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Aditya glanced at his watch. It was already 1:40 A.M and this party wasn't seeing an end any time soon. The music was blasting and the bride and groom were frolicking with their friends. The interns were up and about cleaning up the tables that had been emptied as people had started going home. It was an outside venue that thankfully was partially covered as it had started to unexpectedly pour, but that went unnoticed by the rowdy crowd. The venue was booked till 3 A.M and it seemed like the party would only cease once it was announced that the venue had to be emptied. He figured that he didn't need to be around till then, after all there wasn't anything to supervise anyway.
"Well, I'll just take off for the night, he thought scratching his forehead with his thumb. As he turned around to leave, his ears perked up as he overheard the interns talking.
"Akansha, Zoya madam se pooch liya ke unhone shaadi ke plan ko check kara ke nahin? inquired a worried Shawn.
"Nahin, main to unhe catering ka poochne gayee thee lekin vo kahin milee hi nahin. Doh ghantay say dhoond rahi hoon. Sab se pooch liya, lekin kisi ne unhune dekha hi nahin, replied Akansha.
Aditya furrowed his eyebrows. "Zoya doh ghantay say ghayab hai? Apne darling husband ki company ke event ko chor kar to kabhi nahi jaati. Toh gayi kahan? he thought, confused.
He had seen her around 11pm right after the dessert bar was set up and she had approached a tall man enjoying a bowl of gulab jamun. He was dressed in a pin-striped navy blue suit and had his hair slicked back. He hadn't seen the man's face as his back was turned to him. He had taken out his phone to show her something to which she had nodded in the affirmative. Then Aditya received a phone call from his Ma-in-law and had moved a little further from the scene to hear her better. When he had turned around both Zoya and that man were gone, or perhaps hidden in the crowd. He hadn't paid much thought to that at that time. In fact it was none of his business.
He scanned the venue for Mahi. She was nowhere to be found. "Strange, he spoke aloud. It was really odd that neither Mahi nor Zoya were around. After all the company was more of their responsibility than his. He shook his head to get out of his thoughts. Why was he getting worked up about their whereabouts? This wasn't any of his business. He called his driver who was reaching the backside of the venue in 5 minutes. He decided to head out towards the back of the venue and as he stepped out from underneath the covered ceiling, rain hit him hard and he cursed under his breath. "Sanjeev better get here fast, he thought.
He found cover on the other side of the alley and hurried underneath it. And as he shook his hair out of his eyes, he saw something that made his stomach churn uncomfortably. There was an unconscious figure curled up in the middle of the alley, clad in a purple gharara. Even in the continuous downpour of rain, Aditya recognized the figure and ran to it without a second thought.
He dropped to his knees as he neared the figure and turned it over, cradling her head on his lap. Zoya was drenched to the core and her lips had turned blue. "Zoya! he tapped her face lightly. "Zoya! He dropped her head in his lap and grabbed her hands and began to rub them urgently. Her skin was cold as ice, and she wasn't responding. He checked to see if she was breathing, which she was, but just barely. He took his coat off and quickly put it around her and then grabbed his phone and dialled his driver.
"Kahan ho thum? Jaldi pahuancho! he barked at his driver. Half a minute later a white car swerved into the alley and the driver stepped out and opened the car door for Adi.
"Hospital lay chalo jaldi! Adi demanded as he picked up Zoya in his arms and laid her down in the car. He then rushed to the other side and sat in, right next to her, cradling her head in his lap again.
"Heat chalao Sanjeev! Adi shouted as he wiped Zoya's face with the sleeve of his coat which was still around her. He removed a strand of hair from her face and checked her breathing again. She was still breathing, but it wasn't steady.
"Kitni der aur Sanjeev? Adi asked impatiently.
"Bas anay wala hai Sahab, replied the driver. Adi grabbed Zoya's hand again and began to rub it frantically to generate heat and as he did his eyes fell on her face. Her face had lost its color, it looked pale and tired. She looked so vulnerable. He continued to stare at her, and for the first time he realized how much she had been going through. But he didn't have much time to ponder over this as Sanjeev had stopped the car right in front of the Hospital Emergency ward. Sanjeev hurriedly opened the door for Adi, who sprinted out with Zoya to the nearest nurse.
"Emergency case hai, doctor ko bulaiye jaldi! he shouted urgently at the nurse as she quickly brought over a stretcher. He laid her down on it, but subconsciously held onto her hand. A few minutes later the doctor came out and rushed over to Adi.
"Kya huwa hain inhe? he inquired.
"Ye baarish mein bheeg gayi hai, behosh hai. Doctor isse saans bhi nahin aa rahi, Adi informed.
"Aap formalities puri kar den hum inka treatment start karthay hain, the doctor replied.
"Haan aap laykay jaiye doctor, Adi said as the nurse stepped forward to push the stretcher.
"Jaiye na aap jaldi kijiye sister, he signalled to the nurse.
"Haan main laykar jaarahi hoon, lekin aap inka haath tho choriye, said the nurse.
