Janani's Revenge - Part 6

The story so far:
Janani obsesses about her first born and has no time for herself. Vishnu plans a weekend trip to help rejuvenate Janani. Things do not turn out well when Janani realizes that Vishnu had meant to leave the baby at his mother's care.

Part 6:

Janani had gone back into her cold shell and Vishnu felt terrible. But, he had done it to give her some rest, he did not leave the baby at home to go on a romantic trip. He was not an insensitive person and definitely understood the stress and anxiety a mother would feel when away from her little one. Arya, though he was so fond of his mother, had completely forgotten her the moment the car left the gates and started playing with his grand mother. Children are so gifted, he thought, they forget things, good or bad and move on to the next.

Life moved on, Janani had forgiven Vishnu and become normal(after so many days) and Vishnu had completely given up trying to change her. He saw her tired and exhausted always and knew nothing that he says will change her. Arya was turning 4 this year and Janani still fussed around him like she did when he was 4 months old. She let him play with kids his age outside their house or at the park near their house and yet stood there the whole two hours under the burning hot sun with her eyes fixed on him. She took him shopping and watched him as if he was in danger. She never let go of his hand when they were out. Anyone else who saw them will say that she was just being a responsible parent, but, Vishnu saw how much she killed herself with all the stress. She watched Arya like an animal which had just given birth and did not let anyone near the little one and there was nothing that he could do.

Arya was a very active kid and had the perfect height and weight for a 4 year old. He mostly resembled Vishnu and was very naughty. Kamala took great pleasure in remembering the old times and kept saying 'ohhhh,isnt he just like his father, so naughty'. Janani's parents loved Arya and longed to pamper him. But, Janani wouldnt listen to sending Arya to their house and they had to come here every time they felt like seeing him. It was not the same, as they were in their daughter's inlaws house and felt like intruders though Kamala and Vishnu were very friendly and hospitable and treated them as part of the family. Janani had not stayed at their house for more than a day or 2 since the day Arya was born and was adamant about changing her routine. They had come over once in 2 days for the past 4 years and it was really tiring, coming all the way in this hectic traffic. They were getting old too and did not have the energy and stamina as before. Vishnu sadly understood the plight of his parents in law and tried reasoning with Janani several times. She dismissed the talks saying that this was a good diversion for her parents and would keep them active and hopping. Kamala was able to understand how hard it was to even make it to the shop nearby sometimes as one grew older, with all the aches and yet couldn't say a word.

Kamala sadly watched Vishnu leading a single life. He was a dutiful father and Arya adored him. She was happy to see him so vibrant when he was playing with Arya. Arya was filling the void in his heart that Janani had intentionally left. She had never seen Vishnu and Janani talking to each other other than things that concerned Arya. Before Arya's arrival Janani had spent every minute waiting for Vishnu and once he was home, they had filled the house with their fun and laughter. Janani had a very beautiful laugh. She laughed from her heart and her eyes sparkled when she laughed. She had been so fond of Vishnu and filled every minute of the evening with animated narration about her day, next door neighbor, the television dramas that she had seen, recipes that she had tried, sweet nothings. Vishnu was talkative too and loved sharing about the funny things that happened at work. Dinner was always special and it was one thing that really made Kamala's day. Vishnu's father Raman, would not retire from work even though they had enough savings to tide them over for another 20-30 years and Vishnu was settled as well. Having travelled and been busy all his life, he could not imagine sitting idle at home and hence took up assignments as a consultant. Kamala had got used to his absence and once Janani had come into their family, life had become more interesting, animated and colorful that it was no longer boring with Kamala counting the days to see Raman again.

Dinner was still special and they all ate together. But nobody talked and Arya monopolized the conversation with his animated stories. Kamala loved the baby babble, Arya though 4 now, had still not lost his baby talk and was not able to pronounce some words clearly. She laughed when he mispronounced and conversed with him with the same interest, that, it looked like the conversation was happening between two 4 year olds. Janani shared a few words, mostly centered around Arya's day. She had nothing else to share. Her brain had shrunk these days and stored only information pertaining to Arya or had she purged every other information intentionally? She never laughed and the only time she tried to laugh was when she was playing with Arya, yet it was never the deep contended laughter that came from her heart. Her eyes no longer sparkled and her face showed signs of weariness. She had forgotten about taking care of herself and though she would not admit, every cell in her body begged for some rest. She was driving herself mad, filling her days completely with something or the other and when she hit the bed, she was tired and barely had the energy to even share a word with Vishnu.

Kamala and Vishnu had been eagerly waiting for this day, the day Arya was supposed to start school. Arya had been admitted to Lower Kinder Garden in a private school that was 30 minute drive from home. Vishnu had picked this school amongst so many others that had been around his house, just to make sure that Janani did not frequent the school during every break period to look at Arya. Janani had not learnt driving and he strictly wanted to discourage her from going to the school every now and then, unless necessary. He was glad that the school started around 9am and ended only by 4pm(which included a 3 hour nap) and this would give Janani some rest.

