FF: Adrift Completed Feb 3rd 2014 - Page 26

Amazing update... had tears...

plzz continue soon

He was gone.

Madhu choked, her knees weakened and she fell wordlessly at her spot.

Thankfully, Bittuji was not too far behind her and he continued to run towards the cliff. A sick sense of deja vu overcame him and bile rose up to his throat. On another dark, painful night like this one, Bittuji had been running at the exact same spot, having just seen Madhu fall off into nothingness. And today, it was his Chief. His friend, his boss, his mentor, his family. This was what true fear tasted like. He had been lucky with Madhu, but today?

His legs couldn't run fast enough.

He reached the edge and saw nothing except darkness. Either instinct or memory drove his eyes to the landing where he had spotted Madhu once, but nothing, just darkness.

Bittuji gulped, then not knowing what else to do, yelled, "Chief!"

A moment of silence. Then a muffled groan back "Bittuji..." His feet sprung, his eyes darted in all directions, until he spotted something blue in the opposite direction, some 25 feet below, by the edge of the cliff.

RK's blue shirt! RK!

"Chief! Hold on!"

Sure enough, there he was. Bittuji saw blood, then saw RK's hand holding a branch. Since he had slipped and not jumped, he fell close to the wall of the cliff and his weight was mostly supported by a protruding rock and a tree branch he seemed to have clung to.

"Chief! Hold on! Don't give up! I will pull you up! Madhu!"

Bittuji's voice shocked Madhu back to life and she scampered towards the edge of the cliff as Bittu ran to bring the car nearer for light and to get rope that somehow, he now always carried.

"RK!" Madhu yelled but did not get a response.

As Madhu and Bittuji together began pulling RK up, Bittuji could clearly see how precariously RK had been perched. If his hold had slightly slipped, he would have fallen straight into the depths of that cliff. Perhaps Madhu had saved him one more time by making him want to hold on and fight.

When they finally got RK up - by now a couple of passing cars had stopped so they had help - they saw that RK was covered in blood. He was barely conscious, as Madhu suspected by RK's lack of response in the last few minutes. Had she been too late?

"Rishu! Rishu wake up! I am sorry. I did not read the letter. Rishu! You can't leave me now Rishu!" Madhu frantically tried to find a response as they drove towards the hospital with Rishabh in Madhu's arms in the backseat of the car.

"I love you Rishu. I love you. Don't go."

RK moaned in response, but couldn't speak. He was still conscious, but his face was covered in blood and he was in pain everywhere. He felt Madhu's hand close to his and slowly grabbed her fingers before slipping into unconsciousness. Madhu felt RK's touch and squeezed his hand back, hoping that RK's gesture was one of reassurance, and not that of goodbye.

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Madhu sat outside RK's room hoping, praying, questioning and feeling very very afraid. She was angry at herself - why did she not know sooner what she wanted? Why did she not read true remorse in RK's eyes? Why did she not freaking read the full letter and over-react? Why did she misunderstand RK's gestures? She was angry at her stubborn temper. She had made so many impulsive decisions without thinking them through. She quit when she should have fought, and she fought when she should have quit fighting and see what was plain in front of her. RK loved her. Now, today. And she loved him. And there was no way either of them could live without each other, she now knew.

RK had passed out in her arms, and once they got to the hospital he had immediately been taken to surgery. He had a few fractures and a lot of bruises, but what they were really worried about was his head injury. He had fallen backward and hit his head against some rock. They had operated on the brain to release the pressure, but they really didn't know if he would survive.

Dear Bappa, please save my RK today. I promise I will never ever let anything come between us. Instead of fighting him, we would fight the world together. Her prayers came from the core of her heart, yet they were adulterated with fear. What if she never got the chance? What if, in her game of running and chasing, she had pushed RK so far away from her that they could never meet again.

Her fearful trail of thought was thankfully interrupted by the doctor.

"Mrs Kundra. RK is out of danger now. He is still sedated, but the brain activity had picked up. We would know for sure when he wakes up, but we are 95% confident that he should have full function. "

"Oh thank you doctor. Thank you so much. Can I see him?"

"Not now, but he should wake up tonight. You can see him then, after we finish checkups. He has multiple fractures though and lots of bruises, so he would have to stay here for at least 2 weeks."

Madhu sat back with a smile on her face. RK was going to be all right. She had a second shot.

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RK woke up and gradually tried to open his eyes. His head hurt like someone was pounding a million hammers into it all at once. Then, he saw a smile. And all the pain went away. Madhu, his Madhu, was smiling at him. He didn't know where he was yet. Perhaps he had died and this was heaven. He smiled back, though smiling hurt. He didn't care.

