Noor was quite shocked to see Kabir’s obsession with Rajan. He would sit glued to the television, watching the actor. Everybody was amused, but she was worried. She wanted to negate the effect of Rajan on Kabir. Her husband, Vishal, silently watched his son.

It did not take long for Noor to notice Vishal loved Kabir more as time passed. He would always give Kabir an extra scoop of ice cream. Kabir’s favourite foods and his favourite choice were given precedence over everything. Anybody would say it was probably because Kabir was his firstborn, his son. Only Noor knew that was not the case.

Noor watched Kia watching. She would not complain or utter a word but only watch Vishal loving Kabir a little extra. Finally, Noor decided to have a talk with Vishal. But she just did not get a chance. Usually, the kids do not leave their parents alone, but Vishal here would not leave Kabir alone.

One day they had gone to the park and were watching the children swing on the swings when she got a chance to broach the subject.

She hesitated, wondering how to proceed and make him realise his mistake without stating the obvious. Finally, she broke the ice, “I think we should have another child.”

“Why? Two are enough. We had Kia so that Kabir would not feel lonely and have company.” said Vishal.

“Yes, but this child will be for Kia,” Noor said.

“I don’t understand,” said Vishal.

“It is a little challenging to explain, but let me try. You married me because you did not want me to abort Kabir,” said Noor

“I also loved you, if I may remind you.” Vishal seemed confused.

“Yes, also, but that is not important. I never said anything about us. Even if I had aborted Kabir, you would have married me. But you actually married me so that we could raise this child together. Raise a child who had Rajan’s DNA.” Noor gushed, scared she would lose her nerve and not complete her sentence. “When Kabir was a year old, we realised he needed a sibling, so we had Kia, right.”

“Yes,” Vishal said, trying to follow her thoughts.

But then Noor felt lost again. How could you show Vishal without blaming him?

“We had Kia so that Kabir was not lonely. Kabir learns to share things,” she said.

“Noor, you are talking in circles. Please be clear. Do you feel I do not give Kabir enough attention because he is not mine?” Vishal’s voice

“Not yours,” Noor gasped.” He is more yours than he could have ever been mine. I wanted to end his life the moment he was conceived. You insisted on his birth. If I carried him for nine months, you too carried him, not physically but mentally, emotionally for nine months. You even refrained from having sex with me when I was pregnant. He belongs to you in more ways than Kia will ever belong to you.”

“What the hell do you mean? Kia is also not mine.” Vishal was shocked.

“Also… both the children are yours completely. But when I was carrying Kia, you were taking care of Kabir. When Kia was born, you were still taking care of Kabir. Now Kia is three years old. When will you stop taking care of Kabir and look at your daughter?” Now that Noor had started speaking, she did not want to stop.

“Do you mean to say I don’t love my daughter?”

“No, I mean to say your daughter can only see you loving your son. She does not know her father loves her also. Her father has never sat on her bed to read a story. Her father never gave her anything extra that her brother did not get. She does not say anything, Vishal. She watches silently as her father has a soft spot for her brother. I don’t want this to have a long time effect on her personality.” said Noor.

She took a deep breath and continued, “Kabir is five. He still lies on your chest to sleep. Has Kia ever laid on you to sleep? You love Kabir as you have loved nothing in this world. That’s why I proudly say he belongs more to you than he will ever belong to me, and the third person has no weightage in this matter. He does not even need to know Kabir exists. But what about Kia. I watch her silently watching you. She is waiting for her share of love.”

Noor took Vishal’s hand in her hand as she said softly, “I also wait for my share of love, thank you for marrying me and filling my life with so much happiness. I never thought I had this happiness in my destiny. I also wait to show you how much I love you.”

“But my darling husband is so obsessed with his son, with his own flesh and blood, that…”

“He is not my flesh and blood,” said Vishal shortly.

“Really, says who?” Noor continued in the same calm voice. “And is this why you want to love him extra, to ensure he will always love you? Both the children will always love you because you are an excellent father. But your obsession with Kabir, if it does not end, Kabir may grow up to be a spoilt human being. He may grow up to be a man who expects everyone to love him because he is beautiful. Just the way Rajan always expected everyone to love him.”

After a pause, Noor added softly, “No, he did not want anyone to love him. He knew it was only skin deep. Superfluous. He was aware that nobody would love him for what he was.”

“Except you?” asked Vishal.

“Me, did I love him? I don’t know. He was… I mean, he is beautiful. Today he is a famous actor. He has thousands of fans. But it is not him I want to discuss with you. I just wanted to tell you this was time to show some love to Kia. She is patiently waiting.”

Vishal nodded and walked towards the swings where the children were playing. Kia was trying to climb on a swing. He lifted her and made her sit on the seat. Then he walked behind her and started pushing her gently. Kia’s face turned towards him, and she watched her father. Vishal smiled at her. After a while, a hint of a smile appeared on her face. Vishal kept pushing her swing while smiling with all the love a father may have for his child.