LIFE STORY : CHAPTER 4

Chapter 4
THE CONVERSATION
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The day had turned out good and it was all smiles on Samaira's face while she walked on the stairs back home. She was happy and was excited to share her London plans with her dearest father. And she could see him standing in the balcony waiting for her.

The door got opened without a need to ring the doorbell.

"Congratulations dear, and I am very happy that you finally decided to go to London. I am all excited for you or should I say I am even more excited than you"

"Thanks dad, but I am a bit nervous as well"

"Nervousness is natural as I know it's going to be your first opportunity to showcase your leadership skills on a global platform. But then you have been a winner always and I am confident that you will do great even this time"

Samaira gave back a confident smile to her father; but there was something else which was going on in her mind. Her mind was still not at peace. So many thoughts and she was struggling to find an answer.

"You settle down first and we will wait for you on the dinner table"

Samaira instead of going to her room, went straight to the kitchen and hugged her mom from behind. She sat on the kitchen slab while her mom was getting the dinner ready.

Kitchen is one of the places in the house where not only the food is cooked but it's also a place where lot of close mother-daughter conversations happen.

"Did dad tell you about my London plan?"

"Yes he did and he is very happy for you, I heard him talking about the same to some of his friends as well over the phone. You know your dad, he has this habit of boasting and he rarely misses a chance to do this, specially to all those people in his life who carried a sympathy for him that he never had a son. Time and again he proves to them that his daughter is the best in this world"

Her mothers words brought a smile on Samaira's face and she was happy that she had been successful in making her dad feel proud. She somehow missed her mom's happiness and she could understand that her mom wasn't that happy.

"Yes I know mom, he does this time and again but for me it's fine. And what about you? Are you not that happy?"

"Nothing like it Samaira. Even I am happy for you."

With a short break she again spoke "Samaira, you must be tired, you join your dad on the dinner table and I will be there in few mins"

Samaira once again hugged her mom and was out on the dinner table.

"Dad, what happened to mom, she doesn't feels so happy or excited"

"She is happy but equally worried for you as you will be travelling all alone on an international trip for the first time. May be just like all those film star moms, she too wants to join you but she doesn't knows that I will never let this happen. Don't tell her but it's always difficult for me to manage my bits when she is not around" he laughed loudly.

Samaira joined the laughs "Come on dad, I understand your jokes, I know how much you love her and you never miss any opportunity to make her feel special"

"Yes there lies her confusion. She cannot leave me alone and she is worried for you as well. But don't worry and I will make her understand. You should right now focus on the preparations and should not take this lightly. It's going to be a big platform for you and you have to give your best shot"

"Yes dad, I will definitely make you feel proud once again"

The dinner was a quick one for the family. Samaira's mom was most of the time silent as she was busy in her thoughts and her dad was as always trying to make the environment light by cracking his jokes.

Samaira came back to her room and started thinking about the drive back home with Ronir. She found him to be a nice person but was still confused. She wasn't ready to accept this change in her life so quickly. She still had those memories from the last 5 years and it wasn't easy for her to come out of that failed relationship. A relationship which she felt was perfect at one point in time and she had always tried to give her best. She was still struggling to find an answer on why it ended this way. She was scared as well to think on starting a new chapter. She was busy in her thoughts while she heard a knock on her door. She opened the door and she saw her dad standing with two cups of coffee.

"Can we have a cup of coffee if you are not too tired?"

"Sure dad, I always love these coffee talks with you. But where is mom"

"You know this is her TV serial time and I don't want to disturb her. I don't know what she finds in these TV serials. At times I feel that there is more politics which goes around in these family soaps in comparison to our parliament" he laughed

"But dad I have seen you watching these TV serials as well with so much interest so you cannot blame only mom for this"

"You caught me so I surrender and I suggest that we should make these TV serials as part of the course curriculum in schools as well" he again laughed

"Now that is too much dad. Anyways, nice coffee as always. And I know I will miss this in London"

"So how are things otherwise in office. Hope all well?"

