Words of Silence: PAGE 202 Oct 25 2006 - Page 3

Faith Cruz beamed at the blue eyed newborn, who smiled back at her. She awed as he placed his tiny hands in his small mouth and then threw them back at his sides. Finally after watching him for a few more seconds she picked him up in her arms and took her to the bed and laid him down beside his mother.

"He's adorable!" She exclaimed, kissing his tiny hand. She looked at the mother now and checked her pulse. "You're fine, and so is your little one. You guys take care and I will be back to check on the both of you tomorrow." She looked at the blue eyed cutie once more and then ambled out the room.

Before going back to home, Faith stopped her car in front of a beautiful building made with glass.

She opened the door to Rishab Richand's cabin and glanced around the room. "Rishab," She slowly called him. When no one replied she turned to leave, crashing into a solid something. "Oh hell," She murmured under her breath and then looked up at Rishab. "Sorry!"

Rishab smiled at her, "its ok. Come in." Faith followed him in and they sat down across each other. "So, Ms. Cruz, how's your married life going?"

She gleamed, "Great actually. Jason really loves me a lot." Faith sighed as she thought about her dream man, and their marriage. She was distracted when Rishab laughed under his breath. She looked at him a scowled. "Gosh! Stop it. How do you know what it feels like to be in love?" She fluttered his pretty lashes at him.

Rishab Richand leaned back in his chair and brought his hand together in front of him. "I know what it feels like to be in love Faith." He leaned into his sleek glass desk and ran his fingers over her picture. "But I don't know what it feels like to get when one is loved back." He looked back at Faith and then stood up and walked to the window.

"Oh Rishab," Faith walked up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You should tell her." He felt her not so strong hand squeeze his arm. "It won't harm, trust me."

"I know Faith. It won't hurt me. She doesn't love me, she's never loved me. I'm her idol, a friend and that's it. That's it." He turned around and smiled at Faith. "Now if Jason wouldn't have proposed to you, I would have for sure! But unlucky me!"

Faith didn't smile back at him. "Make sure Jason never hears that, and stop joking. You can't hide those tears Rishab, it doesn't matter how hard you try."

Rishab hugged Faith, "It's not my fault your best friend always makes me cry, it's not my fault I love her so much."

Faith pulled away from him and wiped his tears, and then she turned around and gazed at the beautiful paintings on the wall, then at her picture lying on his desk. "Rishab your pain, your agony, is nothing compared to what she is going through." Faith paused, making sure she wouldn't cry. "What she has already gone through. She's been like a living corps for almost six months now." She turned around and smiled sadly. "That's why I'm telling you to tell her now. It won't hurt anyone, not her not you."

Rishab just sighed. "I don't know why she did this to herself."

Before Faith could reply she heard her phone buzz. Of course her sweet husband was waiting for her to come home. "Well, make sure you go check on her tonight, Jason and I went this morning. And, just tell her." Faith kissed his cheek and gave him a tight, comforting hug. "Now no tears," She wiped them for him and then left his office like a quick gust of wind.

Faith knew Rishab for a very long time now. He was her first boyfriend, and now his third best friend. Of course she was first and Jason was second.

She was the most important person in so many lives. She valued everything for everyone. But for her, there was only one person. Who left her, and she allowed him to live. She had lived her best and worst days with him. And, now she was living her worst days without him.

Faith fished the keys out of her purse and quietly opened the door and stepped inside the dark house. She was amazed that Jason wasn't already yelling at her. She looked around the dark place to spot him but he was no where. She placed her hand on the phone when someone held her hand.

"You've been crying again?" He whispered in her ear.

Faith quickly turned around and embraced her husband. "I will kill that man if I ever meet him again, I will kill him!"

"It wasn't just his fault Faith. She shouldn't have done what she did. She knew it was coming, she knew what his reality was; she knew everything then why did she start dreaming for something she already knew she would never get?"

Faith stepped out of his embrace, "Jason, he promised her so many things. And she was living, actually living for someone for the first time!" Faith yelled at him as angry tears ran down her eyes. "He did so much to her and still she doesn't blame him."

"She can't blame him, Faith! There is not way she can blame him. He made everything clear to her right in the beginning. She was living in denial."

Faith looked at Jason, "She deserved happiness."

"Wrong! She still deserves happiness. She has to move on, put she has purposely put herself in a position that hurts her and everyone else." Jason took a deep breath, he knew how Faith felt about her, he knew no matter how much he tried to explain to her she wouldn't understand.

Faith just turned around not wanting to face Jason at the moment. "I need a moment alone, Jason. Please."

Jason walked behind her and placed his arm around her shoulders. "Look Faith, I'm sorry. I know you're right but only to a point. You need a moment alone, fine. I'll wait for you in the dinning room." He kissed her cheek and left her alone.

Faith stood against the wall and closed her eyes as her past flashed through her mind once again.

***

Rishab stopped his car in front of Kaiser Permanente and took a deep breath before stepping out of his car. It was a chill evening for it to be a August evening in Southern California, but then again, for the past three or perhaps four years, nothing had been going right in her life, and nor in his life. Things were upside down. But today, as Rishab walked down the hospital's corridors he felt like things might be turning around. Maybe after so many years everything will settle down, but then the word 'maybe' threw everything off.

The nurses, and doctors recognized now Mr. Rishab Richand a lawyer, and about six years age, Dr. Rishab Richand. He had worked at this Riverside hospital for almost two years with her, before giving up practice and deciding he wanted to become an attorney. Why he did such a thing? Well, no one knows, not even him. At the time it was almost like he was tired to seeing patients' everyday and telling them what was, or perhaps sometimes, what wasn't wrong with them.

Today, he enjoyed fighting in a court room, and seeing someone guilty being punished. Rishab practiced both Criminal and Business Law today. He was still taking classes to ear his PhD in law.

Almost four years ago when he had told her about going into Law, she was astounded to hear that he wanted to make such a major change in his life. And, somewhere she was sure it was a mistake. She thought that everything that happened against her thinking was a mistake. It had hurt her every time when she fell on the floor, and hard. Reality was always shocking.

Kripa Kapoor had been in this room, of this hospital for the past eight months, laying in coma.