Chapter 9
But luckily I am the writer here and you people are good readers unlike me. 
Please bear with me for the remaining few chapters and if you are not satisfied with the end, I promise you a small alternative end branching from Chapter 7. Chapter 9
"Di", he said hopelessly and that was enough for her. She backed her against the wall and closed her eyes.
"I don't want to be just your husband. I want to be your friend, your lover, your husband, your pet, your guide, your punching bag, your teddy bear, your everything. I need your help for that. Will you help me?"
Was all this her imagination? How could it be? Suresh and Poorvi were also not true. But...
"Di" he said again and she could see that he was tensed as her.
"Purab..", she closed her eyes again and took a deep breath before continuing, "Can you do me a favour?"
"Tell me Di"
"Can you take me to a doctor? Probably a Psychiatrist?"
She was trying to control herself from crying.
"Doctor?", Purab was shocked as he still couldn't comprehend the situation completely but he didn't dare to ask his Di as she looked vulnerable.
"I imagined everything", she said trying to form a curve on her lips and went inside.
Purab began to understand Pragya's behaviour since he entered the apartment. He ran his fingers through his hair as reality struck him. What was he going to do?
"Di", he said as he went inside. She was sitting on the sofa with her face buried in her palms.
"Di", he said again as he went and knelt on the floor near hear. She looked up at him.
"I will you take you to a Psychiatrist tomorrow morning. It's too late now. Please sleep and we will go to the doctor. It will be the first thing in the morning"
She looked at him sadly and he knew that she couldn't sleep especially after knowing that she had been hallucinating.
"I will come back in few minutes", he said and went to the door. She enquired where was he going. He told her not to worry and he would be back in few minutes. She worried whether he would also not come back and be a part of her imagination.
"How could it happen? It felt so real. Why did I?", her thoughts were tormenting her.
She heard the door cracking open and it was Purab. He went straight to the kitchen and brought a glass of water and handed her a tablet along with water. He told her that it was just a sleeping pill and she took it. She went to her room and started sleeping in few minutes but Purab couldn't sleep. He was thinking what was he going to tell to Abhi, Maa and others if they ask him why didn't they reach Mumbai yet.
Just then his mobile phone ringed snapping him out of his thoughts. It was from Sarla Maa. She asked him about finding Pragya to which he replied he saw her. She then asked him to hand over the phone to Pragya. Sarla Maa was disappointed when Purab said she was sleeping. She asked him why didn't they come back to Mumbai yet. Purab had to tell something but he couldn't tell what actually happened at least not before consulting the doctor. He lied to Sarla Maa that Pragya had fever and that's why they postponed their return. Sarla Maa got worried but Purab assured that it was just a normal fever.
***
It was difficult to get his appointment as it must have been booked few days ago. But luckily Purab somehow managed get the city's most reputed Psychiatrist's appointment.
Pragya got seated in the backseat while Purab drove the car to the hospital. When they reached the hospital and were about to get down, his mobile phone ringed and the call was from Abhi. Purab stepped down from the car and attended the call.
"Hello"
"Hello Purab. Why are you guys not here yet? Daadi told me that you met her yesterday night. How is she? Is she fine? Give the phone to her"
"Abhi! Stop for a second. Pragya Di is fine. We are going to hospital. I will talk to you later."
"Hospital? Why? What happened?"
"Stop panicking"
"Tell me what is happening"
"Nothing Abhi. Pragya Di has fever. So we have to hospital. I will talk to you after consulting the doctor"
"Give the phone to her Purab"
Purab explained to him that Pragya was weak as she was having fever. Abhi pleaded Purab to give the phone to Pragya just for few seconds but Purab denied.
"Who was that Purab?", she asked.
"Nothing important Di. We will go inside. Doctor's appointment time is just 5 minutes away"
Purab and Pragya entered the doctor's cabin as the previous patient came out. Doctor asked Pragya about her problem. She told him about her imagining things.
