Sippy Hospital
“Ravi, ghar chalo.”
As soon as the words brushed past his lips, he felt his heart drop.
Ghar... A place that was once his safe haven. A place to laugh with family. A place to weep silently. Despite all the pain, coming home after a long day of work was a beautiful part of his daily routine.
With a heaviness in his heart, he realized that he no longer had a home.
Goregaon
Suman Rastogi looked at the time. She wondered who would be at her door at this ungodly hour.
Opening the door with an angry huff, she was surprised to see her son-in-law on the other side. He looked disheveled, tired and a little embarrassed. Sona had called earlier and after hearing everything, Suman was furious. Her daughter didn’t deserve to go through so much. She wanted to go and bring back her Sona from that goddamn mansion in Malabar Hills. But Sona wanted to stay with Veena and as a woman, this was something Suman respected. Veena needed all the support during a time like this.
Looking back at Rohit, she gave him an angry glare and proceeded to close the door on his face until he spoke. “I didn’t know where else to go, Mumma.” Suman tried to ignore the fact that her heart melted just a little hearing him call her Mumma.
“I promise I’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning. Can I stay here tonight?” Suman sighed and opened the door to let him in.
“You can stay in Sona’s room and by the time I wake up tomorrow, I don’t want to see you here.” Rohit nodded and Suman walked away, closing her door loudly.
The slamming of the door went unnoticed as Rohit walked to Sona’s room in a daze. Stumbling a little he opened the door and took in the sight before him. He could sense her. His Sona. There was a reason he didn’t stop by at some random hotel. Just being in the room made him feel closer to her but it also made him realize just how far apart they had become. She will never have me. It’s over, he thought as he walked towards her round bed.
Sitting down he recalled what both his mother and Sona said before turning away from him. He had broken their trust and hurt them both. It was at that moment that Rohit realized that he was no different from Dr. Naren Sippy. He didn’t deserve their love nor did he deserve a place in their lives. Even Pooja expressed her disappointment and vowed never to speak to him again.
Rohit felt numb as he sat in the silent room but as each moment replayed in his mind, all the feelings began to crawl back in. He blinked away the tears and took a shaky breath. Maybe if he slept and woke up, all this would become a scary nightmare instead of a horrifying reality.
Gathering the pillows on the bed, he first took all the ones with his mother in law and Pari on them. Setting those aside on the chair by the dresser, he began to organize the ones where he could see Sona and then placed all her stuffed toys around him. Before long he built himself a fortress. Rohit chuckled bitterly as he brushed away his tears. He was losing his mind. Curling up inside his new home, Rohit looked at Sona’s smiling face.
“I love you, Sona. Thank you for being the best thing that ever happened to me.” He smiled but soon his cheeks began to hurt. His chest felt heavy and his breathing became shallow.
Pulling one of the pillows closer, he sobbed as he thought about all that he lost.
His mother, the most graceful, beautiful and loving woman he had ever seen. Growing up, her love made him feel strong and secure. He never wanted her to feel pain, not even for a second. But today, she came face to face with the ugly truth. She discovered that every beautiful moment in her life was a lie. The husband she worshipped cheated on her and her eldest son broke her trust by hiding this life changing truth. Knowing all this opened the floodgates to allow in the pain and heartbreak he tried to protect her from. His mother could no longer trust him. He was no longer the person who would take care of everything and make sure all was okay. He failed as a son.
Pooja, the little angel who made him smile despite all the darkness around them. Even though the truth behind her birth scarred him, looking into her innocent eyes made him forget everything. She was his baby sister and that’s all that mattered. But today, she discovered that he played with her feelings and all the innocence and pure love was replaced by hatred. She hated him and nothing was going to change that. He had a hand in keeping her away from her real parents. He was the reason she was unaware of the biggest truth of her life. The brother who was supposed to protect her from all harm became the one who shattered her world. He failed as a brother.
Sona, his best friend and the woman who touched his very soul. The one person whose compassion left him speechless. He was so lucky to have her in his life. But today, she looked at him with disgust. She believed in doing the right thing no matter what and he disappointed her. He cheated her by hiding something so important. There was no forgiving for what he had done. He lost her love and respect. And there was no undoing that. Sona would never look at him with love ever again. She would never hold his hand and smile at him with pure joy sparkling in her eyes. He disgusted her. He lied to her and kept her in the dark. She faced so much humiliation and guilt because of him. Rohit promised her mom that he would never hurt Sona but he did. He had promised Sona a life full of love and laughter. He failed as a husband, a best friend and a human.
Rohit took a few deep breaths to calm down but he couldn’t. He felt as if someone clawed at his heart repeatedly. Burying his face in the pillow he willed himself to fall asleep despite the tears continuously slipping past his eyelashes. He failed each and every person who loved him. Perhaps there would be no end to his pain.
Sippy Mansion
Veena wiped her eyes and Vimmi handed her a glass of water. Sona sat silently with her mother in law.
“Rohit kahaan hain?” Veena finally spoke up. Sona felt her heart thud against her chest upon hearing his name.
Before she could answer, her phone rang. Why is Mumma calling, she wondered.
