⚠️ Trigger Warning:
This chapter contains sensitive themes related to pregnancy complications and child loss. Reader discretion is advised. If you are currently going through a difficult time or these topics affect you deeply, please take care of your mental health first.
Aarohi sat on the edge of the nursery's rocking chair, clutching a tiny knitted cap — the one Nirvay had bought with a childish excitement months ago.
The walls, once painted in soft pastels, now echoed an unbearable silence.
She stared ahead. Eyes open. Motionless.
It had been three days since she lost her child. Three days since her world blurred.
Stage 1 — Shock & Denial
Nirvay entered softly.
"Aarohi… khana…"
She didn't respond. She kept rocking slowly, humming a lullaby she never got to sing.
"Aarohi…"
"I… I think they made a mistake." Her voice cracked. "They'll bring him back… they have to…"
Nirvay's heart sank. He sat beside her, wrapping his arms tightly. "Aarohi… I wish… but—"
She shushed him. "No. Not now."
Nirvay didn't argue. He just held her as the storm hovered quietly above them.
Stage 2 — Pain & Guilt
That night, Nirvay woke up to hear muffled sobs from the washroom.
He rushed in.
Aarohi sat on the floor, hugging her knees.
"It's my fault," she whispered. "I couldn't protect him… my body failed him…"
Nirvay dropped beside her. "No… no, Aarohi… this is no one's fault… especially not yours."
She shook her head violently. "If I had rested more… If I didn't smile so much during the baby shower… maybe…"
Nirvay pulled her close. "Aarohi… you gave him every heartbeat you had… I saw you. You loved him with everything you were."
Her sobs broke loose, and Nirvay held her through every wave.
Stage 3 — Anger
Days blurred.
One afternoon, Sukhi arrived with homemade food. Aarohi opened the door — her eyes hollow.
Sukhi tried to smile. "I thought… maybe you'd like—"
Aarohi's eyes darkened.
"Why did your baby survive and mine didn't?"
Sukhi froze.
"I'm sorry… I…" Aarohi shook her head and slammed the door shut.
Inside, she collapsed on the floor. "Why me? Why him?" she screamed.
Nirvay came running. "Aarohi!"
She hit his chest with her fists, shouting, "Why us? Why our baby?"
Nirvay didn't stop her. He let her pour out every ounce of anger until it dissolved into heart-wrenching sobs.
Stage 4 — Depression & Isolation
The world moved on.
Aarohi didn't.
She stopped meeting people. Stopped talking.
Her parents came over, sitting beside her, trying to fill the silence with gentle words.
Her mother ran a hand through her hair. "Aarohi… beta… we're here. You're not alone."
Aarohi whispered, "I feel empty inside… like I'm walking around with nothing left."
Her father softly said, "Then let us carry some of that emptiness with you."
But the void remained. Nirvay sat beside her every night, holding her hand in silence — waiting, hoping.
Stage 5 — The Upward Turn
One rainy evening, Aarohi sat by the window, watching the drops race down the glass.
She felt a hand slip into hers — Sukhi's.
Aarohi turned. Their eyes met.
"I'm sorry, Sukhi," Aarohi whispered.
Sukhi hugged her tight. "I never blamed you, Aarohi. I just… waited for you to come back to me."
Aarohi leaned on Sukhi's shoulder and whispered, "I missed you."
Outside, the storm softened.
That night, Aarohi spoke more than she had in weeks — with Nirvay, with her mom, with Sukhi.
And for the first time… she felt a little less heavy.
Stage 6 — Reconstruction & Working Through
Slowly, Aarohi began stepping out — small steps.
She helped Nirvay water the garden. She called her office friend for a short chat.
She picked up a notebook and started writing… letters to her unborn child.
One afternoon, Nirvay found her writing by the window.
He smiled softly. "Journaling?"
She nodded. "Healing."
They spent evenings talking — not about pain, but about memories… the dreams they'd shared… and the love that still remained between them.
Brick by brick, Aarohi began rebuilding the walls of her heart.
The cracks were still there. But now… sunlight peeked through them.
Stage 7 — Acceptance & Hope
On what would've been her due date, Aarohi stood in the nursery — now converted into a reading space.
Nirvay came behind her, wrapping his arms gently.
"You okay?" he whispered.
Aarohi leaned into him. "I think… I will be."
She turned, holding his hand. "I'll never forget him, Nirvay… but I'll live for the love he gave us."
Nirvay nodded, eyes moist.
Sukhi and Ayush arrived, their little boy in arms.
Sukhi gently said, "He'll always be a part of us… all of us."
Aarohi smiled, a soft, real smile. "Yes… he will."
And with that… they stepped ahead — together.
"Dear My Little One,
I used to think you were gone.
That the world lost you before you had a chance to breathe.
But I was wrong.
You stayed.
In your father's silence.
In the way he never lets me carry heavy things now.
In the way he rubs my back when I sit in silence for too long.
In the way I learned to smile without guilt.
You stayed in me.
I fought with the universe.
I hated it.
I blamed it.
And then slowly, painfully,
I understood...
You didn't come here to stay —
you came to teach me love that had no demands, no proof, no end.
I still remember your tiny cap.
And sometimes, when the wind is soft and the day is kind —
I imagine you running barefoot in this very garden.
Laughing. Free.
I don't cry every night now.
And on the nights I do — your father holds me without asking why.
He knows.
He always knew.
I just wanted to tell you —
You were real.
You mattered.
And...
you are deeply loved.
Love,
Mumma."