Khushi had been reliving the moments leading up to her wedding in her unconscious state. Every touch, glance, shove, shout, confusion, delusion, tear, hurt, happiness, kiss and loving moment. She had travelled through all her moments with Arnav, people say before you die your life flashes before your life but for Khushi she just relived all the moments that led to her almost demise. One month after her exam Khushi finally woke up, her eyes flew open and then shut again due to the bright lights of the hospital. She opened them slowly trying to help them adjust, she took in the sterile settings of her hospital room but still felt confused. The last thing she could physically remember was Arnav being hurt in the car with her as they had crashed, she couldn't see him anywhere and she panicked and screamed.
"ARNAV!" She said fear suddenly taking over her body, paralysing her, where was he? Was he okay? Why didn't she know where he was? Nurses and a doctor came rushing in and began checking her vitals etc.
"Mere Pathi kaha hain?" She asked but no one responded. "Aap saab kuch kehte kyun nahi? Woh, woh tik hai na?" She asked beginning to fear Arnav's condition more and more. The Doctor looked sternly at her.
"Mrs. Raizada tumhara Pathi bilkul tik hai, in fact three weeks ago woh discharge hogaye teh. Tum ek coma main thi accident ki vaje se." He said and Khushi felt shocked, she was in a coma? For a month? But then her thoughts flooded back to Arnav. "Mujhe mere Pathi se milna hai." Khushi said anxiously, the doctor tried to calm her. "Milenge, milenge. Pehle kuch tests ki zuroorat hai." He told Khushi. Tests? What kind of tests? She clung to her duvet as they wheeled her away for her tests. Arnav was at home talking to the police commissioner.
"Any leads?" Arnav asked bluntly.
"Well Sir, we're trying our best but all we can deduce so far was that whoever tampered with your car was someone close to you. You have numerous cars in your home but this person knew which one you were particularly fond of. They also had to have tampered with it before you left your home in the morning." The Officer said.
"So what are you trying to say officer?" Arnav asked.
"I'm saying Mr. Raizada that if you have had any recent discrepencies with someone who was close to you, a disgruntled employee, an unhappy friend or business associate maybe even family. Anyone at this moment could have done it." The Officer said shrugging, he lifted his hat from the sofa and stood up extending his hand. Arnav shook it, "Thank you Officer, I'll have a think and get back to you." Arnav said as the Officer took his leave. That's when the phone rang.
Arnav was practically running through the halls of the hospital, not waiting for his family, they understood why and didn't say anything. They knew how much of a toll Khushi's accident had, had on Arnav and they knew no one else could have been happier that she had woken up. Arnav ran into the room and looked to see his wife arguing with a nurse.
"Humne kaha na Maam, aapke pathi abhi aare hain!" The Nurse said aggitadely.
"Mujhe kuch nahi sunnah! Give me a phone I want to talk to him!" Khushi said equally irritated, her eyes animated and wild, her lips in a stern pout and her cheeks rosy red. Arnav sighed at the view of her.
"Khushi." His voice came out ragged, husky with longing clearly ringing through. Khushi's ears registered the sound and she turned sharply to see him. He now had a slightly faded scar on his forehead and a bandage on his forearm. But none of that mattered to her right now because he was here and they were both okay. The Nurse excused herself and Khushi continued to look at Arnav taking him all in, his eyes which were decorated with dark heavy circles underneath them, he looked ragged and exhausted. God only knows what he's been through, she thought to herself. He rushed over to her and threw his arms around her.
"Khushi! Khushi I thought I'd lost you! Main itna daargaya tah ki- I can't even tell you. Aaj main itne khush hoon ki ki- mujhe khud nahi maulum ki main kya karoonga!" Arnav said and Khushi let out a meek squeak of pain and Arnav let go of her immediatley. "I'm sorry Khushi, I didn't think. Tum tik hoon na? Doctor ne kya kaha?" Arnav asked so many questions at once, it disorientated Khushi, she didn't know what to answer first. Luckily the Doctor came in.
"She seems perfectly healthy Mr. Raizada. Her body is a little worn down nothing that regular physio and rest wont fix. Her brain patterns seem to be all good also. Just don't ask her too many questions at first, her brain will need time to catch up with her. But all seems good, we're just waiting for the blood test results but they wont come for a few days." The Doctor said and relief washed over Arnav. No one could ever understand how worried and guilty he had been feeling throughout all this. Hearing that Khushi was fine was the best news he'd heard...ever.
"Doctor, when can I go home?" Khushi asked timidly. The Doctor frowned slightly.
"Mrs. Raizada you only just woke up, I don't think it would be right to send you home for a while yet. We need to keep you here just to keep an eye on you." He said and Khushi's face fell. She hated hospitals, there was death everywhere in them and she could never look out to the night sky to find her parents as comfort. Arnav saw this discomfort, he grabbed her hand and held it his own reassuringly.
"Doctor could you not bend the rules this once. I promise you I will have our family doctor come and check on Khushi regularly and I will be there to take care of her twenty four hours of the day everyday for as long as it takes. She would adjust better at home, her heart will feel lighter and she'd probably be more uncooperative if she stayed here." Arnav said knowing how Khushi was, the Doctor frowned remembering the drama they'd gone through to extract Khushi's blood sample.
"I guess its okay but I'm warning you Mr. Raizada you will have to stay by your word, she'll need a regular check up three times daily, morning, afternoon and evening and you will have to stay with her or hire someone to." The Doctor said sternly. Arnav looked earnestly at the Doctor.
"Don't worry Doctor, Khushi will get everything she needs to get better, I promise." He said and Khushi felt his hold on her hand tighten slightly, she could tell he'd missed her and even though she hadn't even been aware of her state and their distances she felt the sadness of his absence for all that time also. The Doctor left and readied the discharge papers, Arnav and Khushi's family came flooding in all crying and cooing over Khushi. Payal was noticably clinging to her little sister. Arnav smiled at the scene, Khushi really was the glue in this family, without her everything had fallen apart. Arnav realised in that instance just how lucky he was. Arnav drove home with Khushi, he'd checked his car this time before driving, it had become a force of habit now, he never drove above 30mph and even slower at times. He got out and then instead of using the wheelchair he lifted Khushi into his arms, Khushi didn't complain, she needed this, she needed to be with him now more than ever. She'd gone through something so traumatic and horrible, he was the only other person who could understand right now. She gazed at him in awe as he effortlessly carried her in.
"Dard nahi hora?" Khushi asked referring to his bandaged forearm that was currently supporting the bottom half of her body. Arnav shook his head. They were about to enter the house when Anjali bought out the Pooja taal and welcomed them in as well as removing any "nazaar" that may have been cast upon them for good measure. Arnav would usually have scoffed at this and told Di it was nonsense but he didn't. Khushi was back and it was more than likely down to how many people had prayed for Khushi, Arnav was sure he didn't always believe in God but he would never insult any kind of religious activity or entity again, for Khushi's sake. They stepped over the threshold of the house together, this time stronger than when they had entered when they had first gotten married because they now realised how much they meant to the other and they never wanted to take that for granted again.
Read more of this here.
:')So happy
ReplyDelete