Walk on with your head held high. Steady when your past passes by.
And like the moon turns the tide, a new hope will dry your eyes."
-Unknown
I just love this quote! ^ sorry, that was random, but it's kind of really relevant to this chapter. See if you can find the connection. And thank you so much for the replies of the last chapter. I'm not usually the kind of person who demands a specific number of pages of reviews before I update next, but please, please comment. I simply lap them up!
Chapter 3
The sky stretched past the horizon-- a beautiful shade of orange and pink, like a large canvas mirroring its colour on the interminable, splashing waves of the sea. The clouds hung low, like little puffs of cotton candy, a serene silence in the atmosphere; a great contrast to Arnav's warring mind. He stood at the monstrous window of his spacious room, taking in the scenic beauty as the words of his Bhai and Bhabhi rang in his mind, whilst he tried to make sense of them..
"Khushi's very hard to understand, Arnav. She has walls built around her, the walls cemented in her heart. She's hurting, but won't let you know." Akash stated quietly.
"She will try to push you out, she'll shout, she'll ignore, but Arnav, please don't give up." Payal pleaded, and Arnav almost flinched at the sheer pain and desperation floating in her eyes.
"What happened to her?" Arnav whispered almost inaudibly, as if he was afraid to hear the answer.
"I'm afraid that's not our story to tell..." Akash sighed, as he remembered Khushi's furious expression when a relative had offered her sympathetic words. Khushi would fly into a rage if she knew that her physiotherapist knew. "I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me!" she had screamed angrily. No, Arnav would have to ask her himself, Akash decided.
"Please, please do all you can...promise me!" Payal almost ordered, grabbing his hand in a vice like grip, her eyes now glistening with unshed tears.
In that moment, Arnav had an epiphany. It didn't matter if Khushi wanted to get better or not. She HAD to. She had no choice. There were too many lives interlinked to her that her stubbornness was affecting--her Jeeji, her Jeeju, heck, his Bhai and Bhabhi if he was going to be selfish. And then he thought of her...with her desolate eyes adorned by the prettiest eyelashes... He knew. She had to stand on her feet for herself. He would make sure of that.
Deep inside him, a part of him wondered; Was all this only for them? Or were his intentions somewhere more personal...
Suppressing all such thoughts, Arnav strode determinedly toward the one room his eyes had lingered on ever since a petite figure had taken refuge in it.
When he reached the door, he put his hand on the door knob and waited. Yes, he was stalling and he knew it: but he wanted to prepare himself for everything beyond that door, his words and her reactions.
He pushed the knob and poked his head in apprehensively. She hadn't heard him. Sia was cuddling by her side on the bed and Khushi was reading to her animatedly. For a moment, he just stared, fascinated.
Every now and then, her hands would gesture wildly into the air and adorable facial expressions would appear in an attempt to entertain Sia. Her eyes held warmth and unadulterated, pure love shined in her chocolate orbs. It was amazing how she could be so different with two people. For one, she held nothing but compassion and love, and the other, raw contempt.
He decided he had invaded her privacy enough for today, as he cleared his throat to make them acknowledge his presence. They both looked up, one startled and the other, simply delighted.
"Chachu!!!!" Sia trilled as she leapt off the bed and sprang into his awaiting arms.
"Hey there, monkey" Arnav chuckled seeing her hyper excited greeting, and ruffled her hair. Sia giggled and hugged him tighter.
Arnav noticed from above Sia's shoulder Khushi's shocked expression, soon turning into a disgruntled one which screamed 'Traitor'. He buried his face in Sia's hair to hide his grin-- of course, now her bodyguard had shifted loyalties...
Khushi glared at the shaking shoulders of the man in the room.
He was laughing at her! How dare he! And Sia? How could she do this to her Maasi? She thought that she hated him...and now she actually leaped into his arms? There really was no one you could trust in this treacherous world, Khushi fumed. She could not bear to see the smug expression on her "physiotherapist's" -she scoffed-face; he may have worked his magic on Sia with some chocolate but Khushi Kumari Gupta was not six.