Madhu spoke up " Rishu! Rishu! You're up! How are you feeling? Bittuji, please call the doctor. Rishabh is up."

"Madhu"

"Rishu..oh God, thank God you are fine. I am so sorry"

The doctors checked up on RK and looked pleased. He had woken up for a few minutes the previous night, but was groggy and did not register anything around him. The doctors were satisfied, but still wanted to make sure his senses were responsive when he finally woke up.

"He is fine Mrs Kundra. You are very lucky. It was a pretty bad head injury. But looks like we have escaped nerve damage. You would need complete rest for a couple of weeks Mr Kundra, and don't go roaming around dangerous cliffs again, ok?"

Bittuji left with the doctors, asking follow-up questions on the treatment needed, leaving Madhu and RK alone. Madhu's eyes were glistening with happy tears as she went closer to RK and held his hand.

"I am sorry Madhu."

"No RK. I am sorry. I did not read the letter you sent and misunderstood. I thought you did not love me any more, and I was so distraught at the thought of losing you..."

"But Madhu..."

"Stop but Madhu-ing me. How can you be so dumb, superstar? You went and jumped off that cliff. You didn't think even once how would I ever live without you?"

RK looked at Madhu in disbelief. It was almost like life had turned back a year ago and brought him close to his Madhu again. His Madhu. Yes, she was his Madhu.

"Biwi. I am sorry. You know when you are not with me, I make bad decisions. I was just trying to give you your happiness back..."

"...but my happiness is right here RK. With you. In your arms. And I am never leaving your side again. From today, you are my slave and you do what I say."

"Yes mam." RK smiled, then pulled Madhu closer to him.

They both shut their eyes, trying to convince themselves that this moment was indeed real and this happiness that they felt oozing within them was indeed legitimate.

"I love you Biwi. I love you very very much." RK whispered. "I am sorry for everything I did.."

"Shhh...forget the past. Just remember this." Madhu said and put her hand on RK's chest. She looked into RK's eyes and the sound of their hearts beating in unison provided the backdrop. "Just remember this moment. This is where we belong. I love you Rishu."

Before RK could say anything, Bittuji was back.

"Bhabhiji"

"...and things are back to normal again!" RK laughed. Laughing hurt, but he did not care.

He was alive. And life was worth living again. His life was right next to him in his arms.

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Madhu reached out to her right, but couldn't find RK where he should have been. She woke up and switched on the lights. RK wasn't in bed. She checked the time, it was 2 am. She got out of bed to look for RK. She found him sitting in the balcony, by himself. It had been a week since they got home from the hospital. RK still had plasters from the fractures, and some of his bruises hadn't healed, but overall he was recovering well. Doctors had suggested him to get plastic surgery done for some of the scars, esp the one on his forehead and arm - after all he was a movie super star. But RK had refused.

"Rishu...what are you doing here?" Madhu walked behind RK and put his arms around his neck.

"Nothing...couldn't sleep."

Madhu walked around and sat down in front of him.

"What happened Rishu? You look disturbed."

"Nothing. I saw a bad dream and woke up, scared that I would lose you again. I messed up so bad Madhu. But I don't ever want to lose you again. Will you ever be able to forgive me?"

Madhu looked into RK's eyes. He was genuinely afraid and felt helpless. Her heart melted. The last month had brought them close again, and every moment was bringing them an inch away from dreadful memories of the past. Still, it wasn't until now, until this moment that the realization hit Madhu. Whatever had happened in the past, she did not care any more. RK messed up, she messed up, their destiny was screwed up - whatever! It didn't matter. What she saw in RK's eyes was true passion for herself. It was love so powerful that all the past sins, all ego and hurt, everything else had dissolved. This wasn't the man who had forced himself in her life. But this was a man who cared for her and loved her more than anyone had. This wasn't the arrogant superstar who didn't care about others' feelings. This was her Rishu, who sat here making himself completely vulnerable to her.

Yes, she had forgiven him. And she will eventually forget, because she wanted to.

Madhu held RK's hands. "I already have forgiven you, Rishu. And I promise, I will never ever leave you again. If you do something stupid and try to push me away, I will hold your ears and bring you in line."

RK smiled. "Promise?"

"Promise, patidev. Now come and sleep. I have forgotten how good you are in bed." Madhu winked and ran inside, and RK followed.

"Wait till I remind you biwi. Just wait!"