"You are her?"
"Brother"
"Can you please wait outside?", the doctor asked politely and Purab came out and sat on a chair. It was Abhi's call again. Even before he could tell Hello, Abhi was asking him to give the phone to Pragya. Purab told him that she is with the doctor and Abhi was being worried even more. Purab couldn't continue his lies so he had to finally break the news to Abhi. A nurse came and told Purab not to use phones and Purab started walking to the reception.
Abhi couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Pragya was having hallucinations. Hallucinations about Me? What was the need? Was she so emotionally weak? But she could have just come back to me.", he thought.
Abhi told him that he wanted to meet her immediately and asked him to send her address in spite of Purab telling him that he would bring her to Mumbai after consulting the doctor. Purab ended the call after telling Abhi about Pragya's place. Suddenly there was a commotion and Purab stopped a ward boy to ask him what was happening. The ward boy informed him that a lady tried to jump from the second floor but thankfully, someone stopped her. The lady seemed to be mentally disturbed and suffering from depression.
His heart started beating erratically and he started sweating.
He didn't see Bulbul jumping off the cliff but the image of her jumping came before his eyes. "It couldn't be... No it can't be... She wouldn't think like that. But she was stressed and having hallucinations", his mind tortured him as ran to the second floor.
He was about to look at the girl whom the hospital staff were trying to control when he heard "Purab" in Pragya's voice.
"What are you doing here? I was searching for you outside the cabin.", she said and Purab felt relieved.
"Nothing Di"
"The doctor wanted to see you"
Purab went to the doctor's cabin and doctor told him that Pragya was highly stressed and depressed. When the doctor asked him the reason, Purab told him that she left her family and was staying here alone. He prescribed some medications for her and told him to take care of her. The doctor had asked them to come after 2 weeks to monitor whether her progress.
***
"Di, I will park the car and come
Pragya climbed the stairs to her apartment and when she entered the corridor, he was standing. Her husband.
"Not again", she thought feeling helpless. She closed her eyes for a second hoping that he wouldn't be there when she opened. She kept telling herself that it was all happening inside her head. But he looked so real. So did he the last time. He had tears welled up in his eyes and walked towards her as she was taking every step very slowly.
No words were spoken by him. He hugged and squeezed her as if he didn't want her to get even a cm away from him. She couldn't think about her imaginations after that. It felt real and she wanted to cherish that moment even if it wasn't real.
She heard Purab's steps coming from the stairs and quickly left him. She didn't want Purab to look at her hugging vacant space. Purab came near both of them and stood silently. She was puzzled as Purab's eyes were fixed on Abhi.
But that means...? How could he see?
"Do you see him Purab?", she asked in confusion.
Abhi understood the extent of her state now and tears started flowing down his cheek. He hugged her again.
"I am always with you. You don't need to imagine me", he said giving her a bone-crushing hug and kissing her forehead.
***
He was behaving weird. He took Purab alone to the balcony and talked to him for more than 15 minutes. Pragya could see that they were having arguments about something but she couldn't hear their conversation. After the conversation, Purab said he was leaving to Mumbai.
"Didn't Purab tell that he will take me to Mumbai with him? But now he is saying that he is going alone? Why is that?"
After Purab left the place, Abhi sat silently on the sofa in the living room. She was emotionally vulnerable. She was still unable to believe that all those conversations with Abhi was not real. But it was and she was trying to accept it.
"When are we going back to Mumbai?", she asked him.
"You are not going back to Mumbai", he said sternly.
"You? What did he mean by 'you'?", she wondered. Her head was already spinning and his words were making it worse.