She fervently hoped not.
And so with a guarded expression and a chin held high, Khushi met the gaze of Arnav.
"Hi, I know we've been introduced before, but I thought it would be better if I introduced myself. I'm Doctor, err, Arnav. Khushi, right?" He stuck out his hand, smiling pleasantly, but backtracked quickly when he saw the menacing look fixated on his arm as he pulled it back slowly. He valued his arm too much.
Khushi saw the smile slip off his face in a matter of seconds, and she gave a grim smile. She would not dignify his question by providing him with an answer--he could dwell in the silence all he wanted. She turned away, pretending to be absorbed in a book-- he would soon get tired and leave.
Strangely, some part of her sunk when she thought that. She wanted him to stay...wait, what?! Of course not! He was her physiotherapist for God's sake. A doctor. He would cause her to be if humiliated again...crash upon the inevitable reality that she would never walk again. Force her to try and soar high with hope, only to be shattered. And she could not bear to subject her fragile heart to such blasphemy once again.
The only way her heart could remain safe from hurting again was if she ignored him-- he would soon take the hint and not try to "treat" her. She was happy and accustomed to the way she was now...maybe she couldn't refuse Akash Jeeju, but if her "doctor" himself deemed Khushi untreatable, what choice did Jeeju have but to let the matter go?
"Sia, would you like to play hide and seek with your Maasi?"
Arnav smirked at the knee jerk reaction from Khushi as her head snapped up. He needed to catch her attention and what better way than Sia? He knew she was purposefully ignoring him...it was as if he could almost see her walls starting to build up. He knew she would not respond to him, her resentment towards him was apparent, he had to use another tactic to get her to talk. When he saw her diligently avoiding his gaze earlier, he knew coaxing or pushing her wasn't going to help right now. She needed to trust him with herself first, the rest would come later.
"But Mamma said Maasi hurt her legs. She doesn't walk now..." Sia's big eyes were sad, and yet lost, as if she didn't know why they couldn't chase each other like before.
Khushi was pained. She never knew how much Sia missed playing with her. She never knew how tightly entwined this little angel's world was to hers, they both needed each other so much. Her eyes glistened with tears, and this did not go unnoticed by the man observing her closely. Arnav knew that if anyone could convince Khushi to walk, it would be Sia. They obviously loved each other deeply, he thought, as he silently congratulated himself.
"I am here to help her walk again, Sia, but thats only if she wants to..." Khushi knew that he was talking to Sia but he looked pointedly at her, his smoldering grey eyes communicating a message to her and her only.
She tried to fight off a shiver that radiated through her body as she was dazzled by his intense gaze, as she inferred the meaning of his words. Anger surged through her as she realized what he was trying to do, but guilt overpowered her. Whatever he had said was, in fact, true. Deep inside, she knew she was letting him rile up, and playing on her guilt but she let stronger instincts take over. She contemplated for a moment, before taking in a deep breath. For Sia, she reminded herself, as she squared her shoulders and looked at him in the eye.
"I'll do it."
Three words. Those three simple words never knew how much of an impact they'd created. As Sia squealed and clapped her hands in delight, Arnav's face gave way to a huge grin, smiling so broadly it seemed as though his face would split in half. Why he cared so much about a patient he had no idea...he just...did.
Khushi sucked in a shallow breath as she saw Arnav's face spread into a dazzling smile. A genuine one. Not like her previous doctors, who had just done it for the money.
He cared? A part of her softly asked.
And for once, just once, her heart willed for it to be true.
"Excellent!" Arnav smiled, trying hard and failing, to conceal the extent of his elation. "Shall we begin...tomorrow?" he asked.
Tomorrow. A new day. A new start. A new hope. Illuminating light after a pitch-black tunnel.
"Tomorrow." agreed Khushi, their eyes communicating their understanding. A silent truce.
Come on. Admit it. That's long. Really long. Show me your love in the form of looong comments, pleeease?
Capiche?
Good.
Edited by Madafterarhi - 12 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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