So here is the quickest update from me, just because the words seemed to pour out of me yesterday😆
Chapter 5 - Vision
Arjun
Time seems to be standing still. My eyes are fixed on the second's hand that ticks by on the clock. Every passing second feels like an eternity. I fidget in the waiting area in front of the operation theatre; my hands clasped together, eyes moving constantly to the red light that shines above it. From the light to the clock. Clock to the light.
It is still red.
I take out the list we made a while ago and suddenly, I am missing her. It hasn't been too long. Yet, I miss her. I am too addicted to her presence.
The next time I glance at the light, it changes to green.
It was the longest wait of my life.
I do not know what to expect when I see Dr. Rastogi leaving the operation theatre. I search his face for an answer, but it reflects nothing. My heart shrinks in fear. What if it didn't go well? What if I lost her? The world seems to black out as he approaches me. My knees give way and I hold on to the wall for support.
I almost collapse when his lips curve into a smile.
"It was successful. Your wait paid off, Arjun."
He touches my shoulder and I jump. This is real.
I smile back, finally being able to breathe.
Before he retreats to his cabin, he turns around and winks at me.
"In a few hours," he says.
***
I am sitting besides her, holding on to her hand as she sleeps on the bed. Her eyes are covered with two wads of cotton which look so alien on her beautiful face. I miss looking into her eyes. She stirs beside me and I sit up. I am eager to talk to her, to listen to her voice again even though I know she must be groggy from the anaesthesia.
"Arjun...?" She murmurs, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
"Hi Sakshi." I edge closer to her and caress her hair.
"Will I..."
"Yes." I complete the sentence for her, "In a few hours."
"Stay by me. I want to see you first."
I press her fingers gently and reply, "I will never leave you."
She smiles and drifts back to sleep.
I still keep her hand in mine. I know she likes the feel of it, even when she is asleep.
Sakshi
Light. Colours. Several things run through my mind as I feel Dr. Rastogi take off the bandage from my eyes. Arjun doesn't let go of my hand. The doctor laughs when he refuses to let go. So, he sits by my side, playing with my fingers as the doctor removes the bandage.
The darkness lifts slightly as the wads of cotton are taken off from my eyes.
This is it. I cannot help but smile.
I hear the doctor say, "Ok. Open your eyes slowly."
I bite my lips, too nervous to do this. He presses my hand firmly, and I take a deep breath.
Slowly, I open my eyes.
And for the first time since many years, I see light.
It is almost blinding. My eyes hurt and I shut them again.
"Yes, it is going to be a bit too bright. Try it again. You will get the hang of it."
So, I do. This time I open it wider. Shapes appear in front of me. Blurry and indistinct. Still too bright.
I close my eyes again.
"Sakshi?"
Arjun's voice makes me open my eyes again. This time, it doesn't hurt. I squint, trying to focus on his face. The blur slowly evolves into a pair of deep, dark eyes looking into mine. I hold his gaze for too long, I suppose, because I hear the doctor shouting my name in the background.
I slowly absorb the rest of his face. His tuft of dark hair, his perfect eyebrows and his smile. I reach out to touch his face, feeling the familiar features against my hand and seeing them at the same time. For the first time.
My eyes don't move from his face as he laughs.
Finally, I say, "I see you."
The words sound so alien coming from my lips. I can see.
***
Arjun
It is the first time she looks at me. The moment I had been waiting for since the day I met her. I had been waiting for those beautiful eyes to look into mine, the same way that I look into hers every day. Her eyes don't blink. Neither do mine.
Time has stopped for us. It feels as if I am looking at her for the first time. Her gaze doesn't move from my face, even though the doctor is talking to her in the background.
Snap.
Dr. Rastogi breaks our trance with a snap of his fingers. Her gaze moves away from me and I feel a tad disappointed. She is laughing as the doctor talks to her.
And me? I am still staring at her, wondering if this is a dream.
I see the doctor leave after shaking his head in disbelief at me. I realise that I haven't even thanked him properly.
When he reaches the door, I shout out to him, "Doc?"
He turns back, smiling and I say, "Thank you."
He doesn't say anything. Just laughs and exits out the door.
We are alone again. And this time, she can see me.
She reaches out for my shirt, the only colourful thing that is around us. The hospital walls are bland, white and dull. I am wearing a pale blue t-shirt, the colour of the sky she loves so much.
Her voice is full of wonder as she says, "I can see colours, Arjun. Let me guess, is this blue?"
My eyes are wide with surprise. How did she guess?
"You told me so. In the morning." She answers my question even though I haven't voiced it aloud.
I am still lost for words, so I nod.
"I hope you haven't lost your voice now that I have got my vision back?" She laughs.
"Of course not!" I finally speak.
I am suddenly glancing at the little window located just behind her.
