KaYa FF: The Knight She Needed (Chapter 11 : Page 23) - Page 10

"Money Can't Buy Happiness, But It Can Buy You Books... And That Kind Of Means The Same Thing."

Smiling to himself, he started searching the shelves. She had so many books!! The shelves displayed classics, horror, mysteries, fiction, non-fiction, joke books, best sellers; she had a whole row for Paulo Coelho and JK Rowling! He noticed, Wuthering Heights, Wild Swans, Chetan Bhagat's Novels, the old British Ghost stories, and even children's books and so many more, before his eyes fell upon a huge book; The Complete Sherlock Holmes Novels. He heaved a sigh of relief. He fetched that book and some classics too. One Agatha Christie, two Paulo Coelho, The Jungle Book, and then some from here and some from there and lastly The Sherlock Holmes.

He had over ten books by the time he finished. Now he needed something in which he could carry them to the hospital. He came out of the library and looked around the house. He noticed a small store room just beside the kitchen. He went there and found himself a medium sized carton. Satisfied he walked back to the library when his eyes fell on the board which hung on the door: "I Have Always Dreamt That Paradise Will Be A Kind Of Library... So Welcome To Heaven!"

He quickly shoved in all the books and came out of the room, sweating. It was a lot of work! He carefully locked Ananya's house and drove off to the hospital. It was 2:30 when he reached Ananya's room. He put the carton on the table in front of the couch so that it's the first thing she notices when she wakes up. He tore a piece of paper from the clipboard and scribbled a note and put it in the box, while a silly grin played on his face, anticipating Ananya's reaction the next morning.

When he finished, he glanced at the clock. 2:54 am, it showed. Kabir was feeling very lethargic and since he had a habit of spending night after night in his cabin, he had no hesitation in settling himself on the couch of Ananya's room and drifting off to sleep.

The next day was a Sunday and hence it was an off day for Kabir. He had Sundays and Wednesdays to himself. At 9 o' clock, Richa walked in. But what greeted her eyes made Richa smile from ear to ear. Kabir was sleeping peacefully on the sofa, while Ananya was doing the same on her bed. She noticed a carton. She slightly opened the lid of the box and saw what was inside, but didn't read the note. She couldn't help but smile at the most caring and lovable doctor and friend in the world. She was also having the same vibes as Khalid was having the last evening. She didn't want to spoil Ananya's surprise so she went up to Kabir and woke him up, being careful enough not to wake Ananya. Kabir slowly opened his eyes and saw Richa.

He jolted out of his sleep but Richa shushed him and whispered, "Good morning sir! I haven't woken her up; go and give the surprise yourself. I am sure she will love it. I will bring her breakfast after an hour or so. And your breakfast and juice will reach you at 10:30 sharp at your cabin, as always... or shall I have it sent here? Here will be more like it." She grinned while Kabir was feeling a little embarrassed. She turned at reached the door. Before going out, she said, "Don't worry sir, I didn't read the note. And sir there is surely more to your little secret than what you told me that day!" Kabir eyes grew wide and Richa ran out of the room, leaving only the two of them.

The sound of the door woke Ananya up. She noticed Kabir on the couch, with messy hair, groggy eyes and last night's clothes. "You didn't go home last night?" she asked, wondering the reason behind it. Uh-oh! He hadn't thought of that! Before he could come up with an answer, her eyes fell on the carton. "What is that Kabir?" he walked up to the box and opened it. The rusty smell of her books hit her nose and she inhaled deeply. She kept the box on the table and took out all the books one by one, the smile widening with each book. She was so shocked that she didn't know how to respond. As the last book came out, she noticed the note. She took it out and looked at Kabir. He was standing with his arms crossed in front of him with his head tilted, and a million dollar smile on his face. She didn't understand anything. Kabir gestured her to read the note. It read:

Hey!

I hope you liked the surprise. I thought since you have nothing to do in the coming months while you recover, you should spend some time with your long lost love, Mr. Holmes. There are others too. Just do me a favour; don't ask me how did I get them... you would kill me if you found out! But enjoy the bliss while it lasts... And don't forget this friend of yours!!

Yours Truly,

Kabir

P.S. You have a wonderful house, madam. I hope one day you would take me on a tour around it!

She stood there, stunned, not knowing how to react. "What? Say something... How did you like the gift? Well, it's not technically a gift, since all these books are yours, but then"" he was caught off guard when Ananya leapt into his arms. She whispered a thousand THANK YOUs' and just held on to him tighter. Needless to say, he lost his balance and fell on the couch, with Ananya on top of him. But he didn't care, neither did Ananya. She broke the hug and they shared a cute eye lock before Ananya spoke, not getting up from that position. She just crossed her hands on his chest and said, "Do you realize this is the bestest of the best gifts anyone has ever given me?! I know these books are mine, but this is so overwhelming in itself that you took all the trouble after a tiring day, arranging these books for me. I don't know how you managed this, but surely this has made my day!"

Kabir and Ananya felt so comfortable in that position; her petite frame resting on his even toned and muscular body... they fit each other like the lost jigsaw puzzle. "I am glad you liked it" he said, smiling. "Liked it??? I loved it!! But tell me, how did you manage all this?"

He hesitatingly told her about the events of last night which led to both of them having a good laugh over it. Ananya got up from that position and told Kabir to go and freshen up, while she quickly did the same.

