Chapter 7A
"Antara, Antara, jaldi se neeche aao," I heard Aunty say. My head, which was resting on Raghu's shoulder, instantly shot up. Raghu and I looked at each other confused. What had happened?
I ran down the stairs with Raghu behind me. I was shocked at the sight before me. Papa was lying on the floor, coughing, surrounded by uncle and aunty. I ran to him and sat down. "Kya hua Papa ko?" I asked. No one would answer me. How would they? No one knew what had happened.
It was as if my world had stopped. Seeing my father in this condition was the worst thing ever. I heard Aunty telling Raghu to call the ambulance. I was still in a shock, refusing to get up when aunty asked me to. I sat there until the paramedics came and lifted Papa onto a stretcher.
I felt Raghu's arm come around me. "Chal, hum hospital chalte hain," he said and slowly led me to his car and opened the door. I sat in and he walked to his side and got in.
It hurt so much to see her this way. This wasn't Antara at all. She was always smiling, never crying... I couldn't bear to see these tears in her eyes. "Antara," I said softly. She slowly looked up at me, her eyes filled with tears. "Uncle, theek ho jayenge, kuch nahi hua hain." She turned back to look out the window. I started the car and drove as fast as I could to get to the hospital.
We stopped behind the ambulance and got out. Antara ran straight into the hospital behind the stretcher. I went in behind her, my parents following us. They had just taken uncle in when I got there. I saw my mom go up behind Antara and rest her hand on her shoulder. Antara turned and hugged her. "Antara bete, aise rote nahi hain," my mom said, comforting her. "Aunty, aap ko paata hain ki kya hua hain?" she asked with a small voice. At last, she finally spoke. Before my mom could say anything, the doctor came out.
"Doctor, kya hua?" I asked, getting up instantly. I couldn't take this any more. I just wanted everything to be fine. "Ms. Kaul, hasn't he told you?" the doctor asked. "Told me about what?" I asked. What hadn't he told me? I was so confused. "Told me about what doctor?" I repeated. "About his illness... Ms. Kaul, I thought you knew about it," the doctor said. "His illness?" I asked, confirming. "Yes, he is diagnosed with lung cancer on the last stage," the doctor said. I felt as if the floor had been swept away from under my feet. Papa, cancer... that was impossible. No. It just couldn't. No.
"You must be kidding. That's not possible at all," I said, stepping back. "Ms. Kaul I have been treating him for the past six months, I'm not lying," he replied. "No," I whispered. "Ms. Kaul, there isn't much time left. His health is deteriorating very quickly. He may not have more that one month to live," the doctor said."Maybe not even that."
I didn't listen to him. I just couldn't! He had to be lying. It just wasn't possible. My Papa couldn't leave me like this. "No," I kept whispering and moved back. I bumped into some one. I looked to see who it was. It was Raghu. I could see the tears in his eyes. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I just turned and ran out.
I watched her run out. I didn't know how to react but all I knew is that she shouldn't be alone. Not now, not ever. I was her best friend, I had to be there for here.
I turned to go after her when my mom called me, "Raghu, usse jaane do." "Why mom?" I asked. "Raghu, she needs time to understand everything that's going on. Mujhe nahi lagta ki tume uss ke peeche jaana chaiye," she replied. I looked at my Dad, leaning against the wall. "Tumari Mom sahi keh rahi hain. Usse kuch waqt ke liye akela shod do," he said. "Mom, Dad, how are you guys so calm after learning about this?" I asked. My mom looked away. "Did you... already know?" "Yes, your father and I both know. We've known it since he was first diagnosed," she confirmed.
That came as a shock. But I didn't want to deal with it at the moment. First I had to see Antara, know that she was ok. "Mom..." I couldn't complete my sentence. I just turned around and left to find Antara.
"Excuse me, kya aap ne iss ladki ko dekha hai?" I asked the receptionist, showing her a picture of Antara on my phone. "Ji sir, she went that way," she said, pointing to the door. She couldn't have gone too far. "Thank you," I said and headed out.
I was walking away from the hospital. I didn't know where I was going but all I knew was that I needed to get away from there. It was too much to handle. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn't even realize that my foot had bent and I was about to fall. I braced my self for the fall only to realize that I didn't.
There was a strong grip around my waist, stopping me from falling. I could recognize that touch from anywhere. I knew before I even saw him. It was Raghu.
I walked out to see her walking in the opposite direction. I ran after her to catch up to her. I saw her about to fall and encircled her waist to keep her from falling.
She looked up at me, her eyes filled with tears. I helped her stand up and said, "Antara." She didn't say anything. She just hugged me and cried. I put my arms around her and let her cry. There was nothing else that I could do.
A/N: That's half of the update... Phew.. Hope you guys liked it! The next half will be up soon! Leave your likes and comments! 😊 For pms, like the index!
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