I am very unhappy about the possible miscarriage and I want a positive end to a tragedy instead of a negative one, so here is my take. Hope you like it.
OS: Blessings
Ahem stood by the window in his room, his arms crossed over his chest and contemplated the events of the past two days, not just the two days, but also everything that has happened since he lost his cool on that fateful day of puja and blurted out that he did not want to be a father.
In the heat of the moment he had shouted that he did not want to be a father but he had not realized how he would pay for those hateful words that he spoke out in anger and instantly regretted them. Since that day things have gone from bad to worse. He had tried to explain himself, but really there were no words that could explain why he said what he said that day.
His mom's anger was justified as well as Gopi's pain, and he would have regretted saying those words if he Gopi had miscarried the baby in the accident two days ago.
Ahem closed his eyes as he remembered how one minute Gopi was there and the next he heard the loud thump as the car hit her. He had been frozen in place as the scene in front of him blended with the scene from the past as he saw the concrete ceiling and the wooden pillars had buried Gopi under them as they all fell around her.
The loud noise of the crowed and cars around had brought him back to present making him run out the car to see how badly Gopi had been injured.
FB..
Ahem ran in front of the black car to see Gopi lying on the road, unmoving. He quickly checked her over than carried her to his car to rush her to the hospital. He came to a screeching halt in front of the hospital and carried Gopi inside shouting for someone to help him.
"Doctor!" Seeing him carrying Gopi a nurse and an orderly ran towards him with a gurney. Ahem laid Gopi on the stretcher gently and caught her hand as they wheeled her towards the examining room.
The nurse stopped him at the door. "Excuse me sir, but you can not go in there; why don't you fill out admission form while the doctor examines your wife."
Ahem didn't want to leave Gopi's side and continued to hold her hand, but again the nurse asked him to go fill out the forms, and suddenly he realized he needed to inform them about the baby.
"Wait, please tell the doctor she is pregnant." Ahem felt his vision blur as he looked at his beloved wife and thought, it is my fault you are once again in this place. He let go of her hand reluctantly and was unable to do anything but watch her be taken in the examining room.
Once he was finished with all the formalities he went back to wait outside the examining room. He did not know how he was going to explain the accident to the family. He pulled out his phone with shaky hand and dialed his home number and waited for someone to answer the phone.
At Modi Bhavan, everyone was looking for Gopi. Koki was beyond worried at being unable to find Gopi. She looked up when Jigar rushed into the house.
"Kakiji the guard at the gate said he looked for bhabhi all over the grounds but she is not anywhere on the property and he also said the last time he had seen her was when she was looking for the stray puppy that bhai was taking care of since last night." Jigar had been shocked to learn that his bhai had voluntarily taken care of a stray dog.
Koki could not believe what she was hearing. Before she could question further the phone started ringing and she rushed to answer the phone. When she heard her son's distressed voice at the other end, her fear for her vahu increased.
"Ahem, calm down and tell me what happened." She said in a firm voice.
"Mom, Gopi had an accident, I am with her at the hospital." The phone dropped from Koki's hands she started swaying on her feet.
Hetal rushed to catch her as Jigar took the phone. Once he finished asking Ahem what hospital they were at he hung up the phone and told everyone what has happened.
"Jigar get the car, we are going to the hospital now." Hetal ordered Jigar. She then put her arm around Koki. "Kokila come let's go to the hospital and see how Gopi is before we start thinking the worst."
Koki took a deep breath and nodded to motabhabhi. She said a quick prayer to Kanaji as she walked towards the door.
Ahem put the phone in his pocket, was about to inquire on Gopi and saw the doctor come out of the examining room. Ahem rushed to him.
"Doctor, how is my wife?" Ahem did not like the frown on the doctor's face as he glanced to the door than back at Ahem.
"Mr. Modi your wife is out of danger now, but the baby is still at risk." The doctor informed Ahem worriedly.
Ahem felt the blood drain from his face and felt a sharp pain at the thought of Gopi losing their baby.
"Doctor, nothing should happen to the baby, I want our baby saved in any case." He begged.
The doctor put his hand on Ahem's shoulder. "We are doing all we can to save the baby. Your wife is still unconscious but we have given her something to prevent miscarriage, just pray that it works."
Ahem nodded his head slowly. "Can I see her? Please."
