Zoya was furious as she stalked into Ahmed's office.
"How can you do this?" she demanded barging into the room.
Ahmed looked up startled and seeing Zoya, sighed. He put his pen down and indicating she take a chair asked her, "Do what?"
Ignoring his gesture, she rapped out "You know what!! How can you discharge Arti? She is not ok."
Ahmed stood and came around the desk. He was the head of surgery and had the rare privilege of an office of his own. Coming to Zoya, he held her by the shoulders "We can't do anything more for her here Zoya" he said gently.
She shrugged his hands off roughly. It had been like this since he broke the news to Arti. Arti's devastation shook Zoya to the core – and she had been taking out her anger and frustration on Ahmed. He understood, but he would not brook any interference in his own work.
"What do you mean you can't do anything?" she asked, her voice rising an octave. "If you can't, I'll find another doctor for her" she lashed out at him.
"And they would say the same" Ahmed countered in the same mild tone. He took a protesting Zoya by the arm and led her to the couch by the window. Sitting her down, he sat next to her and held her hands.
"Zoya, how long are you going to blame me for Prashant and the baby's deaths?" he asked. She didn't answer, looking down instead at their clasped hands. "It was an accident – and by the time we found them, it was too late to save them. You know that, you were with me."
Zoya and Ahmed had left the party soon after Arti and Prashant. They had come upon the accident – or rather, the overturned car. The other vehicle was nowhere to be seen – a classic case of hit-and-run. Ahmed had pulled Arti out of the car and then turned to Prashant – but by then, he was already dead. They had rushed the profusely bleeding Arti to hospital in their car – but she had lost the baby and barely made it through herself.
"I don't blame you for their deaths" Zoya said, still looking at their clasped hands.
"No – you blame me for Arti's condition" Ahmed stated, knowing full well the anger she harbored towards him for telling Arti when he did.
Zoya didn't answer, but a single tear dropped onto their clasped palms.
Disentangling one hand, he cupped her face, stroking her cheek gently. "She had to know sometime, and better here than at home".
She couldn't argue with that... Arti had to be sedated for nearly two days after she learnt the truth.
He got up from the sofa and paced the room, "There never is a good time for this kind of news. We have to help Arti come to terms with this, but staying in the hospital won't help. Physically we have done all we can for her. Her own health will help her heal, as long as she takes enough rest." Arti had sustained severe injuries on her abdomen, chest and arms. She had undergone two surgeries which managed to save her life but the road to recovery had been slow.
"What about the state she is in? She is not ok Ahmed, she is not herself" Zoya said, more calm now, but the sadness she felt seeping into her voice.
Ahmed heard the sadness and responded to it. Going to her, he pulled her up and into a close hug. Stroking her hair he said, "Yes, and only you and her friends can help her there. Push her, prod her, goad her – make her react."
Zoya sighed and finally allowed herself to hug him back. Resting her head on his broad chest, she broke into quiet sobs. She was mourning her friend's loss, but she was also mourning her friend. Ahmed let her cry, holding her till she was spent.
When she looked up at him, he took out his handkerchief and wiped her tear-stained face. "Go to her. Help her pack. I'll take you both home." She took a good long look at him and then nodded.
Arti felt a touch on her shoulder and looked up to see Zoya. She couldn't understand what Zoya was saying, so she looked away again. She was sitting by the window, staring unseeingly into the hospital grounds below.
Zoya sighed and started packing up Arti's things. Shobha was waiting at home – she planned to take Arti back to Indore in the next few days. Sunaina and Mukesh had just flown back to Mumbai – they had come immediately after the accident, Sunaina staying on for as long as she could. She had wanted to take Arti back to Mumbai but allowed Shobha her claim on Arti.
Arti remained impassive and unresponsive through all this. It was as-if she had turned into stone. She did what she was told – if she heard them that is. Very often she did not even know anyone was in the room. Zoya couldn't remember her speaking a single word since she passed out after finding out she had lost her entire family in one go.
Ahmed drove the two women home to Arti's barsaati. Shobha and Zoya helped Arti up the steps. As Arti walked into the house, she felt a frisson of anxiety shoot through her. She walked on and then stopped suddenly, staring around the one-room structure she had made into a home for her family.
When she did not move, Zoya took her by the arm and led her towards the sofa. She tried to help her sit, but Arti gently pushed her hands away and turned towards her roof-top garden. The plants had withered in the Delhi winter, but Arti stopped by each pot, touching the bare, dry branches. Finally she made her way to the jhula and sat down.
Zoya and Shobha exchanged glances and then set about putting Arti's things away and preparing dinner.
It had taken another week before Shobha and Arti left for Indore. In that week, Arti had shown small signs of improvements. Being in her own home, the one she had shared with Prashant, had obviously touched her – she often stood at different spots in the room with a far-away look in her eyes – re-living incidents that had happened earlier. She had started talking a little, responding when spoken to. Her eyes did not have that blank stare anymore, but instead were filled with unfathomable grief.
Shobha and Arti – a mother who had lost her son, and a young wife, soon-to-be-mother who had lost her entire family – bonded silently through that trying time.
Staying in Indore Arti slowly realized there was a world outside her own grief. She saw Shobha and Satyendra struggling to come to terms with their loss, she saw how they coped and turned to each other for support. And just when she felt the most alone, either Shobha or Satyendra would sense it and reach out to her, supporting her in turn.
A few weeks after their arrival in Indore, a phone call came for Arti. She was surprised – she had almost forgotten how to talk on a phone, not even taking Vidhi or Sunaina's calls. This one was from her office though and Shobha coaxed her to talk.
It was the chief accountant. Arti had been the assistant chief and had taken a lot of the load off the elderly gentleman's shoulders. Now, with her being out for nearly three months, and the financial year-end coming up, he needed information that only she could provide. That one phone call led to daily calls as she slowly recalled details of the accounts she had overseen exclusively.
On the 4th day as they wrapped their conversation, Thakore-chacha as everyone called the chief accountant, said to Arti, "Beta, I know you have to take time to recover. Perhaps work will help. If you think it will, remember I need you".
Arti promised to think over it and hung up. The last sentence haunted her for the rest of the day. She wanted to be needed again...she wanted a reason to wake up in the morning. Would going back to work give her that?
She spent the next day thinking over this and finally made up her mind. After dinner, she broached the topic.
"Ma, Bauji?" she said softly. They looked at her expectantly – this was the first time she had initiated conversation!
"Bolo beta", Satyendra prompted when Arti hesitated.
"I...I would like to go back to Delhi...go back to work" Arti said.
Shobha and Satyendra exchanged glances. They had the same reaction – on one hand they were glad Arti had finally made a conscious choice; on the other they dreaded losing their last touch to their son.
"Why Delhi beta?" Shobha asked. "Are you unhappy here?"
Arti shook her head. "No. It's only...I think it's time I started working again Ma. Talking with Thakore-chacha these few days..."
Satyendra nodded. "Yes...work will help. But beta – you can get a job here. Do you want to try that?"
Arti's face clouded over for a moment. "I don't think I can start at a new place Bauji – that...that would be too much for me. Going back to my old job – its familiar, I know the routine…... Something new... I don't think I can do that."
Shobha sighed as she went to Arti. She had already lost her son. Tying Arti down would not bring Prashant back. "Go, beta. But do not forget us" she said with tears filling her eyes.
She hugged Arti, who stood stock still as if shocked. And then slowly, very slowly, she put her own arms around Shobha and hugged her back.
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Hi,
I know this part is slow - not much action or anything at all. This part, and the next are all about how Arti learns to cope with her loss. So bear with her - and with me.
Thanks for reading,
Kat
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