FF: Love, Cherish me ~~ Epilogue ~~ - Page 52

Void

3 days later...

Pandey Nivas - Kitchen

"Where is she?" Suman asked Preity who just came into the kitchen.

"In the garden, still weeding"

"I am not liking it, it is so sunny outside she will fall sick again."

"I know, even I don't want her to be there...but Dadima said to let her be, if she wants to be busy doing something let her be, her mind will be occupied to think of other things...I just came to fetch some lemonade for her...I don't want her to faint again because of dehydration...it is so hot outside."Preity said.

Suman nodded her head and got back to her work. Preity looked like she wanted to say something then closed her mouth again.

"What?" Suman stopped chopping the vegies and asked noticing the indecision in her friend's face.

"Have you noticed it?" Preity asked finally.

"Notice what? I don't know what you are talking about." Suman suddenly got busy chopping the vegies not meeting Preity's eyes.

"Thapki...I think... she is..." Preity didn't know how to finish.

"Everyone does that from time to time...it is not a big deal" Suman said quickly trying to make it light while she had the same thought her friend was having.

"I know, but I am worried...She has been doing that increasingly now...talking to herself and smiling." Preity said in a rush.

Suman dropped her knife in the chopping board with clang. "IT DOES NOT PROVE ANYTHING" She took a breath and tried to calm down, "It doesn't mean she is going crazy... Everyone talks to himself/herself from time to time." Suman said with conviction but she looked like she was convincing herself rather than Preity.

"But--" Preity wanted to continue but sighed instead, "Yeah it must be nothing...after all she went through so much...it must be nothing...just a momentary lapse probably" Preity moved to make lemonade quickly, she doesn't want to leave Thapki alone for too long.

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Garden:

"Don't you w-worry even a bit, mamma will make it all b-beautiful again" Thapki said softly while viscously tugging a stubbornly strong weed. "I will make it a p-paradise for you by the time you come. N-Nobody seems to care about it, now that your dad is not h-here." Thapki shook her head in disgrace, "He always u-used to keep this garden looking at its best. He w-will freak out if he sees his g-garden like this."Thapki kept working, sitting on the dirt bending low.

"And over t-there in the lawn you will play football with him. The grass has g-grown big now and it needs to be m-mowed. I have to call s-someone to do it for m-me...I can't do it, I have to be ex-extra careful now that you are with m-me" Thapki smiled at the thought of her son. She didn't know how but she just knew it was a boy...who would be his father's spitting image.

"I will take c-care of you with my life...don't you worry my l-little one...don't worry that your d-dad is not here. D-don't think he doesn't l-love you. He loves you a l-lot just like he loves me...he p-probably loves you m-more than me...he just doesn't k-know about you y-yet. Don't be sad about it. I will n-never let anything happen to you. I will protect you like your d-dad protects me all the t-time."

Preity cleared her throat and Thapki stopped talking to her son. She looked up shading her eyes from the sun. Preity bhabi was standing with a jug of cold lemonade and a glass.

Thapki stood up, "Bhabi you are a life saver, I was dying of t-thirst."

Preity bhabi smiled at her as if she didn't just saw Thapki talking and smiling to herself, "I know, it is so hot today why do you insist on working here?" Preity bhabi poured her a glass of lemonade.

"Someone has to d-do it...why not m-me? And I like the s-sun" Thapki said taking the glass. Bihaan used to like sunny days like these...

"Thapki you are still too weak to be working"

"I am p-perfectly fine bhabi, don't worry a bit, I am eating p-properly again na? I will be strong within d-days" Thapki said with a smile.

"You have done enough for one day come inside now, please?" Preity insisted.

"I will I promise, let me f-finish this up. Only a bit left" Thapki handed her empty glass to Preity bhabi and got back to work. "You don't have to w-watch over me Bhabi...go inside now, I will be f-fine. You will get dark under this sun."

Preity bhabi walked away but didn't left; instead she hovered in the shade looking at the girl who was working in the dirt by herself. Something was wrong she was sure, she couldn't help herself but worry. She looked again... Thapki was singing now, softly and happily weeding.

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3 days later...

Afternoon

After they finished their household chores, Preity and Suman decided to check on Thapki. She was supposed to be napping but they still wanted to check. Though Thapki had been eating properly and relatively cheery lately they still worry about her turning mentally deranged. But before they could enter the room they heard it...a soft whimper and they rushed inside...

Preity and Suman would never forget the sight that welcomed them. Thapki was trying to get up in her bed her face scrunched in excruciating pain. She was grasping her stomach in one hand and trying to get up using her other hand. She looked in griping and agonising pain.

"Bhabi--" Thapki called out to them for help seeing them enter. Both of them ran to her and helped her in a sitting position. The bed covers were covered in blood and Thapki was crying holding her stomach. "Bhabi t-t-take me to the h-h-hospital right now...n-n-nothing...n-n-nothing should happen to h-h-him. I can't let a-a-anything happen to --" She couldn't even finish her sentence...her stomach was cramping so hard. Her eyes rolled upwards.

Preity bhabi flew out of the room to get help. The first person she literally bumped into was Dhruv who was going somewhere in a hurry all dressed up and looking into some files.

"Bhabi are you okay?? Why are you running like this?" Dhruv exclaimed looking at the scattered papers and files in the floor which he dropped at their collision.

