☔ Episode 9: Ashes and Rain
🌧️ Scene 1: The Empty Office
It rained for the rest of the day.
The sky thundered like it was trying to wash something clean.
Arjun sat at his desk long after Maya left.
The letter still in his hands.
His name still echoing from her voice.
But it wasn’t her anger that broke him.
It was her calm.
She didn’t shout.
She didn’t ask.
She knew.
That was the worst part.
She knew everything.
And still chose to walk away.
🔥 Flashback: The Day Aarthi Died
He had promised Aarthi he'd stand strong.
But the truth?
He had watched her fade on the hospital bed, holding Maya—just born, eyes wide, crying softly.
Aarthi (weak):
“Take care of her… Don’t let her be alone.”
He nodded.
He lied.
🩺 Scene 2: The Father Who Wasn’t
Arjun tried for one day.
One.
Then reality came crashing.
His hospital board.
His family.
Vaishnavi, the woman his parents wanted him to marry before Aarthi.
“If the media finds out you had a child with a woman outside marriage—”
“Your career will shatter.”
So, he walked into the orphanage with a 3-day-old baby.
Left her there.
Signed her off with no name.
And every year after that—
He told himself : She’s better off .
🕯️ Scene 3 : The Guilt Closet
Back home , Arjun unlocked a drawer no one touched .
Inside : a box filled with shadows .
Aarthi’s death certificate
Maya’s hospital band
The pendant he kept but never wore
And one envelope unopened , from Aarthi herself
For 18 years , he couldn’t bring himself to read it .
Tonight , he did .
📄 Aarthi’s Letter (TWIST REVEAL)
"Arjun ,
If you’re reading this , I am gone .
But don’t run .
Our daughter is not a burden .
She is your chance to rewrite everything .
I named her Arundhati—after the star that never loses its light .
I don’t need her to grow rich .
I need her to grow loved .
Don’t erase her to protect your world .
Let her become your world .
Don’t hide this letter .
Give it to her when she turns 18 .
So she knows her mother trusted you .
Aarthi "
The page slipped from his hand .
He stared at the final line again .
“ Don’t hide this letter . ”
But that’s exactly what he had done .
He had hidden Aarthi .
He had hidden Maya .
He had hidden himself .
🌩️ Scene 4 : A Man Lost
Downstairs, Aarya sat watching cartoons.
Vaishnavi prepared dinner .
Arjun couldn’t move .
Couldn’t breathe .
He wasn’t just a man who left a daughter .
He was a man who chose silence over love .
Again .
And again .
🪞 Emotional Monologue
Arjun walked to the mirror .
His voice barely a whisper :
“ I buried my own child.
And now she walks like fire
carrying the ash I gave her .
I don’t deserve to call her mine .
But I’ll spend the rest of my life
proving I once could have been a father. ”
📦 Cliffhanger
He picks up the pendant from the box .
Clutches it tight .
And for the first time ,
Dr. Arjun R . Iyer cries .
Not for the loss .
But for the second chance
he may never get
You left her with nothing ,
Yet she walks with grace .
Now the mirror holds a father —
And the ghost of her face .
