SS:: Towards a new start(AnSh) Pt C Pg 5(updt) - Page 3

Shiv's face drained color as he saw the name flashing on the screen. Anandi surely noticed the change. In order to give him some privacy anandi stepped out of the jeep and told him that she would be waiting for him in the meeting room. As she moved forward she was greeted by bheem singh who had reached a few minutes earlier as his bike didn't break down on the way.

BS: anandi ji sir kahan hain?

Anandi looked back. Shiv was still on phone. He looked hurt and angry.

"woh phone pe baat kar rahe hain bheem singh ji…hum chalte hain collector sahib aa jayenge"

BS nodded and they moved ahead to the meeting room. After 15 minutes Shiv arrived. This time he looked much more distressed.

The meeting started and most of the time Anandi took the lead and discussed on Shiv's behalf. All this appeared really surprising to anandi knowing the kind of professional he is. After an hour the meeting was wrapped. Bheem singh told Shiv that food had been arranged for them in the dining area.

Anandi didn't want to eat. She now wanted to go home. These days she had been feeling so low that staying away from home even for a few hours made her feel restless and sick in the stomach. But she didn't want to create a fuss over food. She knew if she won't eat then Shiv too will leave the food and he had to drive for another couple of hours so it was important for him to eat. So Anandi asked Shiv and bheem singh to move to the dining area and she will join them shortly. Bheem singh went to look after the food arrangements. Shiv slowly walked to the dining area. He looked lost and hurt. It seemed as if he was into some deep thoughts. Reaching the dining area he slipped himself into a chair as he constantly looked at his phone waiting for someone's call. Within a few seconds a waiter came in and kept three plates of food on the table. After a few minutes both Anandi and BS arrived and the three of them started eating. Anandi stole a glance at Shiv while he was still lost into some random thoughts. He hadn't finished even a single chapatti. He hardly ate. He was not even looking at what was he was eating and his eyes were stuck on his phone. But anandi decided not to ask him anything as it was his personal matter. So she quietly continued to eat her food.

Suddenly after a few seconds Shiv began to cough badly. Anandi is left shocked to see him like that. She couldn't understand what was happening to him. Within seconds Shiv became all sweaty and he panted badly. He had runny eyes and nose and he coughed severely. BS quickly browsed through Shiv's plate and was shocked to see that the waiter had by mistake put one matar roti in his plate. Bheem singh screamed out of panic.

A:Kya hua bheem singh ji?sab theek hai na??ye kya ho raha hai collector sahib ko?(anandi said in a panicky tone as she rubbed shiv's back to calm him down)

BS:Kuch bhi theek nahin hai anandi ji...sir ne galti se matar ki roti kha li hai. Aur unhe matar se allergy hai.

Anandi is left shocked to see that pea prantha in his plate. She feels helpless seeing Shiv's deteriorating state. She is constantly trying to talk to Shiv in order to keep him awake."Collector sahib aap theek hain na...plss collector sahib apni aanken khole rakhiye" she kept on murmuring while rubbing his hands trying to keep him awake. But Shiv loses consciousness that made anandi all the more scared. BS calls for medical help from the hotel staff and they shift him to a room.

Anandi is eagerly waiting for the doctor to arrive. She keeps on sprinkling water on his face but he doesn't respond that makes her more tensed. Now even some blisters had come on his hands that made anandi feel too worried. Finally the doc arrives and starts checking Shiv. Anandi is looking at Shiv with a worried look in her eyes. She never thought she could feel so tensed for him. May be bcoz she had never seen him in such a vulnerable state. She had this habit of seeing him all strong and authoritative. But today was so different. Already he was so depressed since morning and now this allergy. Anandi could feel a wave of tension overpowering her senses. The feeling was so new for her. But she ignored it as quickly as she realized it.

A:doctor sahib sab theek hai na?

