"WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM. HOW'S RK?!" Madhu screamed at the top of her lungs as the doctor stepped out.
"He's quite critical. He's gone into a coma. It could be for minutes, hours, days, months...or even years."
"C...coma...? NO. THIS CAN'T BE!" Madhu grabbed onto the doctor's coat.
"Please ma'am, control yourself. We're trying our best..." the doctor reassured her.
"Madhu, shh, nothing will happen to RK," Roma pulled Madhu aside.
Madhu turned and grabbed onto Roma, holding her tight as she sobbed on her shoulder.
"Roma...RK...this is all my fault...RK's in a coma...I..." Madhu continued to speak between sobs.
Paabo, who had been glaring in Madhu's direction the entire time, grabbed onto Madhu's arm. She pulled her free from Roma's arms and turned Madhu to face her.
"See what you've done!?" Paabo spoke accusingly, "This is all your fault. My son, my Rishabh has gone into a coma because of you! Because of your bad fate! Why are you after his life?! Why don't you just leave!"
"Paabo...I..."
"GO. Leave!"
"No! I'm not leaving RK. He's my husband! I'm never leaving RK."
Tears fell from her eyes as she stared in Paabo's direction with a stern, determined look. It wasn't until Radha spoke up that Madhu's attention was averted.
"If you really care for Rishu, you'll leave. All you've ever done is brought bad things upon him. Leave him for his own good. He won't come out of this coma until you leave. LEAVE MADHU."
Hearing such words from Radha, who once adored Madhu, broke Madhu from within. She had already claimed to hate herself and God, but those feelings intensified as Radha asked for her to leave.
"But Ma...RK..."
"Go away. You're not the only one RK has. We're still here. I'm still alive. I'll take care of my Rishu. You just leave! Don't come back here again. If you love Rishu, you won't come back."
Madhu stood at a dead end. Having no other place to go. She stared towards Radha with mourning eyes but Radha refused to even glance in her direction. On the side, Dipali and Paabo exchanged a glance with slight smiles on their faces despite the atmosphere around them. It was then that Madhu turned to face the long, empty hall. With one step forwards, Roma grabbed her arm.
"Madhu?! Where are you going!"
Madhu kept silent. She gently pulled free from Roma's grip and continued to walk forwards in a trance.
"Bhabhiji?!" Bittuji called out to her from behind.
With no destination in mind, Madhu walked out of the hospital as Roma followed.
"Madhu...Madhu! Stop!"
Roma grabbed onto her arm again, this time Madhu turned to face her.
"Madhu? What are you doing?!" Roma placed both hands on her either side of Madhu's face and shook her lightly.
Madhu didn't respond.
"MADHU!" Roma yelled.
"I want to be alone," Madhu responded in a weak, emotionless voice.
With that, Madhu turned and continued to walk away from the hospital. Madhu's bare feet dragged her towards the nearest temple. She came to a stop in front of Ganpatti Bappa. She looked straight towards the large idol with tearful eyes full of rage. She stood drenched in rain alone, as she had just walked through a storm. As thunder struck from outside, her eyes fell upon the prayer tray in front of her. She bent down and took a handful of red powder. While looking towards Ganpatti Bappa, she placed the powder on the crown of her forehead, letting it take place as her sindoor. The sindoor covered the crown of her forehead and she looked ready to fight any evil that came her way. In her black sari, her hair dripping water from the tips, and her sindoor on her forehead, she spoke in a loud, firm voice.
"All I've done is worshipped you. All you've ever done is given me grief. It's time for me to go against all that you've done. It's time I took a stand. I, Madhubala Rishabh Kundra, swear to bring back Rishabh Kundra, my HUSBAND. No one, not even YOU can separate me from my RK. I will forever stand by his side. My love for RK will overpower everything and bring him back. And I swear to get rid of this bad fate once and for all. Nothing will ever come between us. Give it all you got, but I will succeed. I will bring back my husband and never let anything bad fall upon him again. Or my name isn't Madhubala Rishabh Kundra!"
Anger came out in her voice as she kept her eyes on Ganpatti Bappa. Tears continued to fall from her eyes. While keeping her eyes up, Madhu raised her hand and placed it on top of a burning diya. Without even a flinch, she continued speaking.
"I will not lift my hand until you give me back what is mine. I will not eat until you give me back what is mine. And I will not move from this place until you give me back what is mine."
She kept her hand over the fire without even a blink of an eye. She was determined to succeed.
---
The doctor stood in RK's room, assessing him, trying to determine the length of the coma. It was then that a spike in the monitor caught the doctor's attention. The doctor glanced down at RK who remained frozen like a statue. Another spike in the monitor and the doctor called for his nurses.
Outside, the others saw the nurses rushing into the room. Radha sat, crying on the chair as Paabo and Dipali comforted her. Bittuji attempted to get some information out of the nurses but they rushed past everyone and into the room.
