CHAPTER 11: New Beginnings
She sat up quickly, and he fell back on the floor just as quickly in response, still blinking at her in shock.
"What the hell are you doing?" she asked in shocked anger.
"Uhh…I…I…" he frantically looked around trying to come up with a plausible explanation. "Fruits!" he said suddenly.
"Fruits?! What are you talking about?" she asked, giving him a look which implied that he was a complete nutjob.
He fumbled around in his pocket for a second, and finally pulled out something which he held in front of her. "Fruits," he repeated. "I...uhh…I found some wild fruits while I was looking for firewood, and I..uhh…I thought you might be hungry, so…uhh…I was…uhh…trying to wake you up to ask you if you wanted to eat." he finished, looking at the ground.
"Oh," she said, somewhat at a loss for words, "Uhh…Thank you."
He looked up at that, and breathed an inward sigh of relief when he saw that she wasn't angry any longer. Close shave there Dr. Atul, he thought to himself.
"You're welcome," he smiled at her hesitantly and handed the fruit to her.
She took it and looked at it a little warily, wondering if she should eat it.
"It's alright," he said, as he noticed her hesitation. "These are perfectly safe to eat, and very tasty actually. I had some the last time I went camping."
"Oh?" she said, still clearly hesitant, but she still bit into the fruit anyways. She chewed on it for a bit, and then her eyes widened. "This is goooood!" she said, taking another bite.
Atul's smile widened and he said, "I told you, haina?" He then walked over to the pile of wood and started arranging some of the pieces them towards the middle. Soon he had a healthy fire roaring, and both of them sat around it, warming their hands. There was a companionable silence for a few minutes as they both stared into the fire, lost in their own thoughts.
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Meanwhile, back at the camp
Dr. Keerti and Shubhankar were conferring with each other that it was really late now, and there was still no sign of Atul and Anjali.
"It's gotten really dark now, Dr. Shubhankar. They should've been back by now." said Dr. Keerti in a worried tone.
"I agree. They should have been back by now." He paused, and then added after thinking for a moment. "I was talking to some of the villagers earlier, and they had mentioned that most of them use a shortcut through the forest to get to the camp. Do you think it's possible that they may have gotten lost on their way back?"
Armaan, Sapna, and Riddhima walked over just then, looking very worried as well.
"Dr. Shubhankar," said Armaan, "We are all really worried about Atul and Anjali. They've been gone for a pretty long time now, and I think they may be lost on the way back. I think we should go and look for them."
"You're right, Dr. Armaan," he replied. " I was just discussing this with Dr. Keerti. I'm going to go and have a talk with the few villagers who are still here with their relatives and see if one of them is willing to help guide us in our search. Oh, and ask Dr. Karan if he can help as well. We will all leave in a few minutes, ok?"
"Yes, Dr. Shubhankar," said Armaan.
As Shubhankar and Keerti turned away and walked over to the villagers, Armaan turned to Sapna and Riddhima.
Riddhima was on the verge of tears and Sapna tried to console her. "Don't worry, Riddhima! Everything will be fine."
"Pata nahin Di kis haal mein hogi, Sapna! And it's so dark now! How will they find their way to the camp?" she said
"Arey Riddhima! Don't worry! Atul hai na uske saath! He is very good at all this camping and navigating stuff! He was just telling me something about it the other day only. So don't worry! I'm sure they're both fine!" said Sapna, trying to reassure her and maybe herself a little bit as well.
"Haan, you guys!" interrupted Armaan. "Don't panic! I'm sure we'll find them soon enough. Don't take tension, alright? We'll soon be back with Atul and Anjali in tow!"
Karan then joined him, and Dr. Shubhankar also walked back with two villagers in tow, and so the five of them set out to look for Atul and Anjali.
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Back at the Shack
"So…you know a lot about this camping stuff and all, don't you?" said Anjali after a while.
He looked up from the fire and saw that she was half-smiling at him. The firelight gave her an ethereal glow yet again. His heart gave what was by now a familiar lurch. He cleared his throat and said, "Yes, I do. I've had a passion for nature since I was very young. Papa used to take me out to camping trips every summer since the age of 8." He said, nostalgia creeping into his voice now.
"You miss him." She said, not really asking but stating it.
"Yes, I do. Very very much." He said with a sigh.
"Doesn't he live with you? You should go visit him then."
He smiled at that, a hint of sadness evident in his eyes. "I wish I could."
She looked at him in confusion, and was about to say something else when he continued, "Papa passed away when I was 17. AIDS. Mom followed a year later. I think she was never able to emerge from the grief of losing him." He said, almost talking to himself.
"I'm so sorry, Atul!" said Anjali, feeling at a loss for words. "I had no idea…I…"
"It's alright, Anjali," he said, coming out of reminiscing and smiling at her. "How would you have known, hmm? He worked at Sanjeevani too, you know.
"He did?" she asked curiously.
"Yes, he started his internship right here, just like I did. Dr. Omesh Joshi. Everyone called him Omi though."
"Dr. Omi? Oh my god! You're Dr. Omi's son?"
"Did you know him?" he asked in confusion.
She nodded, "For a short while, when I was very young. Mom and Dad used to bring me over to Sanjeevani once in a while when there was a break from school. I will always remember…he used to take me to the cafeteria and treat me to chocolate pastries. And…" she started laughing as another vivid memory came to her. "And he would always sing that song for me…Anjali, Anjali, Anjali…pyaari Anjali Anjali Anjali.
"Do you mean that one from that old movie…what was the name? Anjali?"
"Yes! That's the one! How did the song go again?" She tried to sing it, "Anjali Anjali…
"Anjali Anjali Anjali…humaari Anjali Anjali Anjali" he completed for her.
She laughed again, and joined in, "Anjali Anjali…." And they both sang it while laughing together.
"He was a wonderful man." She said, once they both subsided again. "Dad always talked about what an amazing doctor and human being he was."
"Yes, Papa was very much in awe of Dr. Shashank himself…as we all are even today," said Atul with a laugh.
She smiled slightly at that, but didn't say anything.
"Anjali?" he said after a moment.
"Hmmm?"
"Can I ask you something?
"Yes?"
"Uhh…" he hesitated a bit.
"What is it, Atul?"
"Can we be friends now?" he asked, the words coming out in a bit of a rush.
She looked at him for a moment, and then a smile slowly broke out onto her face. "Yes we can, Atul." She said, holding out a hand.
He looked at the hand she was offering, and with a huge grin on his face, put out his own hand and shook hers. "Friends." He said.
"Friends," she repeated with a smile as she shook his hand back.
Phase I accomplished, Dr. Atul, he thought to himself.
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