The doctor hesitated but seeing the pain on Ahem's face he relented. "I will let you go in, but you must stay calm and not disturb her."
Ahem gave doctor a grateful look. "Thank you doctor and I promise I won't do anything to disturb her."
The doctor watched as Ahem rushed into the room then walked away.
Ahem stopped by the door and just watched Gopi for a moment. She was hooked to a monitor that was beeping constantly and IV lines with fluid running thru them. His legs threatened to buckle as his mind flashed back to the previous time his wife was in the hospital, but he pushed the memory aside and walked towards the bed.
He felt his eyes burn as he blinked back the tears when he saw her take a deep breath. He took her hand in his and squeezed gently. His heart clenched when he saw the paleness of her face.
"Gopi I am so sorry, you are once again fighting, this time for the life of our baby, because of me. I should have never brought that dog into the house."
Gopi was hovering between reality and darkness. Every time she took a step towards the light the darkness pulled her back, then she heard her Ahemji's voice and focused on it to face the light and push the darkness back.
Ahem sat in the chair beside the bed bent his head over Gopi's hand. "Gopi I have done nothing but caused you pain and unhappiness. Please forgive me and give me a chance to make up for all the hurt I have caused. Please tell your kanaji not to take our baby away. I was wrong to say I do not want the baby."
Ahem looked up in hope when he felt Gopi's hand move but she was still unconscious. He once again bent his head. "Gopi I want to be a father to this baby, I want to watch him grow up and teach him all the things that a father would teach to his child. I want to be a better husband to you. Please Gopi just hang on and don't lose this baby and I promise I will never hurt you or the baby again. I love you both so much, please don't give up on me."
Present..
Ahem turned away from the window and walked towards the bed. He lay down tiredly but his mind would not rest. He didn't remember how long he had sat beside Gopi holding her hand in his and prayed over and over for Kanaji not to take their baby away. Once his mom came in the room he was forced to leave Gopi's side and wait outside with rest of the family.
He hadn't argued with his mom when she told him to leave Gopi's side, at the moment it was import to not cause Gopi any stress. It had been hours before the doctor had told them that the baby was also out of danger but they were going to admit Gopi overnight for observation.
Gopi had come home the day before with strict orders from the doctors to take it easy for next few days. Everyone had been relieved to learn that the tragedy had been prevented, but his mom was still angry at him, more so now because he had brought the dog in to the house that lead to Gopi's accident. Ahem turned over and tried to sleep and not think about how he is going to convince his mom that he regretted his words spoken in anger.
Gopi had been home for almost a week now and the restlessness of being confined to bed most of the day was becoming more and more unbearable. No one would even let her lift a finger; she hoped that when the doctor comes to check on her he declares her healthy enough to move around a bit.
More than anything she wanted to go back to her room to be with Ahemji again. She has been unable to get her maji to listen to her but soon she will talk to maji to give Ahemji a break and listen to what he is trying to tell maji.
She was worried about her Ahemji, the more she saw him each day the more she worried for his wellbeing. Not being able to eat with family and maji's refusal to talk to him was taking its toll on him. She did not want her Ahemji to be punished anymore especially now that she knew how sorry he was about what he said.
It wasn't until two days after she came home that she realized what she thought was a dream while she was unconscious was not a dream but her Ahemji had really sat beside her, holding her hand praying to kanaji over and over to save their baby. He had said he loved both her and the baby so much and not to give up on him, and she wanted to bridge the distance between maji and her Ahemji.
She was so deep in thoughts she did not see the object of her thoughts standing by the door watching her with a visible longing in his eyes. Ahem was relieved to see the color returning in Gopi's cheeks and she looked like she has been feeling much better. He longed to take her in his arms and shelter her from all the unpleasantness of life. He sighed at his whimsical thoughts and knocked on the door softly.
His heart skipped a beat when Gopi smiled at him with pleasure. He walked close to the bed and ran his eyes over her to make sure she really was feeling well. "How are you feeling Gopi?"
Gopi was pleased to see her Ahemji looking much better today. "I am fine Ahemji, just hoping the doctor tells me I am well enough to move around a bit. I am getting bored and restless."
Ahem hid a smile complaining tone. "Did you already read all those books I got for you?" She nodded her head. "What about the movies I got for you to watch?"
Gopi sighed. "I watched few but was bored with them after a while."