The white curtains flutter in the breeze. The city sounds drift in through the open gap, reminding me of the world living and breathing, just outside that window. I know the sky is blue today. I know there are white clouds. And I know she would want to see it.
I hold her hand and say, "Come."
She looks at my hand in wonder and brushes her fingers over mine, feeling them like she never felt them before. I smile as I see her explore the lines crisscrossing my palm, tracing them with her fingers. Then she looks at her own palm and places it over mine. I wrap my fingers around hers and help her get out of the bed.
"Where are you taking me?" She asks.
I smile, nod towards the window and simply say, "The window."
Her gaze follows mine to the white curtains fluttering in the breeze, the blue sky playing hide-and-seek just behind it. She looks at me and smiles.
"Is that the sky?" She asks.
"Yes."
"Take me there."
So I do. We reach the window and I push the curtains aside. And I look at her eyes gazing up in wonder at the vast, blue sky outside the window. She extends her hand out and tries to trace a pattern on the sky, as if trying to paint something on to it with her fingers. The puffy white clouds float by and she tries to twirl them with her finger, laughing as she does so.
I try to imagine the sky like she does. Like blobs of white paint swirling into the pastel blue sky. And it looks like a magical pattern that only she could create.
I am looking at the world like I never did before. I am seeing the world through her eyes.
Sakshi
My eyes hurt a little as I stare up at it. The bright and blue sky that he always spoke about. I would never have thought it was so vast, so endless. I have an open window in front of me that provides me a glimpse of what the world looks like. I know there are things to be discovered down below. I can hear the cars honking, the shouts of people on the road.
And yet, my eyes don't want to move from the sky.
"It is your dream." He says.
I see him gazing intently at me, leaning against the window, his arms crossed.
"What?" I ask.
"The sky. It is like your dreams. Vast and endless, like it should be. Your desires, your ambitions are all hidden in there."
"What about your dreams?"
He puts his arms around me and that familiar sense of comfort spreads through me.
Then he smiles, moving his gaze to the sky and says, "I only had one. And it just came true."
He leaves me at a loss for words. I rest my head against his shoulder as we look up at the sky together, trying to paint an imaginary picture in the clouds.
***
It is time to leave the hospital. I bid a goodbye to Dr. Rastogi, thanking him for everything. Arjun has disappeared somewhere and my eyes keep looking out for him. Even though I have my vision back, I still feel incomplete without him. There is a sort of emptiness that he instils in me whenever he is away from me. Even if it is for a few minutes.
"You should really thank Arjun." Dr. Rastogi says.
"Huh?" I am lost. I am utterly lost without him.
Dr. Rastogi laughs and says, "He will be back."
I blush and reply, "Yes...I know. What were you saying?"
"I was saying you should really thank Arjun for your vision. He was the one who never gave up. He visited me every day. He called day and night. He made me call all my contacts just so we could find a donor for you. It was your wish, and he made it come true."
My breath catches in my throat as I hear him speak. I know he never gave up on the hope of my vision being back one day, but the news still takes me by surprise. Did Arjun actually visit Dr. Rastogi every day? Was that why he was late some times to visit me? I know he loves me, but can he love me so much?
"Sakshi!" I hear his voice calling out to me and I turn around.
My vision blurs as tears suddenly appear in my eyes. He stares at me in concern as the silent tears roll down my cheek.
All of a sudden I am hugging him, holding on as tight as I can. I bury my head in his chest and tears pour out of my eyes like never before. I am wishing they would stop, but they don't. He is taken by surprise, but he doesn't ask any questions. Instead, he puts his arms around me, trying to wipe away the tears from my eyes. I cry because I realise how much he loves me. I cry because I don't know if I can ever love him as much he loves me. I cry because I am afraid I would lose him.
When the tears finally dry, I notice something colourful that he holds in his hand. I think it is a flower. I pull back, staring at it curiously and he holds it out to me, a smile on his face.
I sniff, wipe away the last tear from my cheek and slowly touch the soft petals of the flower.
They feel soft and cool against my fingers and I smile up at him. I have felt this flower before. I know what it is. It is the flower I love the most.
"It's a daisy." I say.
He nods and slips it into my fingers.
"I want you to guess the colour." He says.
I look at it, glowing back at me. The colour makes me happy, like the warmth of the sun. It makes me feel warm and comforted. All of a sudden, I know what colour it is.
I smile up at him and say, "Yellow."
He grins and says, "Come on. Let's get you home."
He holds on to my hand as we leave the hospital. And even though there are a thousand new sights around me, my eyes don't move from his face. To me, he remains to be my eyes, my sight. He isn't just my window to the world. He is my world.
*********************************
And so, here starts a new journey. A new beginning!
How was it? Up to your expectations? Better? Worse? LOL😆 You gotta tell me!
Please do leave your comments and likes pretty please😳
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
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