Arya was excited about wearing a new dress and glad to leave the house, as he had been told that he was being taken a place where there were lot of friends to play with and a huge playground. He loved playing and could not wait to see his new friends. Kamala accompanied them to the school and Arya happily sat in the little desk in his new classroom. He waved at them excitedly when they decided to leave and that was when Janani broke down completely and started sobbing. Arya's teacher asked them to leave before he started crying and made the other kids cry. Parents around were silently begging Janani to stop and not start the crying drama. Every mother there felt bad to be away from her child for the first time and yet had made up their mind thinking of the child's wellbeing. Nobody can afford home schooling and even if they could they did not want the child to grow up isolated and lonely and be in their shade all the time.

Janani was not an insensible person and yet did not want to let go of her child. She started sobbing and asked Vishnu if they can take Arya back home and bring him some other day. Vishnu took her out of the classroom and when he was not able to console her, he started walking away. Kamala, felt helpless seeing Janani cry, but knew that no amount of consoling will stop her and started following Vishnu. The bell rang and all the kids had settled down inside the classes and the teacher had started to introduce herself. Janani walked up to a window and tried to look inside, but the windows were not transparent and was painted opaque such a way that she was not able to see anything from outside. She was not sure if Arya might be able to see her from inside, so she stood there for 30 minutes, just in case Arya wanted to see her until the next bell rang and the teacher came out.

The teacher was surprised to see Janani still standing outside. Janani had not heard the bell and on seeing the teacher come outside, had a small hope that Arya might have asked for her, she longed to hug and hold him, she had not seen him for long, for 30 minutes now. While the teacher was contemplating about talking to Janani, the next teacher walked into the classroom and closed the door. Janani sadly realized that Arya had not asked for her and he was not going to come out. Before the teacher started to say something, Janani smiled at her and started to walk away. She went and sat on a bench under a tree. She knew soon there would be a short break and Arya would come running to her. She had to be there when he came out and looked for her, she did not want to disappoint him. It was terribly hot and humid and yet it did not affect her in any way.

Vishnu had taken off from work knowing how Janani might react today. He had dropped Kamala at her cousin's house, near the school and come back to the school. He came and sat next to her. Janani looked at him but immediately turned her attention to Arya's classroom. She kept looking at her watch and time was moving much slower. Vishnu understood what she was waiting for and looked at his watch and said '20 minutes more for the short break, we can see him and then leave for home'. Janani looked at him now with tear filled eyes, he had not said a word, not forced her to leave. She had thought that he was angry when she had been crying outside the classroom and had walked out. She had not even taken her purse with her or her mobile phone and yet did not worry about how she would get back home. But, when he had come back, she had felt something that she had not felt for quite long. He had understood her feelings and let her wait here to see their child again.

Vishnu took her hands in his and it felt so strange. It had been years and a simple gesture like that was enough to put out all her anger and rage and make her come crumbling down. But, it did not make her melt now and she had mixed emotions. She wanted to hold his hands, break the barrier, whatever that had kept her away from him and yet there was this strong resolve somewhere in her, that made her simply sit and look at him. While she was fighting her emotions, whether or not to hold his hands, the second bell rang and the children came running out. She forgot about Vishnu and rushed towards Arya's class. Arya came out looking happy and a little sheepish. He had enjoyed the first two classes, but had waited to come out and play. He was happy to see the familiar faces, but had waved a bye and run inside the moment the bell rang again and he saw all other kids going inside the classroom.

Janani stood there, her eyes still fixed on the class room door. Vishnu took her hands into his and slowly walked with her back to the gates. Janani felt the warmth and did not let go of his hands until they had come to the car. She had felt something strange, being with Vishnu made her feel good, she had not felt this way for long, she felt relaxed and peaceful. She sat inside the car and jerked her head towards the school as if she had suddenly remembered why she was here. She missed Arya already and felt terrible. She looked at Vishnu and she no longer felt peaceful, her heart was heavy again, she missed Arya more than anything and it was killing her.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

 

Thank you very much for the first feedback SuccessMinded :thumbsup
Exactly put, it is that three letter word 'ego' that is driving Janani and has driven her to this extent. Sadly, I have seen women like this, who would try to cling on to something, maybe career, studies, friends or even children, as in this case to pamper that ego :hide:

 

Thank you Rekha

 

Thank you very much for the sweet comment Swaran
Here's one explanation that I could come up with, Janani is a kind of hyper workaholic. She thinks just 'being there' every minute will keep her indispensable in her son's life. She is also an obsessive character and hence thinks no one else can give her son the best care, that only she could give.

 

Thank you for the wonderful feedback Vidu yeah, it appears like he was just born and he is already at school, time really goes fast