Chapter 3
Arnav feels himself being lifted into the air. He feels the soft cloth of the stretcher beneath him. Beside him, two other rescue workers check on his hazel eyed boy. They decide to send him to the local hospital in the town, and Arnav to the Dehradun hospital. The boy isn't important, Arnav Singh Raizada is.
Arnav opens his eyes with some effort. "The boy comes with me" he rasps. The rescuers look at each other. They look at the bleeding boy and his near dead guardian. They quickly agree.
Arnav feels himself bring moved. He closes his eyes, and lets his mind slip into unconsciousness.
* * *
Khushi is running late. It had taken a while to calm the women down. With a frustrated sigh, she clips her hair into a lose knot. She runs down the stairs, checking her purse for loose change, her credit cards, chequebooks, tickets and phone. The miniature statue of Devi Maiyya nestles deeper into the bag. Khushi touches it. She tries to draw strength.
NK guns the ignition and they take off at breakneck speed. She clutches the Devi Maiyya statue, and closes her eyes. She is afraid.
They have entered the highway. It is still very dark. She mutters a "Devi Maiyya raksha-" before NK cuts her off with a shout. She looks ahead, right into the white glaring headlights of a truck heading for her. NK tries to swerve the car. Khushi wonders if this is how her parents felt when they died. She wonders if she will die as well.
Her mind then takes her to her husband, fighting for his life. "Not now please" she whispers. NK swerves the car in a final attempt to save them. Khushi closes her eyes, and submits herself to Devi Maiyya.
* * *
Arnav opens his eyes, to be hit by glaring white of the ceiling. He realises that he is being moved. He also realises that he is in a hospital.
They quickly wheel him into the ICU. The nurse starts prepping him for surgery. Arnav's breath drags out of his mouth.
Arnav thinks of his wife. He needs to give her a message. How, he wonders.
"Nurse?" he rasps. "My wife will come ... I know she will. When she does. Tell her there is a child in the hospital called Khush. He has hazel eyes ... tell her about the child please. She'll know what to do"
"Mr. Raizada I-?"
"Please?" he gasps.
"How will I recognise her?" she asks finally, while fitting needles onto the syringe.
The doctors enter the room. She quickly injects the drug into his body. "She'll be the most beautiful woman in the whole wide world" he slurs. The nurse smiles and nods. Arnav slips into oblivion.
* * *
Khushi opens her eyes. They are alive. A white-faced NK drives the car. They have 45 minutes to catch the flight. They will make it in time.
Soon, the lights of the airport twinkle and glitter into the horizon. Khushi clutches her purse, her hand is already on the latch of the door. Khushi bolts out of the car and runs to the airport gate. Behind her, NK closes his eyes, and rests his forehead on the steering wheel. "Have a safe journey" he says softly into the empty car. Silently, he starts the car and drives off.
2 Hours Later...
Khushi stumbles into the reception area. She asks for directions to her husband. She walks quickly to the ICU. She reaches outside the operation theatre and sees that the light above the door is red. She peers through the window. The doctors crowd her husband. She realises that she has not much to do. She walks back to a chair and collapses on it.
She feels a tap on his shoulder. She turns to see a nurse looking at her. "Jee?" she asks. "Mrs. Raizada?" the nurse questions back. "Yes?" Khushi says, irritably.
"I ... I have a message for you ... from your husband"
* * *
The doctor bangs his hand on the table. He has done everything in his power to save him. The bleeding doesn't stop.
"Something ..." the doctor mutters. "There's something we don't know"
"Doctor?"
"Why is this guy bleeding?" he mutters. "Check him for injuries again"
"Doctor we've done that already. There's nothing"
"I've been a doctor for 30 years, and I'm gonna be damned if I leave a man to die on a table. Check him again."
"Right doctor"
The doctor turns back to check something. The intern frowns behind his mask, and proceeds to do as he is told.
* * *
Khushi looks at the nurse. She feels oddly light. Like a balloon, floating in the summer air. She is not in the hospital anymore. She feels light headed and weak.
"The boy" Khushi says.
"Mrs. Raizada, he has survived the surgery. He is sleeping right now. With physiotherapy, he should be heading for a full recovery. But ..."
"But?"
"He is an orphan. We cross checked references, since Mr. Raizada expressed a personal interest. He ... He is an orphan"
"Not anymore" Khushi says. Glances are exchanged. The message is received.
The nurse walks away quickly. Khushi sits down on the chair, only to stand up again. The light above the ICU turns green, and the door swishes open. The wait is over,
* * *
Khushi steps into the clean room. She winces at the sight of the cuts on his face and at his heavily bandaged leg. "Khushi" he says. Thick, pearly tears fall from her eyes. She walks to him. He buries his head in her hair. "You scared me" she mumbles. "Sorry."
Khushi grabs the stool and drags it next to the bed. She puts her head down on the side on the bed. Arnav raises his hands and runs it through her hair. It is a happy silence, the silence that ensues after you escape a mad axe murderer. Happy, just to be there.
"The child" she says. Arnav looks at her. "I suppose the adoption papers are ready?" She smiles. "You know me too well Arnavji" she says.
"Why?" she asks after sometime. "He has hazel eyes. Just like yours." He answers. "Kya baat hai Laad Governor, after all this time?" He looks solemnly down to her eyes, his hand cupping her cheek
"Always"
The End
The lines in red are, as most may have recognised, from Harry Potter.
This update is dedicated to all you lovely readers. I do hope this is happy enough an ending for you all. Thank you so much for reading this story of mine, and keeping me company on this short but incredibly beautiful journey. You all humble me, with your amazing comments. Sacchi mucchi :)
Till we meet again.
-Vee
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