Chapter 3

Sicily, Italy

It's been three days; Myra didn't step out of her house. She wanted sometimes to fix herself. Her mental condition and many more things. Every time she passed her mom's bedroom, she stood there motionlessly just to figure out where it was a bad dream or not. On her third, she went inside the room and opened the wardrobe. She took out some of her mom's clothes and inhaled deeply. She wrapped one big coat of her mom around her and slept on the bed to feel her mom's presence. A lone tear escaped her eyes. 

"Why mama, why. Why did you leave me so early?" Myra cried out loudly. She didn't notice when she fell asleep while crying. In the evening she got up and started making the room. Every particle of that room held her mom's scent. She opened that locker and saw a few documents of her mom. Passport and other kinds of stuff. While keeping things properly an envelope fell on the ground. She almost forgot that her mom once told her to check for an envelope in her locker. She took the envelope and sat on the bed. Tearing that two pictures fell on her lap with a letter. Myra felt a strange sensation seeing those things. Was there anything that her mom hid from her? She couldn't help but ask the question in her mind. With enough trepidation, she opened the letter to readout.

Dear Myra,

When you would receive this letter, I may not be around you anymore. But I will be looking at you always. I know I may have very little time, but during this time I have realized a fact. I might have stopped you to have a fair share of happiness. I took a decision 19 years ago when you were just three years old. But what could I do at that time tell me? I met your father here in Italy when he came for some work. We met at a common friend's party. I get to know that he belonged to a Royal family of India. Eventually, we both fell in love. Years had passed like seconds. I was in cloud nine until one day he decided to travel back to India for some urgent work. He came to Italy for some work, but I thought we might be together forever. I had a dream of returning to your father's family, but he said he would surely take me after sometimes. I waited for him. I was already three months pregnant and your existence gave me immense happiness. Two years had been passed; I didn't find any news of his return. You grew up asking about your father and I used to hide as much as I could. With courage, I found his contact details and traveled back to Jaipur, India. Well, I might say that was the horrible journey of my life. What we see here is far better than what I saw there. A naked war for power. Hungry wolves were roaming around a single throne to claim it. I met your father. I found another shocking truth about him. He was already married with one son and his wife was expecting again. I decided to keep my mouth shut. It's better to burn inside rather than put someone on fire. His wife Mayabati was a nice woman, maybe she understood something especially after seeing you. You were just two and half years old. But your features had and have some similarities with your father. I was there for a month as a guest of your father's family. But what I have realized is that you would be far safer here in Italy rather than in India. I didn't waste a single time and traveled back to Sicily. I am sorry for hiding the truth from you for so long. But dear, don't hate me. I made you enough strong to fight with anybody now. Yes, you have Royal blood flowing through your vein. Your father is no one but the crownless King Rana Pratap Singh Solanki. You are a part of the Royal Solanki family. Beneath this letter, you would find the contact details of your father. If you ever think to see him or have a talk to him, you can go ahead. I am no longer going to hide your true identity. I am leaving the decision of forgiving your father or me on you. You have every right to hate me or love me. But before you hate your biological father give him a chance to explain himself. We often take decisions being manipulated under certain circumstances. We may or may not think from the heart. But as a mother, I am giving you every right to choose for your own now.

Your Mom

Myra kept the letter aside and flipped the photograph kept inside the envelope. A family photograph with a man and a pregnant woman with one little boy. Sure, the man would be her father and the woman would be his wife with his son. Another photo was there with Myra's mother Minerva and that man. Myra couldn't remember much about her father. But surely looking at the man's tall structure she understood she got some features from her father. 

She tried to remember her visit to India. She was hardly three years old when she stopped there. She barely remembers her father as she was never taken care of by him. But that little boy in the picture, she remembered some foggy memories. She might have played with him during her stay in Jaipur, India, eventually, that was supposed to be her half-brother. Though she did not know apart from her half-brother if she got a half-sister or a half-brother as the woman in that picture seemed pregnant. Keeping aside her thoughts she moved towards the bed and silently lay down. 

Far away in the church, the bell rang, a lone tear escaped her eyes. She hugged the pillow close to her chest to get the last essence of her mother. Finally, the dam broke and her inner walls got shattered letting every drop of her salty drops reach her cheeks. She cried like a five-year-old baby.

“Why mama, why? Why did you open up about my past in this way? What I am supposed to do now? Should I call my dad to let him know about us or should I just forget? Does he at all deserve my love or my affection or do I belong to him?”

Myra’s sob reached extreme but there was no one to pat on her head or to console her. Since her childhood, she craved a complete family, no matter what. But today when she got the chance to know about everything, she is in a dilemma. A choice of having let her father know about her existence or a choice of staying alone forever. She doesn’t remember when the last time she saw her father did. But how could she forget a person who abandoned her mother and her? If he was married already why did he even get involved with her mother?

“Everything is fair in love and war” Myra’s inner voice spoke.

“Which love?’ Myra asked her subconscious mind.

The love that never got a chance to bloom. The love was never accepted and her mother simply left without demanding her chance to be his father’s wife. Her mother sacrificed her happiness just to make sure that her father’s family survive the humiliation in India. One thing was clear that her mother suppressed the entire story just to save his father, and the Royalty.

After a certain time, she jumped into her dark sleep. Her body got exhausted due to crying. Her mother made her mature and strong but, at this time, she had to take a big decision.

Things were never easy for her since her childhood. Single parenting was always tough. She now understands how hard it was for her mother to make up stories every time about her father. She never got an exact answer from her mother. Maybe her mother was always afraid of her daughter's decision. With time she became mature. The last time when she asked about her father, she was told that one day she would know everything. She didn't expect that it would be after her mother's death. 

After almost three hours Myra woke up from her sleep. She felt her head heavy, but her determination was strong enough. She got freshened up and took out her cell phone. She didn’t know whether the no does exist or not. Her trembling fingers dialed the no. She knew for sure that nobody would pick it up or it would be unreachable. Out of blue, the call got connected and on the other side the normal ring was playing on. Each second seemed like an hour or more. She felt heavy in her heart. On the verge of the disconnection someone picked up the call and a heavy deep voice shook Myra.

“Hello, who is this?” The deep voice took the strength out of Myra’s body. She gulped down her saliva to gather the words to speak.

“I am Myra Moretti. Minerva’s daughter.”