"Dhruv devarji, come fast...woh Thapki----we need to take Thapki to the hospital"

Dhruv didn't wait to hear the whole sentence; he ran like wind to Thapki's room, scooped Thapki up and started to run again. Thapki was almost senseless in pain by then. Suman and Priety bhabi ran after them.

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City Hospital:

When Dhruv finally got Thapki admitted in the hospital, Thapki was senseless and her body was freezing. The doctors and nurses rushed her inside and Dhruv heard someone dolefully saying haemorrhaging like these was never good news. He turned quickly to blast whoever said such rubbish but everyone present at the emergency room was looking at him with pitiful eyes and it was difficult to deduce who said that sentence.

What the hell was happening??What was happening to Thapki?? He turned to look at his bhabis. They were crying into each other's arms.

He stomped towards them, "Bhabi what happened?? Why was Thapki bleeding like that?? It is not normal is it?" He knew about female menstrual cycle but he doubted that was what Thapki was going through. Dhruv's suit, shirt and pant was covered in Thapki's blood.

"Dhruv devarji...Thapki...Thapki..." Preity bhabi was sobbing so much she couldn't finish her sentence. Dhruv looked exasperatingly to Suman Bhabi and demanded again, "Thapki what? Bhabi??"

"Thapki is losing her baby Dhruv devarji" Suman bhabi said in a rush tears running through her cheeks.

Dhruv felt his whole world shaking...

"Thap--Thap--Thapki was pregnant?"

"We didn't know Dhruv devarji, she was fainting and vomiting but we thought it was because she was not eating properly...in her grief...in her heartache...We never ever suspected even once..."

Dhruv turned away holding his head in both his hands...he didn't want to listen anymore...he didn't want to think about the amount of emotional abuse, exploitation and manipulation Thapki had been subjugated to last few months by his mother, by him, by Bihaan...Bihaan

Dhruv turned towards his bhabis, "Bihaan?"

They shook their head together, "I don't think Bihaan devarji knows about his baby...otherwise he would have never ---" Preity bhabi hiccupped.

"I need to call Bihaan" Dhruv said in a small voice filled with dread. How could he give such news to him over phone? He dialled Bihaan nevertheless...Bihaan didn't pick up.

He kept on trying after that but there was no answer.

The nurse came after a while and asked them to wait outside the room where Thapki would be transferred shortly. They moved to wait by the room. She left asking Dhruv to fill up Thapki's patient form. Dhruv filled it up and resumed calling Bihaan. Still there was no answer.

Doctor came out after a while and Dhruv, Preity and Suman rushed to him."I am sorry Mr. Pandey but your wife has suffered a miscarriage and she is in a critical condition. It is quite normal to undergo miscarriage within first trimester and your wife was about 8 weeks along. We had to undergo an ERPC to remove the fetus. She lost quite a lot of blood so we need to give her a blood transfusion ASAP. Her haemoglobin level has dropped to a dangerous level of 4.5 which is way below normal level of 15. Her blood pressure and pulse are almost nil which is a matter of concern." He looked at her patient file."Her blood group is B+ve, so---"

"We are B +ve. Don't worry about blood..." Preity and Suman bhabi said in unison. The doctor nodded in approval.

" Very good...Yes she will need quite a lot of blood...please fill up the forms and get ready as soon as possible." The doctor nodded at the nurse to give the ladies appropriate forms and get them ready. Suman and Preity filled up the forms as quickly as possible and left with the nurse.

An unconscious Thapki was wheeled in a stretcher from ICU and transferred into the room soon after that. The doctor and nurses got busy setting up the blood transfusion and other machines by Thapki's bed.

After a while, the doctor came out again, "We are giving her blood, but we can't say she is out of danger until her hemoglobin level rises."

Dhruv nodded his head at the doctor and thanked him like an automaton. Doctor touched Dhruv's shoulder briefly in consolation and left.

Dhruv dropped into the nearest seat. He didn't feel like correcting the doctor that he was not the husband as the doctor was assuming...in fact his brother was...Bihaan... he needed to call him...Bihaan for god's sake pick up the damn phone. Dhruv began to dial Bihaan again and this time he picked up.

"Hello Bihaan?"

"What do you want Dhruv? Can't you get a hint that when a person is not picking his phone it means he doesn't want to talk? "

Dhruv ignored Bihaan's rudeness."Bihaan, can you come to the City Hospital?" Dhruv said in a shaky voice instead.

There was a pause. "Give me 15 minutes"

"We are in level-3, Room -308"

"I am on my way"

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Bihaan came in exactly 14 minutes later looking haggard, fatigued and leaner than ever. He came and stood in front of Dhruv who was waiting outside the room and looked at Dhruv's bloody clothes in panic.

"What happened to Ma? Is she okay?" Bihaan asked in rush.

Dhruv put his hand on Bihaan's shoulder. "It is not Ma, Bihaan."

Bihaan looked at the closed door of the room 308. "What do you mean it is not Ma? Who-Who- Who is it then?Bihaan shook off Dhruv's hand and dashed inside the room.

OH GOD NO! NO PLEASE ...NOT THAPKI...he burst inside the room and saw her.

Preity and Suman bhabi was sitting in the sofa inside. Seeing Bihaan they rushed to him. Bihaan had crumbled into his knees by then.

"Is she breathing??" Bihaan choked.

"Yes" Suman bhabi said putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Then why does she look so pale...so still?" Bihaan still couldn't breathe.

Dhruv held Bihaan firmly and made him stand up.

"Bihaan you need to be strong. Come outside I will explain."

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Chapter 21 - The Repentants