Chapter 7

Chapter 7

bol do na zarra

dil mein jo hai chhupa

mein kisi se kahunga nahi

Akshara let out a dramatic sigh as she rested her head on Rohan's shoulder. 

"This hospital has a serious lack of chocolates" she declared. Jia nodded her head solemnly. 

"Agreed."

Rohan rolled his eyes. "You two do realize this is a hospital? And we are doctors? We are supposed to promote healthy eating?"

Akshu looked visibly offended. "There is nothing more healthy than chocolate!"

"How the hell did you pass your MBBS?"

"Oh shut up.

"Yes, Rohan. Shut up." Jia laughed.

Suddenly, a teasing voice rang from behind them. "What are we laughing at?" 

A huge smile split her face as she turned around. 

"Neil!" she squealed and jumped into his arms. His carefree laughter filled her ears.

"And here I thought little miss Doctor forgot about me" he teased before greeting Rohan and Jia warmly. Jia blushed a deep red when he playfully ruffled her hair. Akshu and Rohan shared a knowing glance. Jia's crush on Neil Birla was painfully obvious to everyone but him.

Neil sat down between Akshara and Rohan and Jia jumped up to order another round of coffee. Neil was about to offer but she took off faster than a bullet train. Akshu and Rohan managed to hide their laughter, but only barely. Poor Neil looked so confused.

"So Mr Birla, aaj kya tabaahi karne aaye hai janaab?" Rohan asked in a dramatic Gabbar Singh voice.

"Aaj, ek nayi tabahi ka janm hone waala hai. Aise tabahi......" Neil answered, in an equally dramatic voice.

"Kaise tabahi?" Akshu asked, eagerly leaning forward.

"Aise tabahi........" Neil sang, scrunching up his face and spreading his arms with a flourish.

"Kaisi tabahi?" Rohan asked.

"Aisi tabahi......." Neil was clearly enjoying himself now, building up the suspense.

"Arre baba, kaisi tabahi?!" Akshu and Rohan chorused.

Hopping up on the chair he was sitting on, he bowed deep to an imaginary audience. "Thodi hari tabahi, thodi laal. Jisse dekh ke ho jaaye saare patients khushhaal aur mere bro behaal."

"Neil!" Akshu rolled her eyes. "Saaf saaf batayega ya thappad khaake?"

"Kyun ho pareshaan, mein hoon na mere bro ki jaan" Neil laughed.

"What?" Akshu asked, confused. 

Neil realized his mistake but was saved from answering by Jia, barely managing to carry 4 cups of coffee. "Kya hua?" she asked. 

Neil grabbed her hands and twirled her. "Christmas Dance Party" he proudly announced.

"Christmas Dance Party?" the three doctors repeated.

Neil hummed, obviously loving the shock on their faces. Casually spinning a red face Jia in his arms, he dipped her with a flourish and winked. "Christmas. Dance. Party."

Akshu and Rohan looked at Neil. Then looked at each other. Then looked at Neil once again with a deadpan expression on their faces.

"What?" Neil asked.

Rolling their eyes they got up wordlessly and walked away, collecting a stuttering, blushing Jia on the way. Both of them grabbed an arm each and dragged her out, ignoring Neil's calls.

Stupid Neil, Akshu thought. Dance party? Woh bhi yaha? Woh bhi Akdu-manyu ke hote huye? Please. He'll say no before Neil even approaches the question.

"No."

"Arre lekin-"

"No."

"Sunn toh lo-"

"No."

"Brooooo"

"No."

"You don't even know what I want!" Neil practically whined throwing himself on the couch.

"I know what you want." Abhi said, without looking up from his computer screen.

"What?"

"Something. From me. So no."

"Iwanttohaveachristmaspartyhere" Neil rushed out before Abhi could interrupt.

"Haan?" Abhi asked, confused.

"Haan?!" Neil beamed.

"Huh?"

"Haan! Haan! Haan!" laughing loudly Neil rushed out of his room before Abhi had the chance to stop him,  knocking Akshu over as she opened his office door. Abhi rushed over before she hit the floor, wrapping both arms firmly around her waist.

Neil who had raised his hands to catch her in surprised, grinned broadly. Ignoring Abhi's glare he made a heart with his hands and mouthed "enjoy" before running away. Abhi closed his eyes and mentally counted to ten before focusing on the girl in his arms. He had a sudden sense of deja vu. She had falled into his arms in this exact same way, the day they first met. 

