"You are like an endless maze of riddles.. the more I try to get in, the more I get tangled into the web of confusions."

~ Gauri
(The Fairytale I Never Dream Of)

~•~•~•~•~

'I'm doing wrong!', Omkara banged his fist on the wall.

'What's wrong?', Dandi asked, confused.

'I just can't love someone by getting her to see only', Omkara breathed harshly.

Poor master, he thinks he saw her in these days only, Dandi found the job to be more difficult than before. A raged, confused of consequences Omkara was far more manageable, than this lovestruck Omkara, inexperienced of love.

'Maybe its just infatuation.. I'm struck by her beauty.. If I avoid her for someday, this will go away.', Omkara jumped so high, as if he had finally solved Pharma's Last theorem.

Dandi shook his head mentally. Master had lost it before, but recently he has started to show his eccentricity publicly. I'm sorry master, but it will make things worse.

'Master, if you want her to believe that you have nothing for her, you shouldn't avoid her. Because, she will suspect the obvious. Instead, you imagine her as any of your nameless employees and treat her as one - neither too gentle, nor too harsh. She will reciprocate the same behaviour you inflict on her.'

'Okay okay, I get it! Now, can I get out for the office? Tiwari is waiting', Omkara stepped in his white BMW.

'Master has become so sweet and humble', Dandi murmured as the car dashed off.

*****

'Good morning Sir', the flock of young boys and girls greeted him as they were also entering along with him.

'Morning', he smiled at them.

His eyes automatically started searching for a petite frame among them. But he reigned himself by slapping himself mentally. But as his luck was on a bad mood today, he saw her entering hurriedly.

Though he wanted to run away, his legs didn't budge. She almost ran into him, but stopped at some feet away.

'Good morning sir', she greeted him quietly.

'Morning', he greeted her curtly and entered the VIP lift.

Gauri heaved a sigh of relief and entered her cabin. There was a lot of programme planning still in blue prints only. She had to make a presentation out of them, finalizing the plans. As her fingers got busy on the keyboard, she couldn't help herself from losing into a trance where her fingers endlessly copied and pasted same designs and details on different pages and her mind started roaming randomly in the messy maze of her personal la la land.

He didn't behave cockily like last night. Maybe it was just an infatuation. Even before his accident, he didn't treat me as his lady love. I was his test subject who may had reached the highest level of his sick game, wedding- wedding. We never had anything between us, to make him feel connected to me like they show in the romantic novels. Nothing much.

Beep! Beep!

She looked up from her desktop, groaning as she almost jumped on her chair, it was almost time to pick Rikara up from her school.

Nobody really noticed when she went out during the lunch break, and she drove to sector I, Rikara's school.

Rikara was a introvert girl. She had no friend even in kindergarten. So, when other kids were coming out excitedly flocked in groups, Rikara came out hanging her head low, lost in her own world of imagination.

'Mumma'. Rikara put her bag in the car.

'Rikara! How was your school today?', Gauri picked her up from the ground and put her on the bonnet of her car.

'Boring. I still can't understand the literature class. Today ma'am scolded me. She said I should study harder. Mumma, I'm trying, but still I don't get anything', Rikara's voice was down, Gauri noted while settling beside her and putting their lunches out.

'Its not your fault sweetie, I should have tried some other way to make it interesting for you.. But your stupid mumma's brain isn't producing anything creative recently', Gauri felt horrible, it was her responsibility to make study an enjoyable task for Rikara, and she was failing at preliminary level.

'Its okay mumma, I will study hard and get good score', Rikara threw her arms around Gauri.

'I know sweetie', Gauri hugged her back.

*****

Omkara was going out early. He had nothing much to do, so he decided to go home and work on his unfinished paintings. But, as soon as he stepped out of the office, his gaze landed at the door of the crèche, few meters away from the office.

A lady was dragging a little girl out harshly. Throwing the girl outside on the porch under scorching sun, she threw a small schoolbag beside her and.. He squinted his brows to look closer. He couldn't hear what the lady was yelling about, but he saw her throwing a box of crayon up in the air and the colourful sticks broke into pieces upon hitting the ground. Raising her pointer finger hardly at the girl, the lady stomped off, leaving the girl behind.

Rikara felt as if someone had broken her heart. Silent, angry tears made their way south her face. Bending, she started picking the broken pieces of crayons.

Omkara's eyes dilated at the familiarity. The thick black bangs were glowing in a warm brown under the bright rays of sun. The lady must've punished her for something. But why breaking her crayons? He got angry unreasonably. And who leaves such little kids under this scorching sun? With quick strides, he reached the girl, sitting on her knees, looking for those crayons.

'Here girl, what's your name?', Rikara almost jumped in surprise when a big man forwarded his bigger hand, some broken crayons in them.

Rikara squinted her brows in alarm. Mumma clearly forbade me to talk to strangers. Especially to those who are so big and looks so scary. Mumbling a thank you hurriedly, she picked the pieces and scooted off.

'Hey, don't get afraid of me. I know your mumma', Omkara forwarded his hand to hold her.

'No! You're lying!', Rikara got away more.

Omkara knew that he had to play a trick to get the girl with him. So he tried to reason, 'Do you know the building?', he pointed his finger at the office of OberoiTech.

'Yeah. My mumma works there.'

'Good. Would you like to see her. But yes, you cannot disturb her during work.'

'Why?'

