Never Gone Never Far #2, pt.15/pg120 30/11 - Page 26

Part 9:

"Arnav is back, Aditya. Khushi will be alright. Why are you worrying so much??" Anjali asked, unable to see him so worried and vulnerable. "I want them both together as soon as possible. I had my doubts regarding your brother wanting Khushi back in his life or not. But now that I've seen him, I'm beginning to think he needs her bad too. That he can't do without Khushi. And you already know about Khushi's obsession for Arnav! We can't pin point the extent of her mental sickness. And now, pregnancy along with that, Anjali!! Hormones would be running amok in her body. Which might not go well with her mental state at all." Aditya murmured, and Anjali's eyes got a distant look, as she replied, "I know, Aditya. . . . . I know. . . . ."

And there it was. The sadness that Aditya hated to see on her face, and remembered what Lavanya had told him. Anjali had gone through betrayal. How much it had shook her world, he didn't know. Neither was he interested in that. All he knew was, he would be lucky to have such a loving, and caring woman in his life. "Look. . . Anjali. . . I know you have gone through a lot. I can understand that you are still a little defensive when it comes to letting people into your life. . . . I can hardly expect anything, when you clearly aren't ready to trust anybody, let alone me! And I don't expect you to do it too, since you don't know me all that well. But, after all this is sorted out. . . ." Aditya murmured, pointing to where Khushi slept, and continued,"Would you like to. . . . Spend sometime with me? Get to know me?" Aditya, suddenly feeling apprehensive in asking a woman out, thought, 'Definitely a first for me'. He saw indecision flicker in her eyes. "Here?! in London??" Anjali asked, not really sure how that would be possible. She then realized that she was worrying about the place where they'd be "getting to know each other", rather than the "getting to know each other" part itself.

Aditya shrugged, as he replied with a smile, "I could come to India. . . I'm a psychiatrist. . . We have mental people all over the world!! So I can get a job anywhere I want!"
Anjali stared at him in awe. "You would do that?"
Aditya's brows furrowed, not understanding the reason behind her awed voice, "If you wanted me to. . ."

Anjali started thinking of her and Shyam. She hadn't been provided an option back then. She had married him, and had been grateful that Shyam had married her, even after knowing about her broken marriage, plus her physical ailment. If she had been grateful for that, she didn't know what to feel now. Aditya was giving her an option of taking him?! She thought that was a better option than to blindly believe anybody. She had decided long back, that she had to give one more chance to love. Was this it, then? She smiled, and said looking into his eyes, "I. . . I think I'd like that. . . ." Aditya beamed at her, and cupped her cheek with his hand, as he said, "Good. . . Now we need to talk to your brother. . . ." The last part was said in such an authoritative manner that she promptly handed her phone to him after dialing Chotey's number.

o0o0o0o

When he saw that his Di was calling him, Arnav thought she may have got up, and received her call. "Yes, Di."
"Erm. . . Aditya here. . ." Aditya said, and asked him to come back soon, making Arnav panic if everything was alright with his Di. Aditya smiled as he realized that the protective feeling between the Raizada siblings was mutual. "She's fine. Here. Talk to her." Aditya reassured Arnav and handed the phone back to her. Anjali smiled knowingly as she told her brother with a pout, "I'm fine, Chotey! But I want to see you now!!" Aditya recognized that would make sure that her brother returned home as soon as possible, and smiled at her appreciatively, and Anjali grinned, happy with herself for playing the cards right.

They had just turned to enter the apartment, when Payal came out, inquiring about Khushi's health.Aditya reassured her, and had opened his mouth to tell her regarding Khushi's pregnancy, when Anjali held his hand and shook her head when he turned to see her. Payal left to see Khushi, and Anjali explained, "We'll make sure and then tell everybody else. . ." Aditya looked at her serious expression, and nodded in understanding.

They waited in the apartment, as Payal silently sat next to Khushi, thinking of her crazy, hare-brained sister. When it came to Khushi, everything were extremes. Especially her love! And her hallucinations of Arnav was the proof of just that. If Arnav was the key to Khushi's well-being, Payal would accept that.

After a while, NK, Payal, and Lavanya left, making way for Aditya to speak to Arnav, whereas Anjali and Aditya waited for Arnav. As Arnav entered the apartment, he looked at his Di once, and looked at Aditya, as he sat in the chair opposite to his. He wasn't sure, but he could see his Di and Aditya speak with just their eyes, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

When Anjali nodded encouragingly at Aditya, he sighed, squared his shoulders, and started talking in the way he usually did, to his patients' family.
"Arnav. How are you?"
Arnav waited for a minute, turning to his sister suspiciously, and turned back to this strange man, and nodded, indicating that he was good.

