Part 2

"Vrinda Chaturvedi."

The pale lady, dressed in simple and comfortable clothes, repeated after Sucheta as she caressed the picture of herself and her family in the album. Her furrowed eyebrows and thinned out lips worried the older woman beside her. Vrinda hoped for some sense of familiarity to strike her, but instead of a flood of memories, a throbbing headache found its way to her. She felt blank despite scrutinizing the family photo with every bit of her consciousness in a hope of reigniting her mind.

"He was your father," said Sucheta as she pointed to the man with kind eyes who held himself in a prideful posture. "Bhanuprakash Chaturvedi."

"Bhanuprakash Chaturvedi." Vrinda repeated after her, again, in a futile attempt to rouse some memory of the man who was her father. The only solace was the warmth which spread through her as she continued looking at him.

"And she was your mother, Sandhya Chaturvedi nee Trivedi."

The woman in the picture was a simple lady with a veil covering her head, and whose smile emanated love and affection. Vrinda could feel the warmth coursing through her heart increase despite her disabling inability to recall anything about the woman. Vrinda, however, knew that the woman loved her, and she loved her the same, if not more.

"You used to call them Paa and Maa. Your father began one of the most successful companies of Uttar Pradesh - DioTech, based on DNA structuring and biotechnology, being a molecular biologist himself. The company produces a major part of the technology used in hospitals, medicolegal setups and labs. The main lab of DioTech is one of the major centers of DNA Fingerprinting in the country. Your mother was homemaker, despite sound knowledge in finance," said Sucheta, showing the data related to DioTech and a few more pictures of her family.

A proud smile stretched itself on her chapped lips and goosebumps enveloped her form after listening to her father's achievements. Her mother being a homemaker did not shock her since her smile appeared unadulterated to Vrinda. Free from the greed of the outside world. Bereft of the deceit that was rampant in the corporate world.

Her hazel orbs swirled with warmth and compassion, her forehead lacking tension lines, and the slight upward curve of her lips, almost shy, denied the possibility of the docile woman racing against her comrades.

"Am I the only child?" asked Vrinda.

She wished Sucheta would answer in negative. She wanted to have someone to call as her 'family' and having a sibling was the only way her wish would turn into reality. To avoid the repercussions of the revelation, Sucheta divulged the truth about the death of her parents while Vrinda was still in the hospital when she had questioned about Sucheta's identity and demanded an explanation for the delay in rescuing her from what she described to be the hell descended onto earth.

"Yes, you are. Sir and Didi had many siblings themselves and they saw their parents struggling to balance between their kids. They thought they were not capable of balancing in the way their parents did, and they had just one child. Luckily for them, they wanted a daughter and God blessed them with you."

Sucheta reminisced about the jubilation dancing on her parents' faces at the time of her birth, while Sucheta herself was pregnant with Vivaan.

"And my name? I heard the nurses speaking that my name is not a very common name. Why 'Vrinda'?" the lost lady asked, wondering if there could be any special story behind her naming.

"According to astrology, your name should begin with 'ra' and your mother had chosen Radha, but your father had a different wish. He never believed in these superstitions and hence quashed the restriction. More than the superstition, I guess, it was the meaning that mattered to him. He wanted his daughter to be known for purity like Vrinda, which is another name for Tulasi, rather than Radha, which is the name of the eternal lover of Krishna. He had heard of so many failed love marriages, humiliated parents and cheated spouses he despised the idea of falling in love and hence everything associated with it," Sucheta said, the happenings of the naming ceremony playing on the canvas of her mind.

"There's no way I will name my daughter after the lover of the Lord. We can name her after Devi Rukmini, the chief consort of the Lord. But, she will be 'Vrinda'. The purest and the dearest of the Lord."

She had always found it disrespectful and in poor taste that he rejected the name chosen by his wife, without caring for her feelings.

Vrinda could not understand the psyche of her late father. He had the right to decide the name of his daughter, but not believing superstitions yet believing that name can hold so much value felt contradicting to her.

"How was I as a child? Fast learner or slow?"

FLASHBACK

"I don't know what is wrong with Vrinda, Sucheta. She is almost fifteen months old, and she still has not taken her first step. I am worried if there is any problem with her. Our family doctor, Ayush Ji, said that she just does not have the will to walk and there is no physical disability. I wonder when she will take her first step!"

Sandhya flipped through the book about children and walking to find any solution to her daughter's problem.

"Relax, Didi. I am sure she will walk soon. If there is no developmental anomaly, then it is just a matter of time that she will walk. Maybe, she is waiting to surprise you," said Sucheta, placing her palm over Sandhya's shoulder in an assuring gesture.

"MALKIN! Beti Ji Chalne Lag Gayi Hai!" shouted the nanny, making Sucheta and Sandhya jump from their seats and run to the play area where their kids were playing to witness a beautiful sight playing out in front of them.

Vivaan had just taken his first steps a few weeks ago, and Sucheta could only guess that seeing someone of her age walk in front of her compelled Vrinda to stand up and begin walking. The genuine beauty, however, lied in the way their tiny palms were intertwined and the two kids supported each other as they made their way to their mothers.

Sucheta smiled warmly at the kids before looking at Sandhya, whose happiness knew no bounds. Sandhya had helped her greatly after the birth of Vivaan, despite giving birth a few weeks before her, and it gave Sucheta great pleasure to see her son helping her friend's daughter.

Although they had walked, they could not walk for a long distance. Vrinda was the first one to land on the ground and her weight pulled Vivaan down because of their joined hands, making their mothers run to them.

FLASHBACK ENDS

"Vivaan? Who is he?" asked Vrinda, the mere utterance of his name making a shiver run across her spine in the most tantalizing manner.

Sucheta knew that the question would come and she vested hours wondering what could she answer in reply to the question.

"My son and your best friend - Vivaan Agarwal."

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