It is rightly said that distance brings you closer. As Divya returned home after leaving Abhishek at the airport, she felt incomplete. It was as if she had left a part of her somewhere else. She sighed and went to her room and laid down for a sleepless night.

On the other hand, Abhishek's situatuon was no better. For his entire journey, from Mumbai airport to his hotel room in Bangalore, he kept on thinking about his wife's words, "And.......I will miss you." He remembered the hug they shared. He felt contended and incomplete at the same time. Contended, because he had managed to find a place in his wife's heart and incomplete because his wife and daughter approximately 980 kilometers away from him.

He reached the hotel room at around midnight. Changing into comfortable clothes, he laid down on the bed and looked at Divya and Diya's photos and soon fell asleep.

Next Morning

Abhishek woke up early in the morning. He freshened up and picked up his phone to call Divya. As he unlocked it, he realized that it was only 5 AM. He sighed. It was too early to call. He locked his room and went to the hotel garden for a walk but was soon sitting there on a bench, looking at his wife's photo, lost in the beauty of her face.

His trance was broken by a stranger, who settled beside him on the bench and asked, "Newly married?" Abhishek was about to reply in positive, when he felt that a stranger need not know the truth. He replied, "No. I have a four year old daughter." Saying so, he looked at the stranger and was shocked to the core. He was Abhay, Divya's ex husband.

No matter how old and mature you are, the moment you meet the ex of the love of your life, your maturity is gone. The feeling of jealousy takes over your heart. The same happened with Abhishek. He knew Divya hated this man, he knew, she would never go back to him, yet he felt jealous. Then he remembered how he had left Diya, he felt angry. Oh! how he wished to kill Abhay.

Unaware of his thoughts, Abhay said, "Daughter?" Abhishek replied curtly, "Yes." Abhay laughed, "I guess you love your wife too much to let her give birth to a daughter. Had a daughter been born to me, I would have killed her and my wife at that very moment." Abhishek's blood boiled at the statement. He said, "Ever heard about Neerja Bhanot? She was a flight attendant who died while saving passengers from terrorists on board a hijacked airplane. Shakuntala Devi was an Indian prodigy who holds a record in the Guinness Book for being able to do insanely large mental calculations. Razia Sultana, who was the first and the last female monarch of the Delhi Sultanate, is also known as a brilliant monarch. Remember how in 2017, everyone had gone crazy as the Indian Women's cricket team reached the finals in the World Cup. Ever watched the movie Dangal or Mary Kom. Mary Kom, only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. Heard about PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza?"

Abhishek took a deep breath and continued, "You might feel that women are a burden but I don't agree. People who think so are a burden. For me, my daughter is a blessing and I am proud to be her father."

Abhishek got up and walked back to his room. He felt disgusted. How can people think so? Why do they think so? People want mother, wife, sister, girlfriend, daughter-in-law, but not a daughter. What an irony!

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So, how is it? 

Many of you must be aware that Key To My Heart has been taken down for editing. The edited version will have many major changes. So, please add the book to your library again.

~Purnima