"Do you miss her?" Aditya asked, directly jumping to the point, and saw so many emotions flit on Arnav's face. Dismay, annoyance, guilt, pain - at the point of agony, and his face settled with that expression for quite a few moments, before he slipped the cold mask on, though Aditya wasn't fooled for a second. He felt Anjali become restless beside him, and turned to her, shaking his head, telling her not to worry.

"She hasn't taken it that well too. . . ." Aditya all but murmured, and Arnav's head snapped up, as he stared at Aditya with shocked eyes, as the former continued "She was so not ready to let you go, even after she herself left you, that she started hallucinating about you." Arnav's breath came out in a whoosh, as he stood up, unable to do something, anything! NOT KNOWING what to do. "Sit." Aditya said, his voice calmly ordering, and made Arnav sit on the edge of the chair. "Now, that you're here, I don't think she'll be doing it anymore. Usually in such cases, the patient's mind would make up an image of what or whom they are missing, and how they want them to be. In Khushi's case, it was you. She is very angry on you, and. . . ." Aditya was explaining, when Arnav murmured, "I know. . . . . More hurt, than angry. . . ."

Aditya, at that moment stopped hating Arnav for hurting first Lavanya, and then Khushi. Anybody could tell Arnav was a man burning in his own hell. He felt so bad for the man in front of him. Not that he knew much about love, and soul mates thing. But he had theoretically studied how a mind of a person in love would work. It was almost like it worked in sync with the person whom they loved. And after meeting Anjali, he had started to get a vague idea of how it would feel too. He shook his head to remove the thoughts about him and Anjali, as he said, "Go to her. . . She's sleeping in your room. . . . And please take care of her. . . We'll be in the opposite apartment if you need us. . ." A flash of jealousy crossed over Arnav's face, before he turned back. Aditya was amused at seeing jealousy on Arnav's face. He held Anjali's hand silently, and guided her out by putting his hand on the small of her back, seeing that she suddenly looked exhausted.

Arnav had felt queasy to the core, when Aditya had started talking about a particular "her"! As he walked towards the room slowly, his mind wondered how Aditya knew about Khushi. How and why does he know so much about Khushi??!!, he thought. But such thoughts were easily forgotten as soon as he sensed Khushi. Yes. SENSED her. A few months ago, if someone can "sense" another person, he old have blatantly scoffed at them. But he had started sensing Khushi, even without knowing it himself!

He rushed to the room, and he was robbed off his breath, as soon as he saw his love lie there, motionless. He stood there, just watching her breathe, for a few seconds, before he rushed forward and took her limp form in his arms. Showering kisses all over her face, he buried his face at the crook of her neck, taking in her scent, feeling it seep to his life blood, drowning himself in her. His agonized eyes showed the colossal amounts of happiness that was rising in him. He laughed through his tears, for once letting his emotions dominate him, giving a free reign to all that he felt.

The promise he had made to himself, that he'd never show his face to her again, made him get worked up, and he held his breath while he thought about how he would survive if she really meant it. That she never wanted him in her life. 'Well. . . That's something she'll have to deal with! I can't and I won't let her go away anymore!! Besides, she is actually hallucinating about me! I don't think she'll reject me anymore. . . .' he thought, as he kissed her forehead, and sat on the bed, pulling her up into his embrace, as he hid his face in her neck.

He felt exhaustion claim him, and his eyelids were drooping on their own, when he felt her stir. Her hands, which had lain lifelessly on her sides, glided up his arms and into his hair, as she murmured his name. He pulled back, and looked into her big, brown eyes, feeling them warm up his frozen insides.

Khushi felt fuzzier than usual, and she didn't know why. She felt a strong pair of arms around her and she knew it was him holding her close. She felt totally fatigued and her hands felt so heavy, as they traveled up his strong arms, and buried themselves in his hair, which had grown longer than usual, she noticed. Almost in a careless manner, which was very uncharacteristic of him, she thought, as she frowned and murmured his name, which seemed almost like a weak whimper.

She remembered the flashes of Anjali and Payal, and sighed. She really was missing the whole of her family, and not just him. She was missing them all so bad, that she had probably started imagining them too. But she stopped those thoughts as her gaze again rested on his face. She remembered the agony that she had felt when she had thought that she wouldn't be able to see his face. Was that all a dream, or had he really left me?! Khushi thought, suddenly doubtful of what exactly was happening with her. Aditya had told her that she would see him everywhere, because Arnav was like air, food and water for her. A basic necessity. That thought made her realize how much she missed the real Arnav.

