Chapter 1
Sneha is only about 8 years old playing with her 3 siblings. Her father Col. Abhishek Kumar Ranjan, a 41 Yr old young family loving man returns home after 5 months from an operation. Her mother Col. Shweta Ranjan ,a 37 yr old brave lady , was at home preparing them food .
Suddenly her mother gets a call from an anonymous person. “Hello” , ” who is it ?” She says.
Instead of answering her questions the person says ,“the confidential information from the secret base of Gauhati is being leaked and has reached the enemies they have hacked our whole system . We are in danger to come to the base immediately. ”
“Hello .....Kaun hai ?....hh...” , before she could speak or understand anything the call was cut.
Col. Abhishek returns home after a long 5 months tired , exhausted due to the strenuous operation.
As soon as the door opened he called his children lovingly "Dekho bhai dekho Kaun Aya hai ,dur darraj ka koi fakir apne dar par Aya hai , kaha hai meri saari Khushiya, jo ki ye fakir yaha dhundane aaya hai” . He always said this poem whenever he returned home .
After 5 long months the children left their toys there and ran to him after listening to him. He sat on the sofa comfortably, hugged the children, took both the girls on his lap and answered their unending questions. Meanwhile Shewta offered him water . The children were way too happy but not Shweta . Her face was dark , still thinking about that call. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t even notice who had arrived. But her husband noticed her .
He made both the girls sit aside softly, got up and called her name “Shweta...” no response.... again but keeping his hand on her shoulders “Shweta...” She responded “Ummmm.. Oh aap ..... ARREY aap.. ”
She hugged him as she got her charm and everything back in her life . He kissed her and asked about her well being. The conversation was normal . "Mai thik hu lekin aap bahut thake hue honge mujhe aap aram kijiye mujhe kuch kaam hai kitchen me mai aati hu" she answered . As soon as she left the site all the children attacked on him, making him tremble slightly and sit on the sofa . Both twins occupied their father's lap , Sneha was struggling to get a lap on his lap and Vijay sat beside him and telling his sibling to get down as his father might get hurt. Shweta stopped for a while and had been watching them from a distance. Vijay, the eldest, was proudly telling his father about everything that had happened while he was away, while Sneha kept interrupting him with her own little stories. Kashish and Kashika were busy competing for their father’s attention, each insisting that Abhishek listen to them first. Abhishek laughed as he tried to answer all four at once. Their voices filled the room, and for the first time in months, Shweta saw all of them laughing together without a worry on their faces. She smiled quietly. She had missed this. She had missed seeing her children so carefree, and she had missed seeing Abhishek being nothing but a father. Their voices filled the room, and for the first time in months, Shweta saw all of them laughing together without a worry on their faces. She smiled quietly. She had missed this. She had missed seeing her children so carefree, and she had missed seeing Abhishek being nothing but a father. Shweta couldn’t stop herself from laughing. It had been months since she had seen her family like this. For a little while, the operation, the call, the fear and everything waiting outside their home disappeared. There was only her family. . Shweta said ” Aap fresh ho jao khana ready hai .. aur bachcho tumlog bhi aapne toys samet kar aao. Sath me khana khayenge aaj ...... ” “Bahut dino ke baad ” she said, looking at him and her children with teary eyes . After some time the family again gathered at the dining table.The dining table was filled with the sounds of the children talking over one another. After five long months, Abhishek was finally sitting at the same table with his family again.
Shweta was busy feeding Kashika, who had already decided that she had absolutely no interest in eating.
“Bas, mujhe nahi khana,” Kashika said, turning her face away from the spoon.
“Achcha? Aur jo subah se bol rahi thi ki mummy aapke haath se khilaogi, woh kaun tha?” Shweta asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Maine nahi bola tha,” Kashika immediately denied.
Vijay laughed from across the table. “Bola tha!”
“Bilkul bola tha!” Sneha added.
Kashish, who was sitting beside her sister, nodded seriously. “Mummy, isne bola tha.”
Kashika glared at all three of them. “Aap sab jhoothe ho!”
Abhishek couldn’t help himself. A small smile appeared on his face as he watched the chaos unfolding in front of him.
For five months, he had lived in places where the sound of gunfire had replaced laughter, where every passing second carried danger and even sleep came with the possibility of never waking up again. He had seen harsh conditions, exhaustion and violence that he would never want his children to know about.
And now...
Now he was sitting at his dining table, watching his wife argue with their daughter over a spoonful of food.
