OS - Their Daughter
Ram had rushed to the spot as soon as he had got the call about the accident. He was already stressed with Priya's return into his life. Four days back when he had seen Priya with her daughter and Krish, his blood had boiled.
The day she had told him that it wasn't his baby he wanted to laugh at her. It was ridiculous. Of course it was his baby. He hated her guts. She was lying to him...the father of the baby. He was all set to go for a paternity test and prove that Priya was lying to him. But then Mom had intervened and then there was his grief.
He had holed up in his room for days which was nothing short of a hospital room, surviving on IV fluids after the last rites of Shivi which had given him a panic attack, put him in accurate stress and killed his appetite altogether.
And of course he was angry on Priya. Instead of being with him when he most needed her she was lying to him, creating misunderstandings so that she didn't have to be with him.
Granted he was the one who wanted her behind bars. But in his heart he wanted her to fight it, choose him over her dysfunctional, lying family.
But just like everyone else... he was not on her priority list.
"Shubhu," He sprinted to get to his brother who was shaking, sweating profusely, in trauma after the accident he had caused. "Tu theek hai naa?"
"Bhai! Everything's over. That girl... she was bleeding... she was still... like Shivi..it's all my fault..." Shubham stammered. "Just like Shivi... her death was my fault. ..Bhai it's all over. ... I killed two people. ... Shivi trusted me... I broke her trust... I killEd her..."
Ram stood shocked hearing Shubham's stammering as he broke down. The policemen took him away.
Shivi.... how was Shubham responsible? It made sense did it not? Priya was saving Shubham. He stood rooted at the spot.
He always knew Priya was taking the punishment for someone else but he hadn't thought it could be Shubham. He was about to follow the policemen when he heard people say that a small girl had been hit by Shubham's car.
"Pata nahi uski Maa pe kya guzar rahi hogi..."
Ram momentarily remembered his own mother... how she had been hit by the news of Shivi's untimely death. He felt responsible for the accident. He should have let the policemen take away Shubham's license the first time he cause an accident. He should have let him learn his lesson by serving his punishment.
He walked up to one of the policemen on the scene and enquired about the whereabouts of the girl.
Ten minutes later, Ram was swiftly walking down the corridor of the hospital moving towards the emergency room.
He stopped in track as he saw Priya wailing. She was on the floor, crying, like she had lost everything in life. Sara, Sandy, Krish they were all trying to console her.
Ram's heart froze. He still couldn't see her in pain.
He forgot what he had come for and dashed towards Priya.
"Priya, Priya, " He called..."arey hatiye baa, aap sab," He screamed crouching down.
"Mr Kapoor..." She cried, throwing her arms around him.
"Priya, I am here... everything's going ti be fine..." he console hugging her. He wondered if he was consoling her or himself. God knew how badly he needed her, she was his support system.
"Pihu, Mr. KAPOOR.... she was bleeding... meri nani si jaan. She was not talking to me. Meri Pihu..."
Ram stilled. The threads tried up in his head. Pihu was Priya’s daughter. Perhaps the little girl who had been hit by Shubham's car.
He was knocked out of air. He was responsible for Priya’s pain. For Pihu.
The doctor walked out getting all their attention. "Whose the little girl's family?" He asked.
Priya scrambled and got to her feet. "She's my daughter," Priya said while Ram stood behind her.
"How is she doctor?" Krish asked.
"She's lost a lot of blood, because of the bleeding due to the accident. We need details about her health, we have to be quick."
"She's an O negative, just like me. Take anything you want from me but please save her, doctor." Priya begged.
"Okay, we'll prep you for the blood donation. Any other health condition we have to be aware about?"
Priya blinked unable to think clearly. Pihu's smiling face kept flashing before her eyes, her voice echoing in her ears.
"Priya," Krish whispered holding her arm. "I know it's hard but the doctors need to know. Is there anything the doctors need to know?
Priya blinked crashing into reality. "She has allergy to penicillin and.... family history of cardiovascular diseases ... she's got all her vaccine shots...and.. uh," Priya forced herself to think, she couldn't freeze now. “she’s prone to stress… and has dust and pollen allergy.”
