FF- Sparkling Dreams (COMPLETED) epilogue pg 43 - Page 19

Anguished eyes. They stared ahead, flooding with fear as they blindly groped for something distracting. At unimaginable speed and utter lack of knowledge of anything around him, Arnav sped through the disturbing roads, his vision blurred by unshed tears. He hadn't bothered changing from his casual T-shirt and sweatpants, his mind not registering anything except the fact that he needed to hurry, he needed to be there, he just needed to know she was fine.

His feet stormed into the waiting area, the horrifyingly medicinal scent of the hospital bringing back memories of all the time he had spent here holding his dying mothers hands. Realizing this wasn't the time to wallow in something from the past; his eyes scanned the room searchingly, fearful of what he would see, afraid of losing everything.

Garima sat with her head bent, tears continuously flowing down her pale cheeks as her eyes looked hazy with shock while her lips moved in constant prayer. He noticed Shashi holding her trembling hands as his teary eyes fell on Arnav, giving him a feeble sad smile. He could distinctly hear the way his feet squeaked against the shiny surface of the hospital floor, painfully aware of each step he took towards them, afraid of what he was going to hear next, terrified of what waited for him.

He remembered Garima whispering into the phone. "Khushi...accident" then breaking into a cry that brought alive his deepest fears. He had patiently asked her for the name of the hospital, his voice masking the tornado that spiraled through his entire being, tossing him around painfully.

As he sat next to Shashi, his mind fumbled over the words he heard, his eyes trying to hold back tears, "As she was returning from work, her cab was hit by a van at a corner, it was a two way road, the driver escaped with a few injuries but Bitiya was at the point of impact" Shashi said quietly, his fingers still wrapped around Garima's hand, "Doctors said that they are doing everything they can, she has suffered multiple injuries" he whispered and closed his eyes, fearing the loss of his sweet child.

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"Have something dear, you can't fall sick right now" Shashi pleaded as he thrust a sandwich from the hospitals canteen into Garima's hands while she stared ahead with an empty expression in her eyes. Two hours had passed. The updates from each doctor were uncertain, promising very little and only enhancing the fear in their hearts.

Arnav slouched in the chair at the corner, his eyes trained on the speckled pattern of the floor, ignoring the way his phone buzzed constantly and switching it off after some time. Fear, pain and unbearable helplessness, his heart felt so heavy, his ears attentive to pick up footsteps and his eyes looking up each time, wondering if the doctors had something relieving to say.

His mind sped over possibilities, his eyes turning grave each time as thoughts of losing her passed through his mind. He gripped the sides of the waiting chair, almost causing an imprint to form against his skin. Closing his eyes, he tried to believe everything would be alright, he tried to believe that he wouldn't lose someone so precious, he hoped and pleaded that everything won't be so cruelly snatched away from him once again.

Jiya and Dhruv had rushed to the hospital as soon as they heard, they waited for a few hours. As Jiya sat with moist eyes beside Garima, Dhruv quietly observed his cousins ashen face, his eyes bloodshot and filled with terror as though he was living his worst nightmare and his hands gripped sternly at the side, helplessly holding on to something to stay strong. He hadn't uttered a word, he hadn't even registered that Dhruv arrived and placed his hand gently on his shoulder. Dhruv had seen this look in Arnav's eyes before, when he had stood as a boy before his mother's pyre, his eyes filled with sorrow and grief unimaginable, still there had lurked something resolute and determined within them. This time the only difference was that there was nothing resolute within those painful orbs, there was just an empty brokenness that infiltrated something hollow and yearning, pleading for rescue.

A doctor clad in blue scrubs arrived, his face impassive as Shashi stood up, his eyes screaming urgently for something...anything..any assurance. "Mr. Gupta, the surgery went better than expected, she is stable for now, however she has lost a lot of blood and we won't know more of her condition until she wakes up, you have to be patient" the doctor said gently, "Considering the injury and trauma she has suffered, it may take a few hours and in some cases even days to gain consciousness"

Momentary relief passed through the waiting room, she was still breathing.

"Two of you will be permitted to see her, she is being carefully monitored in the ICU, once we feel like she is responding well we will shift her to the General ward" the doctor said as he guided Shashi and Garima.

Garima's eyes observed her daughters pale face, covered and bandaged to hide several injuries, her fragile body bathed in blue, pierced and plugged into various tubes and machines. She remembered all those times she had playfully asked Khushi to be silent when her silly daughter had ignorantly created a ruckus, she suppressed a sob, pleading that her bitiya would be able to say something, anything, even a small sigh would do. Closed eyes, silenced lips and still hands, "Please wake up...Please" Garima whispered with tears in her eyes, clutching Shashi's hand in pain.

Arnav waited outside with bated breath. His eyes having limited vision of the girl with a pallid face, his trembling fingers brushed across the door, as though silently sending across everything he wanted to tell her. Unable tear his eyes away, he sighed, hoping he would be able to drown in those hazel eyes again, hoping he would be able to feel her smile lovingly beneath his lips, hoping he could simply let her know how difficult it was to breathe seeing her like this.

I apologize if anything presented here is medically inaccurate, sadly my knowledge is limited only to several episodes of Greys Anatomy and House😛.

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