Adi looked down to see that he was holding onto Zoya's right hand, which was now only half bandaged. He didn't even realize that he was holding onto it, and even so, so hard that his knuckle had turned white. He let go of it immediately and watched as the stretcher was taken into the ward. And he suddenly felt a tug at the front of his shirt. He looked down to see that Zoya's dupatta had gotten stuck in the button of his shirt. As he detached it from his shirt, another nurse came over to hand him a clipboard with some forms. He took the dupatta and the clipboard and sat down on a nearby chair to fill it out.
He began to fill it out.
Name, Zoya. He wasn't sure whether to put Siddiqui or Arora for her last name so he left it at that. Gender, ticked off Female. Age, maybe she was Pooja's age but he wasn't sure so he left it blank. Date of Birth, again blank. Address, he had been there once. He racked his memory and jotted it down. Emergency number, he wrote down his own number and then blinked twice, surprised. He didn't know why he wrote down his own, even though he had Mahi's number. Maybe somewhere, in a compassionate part of his heart, he knew that Mahi would never care, even if it was an emergency. He shook his head and continued to fill out the form. Emergency contact, Aditya Hooda. Relationship, he left that blank too. Did they even have one? What was he supposed to write? "Husband- of- the- woman- who- cheated- on- him with- Zoya's- husband? Luckily, the nurse came over and asked for the form before he could come up with an answer.
Aditya sat there and stroked the dupatta in his lap, with his right thumb. He looked towards the E.R. in hopes that the doctor would come out any second and tell him of her progress. But no one walked out of the door. He took out his phone, which buzzed for the third time in a row. As expected it was his mom. And as usual he wasn't going to pick up. He cut the call, got up, and impatiently began to pace the floor.
The picture of her curled up on the road kept flashing before his eyes. Her purple gharara clinging to her thin frame. Her ice cold body. Her barely audible low breathing. That pale face. And those blue lips.
"Aisa kya hogaya ke Zoya road pe parhi milee? he thought still pacing left and right. " Kahin apne aap ko marnay to nahin pahaunchee thee?
"Nahin, usne to khud mujhe bridge pay khecha tha aur khudkhushi kaisa ghunna hai ka lecture bhi diya tha. he concluded himself. "Phir vo bahar aisay? Aur kabse bahar iss halat mein akeli hogi? Akeli... He suddenly thought of the incident at the red-light-area, and he sent a silent prayer to God, praying that something of that sort didn't happen to her.
An hour later, a nurse came out and told him that Zoya was shifted to a room. And that he should wait outside that room for the doctor. Adi followed the directions to the room and began pacing the floor again.
The doctor finally approached Adi, and he almost felt like he could breathe again, or not.
"Zoya kaisi hai doctor? Adi asked him, before he could open his mouth.
"Inko Hypothermia hua hai, yanikay inka body temperature khafi low hogaya tha. Adi looked to the ground in panic. "She was already so frail and Hypothermia could've he began to think but was brought out of his reverie when the doctor completed his statement.
"Ye tho acha hua ke aap inhay time pe lay aaye varna inka heart fail ho sakta that, Adi looked up at the doctor in horror, officially lost for words.
The doctor patted his shoulder and walked away. But he hadn't gone very far before he came back and asked, "Waise aap unkay kya lagte hain?
This was the second time he was faced with that question. And he didn't know what to say. After all his relationship with Zoya was that of hatred. But how was he supposed to explain this in the hospital where he brought her out of care? But then again, he would've helped anyone in that condition. It just happened to be that Zoya was an acquaintance. And people help strangers all the time. He could just deny that he knew her at all.
"Aap unkay kya lagtay hain? the doctor repeated again.
"Humdard, replied Adi, as he looked at the unconscious figure through the blinds of the room.
"Jee? the doctor looked confused.
Adi looked at the doctor, "Um, kya unhay hosh agaya? Kya main unsay mil sakta hoon?
"Unhay abhi hosh nahin aya aur hum unhay kuch ghantay under observation rakhenge kyun ki unki halat abhi bhi nazuk hai. Lekin aap undar jaa sakte ho. Agar unhay hosh ajaye to aap nurse ko bulalena, answered the doctor.
"Thank you, doctor, and with that Adi carefully turned the doorknob and walked into the room.
Zoya was hooked up to oxygen and had several drips along her left arm. The color had still not returned to her face. And she looked fragile, as if a single touch would shatter her.
Adi cautiously sat down on the chair next to her bed. He didn't realize when his eyes moistened with tears. Unshed tears, tears that he wouldn't shed because they weren't to be shed for her. After all she was a reason for the deceit he received. "But was it really her fault? he wondered looking at her lifeless form. She was suffering from the same pain. She had been deceived, too, no matter how much she denied it. The only difference was that she tried to plough through the pain with optimism and he did through anger. But the pain was still there.
And he had only added to that pain. He had worsened things to the point where she landed here in this state. He looked at her delicate face. Yes, he felt he was responsible for this incident. Whatever happened, that pushed her to do this, a part of it was contributed by him. He always taunted her and reminded her of Yash's infidelity. He wanted to break that blind trust she had so that she can understand his pain. So that she can understand what he was going through. He caressed her dupatta with his fingers and examined it's delicate embroidery.
