You are safe. I will never leave you'.

'Maa', he called out, placing a hand on her cheek, looking straight into her eyes. The unconditional love she showered, her perseverance and patience whenever she was pushed by him, her never giving up attitude towards him and most importantly, her promises that she would never leave him, melted his hard resolve of never trusting someone to be his mother again.

The one word her heart always ached to hear from Aarav, was finally out and she could not contain her excitement. With tears and smiles, simultaneously dancing on her face, she kissed the palm of his hand and then his forehead. Her way of thanking him for accepting her as his mother!

'Maa, you will never leave me right?' Aarav asked, to confirm this was not his dream.

'Never, never. I will always be there with you. I will never let anyone to separate us' She again assured, as she knew he needed them more and she was ready to give the same answer, irrespective of how many ever times he asks.

'Please dont leave me', Aarav again whispered pleading, and hugged her burying his face in her neck.

Khushi again placed reassuring kisses on his hair and his head, rubbing his back up and down, to soothe his worry and to wipe out his fears.

But she knew, promising him alone wont help him in facing his fears, he had to let it out to her, so as not to face such nightmares again. Hence, she asked him skeptically, 'Aarav, do you want to speak about it? The nightmare you had?'

Aarav's grip on his mother tightened with the question he heard. Understanding his fear, Khushi comforted him. 'Its okay Aarav. You dont need to.' She said and again patted his back rhythmically to let sleep take over.

But Aarav wanted to let it out all to his mother, whom he begun to trust and was sure that she would never let him go, whatever the circumstances be. Her warmth said it all. The only person whom he could blindly trust now!

Slowly coming out from her warm embrace, he narrated in a slow voice.

'We were like a small family in the orphanage. They took good care of us. But no one loved us. They only pitied us. But when Sheetal aunty came to the orphanage and claimed me to be her son, I was so happy. I thought I will have a family too, that everyone kept telling about. I thought finally I will have someone who will love me. But when I came here, she told me that you have snatched my Dad from me. I could get him to love me only if I become like him.' Aarav buried his face in her chest before continuing, 'I tried really hard Maa, I tried to impress Dad. But in the process, I hurt you a lot. I thought you were the obstacle. I hated you for that. But I was wrong. Totally wrong. She cheated me.' He cried into her chest.

'I am sorry Maa. I am really sorry. I did not know that I was just a bait for her selfish needs. I am sorry Maa', Aarav sobbed more uncontrollably, guilty for his actions.

'Aarav... Shh.. please stop crying. There was no mistake of yours. She manipulated you. Please stop crying dear, please.' Khushi wiped her son's tears, as they pricked her heart more.

'I love you Maa. I could never hate you. You always showered me with love. I am sorry, for not accepting you as my mother all these days. I was scared. I was scared that I would lose you too'. He admitted.

'I love you too Aarav. And you dont need to be scared. I would never leave you. You dont need to be guilty. You were not wrong. Your Dad and I will never judge you for that. I had loved you then, and I will always love you. You are MY son. And I promise to never let you shed even a single drop of tear. Your Maa loves you more than anyone. Hmm?'

'You will never leave me right?' Aarav asked innocently.

'Never', she again promised kissing his forehead.

'Promise?'

'Promise'

********************

Arnav found himself alone in his bedroom, with no trace of Khushi, early in the morning when he woke up. He searched the possible places for her to be, but in vain.

On his way to the kitchen in search of his wife, he passed his son's room, only to notice the door slightly open. Wondering, he entered it only to witness the beautiful scene, which he was eagerly waiting for, since the time they had adopted Aarav.

The mother son duo were cuddled up with Khushi protectively holding their son, softly snoring, with satisfied smiles lingering on their faces.

Unable to take his eyes off from the pleasant view, he slowly approached them and placed a kiss each on their foreheads, before slipping inside the duvet beside Aarav, laying a protective arm on his small family. He knew, Aarav had finally accepted his mother!

A very random thought that crossed my mind!
Initially planned to be a drabble, but words deceived me and it extended to a one shot!

Please drop in your comments and votes!
Love,
Shwetha