Aaj Jaane ki zidd na karo- FS EPILOGUE updated pg-11 - Page 3

CHAPTER 2

“Okay, Mrs.Pandya, you’re 10 cm dilated. You’ll be able to meet your kid soon. I’m going to need you to start pushing now”

“Okay, here we go”

“Aaaaahahhhhh…”

“Take a deep breath and keep pushing”

“What the hell do you think I’ve been doing this whole time?”

“Raavi,” Prafulla tries, holding her daughter’s hand, “Beta, please. Todha aur push kar. Bas hone hi walla hai”

“Maasi ma, I can't do this anymore. Not withou—” Raavi screams as she tries to push again, “Not without Shiva''

‘Where the hell is he?’

“Okay Mrs Pandya, you are ready to push again. Just take a deep breath and push”

“Aahhhhh” cries Raavi.

“Very good, one more push!”

‘If this woman asks me to push one more time, I swear to bhole—

And her son takes his first breath on earth.

“Congratulations, Mrs Pandya! You have successfully given birth to a son. Once the preliminary tests are done, you can hold him.”

“Can I see him? is he ok?”

“Nothing to worry about, he’s completely fine. This is just a protocol to check if we missed anything.”

“Oh ok”

Almost as soon as the nurse holding the baby is out of the room, Raavi turns to Prafulla.

“Maasi ma, where the hell is Shiva? I need to see him”

“Raavi beta, woh aajeyga. Tu fikar matkar”, Prafulla assures her.

“Nahi, maasi ma, mujhe bohot gabrahat ho raha hein. I feel like something is wrong”

With that, she faints.

“Raavi. Ae Raavi!” Prafulla tries to shake Raavi awake to no reply.

“DOCTOR! NURSE! Nurse!”

***************

“Nurse, bring the chest tube, scalpel and alcohol wipes”

“He has a hemopneumothorax,” the doctor says as she pulls on her gloves, “He won't be able to breathe without the tube”

“But doctor, here…risk of infection is very high. What if…?”

“If we don't do it, he’ll die”

The nurse does as she says and hands the doctor the necessities. She looks over at the barely conscious army man, “Major, this is gonna hurt, and I’m gonna need you to bear with me. Got it?”

He grunts in response.

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‘Oh bhoothnath, tere liye ek surprise hai. Come home now, ha?’

“Chipkali, I just left to meet my friends. Tujhe bhi pata hai hum kitne waqt ke baad mil rahe hai. They also just finished their tour. Won't you let me have a beer with them at least? Waise be tere saare surprises bakwas nikalta hein.”

‘Gadheda, it's very important. I need you here now. By the way, buyapregnancykitonyourway’ she said quickly and cut the call.

His eyes widened in surprise. He rushes to the nearest pharmacy, breathless, and asks for a pregnancy kit.

He ignores the shopkeeper smirking at him.

He speeds home, breaking god-knows-how-many-traffic-laws on the way, and rings the bell repeatedly.

“Haan, haan. Aa rahi hoon. Bell todh dega kya” she says as she opens the door for him.

“Raavi, are you really…?

“Abe duffer, how will I know? That’s why I asked you to buy the damn thing. And you took so much time also” she answers before snatching the test from his hands.

“Chal chipkali chod. Let us test it”

“‘Us’ nei. Mein. Let me test it.Tu idhar hi ruk”

Two minutes pass. And then five minutes pass. And then—

“Abe yaar, how much time does it take to pee on a stick? And are you even sure these things are accurate?”

“I mean, it’s no blood test, but it’ll do” comes her answer from inside the bathroom.

“How the f*ck are you so calm right now? We might be having a kid, chipkali. For real. I mean, I know when this happened. It must have been that night I te—”He began in a teasing tone.

“It’s here. It’s positive! SHIVA, IT’SPOSITIVE! I am pregnant! We are pregnant, we’re gonna be parents! We are gonna have a baby!”

“Kya…?” Shiva said, as he tried to process this.