Doc: dekhiye jaisa ki aapne bataya ki inhein pea se allergic reaction hua hai...so I think ki inhein immediately antidote medicines deni hongi. But the problem is ki he is unconscious aur agar inhein hosh aa bhi jata hai to ye mun se medicines nahin le payenge.He will pass that out. So i think it will be better to keep him on IV for a night. Hum sari medicines usi mein inject kar denge.

Anandi was feeling tensed now as acc to the doc they would have to spend the entire night in jaipur only. But as of now all this seemed secondary to her in front of Shiv's health. How much she might wish to avoid being with him but obviously she couldn't leave him alone in such a state.

A:aapko jo bhi theek lage doctor sahib aap waise hi kijiye.

Now the doctor made the arrangements for keeping Shiv on drip. As the doc rolled up his sleeve Anandi noticed that red blisters had come on his whole arm. Anandi flinched seeing them. The doctor cleaned a spot on Shiv's arm and inserted a needle through his vein to put the IV line. Shiv winced in pain as the needle pierced through his skin. Anandi tightly grabbed his hand to avoid any commotion. She softly massaged his arm trying to calm him down. She remembered how Shiv had once mentioned about his fear of needles and she ensured him that she won't take him to a doctor where he will get injected. But today she had no choice. She felt really bad seeing him like this. Now the doctor injected a few medicines in the saline itself. He told anandi to keep a watch at his temperature as there were chances of him getting high fever due to the allergic reaction. Also the doc gave anandi an ointment for the blisters that had appeared on his body. He left the room and arranged for a nurse to timely put medicines in the drip.

As the doc left Anandi enquired BS whether he was able to contact someone in jetsar or not as the mobile network had gone down and there was no way they could inform anyone. BS replied in denial. Anandi couldn't understand how to inform at her home that she will not be able to come back before tomorrow morning. Finally thinking a lot about it Anandi had only one solution that bheem singh should drive all the way to jetsar and inform everyone. But then how would they go back home tomorrow morning? Surely Shiv was not in a state to drive. So BS ensured her that he will be back by morning to pick them up. BS took anandi's leave and moved out. Now Anandi was all alone with Shiv in that hotel room.

As she came back to the room, Anandi felt tiredness and tension dwelling upon her. She gave into the chair beside shiv and for a while kept on silently looking at his face. All the memories right from the time when he saved her, when she came to know that he is jetsar's new collector, his dinner at the haveli, the way he saved her at jyoti's wedding, how he arranged that video chat with Sumitra everything flashed in front of her eyes like some transitions of a movie. Whether she liked it or not, but surely Shiv had made for himself, an important place in her life. A place she never realized was empty. Never till he came! But somehow anandi's conscious mind was not in a state to accept all this. She was sort of scared to bridge this gap between what her gut feeling said and what her mind registered and accepted. She was in a total denial towards Shiv. What all she could acknowledge as of now was the mere fact that he was a good human being and she respected him for that.

"How could I be so rude with such a nice person? I know collector sahib is not like other ppl. He is a good human being and he always treats me with respect. I know he was wrong at his place in agreeing for the marriage but still I should have at least heard his pov. Bapusa was right…if it would have been someone else then he would have insulted me back but collector sahib understood my feelings...he understood my pain. I just hope he recovers soon." Anandi thought to herself.

After a while Anandi checked his forehead for temperature and as the doc had told it was burning with fever. Anandi quickly arranged for some ice and kept a cold ice-soaked cloth on his forehead. She informed the nurse about the high temperature who then pushed a few more injections in his IV feed to counteract the same.

By the morning his fever had almost subsided. Its 7 o clock when Shiv begins to gain some consciousness. He has become very weak and pale. As he tries to get up the nurse comes and asks him if he needed anything.

"Anandi" Shiv said with sigh.

His eyes searched for Anandi as he couldn't understand what happened last night.

Nurse: Woh abhi aati hi hongi. Actually woh poori raat se jag rahi thi isiliye thoda fresh hone gayi hain. Aap rest kijiye woh abhi aa jayengi.

