Hey Dad! Meet My Mom by Sandeep Sharma, Leepi Agrawal Page B

fight this situation. I was not a loser.
    “For a smoker and a drinker, there are only two occasions when they smoke or drink; one, when it rains and the other when it doesn’t.” She said while sitting in the car next to me. “Leave it now.”

    At Maya’s cafe, I felt at home. Ever since the day Maya had told me about her darker side, I felt much more attached to her. I felt like I knew her more than anyone else and at that moment, the way she was looking at Myra and me, I could say that she was very happy to see us together. My life comprised of very few people and I was very fortunate that each one of them was genuine and very close to my heart.
    Before ordering anything, Maya came with our favorite coffee and sandwiches. Myra knew that Maya was a kind of a void filler in my life. She had started to admire her too.
    We talked endlessly about different things. I wanted to get more involved physically as well but my nightmares were distracting me a lot. Myra knew that I was not feeling good; she wanted me to think about the happiness in my life rather than thinking about the problems. She wanted me to enjoy but I wasn’t able to.
    While sipping my coffee, I looked outside the window pane next to me. The road in front of the cafe was empty. Just a beggar was sitting on the opposite street. That was a bit strange because I had never seen him before.
    “Hello, are you like, ignoring me or something?” Myra brought my attention back to her. I said nothing.
    “You are still thinking about the nightmares, right?” She said. “I think you should talk to your uncle about this. How long do you want to go on struggling like this? I am scared, Puneet.” She showed her concern. I had told her about my past and my medical background. I didn’t want to keep secrets from her.
    Secrets are like rust on a relationship. They only make it lose its strength.
    I said nothing; I had nothing to say at all. I just pretended to listen to Myra’s endless talks. I poured the extra cream over the coffee and continued to stir it. I had nothing else to do.
    I picked up the coffee mug and brought it close to my lips when my eyes fell on it. She was there. The cream over the coffee had taken the shape of my nightmare. I threw the cup in fear and left my chair. Myra and Maya both looked terrified. I was panting as if I had run several miles. Then I sensed something looking at me through the window panel next to me. Slowly I turned my gaze. It showed the empty street outside; nothing else could be seen. Suddenly out of nowhere, that beggar came into the picture. He was leaning on the window panel. I could see his expressionless face, his head full of white hair. His eyes expressed a lot; I could see my fear in his eyes.
    I wanted to run from there. Without explaining anything to anyone, I rushed out of the cafe. Myra followed me. We both sat in the car and were about to rush away when that old beggar came and started stroking the car with his bare hand.
    “He has returned. Your past has returned. Follow your dreams.” I felt numb, terrified, shocked. I rushed my car away.
    Nothing came to my mind. Myra said nothing. I wished that this could all be a dream and I would wake up any moment. But I knew that this was not a dream; this was reality.
    I stopped my car in the middle of nowhere and started to cry. I cried like a baby who had lost his favorite toy. Myra tried to console me but I was out of my senses now. My nightmare girl had turned my life into hell and there was no escape from this nightmare now. I felt devastated.
    Myra drove me back home. I talked to nobody and went directly to my room. That was the first time that Myra met my mother. They talked for a few minutes and then Myra took leave. Maybe she told my mom about my nightmares because after Myra left, mom came directly to my room and sat next to me. I was lying on the bed; awake. She took my head and put it on her lap. I felt relieved. I slept like a child. My mother’s warmth