White

White

The flight reached the Indira Gandhi International Airport on 28th of October at nearly nine in the morning. Mr. Ashok Sehgal was walking restlessly along the parking lot. He saw young Ms Sehgal joyously approaching him. She hugged her Uncle and exhibited the basic courtesy of asking how he was. Ashok's throat was dry, but he summoned through his difficulties and answered her with delight. Behind Meera Sehgal, were two little boys who were slyly staring at their Uncle. Their father was right by the side, busy carrying all the luggage by himself. Ashok helped his brother with the luggage and then they started driving.

It was a Diwali season and the streets and roads of Delhi could not be any more crowded. They were stuck in the heavy traffic and the boys were not getting any enthusiastic sitting idly in the car. They inquisitively asked Meera to tell about their Grandpa's place. She was very much pleased to answer them. She kept on going about all those unforgettable memories she had had with her Grandpa, about all those places she used to hang out with him as a kid, about all the moral lessons her Grandpa used to teach her, about all those mighty stories of the brave Indian soldiers that she loved to listen to from her Grandpa's mouth, and all of these kept on going for a very long while. Ashok and Prateek Sehgal could also hear her chatters, but they were too solemn to react. The boys were quite engaged in her tales, though. 

Meera was rather like a mother to little Avinash and Avneesh. She was not at all like any other ordinary sister. Their mother died long back in a rail accident when the boys were about two. 

This trip to Grandpa's place was not a planned one. It was on the 27th of August that Prateek disclosed this plan with his kids. They were not aware of this trip until a phone call showed up late in the evening. Prateek attended the call, and the next thing we know is that he rushed to the kids in a panic. After taking a deep breath, he said, " There's a surprise for you all. We are celebrating this Diwali with your Grandpa. So go on, pack your bags now, we are leaving for Delhi tomorrow morning.". Meera could not have been any happier. She slept with the farther satisfaction that night.

The car then stopped with a jerk. Prateek stepped out from the car and opened the door for Meera. He couldn't see her in the eyes. Meera stepped out, and as she gave a look around, she just discovered a whole lot of people there, people with sober looking faces and sympathetic eyes, all covered in plain white. All of a sudden, she turned pale.

Prateek loved his daughter very much. He had witnessed her growth with her Grandpa, all of their laughs and plays and bedtime stories. There always had been a great chemistry between the gentle old man and the girl. Prateek knew that her heart was tender enough to go through any pain. As a father, the only thing he could do was to give her some time, some more time to remain happy before she could cry with all her heart.

Meera was still standing by the car. She was not moving, or rather, she was unable to. She was just shivering. And then with her big red watery eyes, she turned to her father and murmured in a broken sentence, "You...You should...not have lied to me....."