“Gadheda,” she shakes his arms, ”You are gonna be a bandar papa, soon!”

“Sachi me?”

“Yes, you fool! Tera Kanpur me hadthaal hai kya?”

“Chipkali, hum mama-papa banne wale hain!”

“Yes!”

“Holy sh*t, this makes me so happy!”

“Let me just call maasi ma and tell her”

‘Hay maaro bhogilal sach me?’

‘Haan, maasi ma. Aap nani banne wale hain, aur Anitha di maasi banne wali hai!

‘Hai, mai toh bohot khush hoon, Raavi’

‘Tum dono ko bohot, bohot badhai ho!Aur suno. Don't tell anyone for the first 3 months, haan. Nazar na lag jaaye.We don't want that for you or the baby’

‘Aur Shiva iski nazar daily utarna’

“Main sab karlunga, maami. Aap bilkul tension mat lo. Main hoon na”

“Usi ka hi toh tension hai” Raavi mutters under her breath, as Shiva glares at her.

Prafulla laughs and congratulates them again before cutting the call.

As Shiva and Raavi look at each other, she pulls them together, foreheads touching.

“Congrats mama-to-be” he whispers.

“Congrats papa-to-be”

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“Doctor, his O2 sats are low”

“Increase the setting on the vent”

She glances at her patient.

‘Come on, Major’

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Raavi runs to the toilet clutching her stomach, its contents threatening to spill any moment. Shiva is close behind her, moving to hold her hair.

“Raavi, you know you shouldn’t bend. Just use the wash basin, na?”

“Not this again. I want to puke and I will puke wherever the hell I want to”

“Raavi, listen to me. You shouldn't bend during this time because the doctor—”

“The doctor said nothing of that sort, jooth mat bol” she said, before vomiting again.

Shiva just rubs her back through it.

When she seems to be done, Raavi leans her head on his shoulder, “Ugh, this baby is gonna—” she pukes again before she completes her sentence.

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Prafulla gets up from her seat when she sees the doctor approaching Raavi’s room.

“Doctor saab, meri Raavi teekh teekh toh hai na?”

“Aap please dho minute wait kijiye” he says, before shutting the door behind him.

‘Are yeh log mujhe kuch bata kyu nahi rahe hain?’ she thinks as she sits back down.

The doctor and nurses rush in and out of her room as the hours go by.

“Raavi ko kuch nahi hoga, maasi” Anitha says, hugging Riya who was sleeping on her shoulder, trying to calm her worrying aunt.

The doctor steps out of the room, “Who is here for Raavi Pandya?”

“I need to speak to you privately”

.

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“Ugh, nothing fits!” says Raavi, as she flings another kurta aside. “Shiva, I don't have anything to wear”

Shiva adjusts his collar as he looks at himself in the mirror, “Tho kya hua, chipkali? Hame der ho rahi hai, kuch bhi pehen le. Aakhir dhikhna hain toh chipkali jaise, na”

He turns to Raavi in surprise when she bursts out in tears.

“Ae nautanki, thu ro kyu rahi hein?” he asks, as he kneels in front of her, hands on her knees.

“Mujhe nai aana, thu ja akela”

“Are, achanak kya hua? Thu tho kitni exited thi theri friend ki engagement ke liye”

“Now, I don't wanna go. That’s it” she answers, as she tries to get up and storm out of their bedroom.

“Hey, chipkali,” he pulls her backdown, “Bata. What is the real problem?”

She refuses to look at him, until he gently nudges her.

“It’s just…it’s stupid. You look so handsome like this and I look like a fat pig who has swollen ankles and sausages for toes”

“My face is covered with zits. I used to be Somnath ki sabse khoobsurat ladki aur abhi dekho”

He takes her hand in his, “You are still the same khoobsurat ladki. Teri surat bahar se nahi, andar se aati hai,meri jaan. Your heart is so f*cking beautiful, Raavi. I love that about you. It’s my biggest reason for loving you”

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The doctor checks his breath.

