Samriddhi

The smell of paint calmed her.

Samriddhi stood in front of her class, sleeves rolled up, fingers stained faintly with colour as she guided her students through gentle brush strokes. The room hummed with quiet concentration, canvas after canvas slowly coming alive under uncertain hands.

“Miss Samriddhi,” a small voice spoke up.

She turned, smiling.
“Yes, beta?”

The girl tilted her head, eyes fixed on Samriddhi’s ear.
“Why are you wearing only one jhumka?”

The world stopped.

Her smile faltered as her fingers instinctively flew to her ears.

One.

Only one.

Her heartbeat spiked. She looked down, then around, scanning the floor, the desk, the chair — everywhere at once.

“It was here,” she murmured, more to herself than anyone else.

The class ended with her mind somewhere else entirely. She retraced her steps again and again, searched every corner, even checked her bag twice — but the jhumka was gone.

Lost.

By the time she reached home, the weight in her chest felt heavier than the day itself.

Her mother noticed it instantly.
“Kya hua?”

Samriddhi placed the lone jhumka on the table, eyes misty.
“I lost it, Maa. My favourite one.”

Her father tried to lighten the mood.
“It’s just jewellery, beta.”

She shook her head.
“It wasn’t just jewellery.”

Her mother pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back gently.
“You’ve lost things before. You’ll survive this too.”

They talked. They joked a little. They distracted her until the tight knot inside her loosened — just slightly.

Later, in the quiet of her room, Samriddhi lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

The day replayed itself.

The mirror.
The orphanage.
The laughter.
The empty ear.

Her fingers brushed her ear unconsciously, eyes stinging again.

“It’s okay,” she whispered to herself. “I still have another pair… same design. Just a different colour.”

She tried to believe it.

Tried.

Exhaustion finally pulled her under, sleep wrapping around her like a tired apology — while somewhere far away, her missing jhumka rested unknowingly in a white coat pocket, waiting.