Chap 24-->Time
Despite trying to keep her eyes open Suman’s eyes were fluttering close, the exhaustion both physical and mental were catching up with her. A loud cry of a jackal somewhere and a loud ruffling of leaves jolted Suman out of her slumber. She decided to edge a little away from Shravan and sit up lest they are attacked by wild animals if not humans. The best she could do now is fight if she can. She slowly moved away and sat up slowly. She could hear sometimes Shravan’s muffled sounds as the pain might be getting worser but he was not at least shivering but his breathing was getting a little laboured reminding Suman, she really did not have much time. The clock ticked 5:00 am and Suman was feeling a little cold by now as she really did not have anything on her body apart from her undies. She rubbed herself vigorously to keep herself warm when Shravan’s voice reached her. She tried to understand what he was trying to say as his speech was now getting slurred but from what she heard she understood that Shravan was asking if she was cold and to take some covers from him and keep herself warm. She felt tears again rolling off her cheeks as she felt how in pain Shravan still was attuned to her needs. As she sat by the entrance of the shelter her eyes again went to the skies to see it getting a little lighter by now. Suman could still see the bright shining star twinkling brightly beckoning her. Her thoughts went back to her Bhaiyya, Satya. She sat there talking to him in whispers “First time I fell deeply and irrevocably in love and this is where it had brought us. Bhaiyya don’t I deserve to be cared,loved. First it was you and then it is Shravan. If Shravan does not make it through,I will also not make it and you will be responsible”, she looked up as angry tears flowed along with her little sobs as she accusingly pointed a finger at the twinkling star. Suman continued “You know Bhaiyya Shravan just a day back said that he would not mind even if he dies because he wanted to come clean to me which he has already done. Looks like you have heard his request but chose to ignore that he also wanted us to get married, have a beautiful life together.Why do you not hear these demands too? Do you have selective hearing? You know what, I don’t care whether you love me or not. I will not leave him in life or death. She angrily looked up at the star now and huffed and turned inside.
The clock ticked 6 am and Suman’s eyes had closed of their own accord when a gunshot was fired somewhere far but it was enough to jolt Suman out of her sleep. Cursing herself the umpteenth time she looked towards Shravan quickly checked his pulse which was very faint now. Time was running out too quick and too fast and Suman could not wait any longer. She looked at the little patches of light that flitted across the marshy paths wherever there was a clearing and it was good enough for her to move. She decided to cover the shelter’s door with some thorny figs and broken stems to deter wild animals and light a small fire to keep wild animals away while she goes looking for help.She was in two minds whether she should leave Shravan and go but one look at Shravan’s dark and pale face was enough to trigger her to take some action.Minutes later she was pushing some branches, some twigs and some thorny stems to block the entrance to make it difficult for any wild animal to get through and she hoped and prayed that this will protect Shravan till she is back. She would have to make it quick which was a little difficult as her feet was a little swollen due to insect bites and now, she had pricks on her hands while covering the entrance for the shelter. She decided to focus on Shravan’s pain so she can thrust her movement faster and not bother about her minor injuries.
Suman kept looking back as she stepped out to get some help leaving Shravan alone. Every time she walked ten steps, she retraced two and looked back at the shelter to see if everything was fine. She felt frustrated now with the situation and herself. Finally, she took some deep breaths and surged ahead going around the bend from where she could not see the shelter anymore.She could now hear her heart thudding loudly against her ribs as she unwillingly pushed herself ahead. She might have walked a kilometre when she heard shuffling of branches and distinct footsteps of probably more than 3-4 people coming towards her. Sweat beads appeared on her forehead as she pulled out her gun ready for use. She positioned herself behind a large old tree waiting for the people to come in. She was the last hope for Shravan and she could not give up, she could feel her feet becoming cold just at the thought of the situation.As the footsteps neared and she crouched ready to shoot , and then she heard what she had been waiting for , Sash shouting her name. The search party had finally arrived, and Suman finally stepped away from the tree and tried to callout to Sash as her voice betrayed her. She opened her mouth but sound refused to come out as tears ran down her cheeks and she tried again when a feeble sound came and then she tried harder till she was able to shout loud and clear “ Sash , I am here,…here…”. Finally, Sash reached Suman and enveloped her in a hug saying “Thank God you are safe”. Suman gladly let herself fall on his shoulders, clutching his shoulders cried loud and hoarse. Few seconds later Suman realized that she was still waiting to inform about Shravan. She quickly lifted herself and looked at everybody and said “ Come fast, Shravan has been shot.He is fighting for his life.” She pointed towards the direction of the shelter as the police and NCB officials started moving towards the shelter and Sash took his satellite phone to ask the stretcher and ambulance to be ready to go as there is a critical patient on the way. Leaving Suman aside Sash also moved ahead to look at Shravan. The medical team arrived and as a pale Shravan was lifted on the stretcher Suman ran alongside it.
