FF: Love, Cherish me ~~ Epilogue ~~ - Page 57

The Repentants

City Hospital

3^rd Floor

Balwinder and Krishnakanth was standing in the corridor and looking inside the room 308 through the rounded glass pane of the room's door. Both of them discreetly tried to wipe tears from their eyes. Poonam was standing by Thapki's bed staring at the white, cold and almost lifeless body of her daughter and weeping soundlessly. Aditi was holding her mother and crying her own share of tears.

Dadima was sitting in the sofa like a statue. Suman was sitting beside her looking vacantly in space too tired to cry anymore. Her husband stood by her side leaning against the wall looking helpless. Preity was sitting with Ashwin resting her head on his shoulders on one of the steel chairs in the corridor. She was tired but refused to go home when Ashwin insisted her to leave with Dhruv.

Another figure was there sitting quietly by Thapki's bed holding her cold soft hand in his big coarse ones. His gaze was fixed in the cannula inserted inside that hand for the IV drip being given to her. He had not moved from his position neither said a word to anyone ever since everyone started pouring in. And no one said anything to him either, left him at his contemplative stance by his lover's side. It is because there were not enough words in this world with which anyone could console him or relieve him of the pain he must be going through. In reality, everyone was actually ashamed to meet his eyes but it didn't really matter because Bihaan was not at all concerned about meeting anyone's eyes or who was meeting his eyes, his entire attention was focused on the inert body of his love.

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Pandey Nivas

Vasundhara was having tea in the living space sitting on the rounded sofa all by herself lost in her own musings, her nurse hovering nearby. Recently she was being allowed out of her room more and more and she lived for those moments because she was fed up of being cooped up in that room of hers.

However she was not feeling particularly jovial right now. No one was at home and she couldn't help but feel hurt no one thought of telling her before they left. Everyone was distancing themselves away from her she could feel it. No one seemed to have time for her...Even Bihaan hadn't visited her almost a week now and while visiting he was always impatient to leave.

Maybe they were still angry with her about Bihaan's divorce...Yes, if she was honest she had to admit, she had acted a little bit selfish regarding Thapki-Bihaan business. But it was for everyone's greater good, why couldn't anyone see that? She thought exasperatingly.

One day Thapki's infatuation with Bihaan would end and then she would realise Dhruv who was her first love was still her real love. And Dhruv, he had always loved Thapki. They suited each other perfectly. About Bihaan, she had to admit, he was not a bad kid, but he always had a penchant for his brother's possessions. Vasundhara was sure Bihaan's feeling for Thapki was not a matter of heart but his feelings for her rose from the envy he felt for his brother.

Nonetheless, she felt like she was missing something though... there was a black curtain in her mind hiding something, as if her brain was not letting her remember something. She knew she lost few hours of memories due to her stroke and her head began to ache dully every time she wanted to remember those hours. Like now. Vasundhara put her fingers on her temple to massage the dull ache out.

"Ma'am, are you feeling sick? Let's go back to your room" Her nurse came to help her go back to her room. Vasundhara asked for few more minutes. The nurse reluctantly slipped away again.

Why did her head hurt every time she tried to remember those hours? What happened in those hours?

She saw Dhruv enter the house looking lost in his thoughts. He didn't notice his mother sitting in the sofa. Vasundhara felt her spirits lift seeing her son. "Dhruv beta, you are looking tired...Come have some tea with me..."

Dhruv started seeing his mother sitting there.

"Do you know where is everybody in this house? Nobody tells me anything anymore..." Vasundhara huffed.

Dhruv was still looking at his mother like this was the first time he had ever seen her in his life.

"Dhruv? Where are you lost beta?" Vasu said again waving her hand.

Dhruv kept staring...

Vasundhara looked closer, what was in his clothes..?? Was that...blood?

"DHRUV..." This time Vasundhara screamed and got up from the sofa and ran to him, "What happened to you beta?? Is that blood in your shirt?? Where are you hurt? Show me..." She said, running her hands through his body searching for viscous cuts and bruises.

At her touch, Dhruv seemed to come out of his stupor and removed her hands from him, "Don't worry Ma, it is not my blood."

"No? Then whose blood is this then?"

Dhruv shook his head and smiled at his mother, "It is my future wife's blood." Dhruv said matter of factly, as if it didn't matter a bit.

"THAPKI'S?" Vasu exclaimed.

"Yes, Ma, it is nothing, she was hemorrhaging bad while losing the baby she was carrying...her and Bihaan's baby... the child is dead now...but don't you worry even a little bit...your beloved son is safe...nothing happened to me as you can see yourself" Dhruv said pointing at himself.

"What...are...you...talking...about?" Vasu said in a small voice staggering backwards.

"Thapki's life is hanging by a thread, Bihaan is a living corpse, as if it matters," Dhruv scoffed, "But I am doing fine. And it feels great to be alive and living like this because if Thapki survives by any chance she will be my wife. And I can't wait for that to happen, to marry Thapki" Dhruv nodded self-righteously.

Vasu kept looking at Dhruv.

