She Was The One! : A Short Story

“Four”, I yelled out as I smashed the ball beyond boundary. We were playing at Bombay Gymkhana we were not allowed though. It was like my second home. I used to play all day at gymkhana. My twelve more friends used to accompany me all the time. I was around six then as I didn’t know my actual birthdate. We used to celebrate our birthday on 14^th of November every year. After all we were none other than so called orphans born somewhere and brought up at ‘Aarushi’ orphan house. There were many at ‘Aarushi’ who really cared for us. I used to ask Shilpa di, the chairperson of ‘Aarushi’, that where I came from and she used to ignore me by telling other stories. But one day she told me that she found me in unconscious state on one of the roads at ‘Dharavi’. In future when I learnt to operate computer and I just googled what Dharavi was and got shocked and froze on the chair.

So I was growing in a far better surrounding with twelve more children like me. Everyone had his own story to be in ‘Aarushi’. We were enrolled in nearby BMC School. So we were living a normal life on weekdays and were treated as different especially on Sundays. Because most of the couples used to find their time on Sundays to visit ‘Aarushi’ and get a son or a daughter. I used to get bored and feared at the same time of such sessions, I wanted a mother and father like other children though. Those couple never took effort to think before commenting on us loudly. At the age of six I had known every small defect in my body. But Shilpa di had told us that those sessions were only for our better future and I had believed her with my eyes closed.

On one Sunday morning I finished a match with breathless half century and a victory for our team. Then I went to Sundar chacha’s shop to have lemon juice. We used to go there for refreshments. But we never stole a penny for that. Shilpa di was our sponsor. Sundar chacha was a nice man. Many times he had offered us some chocolates. But that Sunday morning one lady offered us chocolates. My friends refused to take but I convinced them to accept her gift and Sundar chacha also said to do so. I had seen her many times at that shop. She used to come with her baby boy. I got more information about her when I asked to Sundar chacha. She was a qualified working woman living nearby. She was a nice lady and unlucky at the same time as her husband lost his life in an accident in very unfortunate way. I left the shop with sympathy for her.

On one another Sunday morning when I was getting ready for the ‘session’ one of our caretakers came to my room and informed me there was no ‘session’ that day. As I was about to jump he threw a shock bomb towards me. I was ordered to pack my bag because some Mrs Joshi had adopted me. I started crying and my friends came and joined me one by one. I never had thought to leave ‘Aarushi’. It was more than my actual parents. But I knew that Shilpa di would never give me in wrong hands. So I went to office room to meet my new mother ‘Mrs Joshi’. My head got shaken when I saw her because she was none other than that chocolate lady from Sundar chacha’s shop. Shilpa di congratulated me and introduced me to my new mother and brother. She was shilpa di’s school friend. Then I prepared my mind and left ‘Aarushi’ with teary farewell.

Today there was a passing out parade at NDA. It was around fifteen years ago when I left the orphan house. I got everything which every child deserves. My background taught me a lesson to serve for others and hence I chose an option to serve for our nation. My chest filled with confidence when I saw my mother in parents’ stand during parade. Today what I am is just because of her. I saw my other mates getting the stars on their shoulders by their parents after the convocation ceremony. And she was there waiting for me. My brother was watching me proudly. I handed her my stars without wasting a second. When she was pinning the stars on my shoulder we both got tears. And my heart spoke out loudly, ‘She was the one’!