Shiv didn't understand much about what happened last night but one thing he surely knew that he was sick and Anandi was by his side whole night. He felt an unexplained happiness dwelling upon him. Somehow being sick is one of the most vulnerable states a human being can be in and having the one you love the most by your side during this period of vulnerability can be the most satisfactory feeling in the world.

As Shiv is lost in his thoughts Anandi enters the room. He is left mesmerised seeing her. Though she looked tired and stressed but that didn't diminish her beauty even a bit.

A:ab aap kaisa feel kar rahe hain collector sahib?

Sh: Aapko dekhkar I feel much better(Shiv whispered to himself)…I mean ab main theek hoon. Par ye sab? I mean what happened?

A:Woh actually aapne galti se matar ki roti kha li thi aur uski wajah se hi aapko reaction ho gaya. Doctor ne kaha ki aap medicines orally nahin le payenge isiliye IV pe rakha hai. But don't worry doctor thodi der mein aake isse hata denge. Phir hum jetsar wapas ja sakte hain.

Shiv nodded to anandi.

After a few minutes the doc arrived. He checked on shiv and took all his vital signs which were all normal by this time. So he removed the IV and asked anandi to feed him something light before leaving. BS too had arrived by then with the jeep. Anandi asked BS to wait for another hour so that Shiv can eat something as per the doctor's advice.

A: collector sahib aap rest kijiye main abhi aayi…bheem singh ji aap mere saath challenge…mujhe aapki help chahiye.

BS: zaroor anandiji chaliye na.Sir hum abhi aate hain aap tab tak aaram se rest kariye.

As they left Shiv grinned at bheem singh's advice coz literally Shiv hated being bed-ridden. His every morning began with his rigorous exercise routine and he so used to hate it whenever he fell sick coz his mom always used to push him under the blankets, create fuss over what he should eat and what not and be all paranoid over his illness. But for the first time he missed all that concern. He missed his mom beside him. He so needed her . There was so much happening in his life atm that he just wished to keep his head in her lap and get free from all the thoughts that sort of choked his mind.

After a few minutes anandi arrived back with bheem singh. She had brought some food for Shiv. Seeing the dish on the platter shiv made a face. It was khichdi!

"khichdi??"Shiv exclaimed looking at anandi.

BS:sir ye sirf khichdi nahin hai…ye anandi ji ke haath ki khichdi hai! Unhon ne khud banai hai aapke liye.

Anandi gave BS a stern look. He understood it would be better for him to be quiet.

A:collector sahib doctor ne kaha hai ki aapko kuch light khana chahiye aur yahan hotel mein to aisa kuch bhi nahin milta. Yahan to sirf aapko pizza, burger ya phir paranthe milnge…Isliye maine…

Even before anandi could complete a lil smile flashed on shiv's lips. Even though just for the sake of kindness, but at least she cared for him. That meant even though she didn't love him but didn't hate him too. Shiv's insides jumped a bit realizing it.

"that's so sweet of you anandi ji. But problem ye hai ki mujhe khichdi…I mean mujhe pasand hai but itni zyaada nahin" Shiv lied gracefully.

Anandi couldn't believe at his childishness. He was such a kid when unwell. "Surely his mother had to baby sit him whenever he'd fall ill" Anandi thought to herself.

"collector sahib humein jetsar ke liye jaldi nikalna hai…ghar par sab chinta kar rahe honge…pls ab jaldi se kha likjiye"Anandi said in a strict tone this time.She surely knew how to make him do certain things.

Shiv nodded hesitantly and took one small bite of it. He was sure he would pass it out as he hated khichdi like anything. But to his surprise he actually liked the taste of it. Though it wasn't as delicious as the other delicacies anandi cooked but surely it was easily edible. And even appreciable.

Sh: anandi ji I cant believe ki khichdi ka taste aisa bhi ho sakta hai. I mean really maine aisi khichdi kabhi nahin khayi..aapne to itni boring dish ko bhi tasty bana diya.