It took her few minutes to realize what Abhi was going to do. He was right in telling that she wasn't going to Mumbai because he came to Pune to stay with her. Both of them went to Mumbai to see their family the next Sunday. Maa was more than happy to see her daughter back and happy tears flew down Daadi's cheeks as Pragya entered the Mehra Mansion. The house looked full of life and the day she went to MM, it was more like a festival. He convinced Maa, Daadi and others that she couldn't resign her job as it was the middle of semester and it wouldn't be fair for the students if she resigned her job. He told her that they need not share her problem with them as it would make them worried and it was what she thought too.
Daadi didn't like the idea of Pragya staying alone in Pune and Maa also had the same opinion. That's when her Daadi came into play. She teasingly suggested that Abhi should shift to Mumbai until the semester got over. Abhi who already had the idea on mind gripped it tightly and proudly said he would do anything for his wife.
After few minutes of teasing Abhi and Pragya, everyone came to the conclusion that Abhi and Pragya would stay in Pragya's flat in Pune till the next semester.
***
"From now onwards, I am your friend and don't hesitate to ask me anything. At your service", he said bowing down and for a minute, she feared whether she started hallucinating again. She slowly extended her hand and touched his nose.
"Suniye...", she called him as he seemed to be frozen.
"Suniye!", this time she was terrified.
He slowly picked her hand and touched his nose again with his finger.
"You should un-pause if I should talk", he said smiling.
"It was just a pause button but you acted like you were playing 'statue' game", she explained him innocently and he couldn't stop laughing.
***
He looked after her like a child. When she was afraid to go to college, he gave her the confidence. He reminded her that she was a good Professor all these days and her emotional disturbance didn't affect her career. He was with his guitar when she was in college. She was feeling bad that he was staying with her leaving everything else including his family and music behind in Mumbai. But she never told him that for he had put so much effort to make her happy. He never let her be idle. He would make her read books and if she told him that she was bored of it, she would order a dozen of new books hoping that she would like at least one of them. Once Purab brought his guitar, he started singing songs for her. He even tried cooking. Well, the cooking attempt ended in a disaster but it's the thought that counts, right? In the beginning, she used to scare him by saying that she saw him in the other room just a second ago. But she was getting better gradually with her hallucinations vanishing except that one day where she woke up screaming "Purvi". It must have been a bad dream, she thought.
***
"These drugs they make me so sleepy that sometimes I end up sleeping at my desk in the staff room", she said one day after boarding his car.
"We will talk to the doctor in the next appointment", he said helping her put on her seat belt.
He started asking her about her day at college everyday while they travelled home in his car. He was all ears when she talked. But it was unusual of him to listen to her silently. She wondered why he wasn't replying or teasing her.
It had been 2 weeks and they were at the hospital for the follow-up. The doctor chatted with her about her everyday life for some time to know whether she was having any hallucinations then. He then told them that she was doing good but they should continue the drugs as she still had some symptoms of being depressed.
He was always with her but she didn't feel him being comfortable around her. There was something amiss but she couldn't find out what was that. She thought that may be her condition was affecting him and prayed god that she should get well faster at least for his sake.
***
There was no morning alarm as it was a Sunday making her wake up late. It was strange that she didn't see him sleeping next to her as he didn't have the habit of waking up early on Sundays. But then she didn't see him in the room. She searched for him in the living room and kitchen too. He wasn't there. Then she heard talking to someone and went to the balcony.
"What? Okay. It's okay Purab. You need not try to console me. I am alright. I", he stopped as he felt her presence behind him.
"What happened?", she asked him.
"Nothing important. Just some trivial issue in office", he replied.
"Are you sure it's trivial?"
"Are you planning to spend your Sunday in asking me questions? Come-on get me my morning coffee", he pushed her into the kitchen.
***
It was the 3rd visit to the doctor and the doctor told them that she was perfectly alright and she may stop taking the medications.
"Shall we go out for dinner?", she asked happily as they were driving to their apartment. The fact that she could stop taking the medications made her happier than she already was due to Abhi's presence.
He didn't reply.
"Suniye"
"Huh? Did you ask me something? Dinner... You talked about dinner na?", he asked her.