They all had reached the ambulance and Suman wanted to go with Shravan and it was with a lot of difficulty that Sash managed to pull her aside. Sash comforted Suman who was by now drenching Sash crisp crease free shirt with her tears. He assured Suman that there was medical staff in the ambulance,and they will do the needful and they would anyways follow the ambulance to ensure it reached safely. With much reluctance Suman finally gave in and joined Sash as he drove just behind the ambulance which was now blaring and blinking its way through the traffic to reach the hospital as soon as they could. A couple of hours later an exhausted Suman sat on the steel cold chairs of the hospital watching muted as the doctors and nurses moved with purpose in and out of the OT in scrubs. Shash held on to Suman as he perfectly understood the emotional state of Suman now. He held her by her shoulders and said “Shravan will be fine. I spoke to the doctors. He has lost a lot of blood but he has only one bullet , the other has scraped and torn a chunk of the flesh but is not lodged inside”. Suman looked towards him with an expression less face and Sash was not sure she heard him when she said “I love him and I cannot afford to loose him.It should have been me as the gun was aimed at me but Shravan jumped to save me” saying that she hugged Sash tight and sobbed unabashedly as Sash ran his hand over Suman’s head lovingly soothing her and trying to calm her down.
It was almost afternoon when the doctors informed that they had been able to dislodge the bullet from Shravan’s hand but the infection has spread a little more because of the time it has taken for him to reach the hospital.There has been a lot of blood loss, his pulse was extremely feeble, and his breathing was laboured when he was brought in so it will take time for his vitals to get back to normal. They have moved him to the Post-Operative Intensive Care Unit and he is yet to gain consciousness. As of now there looks to be no threat to his life but till his vitals improve nothing can be confirmed. Sash had managed to drag Suman home to freshen up. Although she obeyed but she was back in an hour in the same place after changing into afresh pair of clothes. The exhaustion for the gruelling day was catching upfast as she slumped on the chair and her head lolled back to sleep. It was only when the nurse shook her up a little that she jolted back trying to rub her eyes to brush off the sleep before she looked up at the nurse. Suman was a little disoriented as she had not rested enough, and it took a while for her to figure out where she was and then finally she realized the nurse curiously looking at her. She immediately straightened up and asked “Sister, what happened to Shravan, is he ok”. The nurse held her shoulders and with a small smile said “Don’t worry he is fine; he is still not fully conscious but will recover. I wanted you to come with me to the general physician.” Suman looked at her confused when she pointed to the swelling on Suman’s feet and said“Looks like some insect bite”. Suman now smiled back probably in a long time as she followed the nurse. After checking up with the doctor they proceeded to the infirmary where the nurse helped to clean the bite and the thorn pricks as she prepared for a little incision. The nurse looked at Suman and said “You love him very much. Don’t worry, your love is your prayer and God will always hear them”. There was something in the infectious smile of the short and stout aged lady which lifted Suman’s spirits and she smiled back. She settled back in her place with a cup of coffee feeling positive and energetic as Aneesh and Saheb walked in. They inquired in general about Shravan’s condition but althoughAneesh wanted to talk the fantastic discoveries he had made in the investigation he chose to remain quite given that it was not the right place.
It was late in the evening that the doctor came out walking towards Suman and said “Ma’am , your patient has regained consciousness . You can speak to him”. The doctor was leaving when he turned back and said, “You are Suman right”? Suman nodded and asked, “Why do you ask”? The doctor smiled and said, “You must be very special to him, the first name he said was yours after regaining consciousness”. Suman smiled now and realized that her cheeks had warmed up at the comment as she sprinted to the ward after wearing the protective wear. She walked in but her eyes stung as she looked at the numerous tubes that were stuck to Shravan. This was not the first time she was seeing someone like this yet seeing the fun loving, charismatic Shravan here downed her spirits. She carefully edged towards Shravan negotiating the machines which were continuously beeping. She lifted her fingers slowly but before she touched him, she looked sheepishly towards the nurse for a nod for her to go ahead. On getting a nod she softly called Shravan running her fingers slowly in his hair.Shravan slowly opened his eyes and it took him a while to focus his vision and realizing finally that his Suman was looking anxiously towards him, he smiled slowly and said “So, we finally made it”. Although the voice sounded faint, but Suman heard him, and she smiled back nodding a yes. She softly asked him “Do you need something? Are you feeling ok? “. Shravan smiled and said “Yes, I need a kiss and yes I am feeling ok but need a few more days before I can go all guns blazing again”. Suman now laughed a little as tears stung her eyes and she lifted her fingers to rub them off before Shravan noticed. She was happy to see Shravan back to his effervescent self. Suman noticed that he was closing his eyes as she tried to talk to him and on asking the nurse told her that the medicines that were being punched in the saline was making him feel drowsy. She finally wished Shravan good night before leaving and promising Shravan to be back as soon as possible the next day. Suman knew Shravan wanted her to stay but his drowsy state did not allow him to delve much. Suman finally pulled her covers as the clock struck 11 pm after a warm light meal to finally have some peaceful sleep after the tumultuous journey they had.
Arjun
Cricket
Indian Mythology
