- Venkat Raman V

“You don’t ever need to take care of her. That is a promise,” said Aryan desperately.

“Ever?” asked Divya with her eyebrows raised. She did not want to have a child but her husband wanted one.

“I mean it. I can’t have a baby on my own. Do this for me and I promise I will do everything else,” he said weakly. 

The last time she had seen Aryan look so sincere was when he proposed to her. She did not believe him fully but she went through with it. Something told her that she could trust him, just like the last time. Aryan was true to his word. He switched to a job that he could do remotely. He took care of everything but the breast-feeding. It had been fine for five-hundred and seven days since she had given birth. He finally broke his word. 

“I’ll be back in two hours. It is an emergency,” said Aryan desperately.

“What about her?” asked Divya pointing to her child.

“Diya? She’s not going to trouble you. Just watch her. You’ll be fine. I’ll be back before you know it,” said Aryan. He kissed her on the forehead and did the same to Diya before leaving the house. 

Divya was angry. Aryan had broken his promise. She did not know the first thing about taking care of her baby. She kept calling and texting Aryan but there was no answer. Then, she heard the words that would terrify her.

“Ma! Diaper,” said Diya pointing to her bottom. The little girl had grown used to calling Aryan as ‘Ma’. Divya had never answered to it before. Moments later, Diya repeated it. 

“Aryan! How could you do this to me?” thought Divya desperately. By then, she could smell it. The little girl began to crawl towards her. For every baby step, she retreated two steps. She had never touched her baby let alone take care of her. All that had changed today. 

“You can’t run forever”. The baby waved her arms and looked at her with a smirk. Divya smiled. This was the one challenge in her life that she had avoided. Until now. 

Aryan came running up the stairs anxiously. He was late and he was worried how the women in his life were managing. Divya was a wonderful wife but she had made it clear that she wanted no responsibilities as a mother. He respected her choice. She had consented to giving birth to their child just for him. For that, he had promised himself that he would be eternally grateful. 

He opened the door and walked in. What he saw would be etched in his brain forever. He took his mobile and photographed it. 

“The day Divya embraced motherhood”