Preamble: During Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I plan to write mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day.
Chitra was very excited to meet her friend Sarika after so many years. It was very recently that she came to know that Sarika lived in Bhopal. To think that she had visited Bhopal quite a few times in the past but never met her best friend! Anyway, this time she would be spending almost a week in Bhopal visiting relatives- ample time to visit her friend.
There was so much gossip to catch upon! Relive old stories of batch mates and what they are doing at present. Life can be very strange. Some classmates whom one thought would be losers have done fairly well for themselves while others with a lot of promise had fallen by the wayside.. Take for example , this girl Sushma who was known to be dull , laid back and barely managed to complete the course. She struck gold when she ended up marrying a guy whose business shot up manifold times after their marriage and she now leads a lavish life.
Chitra 's husband Harish offered to drop her borrowing his brother's car but she declined saying she will take an Uber. She wanted to spend maximum time alone with her friend. Moreover, she wanted to discuss some deficiencies of Harish and his mother too among other things with Sarika.
As soon as she entered the house, Sarika warmly hugged her. They were meeting after 15 years! Chitra also happily responded with affection . However, she was taken aback by the haggard appearance of her friend who was so full of life in their college days. She was the centre of attention in most situations.
Harish was surprised to find Chitra back in under an hour's time. More so because she had spoken nonstop about her friend for the last 3 days. He had expected that she wouldn't be back before sun set. Her face also looked very agitated. "What happened? Did you guys have a fight? "
" No, no. It is just that I can't bear to see my Sarika like this! All withered, and shorn off all her vitality."
" Why? Is her marriage not working well? "
" No, it's not that. Her son Abhi is autistic. For many years now, she has been struggling with feelings of grief, guilt and uncertainty. Added to that there is financial stress and strained relationships in the family circle. "
" What about her husband?"
"Her husband was initially supportive, But he couldn't cope with all this and ran away. He occasionally sends money."
" Oh that's very sad.."
"Worry over her child's future is tormenting Sarika, every waking moment. She now has no other alternative but to work leaving Abhi to the care of his grandmother. But the old lady finds it difficult to handle the boy's fluctuating moods and tantrums"
Harish could not find suitable words to console his wife. As for Chitra, she had already slipped into a pensive contemplation- "And here was I frequently complaining about things which I believed were huge problems! Everything is so relative..." she surmised.
NB: This post is a part of challenge #BlogchatterA2Z
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