Ahem was stumped and didn't know what else he could suggest to keep her mind occupied. "Hmm..may be you should ask mom to play Ludo with you then." He teased.
Gopi's eyes widened at the thought of asking her maji to play the board game with her then smiled when she realized Ahemji was teasing her. He captured her gaze and they both got lost in each other. Their eyes spoke volumes of their love for each other and how much they missed one another.
Unknown to them Koki had witnessed their interactions and was in deep thoughts about what she saw and heard. Before she could say anything her younger sister called out for her loudly. Koki ignored her and moved into the room to check on Gopi. She glanced at her son and looked away quickly. She did not want to give into him yet. She had noticed the change in him recently but she did not want to take a chance on him hurting her Gopi vahu again.
"Gopi vahu, how are you feeling now?" She said and caressed her vahu's head affectionately.
Gopi flickered a glance at her Ahemji and noticed the hurt on his face when her maji ignored him. She looked up at her maji and tried to smile. "I am much better maji, but I am tired of being in the bed all the time."
Koki nodded in understanding. "I know you are and if the doctor allows it, you can come out in the hall later today." Koki was pleased to see her vahu smile. She left the room without glancing at her son.
Ahem too left after few moments, leaving Gopi with determination to get her maji and Ahemji close again.
It was another day before Gopi's determination to talk to her maji was made even stronger. She had been walking by when she heard Jiggy masi and her Ahemji's conversation.
"Jiggy, it is not like that at all, Gopi is perfect for me and it was only in the beginning of our marriage that I thought she was not right, but now I know her and love her very much. I was confused for a while about the baby but not anymore. I just want a chance to explain my reasons to mom and ask her for forgiveness." Ahem said to his masi.
His masi was convinced that he was not happy in this marriage and wanted to separate from Gopi and he had no idea how she reached this conclusion.
He did not see Gopi walking away after hearing his words.
Gopi sat on the bed and prayed to her kanaji to give her strength to convince her maji to giver her Ahemji a chance to explain himself and to forgive him. She looked up when her maji walked in and closed the door behind her.
She waited for her maji to settle on the bed before speaking. "Maji may I ask you for something?"
Koki frowned at her vahu then looked at her closely and nodded her head yes. "Ha, Gopi vahu of course you can ask me for something. Tell me what do you want and I will do my best to get it for you."
Gopi gripped her fingers together nervously. "Maji please hear me out first."
Koki put her hand on top of Gopi's head. "Theek hai, kaho kya kehna hai."
Gopi took Koki's hand in hers. "Maji Ahemji is really sorry about what he said on the day of puja and about the dog, please for me give him a chance to explain and ask for your forgiveness."
Koki looked at her vahu in surprise. "Gopi vahu, you are saying this after how he has hurt you over and over."
Gopi felt her eyes fill with tears. "Maji what he did in the past was understandable, he never lied to me about anything and I can not blame him for what happened in the beginning of our marriage. Besides he made up for everything when he started teaching me."
Koki also felt her eyes fill with tears when she heard her vahu's generosity in forgiving her son so easily. She thought back to the scene the day before yesterday and concluded that her vahu still loved her son, despite the fact that he all but rejected their child and could have almost lost the baby because of him.
"Maji when I was in the hospital last week, all I heard while I was unconscious was Ahemji saying sorry and praying for the safety of me and our baby. He kept saying how much he loves us and did not want us to give up on him." Gopi pleaded to her maji.
Koki was starting to believe her son really did regret what he said on the day of puja but she just did not understand what made him say those words, and that too with so much anger and conviction. She looked at her vahu when she started talking again.
"Maji you should have seen the way he was taking care of that dog, it was as though he took a instant liking to the little puppy. This is when I started to realize that there was more to Ahemji not wanting to be a father. And the accident was not his fault, I was the one who went out on my own to look for the puppy, I didn't want it to get hurt so I ran to save him and did not see the car coming my way." Gopi could not meet her maji's eyes.
The accident had shaken her, she realized she needed to be more careful because she was not alone anymore; another life depended on her for its wellbeing.
Koki thought about what her vahu said for a moment then made her vahu look at her by tugging on her hand. "Okay for you I will talk to Ahem. Now why don't you lay back and relax. You need to sleep and not worry about anything but yourself and the baby."
Gopi smiled at her maji tearfully. "Thank you maji. Jai shree krishna."