Yes. She had her own version of Arnav now. A more fun version of him, if she could say so. But she had fallen in love with the not-so-fun-version of him, and she missed him like anything. She buried her face in his neck, inhaling his scent, which was so well defined today, and felt his arms tighten around her.

Something was wrong. Arnav was. . . . . WARM today. . . Almost as if he was really here. She pulled back, her fingers touching his lips lightly. The turmoil she was feeling at that moment was indescribable. If she was imagining all this, then she had to admit that she was getting very good in it these days. She was imagining an Arnav, very similar to her husband. But, if he was the real arnav here. . . . . . She didn't know what to believe now. Whether she should believe her heart which said that he really was here, or accept the logical reasoning her mind was giving her, based on Aditya's allegation.

She slowly pulled his head downwards and pressed her lips to his, and heard him sigh, as he kissed her so tenderly, it made her heart break. But something else snapped in her too. He was here! He was really, actually HERE! She pulled back, gasping, as she got out of the bed, and held both her hands to her lips. As if she had been scalded when they kissed.

No!! This couldn't be!! He is here!! - - - - Or is he??!! She ran a frustrated hand through her hair. She needed help! Who? Whom to call for help?! And soon she yelled the person's name who had promised her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her, "ADI!! ADITYA!!!" And she kept on doing this until she felt a different pair of arms, strong nonetheless, go around her, and she relaxed at that touch, turning her back to Arnav, not caring whether he was still a figment of her imagination, or the one who had always managed to think the worst about her. "H. . . He. . . He's here!!" Khushi sputtered, as Aditya kept rubbing her hair, in soothing movements, and soon he felt her relax fully. He pulled Khushi out of his arms, and cupped her face, looking straight into her eyes, as he wanted to know what she felt when she finally saw that Arnav was really here.

Khushi looked into his eyes, her own searching for the answers that she needed to know. "You love arnav, yes?" Aditya asked, and Khushi knew. He was here! How he had found about her wasn't the issue. But, he had! And now she had to face him. She pushed Aditya away, as she sat back on her bed, rubbing her temples, as if this was all too much to take. "Not right now." Was all she could manage. Her voice had this new powerful edge to it, as if she had woken up from the bad dream that she had been having from the past few days, and Aditya pursed his lips, and nodded his head in approval.

Aditya had had his share of doubts, about the exact depth of Khushi's mental illness. He had been hoping that she would stop hallucinating Arnav when she saw the real one. But the danger of her going berserk was also there. In that case, her sickness would be labeled as acute schizophrenia, and would have been made to undergo therapy for the same. But that was the risk that Aditya had willingly taken, revealing his doubts to Anjali, and no one else.

But at present, he looked up at Anjali standing near the door, as she anxiously peered in, trying to read Aditya more clearly from above her brother's shoulder, and when their eyes met, she knew the worst of the storm had passed by. Khushi would be fine. It would take some time for things between her and Arnav to get back to normal, but she had all the time in the world. And with Aditya's help, she was sure everything would be alright. . . . . . . . .

Notes: (Skip them if you want, but later don't tell me this FF is too conphusing!!) 😳

Khushi's sickness :

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder that makes it difficult to:

• Tell the difference between real and unreal experiences

• Think logically

• Have normal emotional responses

  She will not be seeing her imaginary Arnav from now on. She was seeing him all these days, because her visual access to the real Arnav had been cut off. Now that she has the real Arnav by her side, her brain will stop creating an Arnav on its own!
  
  Though I wrote about Khushi being cured of her sickness as soon as she saw the real Arnav, that may not be the case in real life. And it would depend on the extent of the emotional damage the patient has suffered.
  Ultimately, it is fiction guys! And I am, but a poor, "software engineer"! So don't jump on me, telling that Harshu is a klutz!!
  
  Aditya's fear regarding Khushi's sickness :

  The problem was because he couldn't pinpoint the true level of Khushi's ailment. I've never been to psychiatrist before (TRUE STORY!! 😉 😆 ), and I'm not exactly sure how they treat their patients! Especially when they can't look into the "mantal" minds!! So leave my Aditya alone too. . .
  
  
  The apartment thingy!!(I can't believe I'm being made to tell the residing plans of my fictional characters!!🤡)
  Lavanya has two apartments in London, out of which she uses one, and graciously lent the other to Khushi for the time being. So when I say "Khushi's Apartment", it is Lavanya's apartment, which Khushi is using. And when I say "Lavanya's Apartment", it is the one where Lavanya is staying. Lavanya and Khushi aren't staying together. And Aditya has his own place too.
  
  
  

  The apartment opposite to Khushi's belongs to Lavanya's friend, and that is where the Raizadas are put up at.