Ram blinked hearing that. It couldn’t be a coincidence. She was his daughter. He stepped behind until the wall hit him. He had a daughter. That tiny human who always got into fights with him was his daughter. He remembered how she had called him Papa even though if it was just a drama. She loved cup cakes too. She had a wit like his, and eyes too. He smiled despite the tears. He had a daughter.
Priya turned to find that Mr Kapoor had moved away and stood by a wall. The tears in his eyes the smile on his face… he knew.
More tears rushed down her cheeks. He didn’t deserve to know this way. There was a lot he didn’t deserve. She had made a stupid decision five years ago and she regretted it every single minute, every single second. Pihu deserved to know what a beautiful person her father was. Ram Kapoor deserved to know the bundle of joy and magic his daughter was. She had made horrible decisions.
“Mr, Kapoor.” She called.
“You should have told me Priya…told me the truth…” he whispered, crying. Looking at her with disappointment.
“I should have. But I made a wrong choice… and selfish one.” She stepped forward trying ti get hold of his hands.
“Miss Priya Sood?” the nurse called.
“A minute,” Priya said turning to the nurse and looked back at her husband.
Holding his hand she stepped closer to him. “I am very sorry Ram, you didn’t deserve this. But, please listen to me… she’s your daughter, my daughter, our daughter. Be there for her.”
Saying that she walked away.
Ram stood still. His life was saying past him to fast to understand everything.
Sara looked at Ram timidly and then at Krish and Sandy.
“Ram,” Sara called.
Ram looked at her like a mam who had lost everything. Sara could only imagine how hard would it be to know you had a daughter when she was fighting the battle between life and death.
“Ram, Priya can’t donate blood… technically she shouldn’t because she’s a heart patient. “
Ram stared at Sara like he couldn’t understand the language she was speaking in.
“She didn’t tell the doctor about her medical history. She had a mild heart attack when Pihu was a toddler. It’s risky for her to donate blood.”
Ram stared at Sara with blood shot eyes. A par of him wanted to just stand pretending he wasn’t able to grasp the gravity of the situation but another part wanted to find Priya and stop her from putting herself into harm's way.
He couldn’t be that stopped hearted. He ran in the direction Priya had walked away in. Just as the nurse prepped Priya he barged into he room.. “She can’t donate blood. Please arrange it from a blood bank. My friend is on the way with all the blood you need. Just…some time..”
“I can donate blood.” Priya said. “nurse, please continue..”
“Priya, you cannot.”
“Mr. Kapoor Pihu needs this. Please. Let me.”
“give us a minute,” Ram said to the nurse who left them alone.
“Will there ever be a day when you’d chose me over everything else in the world?”
Priya had tears in her eyes. “She’s the part of you that I will always chose before anything else.”
Ram chuckled dryly. “I hate the fact that I still love you, just the same if not more.”
“Let me do this, please… this is the only certain way.”
“I am sorry, I can’t.” Saying that he stormed out of the room to let the doctor know about Priya’s health. He knew if he gave in to Priya’s request Pihu would never forgive him. He would never forgive himself.
~
Ram sat in the silence of the night. It had been two months but still felt like years. To know he had a wife who loved him, a daughter who wanted to be with him, was a torture.
He couldn’t forgive himself for what happened to Pihu. The accident. It was his fault. He could have lost them both that day. Anything could’ve have happened.
He picked up the envelope and pulled out the letter. It was Priya, convincing him to stay with them and apologizing. “Priya, I don’t know how to forgive myself, tumhaare liye to saath known bhi maaf."
He flipped the page and like always there was Pihu's drawing. Thus time a different version of a happy family of three. He smiled as he saw the cupcake that she had managed to show into half by drawing a line over it. Putting him on one side and herself on the other. While she made a smiling Priya in the center holding both their hands.
His daughter was adorable. He caressed the part where she had written in her awfully huge handwriting : I miss you Papa, we want to go on an adventure with you.
He smiled until tears filled his eyes.
Maybe one day.
CID