“It's clear, but not equal” she sighs, grabs her cup of coffee and sits down to monitor his sats every hour.

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“Aww, Raavi. You look so pretty…” says Anitha, as she brushes her hand down Raavi’s dress.

“He na? Nazar na lage meri beti ko” Prafulla says fondly, as she cracks her knuckles against her temple.

“Shiva,” Raavi calls out to him when he walks past her room, “Mai kaisi lag rahi hoon?”

‘Gorgeous’ he thought as she twirled in place for him.

Raavi looked absolutely stunning in her peacock-green saree covering her growing bump, visibly glowing due to her pregnancy, with her long hair falling over her shoulder, and her favourite jhumkas dangling as she moved.

Shiva leans in to whisper in her ear, ”If you weren't already pregnant, you would definitely be by tonight”

Raavi blushes a deep crimson, right before she starts to cry.

“Arre, ab maine kya kiya?” asks Shiva, exasperatedly.

“It's just, you have literally never been this nice to me before” Raavi explains through her tears.

“Chal, jhooti. Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten how we made this baby” Shiva winks at her, before moving to wipe her face.

“Ahem, ahem…”

They jump at the sudden interruption. Prafulla looks at them pointedly.

“Come now or you’ll be late for your own godhbharai”

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*BEEP BEEP*

The clock reads 2 A.M

“The patient is stable, and I am going to take a short nap”

“Wake me up if something changes” the doctor instructs her nurse before leaving.

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“How did a chudail like you give birth to such a beautiful pari?” Shiva wonders out loud, as he sits next to Raavi on the hospital bed, holding their daughter.

“Gadheda, I just gave birth and you still want to fight with me?”

He chuckles in response, still looking down at their baby.

“You know, you were so strong today. I wouldn’t have been able to do that in a million years,” he looks to Raavi, “Tu meri chipkali hogi, but my god are you gonna be an amazing mom”

“I am really proud that you are my daughter’s mother. I love you both so fricking much” he says, before leaning down to kiss his wife and daughter on their forehead.

‘Hey bholenaath. My husband might be an idiot, but he loves our daughter so much. Please make sure nothing bad ever happens to our family. Please humara dhyaan rakhna’, Raavi prays silently as she looks upwards before smiling at her favourite people in the world.

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“Mrs Prafulla, your daughter had a major bleed, but thankfully we caught it just in time. Nothing to worry about now”

Prafulla lets out a breath of relief.

“It happened because one of her uterine vessels burst open, and the bleeding didn't stop so we had to open her up to cauterize the vessel and stop the bleeding. Her blood pressure shot up which is why she fainted”

“So, is she stable for now? Can I meet her?”

“Sure, in a few hours once she is conscious”

“What about my grandson? How is he doing? Can I meet him now at least?” she asks worriedly.

“He is fit as a fiddle. He is in the nursery. You can definitely meet him” the doctor answers, smiling.

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“Nahi, bilkul nahi”

“Hamare bacha ka naam Meenakumari nahi ho saktha. I don't care how much you loved her, she is your ex. I don't want visuals of her kissing you everytime I call for our daughter”

“Then it can't be Chandhni shikha, either”

“Fine”

“Fine”

“Choose one finger” Raavi says, as she extends her hand towards him, the index, middle and ring finger pointing out.

He chooses the index.

“Riya”

“Riya Shiva Pandya. I love it,” Shiva grins.

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‘Breaking news! We have received an update from our corresponder over at Ladakh,’ the T.V played in the background as Prafulla sat with her head in her hands.

‘Over to you, Priya Manohar, straight from the war zone…’

At the mention of ‘warzone’, Prafulla lifted her head to see a young reporter standing in front of what seems to be a military camp on fire. She instructs the receptionist to turn up the T.V’s volume.

