OS-I will not leave you. Not now.Never

I will not leave you...Not now..Never...

She stood outside the door and took a deep breath. Praying to god to give her the strength to stay strong, she opened the door. She gave him her most beautiful smile and got a weak smile in return. Averting her gaze from him, she went inside and started placing all the things on the table. She knew if she turned and looked at him, she will not be able to stay strong.

"You know, today Bruno did not leave me to come here as he wanted me to take him on a walk. He started barking loudly every time I opened the door to leave. He left me only after I promised to take him out tomorrow. He has become so adamant. I think you should tell him to stop troubling me. And I have good news for you. Our company has cracked the deal. I was thinking of giving salary increment to the employees. Oh! I forgot. Mumma called me. She wanted to talk to you about the plans for the new house. Even chutki wanted to talk to...

"Naina, he whispered audible enough for her.

The voice made her go weak on her knees. She did not have the courage to turn around as she knew he will find out her fears once he looked at her. She closed her eyes trying to calm herself.

"Naina, he called out again with full of love.

Unable to ignore him, she turned around and looked at him.

As their eyes met, all the problems and fears flew away. The one thing which was prominent was LOVE.

***

He gestured her with his eyes to sit beside him holding his hand out for her. She could see how difficult it was for him. Placing her hands on his, she gave him a weak smile as she sat next to him. He looked into her eyes and decided it was time to face the reality.

She saw the determination in his eyes and was perplexed. What if her fears came true? No! She lowered her gaze guessing what was coming.

His eyes softened up seeing her. She loved him so much. He knew what he had to do.

"Don't be scared, he said as she looked up at him "I will not leave you nor will I ask you to leave me. You need not be afraid.

She looked surprised. This was not what she expected. This was not what people said he will do. This was not what they showed in films and fictions.

But he was different. He knew her in and out. He loved her truly and his actions shouted it out.

She looked into his eyes with all the love she had.

***

"I will be ready at 8. What should I wear?

"What about a new dress? he replied smiling as he thought about her reaction. Her round beautiful eyes would have gone wide in shock. Then she would smile and thank god for giving him.

True that. She exactly did the same

"You know you are the best. I love you so much. Where is the dress? Wait! When did you get it?

"Woah! Easy. The dress is on your study table and I bought it yesterday while returning home.

"How come I didn't notice it? she narrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"I take my bag with me, remember? Now go and get ready. I cannot wait to see you in that dress he replied excited making her blush.

All she could manage was a shy okay with a bye.

"Haye Haye! I wish I was there to see your blush. Oh my Nainu! I love you madly he said dreamily.

She went red. Oh god! How did he manage to have this effect even after 3 years of relationship and two years of marriage?

She regained her composure and said, Love you too. See you at 8. Drive safely. Bye.

He gave a kiss through the phone making her flush and cut the phone.

She got ready in that special dress and waited for him. It was a beautiful knee length sky blue frock. She had fallen for it at the first sight itself. She called him to ask his whereabouts and all she got was an automated voice informing her that his phone was out of reach.

After some time, she received a call and got the most devastating news of her life.

A speeding truck had hit his car.

She was shocked and scared of the possibilities of what could happen but managed to rush to the hospital.

As she entered the hospital, she saw that he was being taken in a stretcher. Her legs automatically made their way to him. He was completely covered in blood. His face had scratches and some glass pieces were pierced in his skin. Finding it very difficult to breath, he was trying hard to be conscious.

Her heart ached. If she had been in that state, she wouldn't have felt this much pain. She couldn't cry in front of him. He hated tears in her eyes. She hugged him closing her eyes as an attempt to control all the toxic thoughts coming to her head. She was brought back when he gasped a lump of air.

"Hey! I am here. You promised me you will not leave me, remember? I love you. Please fight for your life. Fight for me, for us. I will be waiting for you.

She was walking by the side of the stretcher, wiping the blood from his forehead and encouraging him to fight the battle between life and death. They took him inside the OT.

Her sky blue dress was now red giving a picture of sunset indicating the onset of night, the time of darkness.

The operation ended on a successful note. He had successfully won the battle and was back to life. But, things got complicated. His legs were damaged. Half of his face and whole of his head were covered with bandage. He could not raise his hands as he wished. He was always dependent on her for each and every little thing. He could literally do nothing on his own which made him feel sick of himself.

She knew that he was not feeling good about being dependent on her. All the while he would just stare at nothing. When she said something, he would give the most genuine fake smile he could manage. Fear clouded her mind as she saw that he was drifting away from her. Their family and friends also noticed the change. They told her to be strong as he might think of leaving her to reduce her burden. She knew him well. He loves her so much that he would do anything for her. And this was what they showed in movies and fictional stories, right? The hero has a dreadful disease and behaves indifferent towards the heroine asking her to leave him. No! He cannot do that. This fear was always prominent in her mind. Somewhere she was preparing her heart to take it without suffering a severe blow or even worse.

***

He looked at her and knew that it was time that he talked about them. Trying to sit straight with her help, he took both of her hands in his caressing them lovingly.

"I knew what you were thinking. You were scared that I will leave you. You knew I was not feeling well physically and emotionally. Yes, I was indifferent towards you. Not because I wanted you to leave me. You were suppressing your feelings. You did not cry when you saw me in that state or when I came back to life. You wanted someone to ask about your state. I wanted to be there for you. But my physical condition did not help me. I was angry at myself for putting you through this. I thought you will open up to me. You didn't do it because of your fears. Naina, I love you for the person who you are. You also love me for the same. We promised that we will love each other even when we get old, when you throw tantrums, when I get angry on you, when you get fat or I become bald. So how is it going to matter if I lost the ability to lead a normal life? You will always be there for me. And that is all I need. The same goes for you. I love you. I will not leave you. Not now. Never.

She threw her arms around him and started crying uncontrollably. She had a wonderful soul mate. And now she knew that he will not leave her at any cost. He was not that stupid.

"I love you so much, Arjun. Thank you, she said as she cried.

He held her close forgetting all the pain. Finally, she opened up. He will not let her go that easily. He was not that stupid.

Love is not about being selfless always. If you are ready to give the other person a chance to love you even when your hair becomes grey, you must allow them to love you even when you get deprived of your legs or hands or had a dreadful disease. Love everyone and enjoy the feeling of being loved.