Vedant angrily stormed into the home and threw his cricket bat and ball and plopped on the couch. Anuradha walked out in the kitchen, found her little champ angrily sitting there.

“Hey, what happened?” Anuradha asked.

Vedant looked up to his mother for a second and averted his gaze to the floor.

Anuradha came in front of him and raised his chin up, “what happened?” She repeated, but still no reply.

Vedant moved to the other side of the couch far from his mother. Anuradha yelled at his little tactic, “Ved!” she sat beside him and made him look into her eyes. “Now tell me, what happened? Did you fight with anyone?”

Vedant was looking up to his mother, still angrily. “Don't talk to me.” He replied, he thought that his mother would be the reason behind everything.

“Why?”

“Where is my, papa? I want to see him. I want to play with him.” Vedant's little heart was aching for his father's presence. He badly wanted his father. “I want my papa.” He shouted.

“Ved!” Anuradha shouted as well as before her son's stubbornness.

“I told you, you have no papa. I am your Maa and papa.”

Vedant being a little monster he replied instantly, “no, you're lying. Everybody has papa. Pappu, Krishna and Sonu and everybody. But I have no papa.”

“Yes, everybody has. But you have me as yours Maa and papa.” Anuradha gently touched his head, but it suddenly snatched back as Vedant stood up and yelled at her.

“No, you're lying. Lying is bad. You're a bad mother.” His seething instantly broke down by Avantika.

“Ved!” Avantika warned him, “say sorry to your mother.”

But the stubborn head fixed his gaze onto the floor, he didn't realize what he had told his mother.

Anuradha was still in a trance as she couldn't convey her son's words clearly. She wished that she had heard it wrong, but it's the truth. Her mind burst into tears as she was still sitting there blankly.

Avantika turned around him and repeated, “say sorry to your mother. Don't you know that it's a bad thing if you raise your voice against your mother.”

“But she is lying, nani.” The little mouth let his another lame excuse.

“You said lying is bad, then why are you telling me to say sorry? I am not...”

Avantika grabbed his shoulder angrily, “Ved!”

“Leave it, Maa.” Anuradha said, still broken inside. “He is a little boy. He doesn't know what he was talking about.”

She walked back to the kitchen, she knew that if she continued there anymore, she would cry in front of them. She didn't want to show her weakness before anyone, she had already done a lot.

“See, what your mother has told you. No matter what you are telling her. She loves you more than anything.”

Avantika kneel down in front of him,

“She's living for you baby. She is buying new toys, clothes and sweets and everything single for you. And playing with you and taking you to the park and everywhere. Then, why do you need a papa? She is your papa and Maa too.”

Avantika's all efforts go in vain as the next sentence from Vedant, “papa is papa. Maa is Maa. She is not my papa. I want my Maa and papa too.” He walked away from Avantika and plopped on the couch.

Anuradha was listening to his stabbing words with a heavy heart as her life was ending little by little. She had already failed miserably when she had lost two precious things in her life. Now her little boy was wounding her over and over with his sharp words.

~~~

“Look, what I have made for you,”

Avantika said, smiling. “Your favorite milkshake...”

Vedant changed his lying position as he lay on his stomach, avoiding all possible eye contact with the milkshake. Or maybe his little strike would fail. Anuradha peeked up to him from the kitchen counter. He had had nothing since the incident, merely laying there. So she had made it specially for him. She wanted to solve it as soon as possible. She doesn't have any strength to see her son like this.

“Ved, beta. Look here, what I have brought for you.” Avantika placed it on the table and made him sit, “here you go.” She gave the milkshake to him.

“I don't want anything. I want my papa.” He demanded. He wasn't ready to give up on his plan. He knew that if he had continued this, his mother would have brought his father.

Anuradha rushed towards him, “baby, please...drink this. You haven't eaten anything. So be a good boy and drink this.” Avantika brought the glass to his lips. Suddenly he turned his head.

“I won't eat and drink. I want my papa.”

“Ved, my baby...please drink this.”

Anuradha pleaded, “I will buy new toys and chocolates and anything you want. But please baby...end your stubbornness.” Vedant shook his head.

Avantika pulled him over to her lap, “you're a good boy, right? Do you want to like your Ishaan mamu? So---”

“I want to be like my papa, not Ishaan mamu.” Vedant declared. His determined voice was evident how much he wanted his father.

Anuradha's eyes got wide, she couldn't even imagine about her son to be like his father. As a mother she was supposed to be wished her son liked to be his father, but here, she couldn't even bear the thought. Her son was her life and the light of her darkness sorrows. She loved him more than anything in this world, though his father was the one who ruined her life and pushed her into the dark sorrows. At the same time, she hated his father to death. One was heaven and the other one was hell, only the difference they were sharing the same blood. Then, how she could imagine her son wanted to be like his father.

Avantika found her daughter in bewilderment. She looked at him,

“so you want to be like your father?” Vedant affirmed with a big smile.

“If you want strong and big, then you should drink this. Otherwise, you can't be like him.”

“But I want to see my papa. Where is he?” Vedant asked.

“If you drink this, I will tell you something.” Avantika suggested.

“What?” Vedant asked curiously, Anuradha too curious to know about what would be her answer.

Avantika took a deep breath and spared a glance over to Anuradha.

“Your papa will come for you.”

“Maa...” Anuradha called her. Avantika assured her with a promising smile as nothing went bad.

While Vedant asked, surprisingly.

“Really! My papa will come.” He jumped up and down clapping his hands. “My papa will come...”

“When, nani? When will he come to meet me?” He couldn't control his excitement.

“Soon… now drink this.” Avantika replied.

“Thank you, nani.” Vedant drank the milkshake and kissed Avantika's cheeks. “Sorry, Maa.” He kissed her cheeks as well and ran out from there to play.

When Vedant completely disappeared from their sight, Anuradha asked her,

“why did you do that? If he finds out it's a lie, he will get more angry. And he will not stop until he gets what he wants. I don't know how to make him convinced.” She rubbed her forehead in headache. She didn't even know how to calm her son down.

Avantika smiled, she caressed her head. “I am not lying, Anu. Whenever I am worrying about you and Ved, someone has always told me.”

Avantika sighed, her eyes bore into Anuradha's as she told her. “He will come for his child, and for you.”