However, where back then she had scrunched her eyes close in fright, right now they were bigger than ever before. A pretty pink blush stained her cheeks and a single lock of hair flew into her eyes, obstructing his view.

Shifting her weight so she was supported by his one arm around her waist, he moved the other hand to brush the offending strands away.

Time seemed to stand still and he was suddenly very aware of her breath mixing with his. Her small hand slid from where it had been on his shoulder to rest on his chest, fisting the fabric of his sweater.

Her eyes, those damning eyes of hers. They always took his breath away. The pain, the passion, the softness behind them. Her eyes had the power to enslave him. He sometimes honestly believed she had cast some sort of spell on him. A man like him, who spent his whole life rejecting the notion of love didn't just fall so deeply and so irrevocably in love out of the blue. It had to have taken divine intervention, a cosmic involvement. Some angel up there had pulled a string or stuck an arrow on his previously unbothered heart. She had tumbled into his life like a quiet hurricane, tilting the balance of his world. 

She was the peace he'd been craving all his life, even as she set his heart aflame. His carefully constructing control went spiraling down in her presence, and he didn't even mind. 

She wasn't just his love, she was his salvation. His ruination. His religion.

He fought against the urge to sink them both down to the ground and hide himself in her arms and instead carefully pulled her up.

He made sure she had her footing before reluctantly letting her go. He ached for the day he wouldn't have to remove his arms. The day he could pull her closer instead. But till then all he had was these stolen moments.

Damn, he might actually have to allow Neil to do whatever crazy thing he had planned as a reward.

Akshara walked into her house with a soft smile on her face, humming quietly to herself. Her family ceased whatever they were talking about and stared in amazement. 

She's singing again, they thought. They hadn't heard her sweet voice in what seemed like ages. When she was a child, the house had echoed with her songs. Almost every single member of the house had told her to stop singing at one point or another, unable to focus on their work or studies with the never ending music. Everyone but Kartik. Akshu was Kartik's little songbird, his lovely little Rockstar. 

Never had they regretted anything more than all the times they had told her to stop singing. Because after Kartik and Naira's death, she actually did stop singing. Forever, it had seemed. 

Until now.

Kairav hurriedly wiped Mimi's tears before Akshu could see them, knowing she'd stop singing the second she grew conscious of the fact that she was. Her trauma of their parent's death ran deeper than even he could understand, but he did know giving up music was a conscious decision on her part. No amount of cajoling had convinced her to pick up music again after their deaths. She still diligently cleaned and maintained her guitar, it was a gift from Naira, but she never played it.  She listened to the songs her Mumma Papa had danced, sung, or enjoyed when they were alive, but she never sang them. 

They'd all tried to help her, of course they had, but they had their own grief to deal with. And though all of them managed to move on from their beloved Kaira's untimely death, she never did.  As she grew, so did her anxiety. Akshu had been Kartik and Naira's precious princess, and they were her whole world. She buried herself in her textbooks, and hid in her room, shutting the world out. Kairav honestly felt their family had failed Akshu, himself included. 

They couldn't recognize the signs when they should have, and now it seemed to be too late. The bright, soulful songbird had died with Kartik and Naira. In its place was a shell of a person. A person who didn't enjoy music, a person who hid behind thick medicinal texts, a person who slowly faded against the backdrop of the huge Goenka family splendor.

They seem to lose a little more of her everyday, a little more of the last piece of Kartik and Naira left in this world.

Until now.

Kairav didn't know what or who was responsible for Akshu's healing. But he hoped to God whoever it is never leaves her side.

You didn't think I'd ignore Akshu's music and her relationship with Kaira did you? Please, its all these little nuances that make her Akshara Goenka, even in this alternate universe of mine. 

Its really hard to deal with grief, and sometimes family isn't enough to help you through it, no matter how big or how loving. Mental health is a flighty little thing and we can't always expect our elders to know just the thing you need to help you through it, specially when they themselves are dealing with grief. It often happens a child's traumas are left untreated and unacknowledged and often fester in dangerous ways.

I feel like the show hasn't really touched on Akshara mental health and trauma yet, but I intend to explore it as we go along with the story. This was just a little sneak peak, hope you guys liked it.

Do like and comment.

 Chapter 8 - Page 30