The mirror image

Sandhya was happy at the orphanage. But she knew, she would be happier in a family. She was happy because she had a nice head mistress, teachers, caretakers who always kept her happy. She never felt lonely except when alone, with the questions of her identity.
When alone she thought that she was one of the many kids living in the orphanage. Though everyone was with her, none did she own, whom she could confidently say as ,"he/she is my someone." She hated her coded and uniform life. Whenever she saw all the children at orphanage in a dress code, sleeping in dormitories and eating in mess, Sandhya felt extremely bored. She wanted to be different from others- different clothes, different types of foods, a room only for her, parents who love only her and so on. She had seen how happy were the kids who were adopted.
Everyday couples came and adopted a child but it was not Sandhya. Seema and Vinita, the two girls with whom Sandhya passed most of her time were also adopted in some middle class families.
"Am I an unlucky girl? What do I lack?" Sandhya would question herself with utter disappointment.
The other day, a rich couple came. It was Sandhya's luck that just seeing her photograph they became keen to adopt her. They did not even meet Sandhya before taking their decision. This was astonishing but a good news for Sandhya.
"They are very rich and kind too. They will provide you with lots of happiness- dresses, foods, toys and above all Love." her head miss said to her," Remember! You have a younger sister, 8 years old. You will have to be kind and good towards her. She should take you as 12."
" Okay miss. I will take care." Sandhya assured her. She was very excited. She packed up everything she wanted to take to her new home- the old greeting cards, shells she collected on the orphanage tour, her diary and many more.
Next day, her to be parents came to take her. The lady, her mother, hugged her extremely  lovingly, as if she had got her lost child. The father patted her with tears in his eyes. Sandhya was overwhelmed with such an emotional treatment.
On the way to home her father, Mr. Roy said to her mother, "Seems we've got our lost child. Isn't it?"
"Does that mean I am really your child?" questioned Sandhya.
"You will know when you reach home" said Mrs. Roy.
Another surprise was already waiting at home. As she entered her new home, the little Navya came running to her and hugged her.
"Nisha di is back. You are back didi." she sang like a hymn. Sandhya smiled at her with a questioning face.
" Di let us finish the game we started last month. You promised you will complete it when you return " said the excited Navya.
"Dear beta!!! Let di take some rest first as she is bit unwell. Carry on with your game at night. Now go and finish off your homework." mother persuaded her.
"Okay. We shall play when you are perfectly well di." said the smiling Navya and went into her room.
Sandhya was in a chaos.
"Before your curiosity compels you to raise questions, let me tell you everything clearly. Come with me." her father took Sandhya to a 'Photo gallery' sort of room. It contained many photographs having her with Navya and Mr. and Mrs. Roy.
Mr. Roy explained," This is our daughter, Nisha. She met with an accident last month while returning from a tour and was admitted to the hospital. No efforts could save her. As days and nights passed without a hope of her coming home, Navya became more and more depressed. We could not dare to tell her that Nisha had died. So, we told her that Nisha is still on the tour." Mr. Roy became emotional and couldn't speak further.
Mrs. Roy continued," Thus, we went to the orphanage to adopt a girl of about 12 years, as Nisha was, so that we could compensate Navya's sister's death with a new sister. But our good luck gave us you. So, from today we shall call you Nisha and you will be our own daughter."
Sandhya came out of the chaos and was then happier. She felt like she was never a stranger for this house. She dwelt in each and every corner of the house. For such happiness if she had to sacrifice her name, what's pathetic? It's easy and interesting. Her orphanage colleagues will be shocked to know......know?.....No, she won't tell them anything, rather would pretend these to be her own photographs, she thought.
It was difficult for her to respond as Nisha, for the obvious reason of not being used to it. However, she tried her best.
The next day when Navya was at school, Sandhya heard her mother screaming her lungs out from her (Sandhya's) room, "Nisha....come here right now....Nisha"
Sandhya, ran from the garden straight to her room just to find her ablaze.
"Look! I have already told you that you are NISHA here" she shouted," Why have you littered your old greetings here and there? Navya would be coming from school. What if she sees these?"
"Sorry Mummy! I will keep them in." Sandhya accepted her mistake.
"No!! This can happen again. I shall better burn them all." Mrs. Roy murmured.
"No Mummy! Don't do that please!!!" Sandhya begged.
"I have to", saying this her mother lifted up the cards to throw them into the mantelpiece but just then-
"Di see. What I have brought for you?" Navya had come. Her loud excited voice could be heard from the drawing room. Mother quickly handed over the cards to Sandhya and whispered," Keep them in right now. Navya is here. She should not see them. And one more thing. Don't call me Mummy, call me Mom as Nisha used to do."
