Ruhanika

As soon as I reached the living room, I saw my family sitting with two men. One of them looked to be in his late thirties and the other one in his early twenties. I was quite bewildered to see them because they looked pretty rich and excluded a dominant and mysterious aura. I had never seen such kind of people meeting my family because my family belonged to the upper-middle-class social circle whereas these men looked like they could buy a private jet with their money.

My mother was the first one to notice me and smile at me. I was taken aback by that gesture. Never in my life have I seen my mother smiling at me as soon as I reach home.

“Come here Ruhi beta!” she said happily. Wait, did I hear it right? Ruhi and beta. I have never seen my mother being lovey-dovey with me. It has always been Prisha. Ignoring the confused look on my face, my mother came toward me, placed her hand on my back, and ushered me towards those men.

I gasped as soon as I saw them completely. The one who looked to be in his early twenties had the same eyes as me. And that is saying something because I have heterochromia. I begged and begged my parents to buy me contact lenses because while many people used to admire my beautiful eyes, many people also looked at me with disgust. I don’t even understand how or why I have heterochromia with one green and one blue eye because both my parents and Prisha have black eyes.

Suddenly, my mother's voice brought me out of my reverie. “Beta we have to tell you something.” Again beta. Why is she even addressing me so sweetly? Anyways nevermind.

“Beta, he is your father Anant Agnihotri and the one sitting on his left is your eldest brother Divyank Agnihotri.” I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t even comprehend what she had said. “Umm, Mom please stop kidding me with me. It isn’t April Fool today.” I said laughing. There was no way this could be true. I already had a father who seemed to pay no attention to me and the only sibling that I had was my older sister who seemed to leave no stone unturned in making my life more miserable. All this while I felt heated gazes on me and I turned to see my supposed brother and father staring at me with longing and something else that seemed akin to adoration.

Mom said, “Come with me Ruhi, I want to talk to you.” I followed her into her bedroom where she sat on the bed and motioned me to sit in front of her. I waited in anticipation because I was quite nervous to know what was it that my mother wanted to talk to me about. The atmosphere around us grew serious.

“Ruhanika, we have hidden a truth from you. The one whom you consider as your father means Nihaal is actually your stepfather and Prisha is your stepsister. I ran away from your father taking you with me because I loved Nihaal.” She dropped the bomb at me. All my thoughts started to go haywire. I couldn’t even understand anything anymore. She is telling me that all my life I wanted my father to notice me, my sister to actually behave like a sibling with me and they weren’t even my family. I was snatched from my family by my mother and for what? Just so she could neglect me and give all her love to her stepdaughter. Tears started streaming down my cheeks.

“Why Mom? How could you do this with your own child? You took me from my family and for what? Just so that you can neglect me and give more importance to your step-daughter. Why did you even take me away from my family if all you had to was to make me believe that there is something wrong with me which is why my parents don’t love me or my sister is always scheming against me, ha? ” All the emotions that were buried inside me from all these years just burst out.

“Stop being so selfish Ruhanika. What more do you want ha? They gave you a roof, paid for your expenses and your sister even tried mingling with you. It is only you who ignored them every time and did not want to mingle with them. ” That was the moment I knew that I had lost my mother long ago. Now, she is only Mr. Nehaal Senghal’s wife and Ms. Prisha Senghal’s mother.

“Pack your bags Ruhaanika. They are here to take you. You will live a lavish life there. Moreover, try to understand, that we are not able to bear your expenses any longer. It is already hard to raise one child. ” This time she spoke a little softly. I had made up my mind. If she didn’t want me to live with her, then I would no longer trouble her with my presence.

“Okay, I am ready to go,” I said and sprinted upstairs. I packed my things and went downstairs. I looked towards the two men and went to them. “I have packed my things already and I am ready to go,” I said trying to contain my emotions. They stood up, nodded towards my mother, and went out of the house. I followed them without looking back. I was starting a new chapter in my life and did not want to look back at the bad memories.

To be continued....