---
Half an hour passed when the doctors stepped outside of the room. The doctor looked around but seemed disappointed when he didn't find what he was looking for. He turned to face Bittuji.
"Where has Madhubala ma'am gone?"
"...We're not sure...why?" Bittuji questioned after looking around.
"Mr. RK has come out of his coma. He's still unconscious, but he's taking Madhubala ma'am's name in his unconscious state."
Radha, Dipali, and Paabo's heads shot up towards the doctor. Annoyance was visible on the faces of Paabo and Dipali, as Radha stood and began questioning the doctor.
"Rishu's okay? He's awake? Can I see him? I want t..."
"Please calm down. It's not best for anyone but Madhubala ma'am to see him. If you could please get her to come here as soon as possible..."
"No, she's gone. She's not coming back."
"Very well. You will have to wait until RK sir gains consciousness, and then you will be able to see him. Until then, he is under our watch and care.
---
Hours passed when the doctor went back to inform the others that they were able to see RK, two at a time. Paabo and Radha were the first to enter the room. RK lay with his eyes closed. As Paabo went to his bedside, she gently caressed his hair. He opened his eyes slowly. With a slow glance around the room, his eyes went to rest upon Paabo.
"Where's Madhu...?" he spoke in a weak voice.
Paabo, irritated by his very question, looked away. It was Radha who spoke up.
"She's gone Rishu beta."
RK ignored Radha and questioned Paabo again.
"Paabo, where's Madhu?"
Though Paabo wanted to avoid the question, she had no other choice but to answer.
"We're not sure Rishabh, she left hours ago."
"Where?! I need to see her!"
RK attempted to sit up, but due to his weakness and pain, couldn't. He laid back down as Paabo comforted him.
"Rishabh, rest! You can always see her later."
"No, I want to see her now. Go get Bittuji. I want to see Bittuji."
Paabo nodded her head; she glanced towards Radha who was in tears and with that both of them exited the room.
Bittuji was the next to enter. He went straight towards his Chief.
"Chief! How are y..."
"Bittuji, where's Madhu?"
"Chief...she left...no one knows where she is..."
"WHY Bittuji! FIND out where she is!"
"Everyone was angry at her, they told her to leave, they said she was the reason why..."
"Oh for God's sake. Paabo will never change. Go find her Bittuji. Now!"
"Okay Chief...you get some rest..."
"I won't be getting any rest until you find her."
---
Two hours went by when Bittuji successfully found Madhu at a temple. As he ran up the stairs and towards her, he called her name but she didn't respond. He went to stand beside her. Shock struck Bittuji as he saw Madhu's condition. Her eyes red and dry from crying, her hair disheveled from the wind, her sari wet from the rain, her face flushed of all the blood, her paleness made her look weak and ghost-like. Her eyes remained on Ganpatti Bappa. Bittuji looked down towards Madhu's hand, which remained on top of the burning flame.
"BHABHIJI! What are you doing?!"
She didn't respond.
"CHIEF'S OKAY! HE'S OUT OF THE COMA!" Bittuji attempted to bring her out of her determined trance.
She didn't respond.
"BHABHIJI! Chief is OUT of the coma!""
Madhu blinked. She blinked again. And again. Then her eyes landed on Bittuji. Bittuji nodded in response to her silent question and a smile formed on Madhu's face as more tears formed in her eyes. As a tear fell from her face, she removed her hand from the on top of the diya. She faced Ganpatti Bappa and with one final look, she turned and began running barefoot back towards the hospital. Bittuji followed behind quickly.
As Madhu reached the hospital, she ran through the doors and towards RK's room. Ignoring Paabo and Radha's refusal, she ran into RK's room.
RK's eyes shot open as he heard her heavy breathing. She stood near the door as he opened his eyes and stared at her. She looked a mess to say the least. She looked weak and drained of all her energy. RK slowly sat up as she went to sit on the bed with him, facing him. She brought both her hands up and placed them on either side of his face. At first he smiled, until he felt something unusual about one of her hands. He took a hold of her right hand and looked down at it. Anger and sadness together filled RK's eyes. He looked up at Madhu.
"What is this Madhu?!" he asked worried.
Madhu, who was in denial until hearing his voice, smiled and pushed herself into him. She wrapped her arms around him and waited for him to do the same in response. As his arms wrapped around her, she felt all the comfort in the world. Even after all that she'd gone through, she felt relaxed in that instant in his arms.
"Madhu?" RK whispered, still worried.
"I love you...I can't live with you RK...never leave me. Please. Never," she spoke between her sobs.
"I'm not going anywhere Madhu..." he reassured her, "What happened to you though..."
"When a heart breaks...anyone would be willing to go through anything to fix it. I did the same," she whispered in response as she tightened her arms around him.
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