‘Thank you, Prashant. As you can see, there has been a major bomb blast in the vicinity. Many of our Indian soldiers have been injured, and a few have even succumbed to their injuries. While the reason behind the blast is yet to be determined, the few officials we’ve managed to get in contact with have assured us…’

Ladakh…military base…soldiers succumbing to their injuries. The sound of the news fades to the background as Prafulla puts everything together.

‘Shiva…’ she thinks, before bursting into tears.

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Waaaaaaah…waaaaaaaah…

Riya is crying while Raavi soothes her, trying really hard to not follow her daughter’s example.

“Kya hua, chipkali? Why is my daughter crying so much?,” Shiva holds his arms out for Riya, cooing to her, “Come to papa, my love. Come to papa”

He bounces her around until she finally falls asleep. With Riya resting against his chest, he looks over to Raavi who had fallen asleep on the couch.

Her t-shirt was covered in baby spit and her hair hadn’t been touched with a comb in days. Her eyes were sunken in from not having slept properly for a week.

To Shiva, she was still and always will be the most beautiful woman in existence.

He kissed both of his ladies’ heads, “Sleep tight, my angels”

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“Maasi, mama kidhar hai?” asks Riya.“Woh teekh toh hai na? Aur mujhe ek baby brother hua hai ki sister? And where is nani ma?

“Patience, bacha. Your mom is just fine. She is resting now” answered Anitha, as she smiles and smooths herniece’s hair.

“You know, she was so strong today when she gave birth. Braver than when she had you. She had to do it without your papa this time. She was a fricking warrior queen in that room today.

Both your parents are so brave, na?”

Riya nods, feeling extremely proud of her mother. But she still couldn’t keep her curiosity down.

“Ha lekin, do I have a brother or a sister now?”

“You have a baby brother”

Riya grins, jumping up and down in excitement and hugs her maasi.

“Yay, I have a baby brother?! When can I meet him?”

“We can meet him now if you want to…He’s is in the nursery”

“Then let’s go!”

Riya tugs at Anitha’s hand until she gets up and follows her niece, laughing.

***************

Riya can’t stop staring at her brother.

“He is so small. Look at his hands,” she pokes at his fingers, “They’re so cute!”

“Be gentle,” Anita instructs.

Riya beams at her baby brother, before placing a small kiss on his forehead.

***************

Raavi wakes up from sedation.

“Shiva?” she calls out, looking around the room, only to see her Maasi ma’s tear stained face.

“Maasi ma?”

“Kaisa lag rahi hai? Pet me dard hein kya?” she asked, her voice laced with concern.

“Abhi thoda hain, shaayad pain medication dhiya hain shaayad isliye utna bura nahi hai. Aap ne baby Ko dekha?”

She nodded in affirmation, “Bilkul tumpe gaya hein”

Raavi smiles in response.

“Waise, Shiva kidhar hein? Abhi thak toh use aaja jana chahiye tha, na?”

“Pata nahi kaha mar gaya mera bhoothnath?” she muttered.

When Prafulla begins crying uncontrollably at that, Raavi tries to go to her before her aunt gets up and gently pushes her to lie back down.

“Maasi ma, kya ho gaya? Mein theek hoon, toh aap aise kyun ro rahe hain?”

“Raavi, beta…” Prafulla begins, before realising she didn’t know how to tell her daughter about this.

“Kya hua, maasi ma? Tell me. Please” Raavi urges.

“Beta…Woh Shiva…”

“Shiva? Shiva ko kya hua? Woh teekh tho hein?”

“News me…woh bol rahe the ki Shiva ke base me—” she hiccupped.

Raavi listened with rapt attention,“Aur?”

“Aur woh keh rahe the ki…”.

“Maasi ma, woh kya keh rahe they?”

“Ki uski camp mein…”

“Uski camp mein…?” Raavi prompted.

“There was a bomb blast. It seems there were several casualties” Prafulla finished quietly.

“What?” she asked, dazed.

“There was a bomb blast. And there were a few casualties” Prafulla carefully repeated.

“No. No, no, no. Noooooo!”