"Jai shree Krishna Gopi vahu." Koki covered her vahu with a blanket and turned the light off on her side of the bed.
Koki waited to be sure that her vahu was sleeping deeply before getting out of bed. She went out of the room quietly. She walked towards her son's room and was relieved to see the light still on in his room. She walked to the door and just watched as her son worked.
She realized he looked tensed and tired. She knocked on the door softly.
Ahem looked up when he heard the knock and was surprised to see his mom at his doorstep. He stood up quickly. "Mom aap, please come in."
Koki walked in and stood by one of the chairs in his room. "Ahem I wanted to ask you something, will you answer me honestly?"
Ahem was so happy to see his mom come to him and did not want to miss the chance to talk to her. "Yes of course mom."
Koki pulled her pallu over her shoulder. "Ahem make me understand why you rejected the baby when I can see that you have come to love and accept my Gopi vahu."
Ahem was relieved to hear his mom ask him for an explanation. He took his mom by the shoulders and made her sit in one of the chairs. He then kneeled in front of her and took her hand in his. He looked up at her with pleading eyes.
"Mom I do love Gopi very much and the baby too, but I did not tell her I love her until I realized that she is pregnant and what had happened between us on Holi." He looked away in shame.
Koki frowned. "What do you mean?"
Ahem looked back at her. "Mom on Holi I wanted to tell Gopi how I felt about her but I did not remember what happened on that day. All I remember was wanting to wish her and then waking up with a headache that evening."
Koki remembered that day well and how Ahem had told her he did not remember what happened that afternoon. "But if you already love Gopi vahu and accepted her as your wife then why do you not want to be a father Ahem?"
Ahem took a deep breath. "Mom I do want the baby, but at the time when I said I did not want to be a father I was only thinking about myself and did not realize how my words would effect you and Gopi. It wasn't until you disowned me that I realized I had been wrong, but I was sure I was wrong when Gopi herself explained to me what it was like growing up without parents. I realized how hard you worked to raise Kinjal and me by yourself. I realized that I was putting Gopi in the same situation and regretted what I said on the day of puja."
Ahem gripped his mom's hand tighter. "Mom I was selfish in thinking that once the baby comes Gopi will forget me because she would be busy taking care of the baby and thousands of other things around the house. I wanted to spend time with her and spoil her a little. I had just started thinking about her and come to realize how much I love her but the baby was hindering everything. The more I was denied her attention the more frustrated I became with the pregnancy and in my anger I blurted out that I did not want to be a father."
Koki was beginning to understand her son's feelings. She should have realized sooner. It wasn't until recently that she had begun to notice the real changes in her son and vahu's relationship. She realized it was natural for her son to hesitate to declare his wants and needs when it came to his wife. It took him long time to realize the true worth of his wife and him wanting to get to know her better was also reasonable.
"Mom I am really sorry I hurt you and Gopi that day, please forgive me and give me a second chance. I promise I will take care of Gopi and the baby and never hurt them again." Ahem pleaded to his mom to forgive him.
Koki placed her hand on her son's head and looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I am very proud of you Ahem. You have made me very happy today. Thank you for making me understand why you were so angry that day and why you said you did not want to be a father."
Ahem took his mom's hand and kissed it gently. "Thank you mom for forgiving me."
Koki looked at her son with a serious expression. "Ahem Gopi vahu has had many hardship in her young life, I don't want her to suffer anymore. Please keep her happy and always love her like she deserved to be loved."
Ahem looked at his mom with sincerity. "I will mom, I promise."
Koki nodded. "Okay now go to sleep, we will work everything out tomorrow." She stood up and caressed her son's head one more time. "Jai shree Krishna Ahem dikra."
Ahem was elated to hear his mom call him dikra and smiled at her lovingly. "Jai shree Krishna mom."
Next morning Koki asked Gopi to perform aarti and asked Ahem to join her. Everyone was surprised but pleased to see Ahem step next to Gopi with a smile. Gopi looked at her maji questioningly who nodded her head with a smile. Gopi smiled back and turned to her kanaji.
As Ahem and Gopi both performed the aarti they both thanked kanaji for the blessings he bestowed on them by making everything right between them and their mother, for their loving family and above all for saving their precious miracle, his gift to them, their baby.
*~+~*
Thanks everyone.😊
Shiv Shakti
Madhubala - Ek Ishq Ek Junoon
Cricket