"But why did she have to understand his pain when he never understood hers? Why should she try to understand at all, when everything he did made her life more painful? He realized that it wasn't only the relationship taunts, but also all the business pressure he put on top of her. Taking away the creative team and adding new interns. Not lending a hand when things got tough and even though, not causing physical harm to the event process, providing a constant reminder that he was out to ruin her and her work.
Adi ran a hand through his wet hair. He felt guilty. He had emotionally tortured her and he never realized how much she was already bearing. She not only was grieving her cheater husband's loss but also was being mistreated by her in-laws and disregarded by her parents. She was all alone in this agony and every corner she hit, she ran into him, who only gave her more pain and reminded her of all that she'd lost. He looked at her thin helpless form. When did he become so ruthless? How come it never crossed his mind that her thin frame could not hold the burden of so much anguish? He was so consumed in himself that he forgot that she was human, too, and that too a woman. When did he become so selfish?
Suddenly his phone buzzed again. It was Arjun. He tried cutting the call, but accidentally received it. "Bhai, Arjun's worried voice broke the silence in the room. Just then, a nurse entered the room and asked Adi to leave. Adi stepped out and put the phone to his ear.
"Haan, Arjun.
"Thank god, Bhai. Maa our Sakshi aunty itni pareshan hain. Aap kahan ho? Apne Sanjeev ko bhi ghar bhej diya. Aur vo tho kamra band karkay so gaya. Kuch bataya hi nahin. Adi remembered that he'd called his other driver to pick up Sanjeev and asked him for the car keys. He knew he would be long and he didn't want anymore drama. He knew that his dad would contact Sanjeev and ask him about his whereabouts. But he wasn't going to tell him that he was tending to Zoya's condition. He would blow things out of proportion as usual. Besides he wasn't answerable to his father anyway.
"Arjun, Maa-in-law ki tabiyath kaisi hai? he asked concerned.
"Bhai, vo ab kafhi behtar hain, lekin aap kahan ho? Arjun asked again.
"Arjun tum meri fikar math karo. Main theek hoon. he said in a strained voice.
"Bhai, aap kisi bar main to nahin ho na? Arjun asked cautiously.
"Nahin, for once, main bilkul sober jaga pe hoon. Ab tum so jao. Main ghar ajaoon ga. Mujhe kuch kaam hai. Ok, I have to go. Bye, and with that he hung up.
He turned around to see that the blinds in the room were shut. So he decided to stand outside the room and wait for the nurse. Fifteen minutes later, the nurse came out. He rushed to her side.
"Sir, unhe hosh aa gaya hai, aap unsay mil saktay hain, she announced.
Adi felt relieved. At least she gained consciousness. But he didn't know how he'd face her. What should he say to her? Would she tell him what happened if he asked her?
Adi put a fist to his mouth. He'd never felt so frustrated and confused in his life. He waited a whole ten minutes before mustering the courage to enter the room. He slowly turned the doorknob and quietly walked in. Zoya was sitting up in bed. The oxygen mask and all the needles had been removed. Her head was in her knees and her face was covered by the curtain of her long wavy hair. He could see her slender shoulders shaking. A soft click was heard when the door closed and her head shot up. Her eyes were red and swollen and her face tear-streaked. As soon as she saw him she tore the sheets off of her, ran to him, and threw her hands around him.
"Aa..Aditiya, she cried, tightening her hold around him. Adi was taken by surprise. He moved his arms around her but couldn't bring himself to close them in an embrace. He left them outstretched awkwardly.
"Zoya, he acknowledged her.
"Aditiya, hum gaye thay ussay milne...aur..aur..usne kaha..usne kaha...ke Yash aur Pooja, she cried into his chest, shaking uncontrollably.
So she had been trying to investigate.. Yash and...
His heart broke. He coulndn't carry on with this tough exterior anymore. He finally put his arms down and tenderly put them around her shoulders.
"Shhh..Zoya..it's okay, he tried to comfort her as the tear in his eye finally left his eye and got lost in her hair. He closed his eyes as she continued to tighten her grasp on him.
"Zoya, mujhe araam se batao. Hua kya tha? he asked gently.
"Aditiya voh hum...vo hum... she started but then stopped.
"Zoya? Adi asked as he felt her slacken in his grip. He looked down at her and saw that she'd fallen unconscious.
"Nurse! Adi shouted, as he moved towards the bed and laid her down. The nurse ran in, with the doctor at her heels. She ushered him out. And as he walked out of the room, another tear left his eye. He had just witnessed the most shattering scene ever. She was so broken and helpless and even then she'd turned to him for support. She'd turned to him. He, who had always put her down, and worked against her. He, who had never uttered a sincere hello' to her. She was definitely a pure soul. A soul so pious, that it didn't deserve to be punished like this. It shouldn't endure such pain. And he promised himself that night, that he'd never let her shatter like that again.
First OS in this forum! Leave your comments guys!
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