Adopted

“Aree aunty, ours is ours and how much ever effort you put in, an outsider will always remain an outsider. You know that child is an adopted one.”

Years back, by mistake I had overheard this conversation while entering the house. Mom’s strict behaviour towards elder brother Raghav, flashed in front of my eyes. But Raghav was also no less. Habitually, he has always been stubborn and adamant. In spite of this I felt that when it came to him, mom’s attitude was consistently more harsh than required. After listening to Dilip Uncle’s remark, I now understood the reason behind all that.

She showered all her love and affection on me, as if I had a copyright on her love and it was meant exclusively for me alone. Why was she so unfair with Raghav? Many times her ill
treatment with my elder brother disturbed me and I’d argue with her.
“Mom this is not right. All the same things you can explain to him nicely also.”
“Kritika don’t take your brother’s side. Can’t you see how much he troubles me?”

Today it’s been a month since mom passed away and suddenly Raghav is a changed man. He’s become very quiet moreover, now his demeanor is exactly how mom had wished to see him. Raghav just left for work and I busied myself in sorting all of mom’s stuff. Her clothes and other miscellaneous items are already taken care of. Only her books are pending. 

At the moment, I’m squatted on the floor in her bedroom, surrounded by her huge collection of books. They are more than a hundred. One by one, I’m placing them systematically in a big carton kept next to me. Out of the blue, my eyes fell on an age old diary. Did mom have the habit of writing a diary?!?

Curiosity took over and I skimmed through the pages. My name was mentioned at a place and it seized my attention. Absolutely piqued, I wanted to know the whole aspect related to me. I began reading word to word, line by line. And as I proceeded, my smiles and tears worked in tandem.

“Today my happiness has no boundaries. Ramesh has finally fulfilled my longing of having a daughter. Today we brought our two years old Kritika home. Raghav is also very happy. He too was craving for a younger sister. Kritika has eventually completed our family.”

Shamim Merchant