Anandi felt a bit awkward at his complement. She didn't know how to react so she decided to remain silent while Shiv quietly ate the khichdi without making any protest. As he finished eating he ordered BS to pay the bills of the hotel and take out the jeep. BS handed him the fresh shirt he had brought for him and followed the suite.

"collector sahib main neeche jeep ke paas hoon…aap change karke aa jaiye" Anandi spoke to him without making much eye contact and left the room.

About twenty minutes passed since anandi had been waiting for him but he didn't show up. Anandi now had begun to become restless."Why is he taking so much time?" anandi thought to herself but surely didn't have the courage to knock at the door and ask. BS too had vanished somewhere. The guard at the parking lot said that he took the jeep somewhere. May be for fuel refilling. Anandi couldn't decide what to do and whose help to take. But now with the passing time her restlessness transformed into worry."IS he ok? what if the reaction had relapsed and he had fainted again?" the thoughts made anandi all the more edgy. Finally when she saw that it had been hour since he had been changing a shirt, she knocked at the door.

"collector sahib aap theek hain na" anandi whispered in an uncomfortable tone.

But there was no response from the other side. Anandi felt worried now. She knocked the door more fiercely this time. After a few seconds the door opened. But Shiv stood a bit far facing his back at anandi. It seemed as if he had opened the door but ran off to the corner to face his back at the person coming in.

A(confused):kya hua collector sahib? aapne itni der kyun laga di?

Sh:anandi ji kya aap pls do minute bheem singh ko bula sakti hain?

A:par hua kya bataiye to sahi.

Sh:pls anandiji jaisa main kah raha hoon waisa hi kijiye.

A:par bheem singh ji yahan nahin hain…woh jeep mein petrol dalwane gaye hain.

Shiv silently cursed bheem singh for being so careless and stupid.

A:collector sahib aap pls bataenge ki problem kya hai?

Shiv didn't speak anything.Anandi felt irritated at him now.Why was he wasting time like this? She just wanted to be home asap. Anandi moved closer to shiv and turned him around.

"collector sahib hua kya hai bataiye to sahi" anandi spoke in a trice and suddenly realized what was the problem. Actually shiv couldn't tuck the buttons of his shirt properly. He hadn't tucked the upper ones and tucked the lower ones wrongly. And now he pressed the spot on his right arm where the IV had been put. His shirt stained blood at the spot. Anandi understood what the problem was. He surely would have tried to act his usual superhero self and tuck the buttons forcibly even though his hand being hurt. That's what made him bleed. Anandi felt a sense of acute embarrassment as she couldn't understand what to do.

"I'll call someone to help you out..." anandi spoke in a shrill tone while looking away. She called the room service but no one did respond. Anandi called again and finally, this time much to her relief someone spoke at the other side.

A:excuse me can you pls send someone to room no. 404…we needed some help
.

Person at the other side:mam I am very sorry I wont be able to send anyone for the next hour as the rajasthan governor has arrived at the hotel and almost all the staff is busy looking after him and his guests.

Anandi kept the receiver down and told shiv what she had been informed. Now there was no option left. Shiv began to help himself out again but he couldn't do it and winced in pain. Seeing him like this Anandi held his hand.

"Stop!Let me do it" anandi said looking down. She moved closer to him and began to unbutton the ones that had been wrongly done. For the whole time anandi kept looking down but Shiv's gaze was stuck on her. He could feel her hands moving close to his heart as she tucked his chest button. Shiv sighed within while anandi's face almost resembled a deep red tomato. Completing the job anandi backed off and constantly looked downwards.Shiv felt guilty for making her feel so embrrassed. So he decided not to talk with her atm. facing away from her he acted to browse though his phone and act all indifferent when suddenly anandi broke the silence between them.

"collector sahib aapse ek baat poochun"

"ji??"

"aap to hamesha itna sawdhan aur alert rehte hain…phir kal aisa kya hua ki appko apni plate mein woh roti dikhi bhi nahin?aap to har khatre ko door se hi bhanp lete hain phir kal kya hua collector sahib" Anandi's question once again put shiv into the pool of thoughts he had been running from.

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