'Because, as your mumma cannot meet you during your classes, you cannot meet her too during her work. Simple.'

'Okay, then I'll come with you. And my name is Rikara.', Rikara held the hem of his suit jacket and toddled behind him, unable to match his long strides.

Omkara chuckled at her troubled walking and picked her up in his left arm, while he hung her schoolbag in his right hand.

'There', he pointed his finger at the glass cabin of Gauri, 'You see?'

Rikara nodded vigorously, 'Yes, yes! Thank you uncle!'

He felt a little pinch at his heart, but he smiled back at her, 'Let's go to my cabin', he climbed the stairs and got to the 9th floor from Gauri's cabin in 8th floor.

*****

So, why were you thrown out?', he was sitting behind the floor to ceiling glass wall of his cabin, enjoying the peripheral view of Sector II, with Rikara on his lap.

'I ask for papers to paint, but they never give me! So, today, I started drawing on the walls. This new playhouse is bad! Very bad! The old one was good.. They kept papers for me!', Rikara whined.

'Ouch! That's so rude of them! Okay, from now on, I will supply your papers, how does that sound?', Omkara wiggled his eyebrows.

'Wow! You're so good uncle!! Why did mumma not meet you to me? Wait, are you her boss?'

'Yes. I'm her bosses' boss.'

'Whoa, that's why she didn't let me meet you. Once I tried to play with the glitters of the dress of the lady, and she shouted at mumma. But mumma didn't scold me, she just said that the lady was her boss and bosses don't like to talk to their em- em-',

'Employees.'

'Yes! Employeesh! Then why are you talking with me? Will you not shout at mumma?'

Omkara's jaw clenched. How dare some petty woman shout at such a cute girl!! But he said smiling, 'No. All bosses are not same. I like talking to my employees. To discuss things with them. After all, we're working on the same thing. Right?'

'Yes! Yes!', Rikara nodded, her bangs dancing on her forehead.

'Uh, when will your mumma go there to pick you up?'

'Around seven, why?'

Omkara pressed a bell and Tiwari peeped in.

'Tiwari, go to the 'Happy children Crèche' and tell them that Rikara will be at theirs on 6:30.'

'Okay sir', Tiwari furrows his brows in confusion and left.

'So, what do you like the most?', Omkara started twirling the chair round with his leg.

'Painting!', Rikara answered without any hesitation.

'And which subject is your favourite?', he started patting her head lightly. Taking her in his arms he started tolling around, swinging her lightly.

'Numbers.'

'You mean maths. Why not literature?', Omkara asked.

'Don't remind me of that class!! Stupid class, stupid book and even more stupid stories!!', Rikara crossed her arms on her chest.

'Stories are not stupid, Rikara. They are made to teach us various facts and rules of life, to teach us the difference between good and bad, to teach us how to become a good person.'

'But I don't like reading them! And I like listening to the stories mumma tells me. But I can't remember them to answer stupid questions.'

'Then show me your book and let's solve your reading problem.'

Rikara took out a book. Aesop's Fables. She opened a story, 'The Rabbit and the Turtle'.

'See! Who doesn't know that rabbits run faster! Then why did he lose the race?'

Omkara chuckled as he took a thick sketchbook and started scribbling a pencil on the outer lower corner of the page of the sketchbook.

'Let's make this story a real incident.'

*****

He opened the first page. There was a rabbit and a turtle sketched facing each other, as if they were on a fight. Between them was written 'The Rabbit and the Turtle', in a very beautiful cursive.

Omkara started flipping the corners of the pages fast. And the sketches seemed moving, just as happens in cartoons. He started to narrate the story.

'Once upon a time, the was a big, deep forest. There were many animals and birds living together. Everyone of them was special in a particular task. But there was a turtle, who was very slow. Everybody made fun of him, and there was a rabbit who always teased the turtle and bragged of his own speed. Getting angry by the continuous tease, the turtle challenged the rabbit for a race. It was a long way. The rabbit started running fast as usual. But the turtle was slow as ever, even in the race. The rabbit kept running, running and running, but suddenly he got tired and sweaty. Looking back, he couldn't see the turtle. So, he decided to take some rest. He fell asleep under a tree. When he woke up, it was very late. Looking around, he couldn't see the turtle. He ran as fast as he could, but when he reached the finishing line, he saw the turtle was there already, winning the race.'

The last image was of the turtle, winking as his two fingers were poked out in a victory sign.

Caressing Rikara's hair, Omkara said, 'If we imagine life as a race, then we have to be slow and calculative as the turtle. If we rush like the rabbit, we will make a mistake of sleeping like him and those who walk cautiously, will win the race. That's why the moral says to us, Slow by steady wins the race.', he smiled.

Rikara's eyes and mouth both widened in awe, 'Wow', she whispered.

'Keep this book and flip the pages whenever you need to read the story, okay?'

'I love it uncle!! Thank you!!', Rikara kissed his cheeks, but sat back on his lap, rubbing her lips.

'What?', he asked playfully.

'Your beard, it tickles!!', Rikara giggled.

Laughing while throwing his head back, Omkara picked Rikara up in his arms, and started rubbing his cheek with her and Rikara started wiggling in his arms, roaring helplessly in laughter.

DaddyKara/UncleKara.. 🤔
Hope you like the father-daughter moment. More to come.
Special 10th chapter of FFYAOA. Enjoy!! ✨🎉✨

Happy reading!
With love,
Sarani.