Goregaon
Rohit coughed as another wave of nausea hit him. He sat up and clutched his stomach suddenly realizing why he felt so sick. He ran his hands over his face. He needed to get some food into his system. Rohit reached for his phone to order some food when he realized how late it was. What if the delivery guy recognizes me or this house as Sona’s house. No, I can’t take the chance. He put his phone away and laid back on the bed. He didn’t want to wake up Mumma. Rohit recalled how his mother would run after him to make sure he ate all his meals and how Sona, after they got married would sent home cooked meals to the hospital. He repaid all their love with betrayal. He deserved to feel this pain.
It wasn’t until the bedroom door opened with a slight creak that he was startled out of his thoughts. He shielded his eyes as the hallway light spilled into the room. And then he saw her, walking in like an angel. Rohit knew it was all a dream.
“Rohit,” she said softly as he sat up.
“Sona,” he smiled as she sat on the bed. She always came in like a breath of fresh air into his life. Taking in her sight, he realized that he didn’t feel so ill anymore.
“Sona, I know this is a dream but I’m so so happy to see you. I missed you.” He took her hands in his and squeezed them.
Sona looked at him with unshed tears. “This isn’t a dream Rohit.”
Rohit chuckled. “Stop. Don’t give me false hopes. I’m happy with this dream. At least it’s distracting me from the fact that I’m tired and hungry. And it’s taking away all the pain. See I’m smiling.” He smiled as Sona wiped the tears falling down his cheeks. She was holding back all the tears threatening to fall down her own cheeks.
Rohit leaned in and hugged her tightly. “Rohit, you are not dreaming. Let me go so that I can get you something to eat. Then, let’s go home.”
“Please Sona. I know you are not here but don’t disappear yet. I need you. Don’t go, please.” More tears spilled from his eyes and she wrapped her arms around him.
He hugged her tighter, burying his face in her shoulder. “Please don’t disappear. Please. Please.”
“Rohit...” Sona pulled out of the hug, cupping his face. He looked at her, fear evident in his tear-filled eyes.
“Don’t go, please.” He frantically nodded and repeated the same words over and over.
“Rohit!” Sona shook him gently at first, trying to break through his daze.
“Rohit, snap out of it! This is no dream!” Sona was breathing hard as she tried to compose herself.
Rohit immediately withdrew from her and pulled his knees closer to his chest. He looked down as Sona moved closer to him.
“Rohit, trust me this is no dream. I got a call from Mumma letting me know you are here. I’m here to take you home but first let’s get you something to eat.” He looked up and nodded.
“You still don’t believe me?” She pinched him and he winced. “Dr. Surgeon I’m actually here.”
He stared at her with wide eyes and for the first time that night Sona smiled. “Sit tight. Let me bring you something to eat. You are a doctor, you should know how important it is to eat.”
Sona came back with food and was surprised to see that Rohit nodded off with his head on his arm.
Shaking him awake gently, she handed Rohit the food. As he ate, Sona called Veena to let her know that they would be spending the night at Rastogi house. Problems and their solutions could wait for the next day. For now, she wanted Rohit to know that she was there. Sona was angry at first but she did understand why Rohit did what he did. And frankly, it made her love him more. The love her husband has for his mother and half-sister left her in awe. Truly a special man and a beautiful human being. And he was hers.
Leaving the tray in the kitchen sink, she walked back to her room, ready to have a talk with her husband.
“Rohit? Thoda better feel ho raha hain?” He nodded and gave her a small smile. She could sense all the pain behind it and it broke her heart.
Cupping his face, she rubbed her fingers along his stubbled jaw. “Rohit, I wish you told me everything earlier. I won’t lie, at first I was very angry. Angry that you decided to hide something so big from me and angry that you made such a huge decision for your mom. That was wrong. But you did it because you love both her and Pooja. And that is something I can relate to. I have done so much for my family and I love them so so much! Rohit, I’m proud of you for trying to fix everything and for not turning away from your responsibilities. I truly am.” He let out a shaky sob at her words.
“So you don’t hate me?”
“I never did. Well maybe when we first met, a little. And when my mom got a heart attack. But no I don’t hate you. Don’t ever think like that!”
She smiled softly as she pulled him into her arms. Rubbing his back as he let out his pain, she made a decision to prevent something like this from happening in the future.
“Don’t leave me please.”
“I won’t even if you want me to.”
Sona pulled back from the hug and moved to sit next to Rohit. Laying down on one side of the bed, she pulled Rohit down until he was next to her.
“But Rohit there is something I need to tell you.” Sona smiled as she huddled closer to her husband. His arms instinctively went around her, pulling her as close as he could.
“There can only be one Parvati. Neither you nor I are Parvati. We can’t solve every problem or fix everything, especially on our own.”
“I know. I’m sorry for everything. I should have told you all this earlier.”
“Tomorrow morning we are going back to Sippy Mansion and before we leave, I will share something with you. One thing I realized in all this is that along with ego, secrets can destroy relationships. From now on, let’s not hide anything from one another, no matter how big or little it is.“
“I promise Sona. I will tell you each and every thing from now on. I never want to go through this again.” They held each other, allowing the peaceful silence to wash over them.
“Sona, do you think mom will ever forgive me?”
“Rohit, your mom loves you so much! She was so worried for you today. I don’t think it’s a matter of forgiving. She just needs time to heal and she needs you to be by her side. We both will be right beside her.”
“I love you, Sona. Thank you for being the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
“I love you too, Rohit.” She reached up and gave him a peck on his lips. Before long the two fell into a deep slumber because there is nothing more peaceful than sleeping in the arms of one’s soulmate.
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