It felt strangely peaceful.Almost unreal.For the first time in months, Abhishek wasn’t thinking about his next mission, the enemy, or whether he would make it back alive.
He was simply watching his family.
Shweta suddenly noticed him smiling.
“Aap dekh ke muskura kya rahe ho?” she asked, slightly annoyed. “Kuch kahiye na! Pata hai iska abhi har baar ka ho gaya hai.”
Abhishek raised both his hands innocently. “Main kya bolun? Aap dono ki meeting chal rahi hai. Beech mein bolunga toh meri hi class lag jayegi.”
The children burst out laughing.
“Dekha!” Shweta said. “Aap bhi isko support kar rahe ho.”
“Bilkul nahi,” Abhishek said, trying to suppress another smile. “Main toh bas situation observe kar raha hoon.”
“Achcha? Toh observe kijiye.”
Shweta picked up another spoonful and brought it towards Kashika.
“Ab bina nakhre ke. Muh kholo.”
Kashika stubbornly shook her head. Shweta gave her the look. Kashika immediately opened her mouth.
“Good girl,” Shweta said, finally smiling.
Abhishek watched them quietly. Five months ago, he would have given anything for a moment like this. And now that he finally had it, he wished he could freeze time..
After having dinner, Abhishek took his children to sleep where he played with them, shared this brave funny experience in the operation and made them sleep. The children refused to let their father leave them. Vijay wanted to hear about his latest operation, Sneha wanted a bedtime story, while Kashish and Kashika were already arguing over who would sleep closest to him.
“Papa, story!” Sneha insisted.
“One story,” Abhishek said.
“Two!” Vijay immediately protested.
“Three!” Kashish and Kashika shouted together.
Abhishek looked at them for a moment and sighed dramatically. “Lagta hai paanch mahine mein tum logon ne negotiation bhi seekh liya.”
The children burst into laughter. Eventually, after one story became two and two somehow became three, their voices slowly faded. Vijay fell asleep first, followed by Sneha, while Kashish and Kashika finally surrendered to sleep beside their father. Abhishek gently tucked the blanket around all four of them. He kissed Vijay’s forehead, then Sneha’s, and finally the twins. For a moment, he simply stood there, looking at his children. After five months away, this ordinary moment felt more precious than anything else.
Abhishek after the children got asleep he came out of their room and closed the door quietly. He again noticed Shweta was way more tense than she was in the evening.
He went to her and asked "kya hua itni tension me kyu ho ? ” putting a hand on her shoulder.
Shweta who was sitting on the dining table still thinking about that call , got frightened as soon as he touched her “Uhh Kau.. Oo aap mai to dar hi gyi thi." She said, turning towards him . He noticed something unusual.
He thought "Jo aaj tak kisi se nhi dari.. his aurat ne pichle 15 saalo me 100+ encounters kiye itne sare impossible operations ko anjaam diya wo bas mere chune se itni jyada dar gyi . There must be something which is bothering her.”
He continued, "aao araam se baithke baat karte hai . ” He lovingly took her to the bedroom made her sit gave her water and asked,"kya hua tum itni ghabrayi hui kyu ho aaj sham ko bhi dekha tum tensed thi koi pareshan kr rha hai kya.”
She took a sip of water and answered " Mera ek operation chal rha hai . Mai jyada to aapko kuch nhi Bata skti lekin ha itna Bata skti hu ki kuch bahut galat hona wala hai jo ki mujhe kisi bhi Kamat par rokna hoga warna bahut Maasumo ki jaan chali jaayegi. ”
He understood the situation and her fear of losing everything she had. He said ” mujhe tumpe Pura bharosa hai . Meri biwi jo krti hai wo soch smjh kr hi krti hai . Arre tum meri biwi par bharosa rakho wo tumhari taraf najuk aur bewakoof nhi hai” Her all tension vanished instead she angrily said ” Achcha mai aapko bewakoof lagti hu” He said by defending himself ” Arre aap to naraj ho gyi Maine to sirf kaha ki meri biwi aapki taraf bewakoof nhi hai. Bass” she became more angry and said ” achchaaa... to ye lijiye” she threw a pillow to him not hard enough to hurt him . Before she could start the pillow fight he caught her hand and started cuddling and tickling her . Their laugh echoed in the bedroom slowly and slowly they moved near each other . They were living their most precious moment of their life and they were waiting for 5 months. They slept while cuddling each other like a baby. But they didn’t know it was their last cuddle and the last time they laughed together.
