Since Nicholas already knew about the past, Nia thought she should let Rhianna know about it. She only requested Nicholas that she wanted to be the one to tell Rhianna about everything. She decided to tell them both about her trials and tribulations after the great Yougal Lucas Sinha ditched her.
As Nia walked into the living room with Yana, Nicholas stood up and took the backpack from her hand. He understood that Nia wanted this to be soon over. He could see that both the child and the woman had grown attached to each other in this short period of time. In the past four and half years he had known Nia as Rhianna's best friend, Nicholas had always known her as wise and levelheaded.
He extended his hand towards Yana. The child took a few steps to him, then stopped. What she did next was beyond their imaginations. She turned towards Nia, her eyelids fluttered, lips quivered, then she ran the few paces to Nia and hugged her with those little arms that barely reached the latter's waist.
"Auntie mummy, I dn't want to go."
Yana's pleading voice sent an arrow through Nia's heart. Her 'auntie mummy' wafted around the room like a helpless soul. Nicholas was stunned. He did not know how to drag the little girl away from the woman she was hugging as though her little life depended on it.
'Now that she's calling Nia mummy how things are going to turn for Nia and Yougal. The man has already fallen for the woman, now his child has fallen for her too." Nicholas felt happy for his friend. It seemed fate had been working overtime to bring Yougal and Nia together.
Nia was changed into a statue. She kept staring down at the child's upturned face. The cute little face was unhappy. How could she comfort the child? Nia fumbled for words, the right words which could bring a smile on her cute little face. She raised her own eyes and looked helplessly at Nicholas.
The sound of a phone ringing broke the stillness that had almost suffocated Nia. Nicholas took out his phone and answered it with three short words, "Yeah, we're coming."
"It was Eden, he stopped Yougal from going to our home to bring back Yana, saying I'm already on my way to their home with her."
Nia felt her lungs which had been deprived of air a while ago suddenly started expanding with the inhalation of air she took in big gulps, like a starved person eating ravenously. She acted softly but with a determination, slowly disengaging Yana from her. Nicholas stepped forward and picked up the girl in his arms. Yana looked at Nia. She forced a smile and said,
"Bye baby, your papa is waiting for you at home."
She was glad that Nicholas understood and quickly left. It was unbearable to see those small lips quivering silently, those black starry eyes full of water like rain filled dark clouds that might pour down any moment. Yana was Yougal Lucas' daughter but Nia could not stop herself from falling for that angel.
But she knew she and Yana must stop bonding. She could bear the hurt when one day they would be separated by Yougal. She was used to pain. She could not bear to see that little girl in pain. A little pain was better than the pain Yana would experience after strong long time attachment with Nia.
She was in a hurry to send Yana because the girl had called her auntie mummy even before today. That scared Nia. Hope is a necessary word. You must hope to keep you going in life. The same hope would bring you immeasurable anguish when it would get crushed. She could not allow Yana to call her auntie mummy only to have that little heart break later on.
On her fourth day with Nia, Yana showed to Nia the drawing she had drawn and coloured earlier, when the latter came to the cafe from the college. Nia saw a woman holding a little girl in the drawing. Below them were the word, 'Yana with Mummy'.
"See, what I've drawn." Her black eyes twinkled with thousand stars as she looked at Nia.
Nia felt sorrow rising in her like smoke, whirling around inside her like a caged tiger. A motherless child's yearning for a mother, that was what a five year old had tried to express. Yana's next words pushed her down to the bottom of the tunnel of sorrow.
"This is you." She pointed to the woman in the drawing. "I want to call you auntie mummy. Can I, please?" She asked Nia, silencing her for what seemed to be like hours. But Nia had to harden her heart and after a long pause replied,
"No, I'm just your auntie." She glanced at the photo, then turned her gaze to the big, mighty river flowing at a little distance from the cafe. "Your papa will bring home your mummy one day."