"I am so fortunate to have a mother like you Ma and I want to appreciate you today from bottom of my heart...I feel so blessed and I can't wait to be blessed more by marrying Thapki. Does it really matters where her heart lies?? She is so fortunate that the famous and great "Dhruv Pandey" fell in love with her. Can anyone be luckier than that? So she will be my bride no matter what she wants and I have my mother's blessing for this union." Dhruv smiled smugly again.

"However, it will be a bit tricky to make her forget her love, who is my brother by the way, but he is a step brother'...so he has no value...anyway, so as I was saying, it might prove to be a bit tricky to make her forget Bihaan but I was thinking, if I rape her twice regularly maybe she will forget him, squeeze him out from her heart, and eventually fall in love with me instead."

Dhruv looked pleased with his own idea and looked at his mother, "What do you think Ma? How is that for a plan? Just imagine how happy I will be in my life ...how accomplished, successful, big I will feel. I already feel indebted to you."

Having said what he wanted to say, he started to leave for his room.

"No ...it can't be true, Thapki can't be pregnant, you are WRONG, DHRUV" Vasu finished in a scream, shaking her head, tears running through her cheeks.

Dhruv stopped in his tracks and turned back, "You are right Ma as always, I must be wrong. Thapki can't be pregnant, if you say she can not be pregnant then she simply can not be, and it is not her blood" He pointed at the stains in his clothes.

"Because nothing can happen which you do not wish to happen and you did not wish for her to get pregnant so she didn't... the whole world is lying...but only you know the truth ...accept my apologies please." he turned to leave again.

Vasu ran after him to the stairs, grabbed his arms and pleaded, "Dhruv, no beta, Thapki and Bihaan, they don't love each other" But her words sounded empty in her own ears.

ENOUGH! Dhruv jerked his hand away in disgust from her and said in pity, "Still, Ma??? You are saying that, still?? One innocent life is dead...and two are on verge of dying...but you still think they are not in love??"

Vasu shook her head crying she exclaimed, "No it can't be true, it can't be, because if it is indeed true then...that would mean I have committed a crime, even god will not absolve me of my sin...so...so" but as she was saying the black curtain in her mind lifted and she began to remember...everything... Bihaan denying to sign the papers, her beating of him, Bihaan shouting he loved Thapki...Thapki screaming the hateful truths... everything...

The world spinned around Vasu and she sat on the stairs holding her head with her both hands...NO NO NO

Dhruv sat beside his mother and hugged her. He was crying now, "Ma, it is not late yet, please, please save two lives...let them live their lives...let them love each other...they lost their child and it is entirely our fault. If only they were not separated from each other...their baby might still be with them...They both are disintegrating to death staying away from each other and I feel responsible for it... whatever you did you did it for me...in my interest...so I am to be blamed equally...And I can't look into my own eyes anymore, I feel disgusted with myself...I feel like I am killing my brother and his wife. I feel like a murderer, a killer...I feel so ashamed, so disgraceful, I do not know how to live with myself...I can't forgive myself..." Dhruv sobbed into his mother's arms. Vasu was crying too hugging her son, only one thought going through her mind,

Oh God! What have I done? What have I done?

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City Hospital, 3^rd Floor, Room-308

Around 9 pm the nurse came and asked everyone to leave; only one person can stay with the patient at night. Though everyone was willing to stay over with Thapki, no one had the heart to ask Bihaan to move, who was still sitting by Thapki's side holding her hand. One by one all left and Bihaan still stayed by Thapki's side waiting for her to wake up.

About 10: 30 Thapki finally woke up. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Bihaan sitting by her side holding her hand. Her whole body hurt and she felt so weak.

Bihaan looked at her with his beautiful sad, sad eyes.

"He is g-gone, isn't he?" Thapki asked in a raspy voice.

Tears rolled down Bihaan's cheeks, he didn't say anything just stared at her.

"I c-can feel him gone you k-know... I feel empty inside..." tears spilled down her own cheeks. "I feel so a-alone..."

Bihaan wrapped his arms around her hip and laid his head gently on her tummy. "I am so sorry Thapki...I am so sorry...so sorry ...so sorry...so sorry--" he began to sob and chant.

"You don't h-have to apologise for anything, B-Bihaan. You have done nothing to be s-sorry for" Thapki said, running her fingers through his thick curls. "It is not your f-fault." Thapki said resignedly.

"You were trying to say about our baby that night... But I didn't listen...I am nothing but a monster, Thapki"

Thapki sighed again and laid her head into her pillow still running her fingers through his hair.

"You are not a m-monster Bihaan. I think...I think he l-left because he got angry with m-me...M-Maybe I did s-something to make him a-angry and he left me..."

Bihaan shook his head "No, it was me he got angry with; I was never there for him remember? He left because of me"

The two broken souls stopped talking after that and cried for the life they had lost.

"I am t-tired, Bihaan, I am tired of living like this... I have no one left..." Thapki said after a while dejectedly.

"You have...you have me...you will always have me..."

"I want to l-leave...this place"

"Then I will leave with you"

"I w-want to go..."

"I will come with you"

"Is that a p-promise?"

"Yes, wherever you want to go... I will be with you in every step you take... I will follow you to the end of this world"

"I want to g-go where our son w-went."

"Then that is where we will go"

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Chapter 22 - For Eternity