"But Mummy...." as Sandhya appealed, she was interrupted by her mother.
"You have to."
At this, Navya entered the room and could feel the heat.
"Mom! Don't scold my Nisha di." She clung to Nisha,"Di! See I won a gold medal in fast reading". The tensed Sandhya always got relaxed at Navya's sweet address.
In the next few months, many such incidents occurred that compelled Sandhya to shun her identity and take up Nisha's- her favourites, likes, dislikes, her aspirations, talents and many more. Although, she could now confidently say before anyone that," This is my father, mother and this loving angel is my sister" (as she has always wanted to), she had no guts to speak to her image in mirror," Hey! I am Sandhya".
One day, Sandhya's old friends Seema and Vineeta came to visit her. As it was Nisha's birthday, Mrs. and Mr. Roy and Navya were all at home. Seema and Vineeta were both happy to see their friend living in such a beautiful house and in such a lovely family.
"But why do they call you Nisha?"Seema asked curiously.
"I know" said Vineeta. Sandhya was stunned, but Vineeta continued," Actually, her younger sister's name is Navya. Right? So, they would have renamed her to make their initials the same."
Sandhya took a sigh of relief but then Seema empathetically said," So, your life has become darker. Isn't it?"
"What?....Why?" Sandhya asked with a mixed expression of shock, fear and anger.
"Don't panic yaar. It is because earlier you were Sandhya, meaning evening; now you are Nisha, meaning night. Right?" said Seema and began to laugh with Vineeta. Sandhya just smiled casually.
"Who is Sandhya?" enquired little Navya who had just come into the room.
Seema pointing towards Sandhya, who was sitting before the window said, " Here is Sandhya."
"That's Nisha di" said Navya angrily.
"No dear! Look outside the window the time outside is evening, that is, it's the time of Sandhya." said her mother who had just entered to tackle the situation.
When her friends had gone Sandhya was summoned by her father,"Look Nisha!! We want you to forget your old life and start a new one. For that you will have to forget your old friends and contacts, maybe your memories too."
Her mother said," Get ready for the party of your birthday. Guests must be reaching the venue (hotel)."
She revolted, though in her limits,"But Mom, I have always celebrated my birthday on 2nd February, i.e. tomorrow."
"But Nisha's is today and you are Nisha, not Sandhya." shouted her father.
Sandhya broke out and her heart cried. No one could hear her. She dressed like Nisha as she was told to- the same kind of dress, hairstyle, shoes, bracelets, earrings. Sandhya became Nisha and was ready for today's function. Function does not mean a party or occasion, rather here it means just a work that a machine does.
At the venue, her dress was different from all others (as she always wanted) but she was different from what she actually was. As her heart reluctantly tried to accept the changes in her, she overheard three women talking.
"Is she really Nisha?" said the first one.
"No no! Nisha died in an accident last month. She isn't Nisha but she looks like her." said the second one.
"Absolutely!!! Mirror image!!!" exclaimed the third.
"What? Mirror image? Don't be silly. She looks more like Nisha because she tries to be like her, she tries to copy her,otherwise, where is the comparison between a rich prosperous Nisha and this poor orphan." said the second.
"What is her name?" asked the first woman. "No one knows and no one will EVER know. She lost her identity the day she was adopted." said the second woman.
Sandhya's captivated identity was wriggling to come out of Nisha's and wanted to tell the women everything but she did not because she knew it would disfigure the image of HER parents, whose she was the mirror image. But it was extremely hard for her to stay there and she ran out of the venue and rode back home on her bicycle.
 After sometime when Mr and Mrs Roy found that she wasn't there, they decided to go home to find her.
"The cake has to be cut and the guests must be waiting for dinner. Handle the situation brother, until I come back" her father said to a close relative.
On not being able to locate, in the parking slot, their favourite car which they usually drove with, they went by another car. "Nisha must have gone with that." said her mother.
When they reached home Sandhya had already written all her experiences in the diary. She felt the door of the drawing hall opening. "They have probably come" she thought and went to see her parents but there was no one though the door was open. As she went to close it, she found her parents before her at the doorstep.
They were silent for some time looking at each other.
" So Nisha!!! What is this drama for?" enquired her father.
"Please call me Sandhya" said Sandhya in a low yet firm voice.
"But Nisha!!" said her mother.
"Please call me Sandhya." Sandhya interrupted and repeated, this time louder.
"Look!!! You have to be like Nisha in this house" said Mr Roy.
"Then send me back to the orphanage." Sandhya at once answered.
"What are you talking of? Do you understand...." her mother tried to persuade her, but Sandhya interrupted again," Yes I understand. I understand that I was not adopted as a child, rather as the stupid medicine that you bought from an orphanage to keep your child from depression."
