The dreaded day had finally arrived; Santosh's official last day at Mahila Police Thana. Eyes filled, eyes flowed and eyes poured, the team stood with each other- until Pushpa ji decided that it was too soon.

She left the circle, finding a quiet space to compose herself. She didn't want to bid her daughter farewell with these wet eyes. They should be twinkling- bright and hopeful. How foolish to think she could simply waste these precious final seconds with a moment of weakness.

The junior constable found her almost immediately, a vestige of composure striking her posture.

"Denial is no longer an option, Pushpa ji."

It had been a week since Pushpa found out about Santosh's impending transfer. To say she was in denial was an understatement. The Singh matriarch had spent the last week glued to her side, making breakfast, lunch and dinner for her, checking in every hour. The mere mention of the topic was brushed aside as if it didn't exist.

But they knew, everyone did, each second was another moment lost. Another caress to her forehead would leave her longing for that warmth more than she already was. Another hug left her feeling emptier than before. Every smile made her anxious as soon as it disappeared from her sight.

Pushpa embraced her with all the strength and determination of her fragile old bones. "It never was, darling. But us frivolous humans, always thinking avoiding something would make it go away," Pushpa ji scoffed at her own brashness. "But it didn't and the only thing leaving today is, you, Santu."

Leaving this place- home- had been coming for so long. She knew it all along and thus each day was spent tying up loose ends; relationships, the Chingari gang nuisance and the return of the station's reputation. Like headlamps of a faraway train getting closer, brighter and bigger, she watched the days bleed from night into day and repeat until this particular dawn seemed gloomier than the rest. Yet as the train pulls into the station and the smoke leaves the engine, there is still a sense of shock. Still, living in that moment Santosh realises that it is a transition that will live with her for all her days to come.

"Let the sadness out or it'll poison you," head constable Pushpa Singh, always the wise old Pushpa ran her hand up and down the constable's back reassuringly. "such open heart surgery without anaesthetic takes real bravery. Do it through. I'll be waiting for you at the finish with a glass of water."

"Pushpa ji," Santosh started, a hiccup in her voice. "I will miss you. Who is going to give me free advice now? Who is going to secretly sneak golppas into the station every morning? Who is going to," she paused to do the iconic blushing action of the head constable. "Tell me impossible crack-headed stories of your husband now?"

Despite the tense moment, Pushpa chuckled at her innocence. "Phones exist for a reason. Didn't you get the newest mePhone fourteen pro that has a forty-eight-megapixel camera?"

"Pushpee, it's an iPhone, not a mePhone." the constable frowned, offended by the blase terminology.

"Same difference."

Santosh bowed her head, her hands clasping onto Pushpa's own shaky ones. "Pushpa Ji, I've had a strained and distant relationship with my mother. Growing up, she had always favoured my brother and I was always an afterthought. We don't speak very often and I used to long for that feeling...I can't put it into words but I am sure you know what I am talking about." she smiled at little Pushpa's understanding nod. "When I came to Lucknow, it was nerve-wracking. A new and unfamiliar place glared back at me. But now, when I look at you, I get that feeling. It's warm, it's fuzzy and it's reassuring. I know that if I fall, you will catch me. Than- thank you for giving me the chance to experience maternal love."

"That's the beauty of strangers, Santu. When, where, and how do the strings of a lonely heart connect to someone else's, we never know. Until that same lonely heart is full and seized with fear of losing that person, we never know." which is why my heart is in so much pain today.

Santosh sniffed and giggled at Pushpa, wiping away the tear that fell past her eyelids. "This is why you are a councillor. You should spill your pearls of wisdom more often."

"Don't make fun of me, doodle head." the head constable chided, smacking her arm lightly.

"I am serious!" she exclaimed. When Pushpa fixed her with a sceptical look, she took it upon herself to elaborate. "When Karishma madam was going to quit and I was upset about not getting promoted, you told me some very important life lessons. My insecurities got the better of me. But it was you who made me realise that I am worth so much more. I have my whole life ahead of me. That moment's setback was just a stepping stone."

"And I hope when you go to the cyber department, you remember these words."

"I will," she swore.

Realising that they were going to be here for a while, the two moved to the chairs placed in the room.

"Can I ask you something?" Pushpa asked, a little nervous.

"Of course."

"Do...do you still love cheetah?"

Santosh went stiff at the sudden shift in topic. Her hands dropped to her side and she sighed for the umpteenth time that day. "I do," she admitted. "But that's not enough for a relationship to last, it was silly to think so."

"Why do you say that?"

"We come from very different places in life. Our priorities, lifestyles and belief systems are very different. Do you remember the time when he was accused of kidnapping that girl? You told me that all relationships are built on trust. After all the things he had done, I find it very hard to trust him. He is a good person, I know. But I can't do it."

Pushpa caressed her head and Santosh leaned into the touch. It was going to be a while before she experienced this warmth again. "I will pray that one day, you find the person you can trust and love unconditionally."

The junior thanked her mother figure. Suddenly, Santosh gasped grabbing onto Pushpa's shoulders and staring fiercely into her dark eyes. "No one and I mean no one can call you Pushpee other than me, Pushpa ji."

The mother figure felt her eyes pour once and again and she held her departing child in her arms once again. "I promise. No one else but you."

A/N: Don't forget to R&R!