Ananya was now allowed to come out of her room and spend some time in the campus of the hospital. She did so most of the evenings, when Kabir would be free and they would a stroll in the beautiful gardens of the premises. Kabir would tell about his kids at Anahita and they would laugh over the number of weird patients Kabir has come across all these years. Ananya would narrate all her stories she has ever reported from her point of view, and about how she cracked the boldest of her stories.

They would never talk about anything depressing; because they didn't want the other to feel sad. They had their own share of fights, and arguments, but they only strengthened this bond. Their care, feelings, laughter, togetherness, and sometimes even teasing made their friendship the best of its kind.

Ananya was healing... she was healing quite steadily. The chances were almost nil. Kabir broke this news to her one evening and she had cried yet again, but this time, they were tears of relief, anxiety and all the built-up tension in her mind. This time, Kabir hadn't taken her in his arms; she had jumped into them. She found these arms to be the best place in the world; strong yet soft; protective yet tender. Richa had also joined in the celebration and they had cut a plum cake that night, made by Richa.

Richa had to go down for an emergency so that left Kabir and Ananya, who fought like teenagers for the last piece of the cake. Who won it, you ask? No one did. The cake ended up on each other's faces, leading to a hearty laugh by them, and some selfies too!

She was to be shifted to the normal ward in a few days, which made her even happier. This meant that her friends could come and meet her at any point of the day and she could move around more freely. And most importantly, she could ask Khalid to set up a desk from where she could resume presenting news. She spent most of her days reading, and in the evenings, it was all Kabir.

Meanwhile, their respective minds had a game going on between them. Both still hadn't realized, but their hearts had fallen for each other a long time ago. Kabir loved Ananya as a friend, at least that is what his mind thought, but his heart had deleted the last word. Same was the case with Ananya. Each time she would hear him laugh, or when he would look intently into her eyes, it would send shivers down her spine.

She began to think how it would be without him after she is discharged. "Surely he could meet up at weekends at my place or at a coffee shop..." Ananya would think in the privacy of her mind and a smile would grace her lips, noticing that the feisty Editor of KKN was turning into a hopeless lover! "Maybe she would agree on movies occasionally. I won't mind if it is at her home or at a theatre" Kabir would smile inwardly at the thought. Yet, these two dumbos wouldn't accept their feelings. And why would they? The feeling of friendship easily overpowered the feeling of "something else".

*-*-*-

One fine morning when Kabir had come to have his breakfast, he saw Ananya sitting on the couch, with a puppy face. Kabir asked, "What happened? Something wrong?" he said, keeping down his coffee on the table in front of them and sitting beside her. "Yeah, everything is wrong!" she snapped.

"Whoa! And why is the princess hot headed today, may I ask?" he teased her. "You better!!" she growled. "Every day, you tell me stories of Anahita, and you know I love kids but you never asked me to come with you! How rude is that? So, I decided I would ask you myself. So, when are we going to Anahita? Don't say after I am discharged. I am fine, okay?? See, I can jump, talk, walk, sleep, eat normally so I don't see a reason why we should delay this trip." She said with finality in her voice which was undeniable.

"Okay... when do you want to go? Next Wednesday?" Kabir asked nonchalantly. Ananya looked at him with wide eyes. She had expected him to argue and fight with her, but he had simply stumped her!

"What? You aren't going to argue or anything?" she asked, still not believing that he had agreed. "Ananya, in these few months that I have known you, I have understood one thing very clearly; you can't win an argument or have the last laugh as long as it is you on the other side. So instead of wasting my energy, I simply agreed, and seeing that you in perfect health for a day out with kids, I see no harm why you shouldn't. Just promise me one thing; you won't strain yourself out. So, next Wednesday it is then!" he said and laughed.

The next evening, when Ananya was wrapping up her bulletin and having a silly laugh over a joke that Sunny had cracked, Kabir burst open the room, panting. He was breathing so heavily that it felt as though he would faint any moment. Ananya rushed to him and held him while Sunny ran to fetch a glass of water for him.

"Kabir... Kabir... Are you okay??? Wait, before you speak anything, sit here" she said as she settled him on the couch. He gulped down the glass of water and stood up again.

"Arrey, sit down Kabir!!! Catch your breath first and then tell me what the matter is" she said, holding him by the shoulders and tried to make him sit down again but Kabir just shoved off her hands and said, "I didn't... run up 5 floors to... sit on the couch, Ananya. I had to give you... this..." he waived a piece of paper in front of her eyes.

"What is this?"

"Have a look... and Sunny, can I have another glass of water please. Thank you."

Ananya went through that piece of paper, her eyes widening with each word. By the time she finished, her eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets. She looked at Kabir and at the paper again.

"This means... " she started and waited for Kabir to finish it for her.

"Yes, Ananya. This means that keeping your health and the steady recovery in check, you are completely out of danger now. And hence, the hospital is discharging you next Friday." Kabir ended.

A shrill shriek rang out in the corridor as Ananya leapt into Kabir's arms. He scooped her up and swirled her in the air. Ananya was laughing like crazy and Kabir was so happy that he forgot that they were in a hospital. Sunny read the fallen paper an also joined in the celebration.

"Yesss!!!! Our Ananya is gonna be back!! Whooopppiiieee!!!! Oye yaar, you don't know how happy I am today!!!" He broke into a little dance and Kabir laughed at his childishness.