"But..." interrupted her mother,
"Please let me speak .... Please" she shouted, then in a low voice said," I was always fascinated at the thought of a family adopting me. I thought they will love me, care for me. They will be my own and eventually I found a mother, a father and a cute sister but......" after a long pause she said " I lost myself. Please send me back to the orphanage." Sandhya begged her parents repeatedly with tears wetting her face.
"It's late night now, we'll talk tomorrow morning." said her father.
"Go and sleep now." ordered her mother but rather politely.
Her father then called the close relative on phone," It's your responsibility today. Get the cake served and let the guests take the dinner. Finish off the party and please bring Navya home when you return.
"But brother Navya isn't here." said the relative.
"Where is she then?" he asked in a worried mood, but then in the camera screen Mrs Roy found their favourite car parked with Sandhya's cycle.
"Quick!!! Come here. See, one must have come on the cycle and the other in the car." she said. They went to ask Dayaram, the driver.
"I brought Navya bitiya, saabji. She said that her sister is upset. She wanted to come to her." answered Dayaram. They took a sigh of relief and went in to see Navya.
As Sandhya entered into her room, she found Navya, seated on the bed with Sandhya's diary in hand and tears in her eyes. She had completed reading. After all she was the fastest reader in her class. She closed the diary and looked towards Sandhya as a stranger. Sandhya did not bother as she had to go back home the next day. She climbed up the bed from the corner, Navya got down immediately from the other corner and went straight to the kitchen.
Mr and Mrs Roy saw her going to the kitchen and secretly followed her activities. Sandhya was satisfied that she had said everything she wanted to. She heard Navya struggling in the kitchen probably with utensils but she did not go to the kitchen. She did not want actually. She was feeling sleepy now. The clock pointed to 12 midnight.
She was likely asleep when she fell someone sitting beside her with a tiny fire. Then she heard the whisper,"Didi" and got up to find Navya sitting in front of her with a pizza in one hand and a candle in other. She had managed to somehow decorate the pizza with irregularly cut onions, tomatoes and cheese. But what is this? Over it with tomato ketchup Navya had written down something. It was "Happy Birthday Didi".
Sandhya said,"Nisha didi's birthday was yesterday."
"But Sandhya didi's is today. Happy birthday Didi." said Navya innocently. Sandhya was overwhelmed.
"Blow the candle...quick...didi. It's 2nd February. " requested Navya. Sandhya blew it quickly and ate a piece of pizza.
"Oye! It's raw. I mean it isn't cooked properly." said Sandhya.
"I didn't cook it. Actually I don't know how to cook it, but I wanted to celebrate your birthday. I wanted to show you that I love you for what you are and not for what your name is. I love my Nisha di and I love my Sandhya di as well. May I hug you didi?" appealed Navya.
"Oh come on!!! You don't have to ask for it dear." Sandhya clung to her and both started crying.
"Please don't go didi. I will never call you Nisha di. Please don't go. I need you. I will become lonely otherwise." said Navya with a tearful appealing face.
Sandhya could not answer. Now though she had a reason to stay, she had two to leave- Father's rudeness and Mother's emotionlessness. So, she did not say anything and they slept. Sandhya slept clinging to Navya not even knowing that her parents were just outside the room listening to all that happened.
Next morning, they got up late. It was nine o'clock. Sandhya heard someone address from the dining hall, "Sandhya.......Sandhya."
"Probably headmiss has come to take me." she thought and ran to meet her. But there was no one except her mother.
Her mother said," What happened Sandhya?"
"Someone called me as......Wait" and then with an excited jerk, "Mom!!!! Did you address me as Sandhya."
"Yup I did....and you don't have to address me as Mom, you can call me Mummy." said Mrs. Roy with the affectionate smile, Sandhya had longed for. Sandhya was very happy and hugged her mother.
Mother said," Come on!! Go, get fresh, wake up that little monster and be ready for shopping for today's party."
"Which party Mom?" asked Sandhya.
Mother kissed on her forehead and said, "Happy birthday dear."
Sandhya was beaming with double happiness.
"Now di can buy things of her likes." said Navya, who had just got up and was happiest at the moment.
"No" her father intervened, that disappointed Sandhya again.
"I will tell what she likes." he continued.
"But how?" mother asked.
"From her diary" said her father laughing heavily.
All laughed and they became a happy family. Her father slowly whispered to her mother," We have two daughters Sandhya and Navya. Sounds good. Isn't it?"

Hope you liked the story. Which of the three did you like the most. Tell me in comments.
Wait..... What?
You haven't read the other two stories. Okay,  don't worry.... Here is the link.
1. The journey to marriage .
2. The unusual siblings.