"Oh yes, it was a busy and hectic day with so much of pending work but I am happy I was able to finish most of it" Samaira answered and she knew that her dad saw her from the balcony getting out of Ronir's car. Same side, she also knew that her dad had always respected her privacy and never pushed her to share things in a hurry. This fantastic quality of him has always made her feel comfortable in discussing her bits with him as he always treated her as his friend.

"Can I ask you something dad? I am a bit confused"

"You don't need a permission, feel free and go ahead"

"I am confused that is it only me who is not able to understand the male mind. I mean, the world calls the females as mysterious personalities but for me females are the most simple to understand. To me on the contrary, males are difficult to understand as they rarely express themselves openly. Infact, we females always express ourself in different ways. We never try to hide and our exact state of mind always comes out in our expressions or moods or tears. I feel it's so easy to understand us but it's not a bit easy to understand what's going on in a boy's mind, they are unpredictable. It's difficult to develop a trust in a confused state of mind and I am totally confused right now"

Her father was an intelligent person to understand her daughter's worries and was ready to do his best to clear her confusion.

"Look dear, I understand where you are coming from. I cannot deny your point completely as you are right in some way. While I agree that males rarely express themselves openly but has anyone tried to understand the reason behind that. In my opinion, it all goes back to the way we bring up our kids. Unfortunately we have put different set of standards for boys and girls. We never tend to question a boy even if he does anything wrong whereas the girls are questioned for the simplest of the things. Our over pampering of boys is a reason of they developing an ego and they start thinking that they are right in all their thoughts. Why in the same family, only a sister is questioned on coming late while it's acceptable for her brother to have a night out. In a way, it's our upbringing which makes males develop a superiority complex and they never feel like they should ever be questioned for anything. And since a boy is never questioned by his own family, when he turns into a man and moves out he expects the same special treatment from the females outside. I know this thought needs a change and I can see it changing though it's a slow change. Our society is changing and I am positive and let me tell you that not all boys are the same."

"Dad, I wish this happens soon but as of now it seems to be far from reality and don't know when we will have this ideal world."

"I know what you are wishing for and I am confident that you will have someone good coming in your life soon. And remember I am always there with you and for now simply focus on your preparations for London"

"Love you dad and I know you and mom are always there with me"

Next few days were even more hectic for Samaira as there was so much to prepare for London. The only thing which was sad was that she wasn't able to find Ronir in office. Her eyes looked for him daily but she was hesitant to enquire about him; she was thinking if all was well at his end.

Finally the day came when she boarded the cab to the International Airport. Her mom was much better placed and she happily joined her dad to drop her at the airport. Samaira was happy that her dad had taken away all her mom's worries.

She hugged both of them at the airport.

"Do take care of yourself Samaira and keep informing us about your bits"

"I will mom"

Samaira's dad once again hugged her and whispered in her ears "Don't worry too much about the calls, I will handle your mom. You concentrate on your work, do your best and best wishes"

"Love you dad, you are the best"

After clearing the security, she stood in the queue to board the aircraft. Suddenly she heard some known voice from the back"

"Hi Samaira"

It was none other than Ronir standing behind him with the boarding pass for the same flight to London.

"Hey Ronir, where have you been all these days, hope all well and I wasn't aware that you too are going to London" her flurry of questions had again started and the happy smile was back on her face.

"Yes all well, will tell you in detail, what's your seat number" Ronir looked at her boarding pass.

Was it just a coincidence that they both had adjacent seats. The flight to London was an 8 hour long and since she never used to sleep during the flights, she was earlier a bit worried on how she would pass her time.

But after looking at Ronir's boarding pass she knew that this flight is going to be an interesting one for her. Deep down inside she was waiting to hear the humorous talks from Ronir and she was really looking forward to the trip.......to be continued