"I asked about going out for dinner"
"Sure. We will go", he replied and smiled at her.
Somehow she couldn't find genuineness in his smile.
"Are you hiding something from me?", she asked. He told her that she started over thinking again and he was just feeling happy for her. They reached their apartment and had their lunch together. After lunch, he hurriedly got his car keys and told her that something important came up but he would be back soon. Seeing the question on her face, he replied that he would be back before dinner and asked her to be ready.
She wore his favourite red Saree that he had gifted her before his love confession and got ready for dinner. It was already 9 pm and he hadn't arrived yet. She thought of calling him but then stopped as he mentioned the word important' before going. Of course, he wouldn't have made her wait if it wasn't something important and unavoidable. Her eyes were fixed on the door that was open expecting him to enter any moment.
Her phone in the bedroom rang and she quickly rushed to attend the call hoping that it was from him. But it was from Maa. She chatted with Maa and her Daadi for few minutes before drifting into sleep.
Something was crushing her and as soon as she opened her eyes, she realized she was supposed to be waiting for him but she was sleeping. She tried to see the time on the wall clock but it was not clear. She reached out for her glasses but it was so difficult as if she was glued to her bed. She finally got her glasses and checked the time. It was 12 pm.
He didn't come yet. Where is...
It was him. He was sleeping besides her and his arm was around her waist not letting her move. It was strange because the last time they were sleeping like this was when he came to her flat for the first time. The night when she let tears wet his chest silently and he assured her that everything would be right. After that, she had never slept this close to him even though they shared the same bed. Thanks to her medications, they made her sleep as soon as she lied down on the bed all those days. She got scared for a second whether she started imagining again but his embrace felt so real. "So did it at that moment too", her mind contradicted her belief. Finally, she remembered the doctor's words that she was alright.
"Uff.. He must have come and saw me sleeping. So he didn't wake me up. I should have been awake", she thought as she was disappointed with herself.
But there was something else. She knew that smell.
"Is he drunk? But Why? Weren't we supposed to go out for dinner? Then why did he come home drunk?"
She knew waking up him at that moment wouldn't give her the right answers. He was already drunk and from his face, she could tell that he wasn't happily drunk and there was something bothering him. So she decided to let the night pass and enquire him about that the next day.
She woke up early that day. She decided that she should take a day off and talk with Abhi as his uneasiness had been increasing day by day.
"You didn't go to college yet?", he asked her as he heard cooking noises in the kitchen.
"I took a day off"
"Why?", he asked confused.
"To talk"
"About"
"You"
"What's there to talk about me?", he paused for a second and then understood that she was trying to talk about him being drunk the previous night.
"Sorry Pragya. I went to a party yesterday..."
She stopped him before he could continue his lie by telling him not to lie her.
"I really went to a party"
"So that important thing was going to party?"
He turned away as he couldn't find arguments in support of his lie. She made him face her and asked him to tell her what was the matter.
"It was an important deal. The meeting didn't go well."
"I have never seen you so upset over a deal. Was that a very important deal?", she asked concerned.
"Not important than our dinner. But I spoiled it"
"No, you didn't. I just wish that you could have shared it with me instead of relying on drinks to reduce your sadness"
"I am sorry", he whispered sincerely.
***
"So this is what you were hiding from me?", she asked him showing him a newspaper. He snatched the newspaper and read the title of the article that she was showing. He crushed the paper and threw it away but it was late as she had read it already.
He told her not to think about the article and added that being a celebrity's wife she should know to ignore these kinds of news.
"Why didn't you tell me?", she asked.
"I didn't want to bother you"
She was trying to control her tears not because she didn't want to cry in front of him. If there was one person she could cry her heart out, it was him but she didn't want to be weak in front of him especially after knowing that.
I am waiting to read your opinions guys. Please do pour in your thoughts :)
Your reaction
Nice
Awesome
Loved
LOL
OMG
Cry
Comments (0)