I woke up to see the doll my Supriya used to play with and her very thought rushed tears into my eyes. My wife was still asleep. Picking up my phone, I called Arvind to ask, “Can you give me the address of that charlatan? I would like to visit him.” As I heard, “This is a bad idea, Sharma. Your daughter is with the Gods themselves.” I shouted, “We don’t know that! I should talk to her.” and my tone woke my wife. Observing her, I knew she realised I was running behind my friend for contacts. Without a second thought, she closed her eyes not intending to have another argument like the previous night. Meanwhile, Arvind again suggested, “This isn’t the right way, Sharma.” and I stayed silent before he realised I wasn’t going to give up. Cursing himself for mentioning about the charlatan, Arvind gave the charlatan’s number in distaste. As soon as I got the number, I called but no one attended the call. A couple of hours later, I called from work a couple of times but no one answered the call and after I came back home, I spent my entire evening neglecting my wife’s words about not approaching this charlatan again and continued to contact him. That night, I called for one last time but still no one attended the call.
They were playing, eating and rejoicing in harmony. These little angels were relishing every moment to their best. In this hall of happiness, either sadness or darkness were nowhere to be found and when I searched for my Supriya, I found myself standing before my child’s favourite doll. I could hear her voice as she cried, “Why are you trying to force me to live in this doll, papa? Why are you punishing me for your desire?” This made me wonder the result of my unending desire. I realised, I was trying to bound my daughter into a doll just so that she could talk to me. While I regretted my action, she shouted, “Why don’t you let me live in peace!” With her voice echoing in the now empty hall, I woke up trembling. Taking deep breaths, I could see the doll staring at me and when I turned on the bed light, I could see a missed call from the charlatan. I blocked his number and decided to never call him again but there was also a thought that said, “Isn’t it just a dream?” Team
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