This idea came to me suddenly, but I haven't figured out the whole story yet but I thought I'd share what I have written thus far.
Part 1
Sai was broken. It was always tough to be faced with harsh realities of life. Today was the first of many such tough days in her life. And firsts could often tough to handle.
As she was leaving the hospital to go home that day, she was in a trance. She had driven herself back purely out of muscle memory and force of habit in the late evening. It was getting chilly but as Sai reached the gates of CN she had no intention of walking in. She instead went to the garden and sat down on the cold bench staring at a single spot on the ground, a train of thoughts running through her head. She was dissecting every little detail in her mind and had completely lost all sense of time.
In the meanwhile her aai and baaba were both getting antsy in worry and pp, bk n her chamchas were at it- taunting the gair zimmedar jungli mulgi.
As Virat walked in at half past nine he saw his mother anxiously pacing the hall in worry even as the others were casually seated on the sofa enjoying their post dinner dessert but spewing their salty and sour words.
Virat walked up to his aai and asked her- asi, kya hua. Tum itni pareshaan kyu lag rahi ho.
Ashwini- voh godu, Sai....Sai abhi tak ghar nahi aayi. Uska shift toh 5.30 ko khatam hojaata hai. Aur voh phone bhi nahi utha rahi....
Virat- also looked worried as he heard that- he knew it was very unlike Sai to not inform aai about her getting late.
As he took out his phone to dial her number- he heard the taunts start
Sonali- maharani, ab doctor ban gayi hai toh par nikal aaye. Joh man mein aaye karti hai.
Bk- Barobar Sonali. Isiliye kehti thi ki ghar ki bahu ko padhai/naukri karne ki koi zarurat nahi. Abhi naukri karna shuru hi kiya hai toh yeh tevar hai, aage pata nahi kya karegi.
Before Virat could react, his dad beat him to it. These days Ninad was Sai's baaba first.
Ninad- vahini, bass. Situation dekh kar baat kijiye. Hum pareshaan hai Sai ko lekar aur aap taana derahi hai meri beti ko. Aur aap shaayad bhul gayi hai ki isi jungli mulgi ne 2 mahine pehle aapke ghutnon ke operation ka intezaam kiya, itne top surgeon seh aapki surgery karvayi, apke physiotherapy organize kari...aur poore ghar ke health checkup bhi karvaya.
Shivani- haan, aur 2 hafte pahle jabb voh pados vaali Sulochana kaki ke pati ko heart attack aaya tha toh Sai neh CPR karke ambulance ke aane tak unki jaan bachali. Aur voh kaku jab aapko mithai dekar gayi aur tareefon ke pul baandh kar gayi, tab toh aapko bada ghamand tha. Tabb kyu nahi kaha ki Sai toh jungli mulgi hai.
Mansi- please aap sab shaant hojaaye. Behas baad mein karlo. Ab Sai thik seh sahi salamat ghar aajaye bass yeh zaruri hai.
Sam- Shiva, maine Sai ka phone try kiya, voicemail par jaa raha hai. Tu Sai ke doston ko phone lagaa.
Virat- haan. He whipped out his phone and dialed Aniket, Saumya, Amruta, Milind, pallavi, gaurav and Ajinkya. But nobody knew Sai's wherabouts. He tried the hospital to check if she got pulled in for an extra shift but they said she left.
Virat was now tensed.
Virat decided he needed to use his position to his aid. He called his colleague and pulled in a favor and got him to trace Sai's phone.
20 mins later when the guy called back to inform him, Virat was shocked.
Virat- patil, kya bol rahe ho? mere ghar ke address par kaise dikha sakta hai... aisa kaise hosakta hai. Voh apna phone aaj leke gayi hai. Aaj subah usne muje hospital seh message kiya tha. Toh uska phone voh ghar peh nahi chhod ke gayi hai.
Patil- par sir, tracker toh yehi dikha raha hai.
Virat- cut the call in frustration. And ran out of the house. Sam and mohit followed him.
Suddenly just before he got into his jeep, his eyes fell on Sai's scooty parked, key still in the ignition.
He was puzzled.
Mohit- daada, vahini ki scooty toh yahan hai. Toh vahini kahan gayi.
They were looking around when suddenly Sam spotted her- Sai! He exclaimed.
Virat immediately followed his line of sight. And there she was. He immediately felt a flood of relief in him to see her sitting there safe and sound. But her posture told him something was wrong.
Sam- Virat, tum Sai ko dekho, mein andar sabko bata deta hun ki Sai ghar par hi hai.
Mohit and him went in to tell the family. Ashwini, ninad, shivani and mohit were relieved but the others threw more jibes in the air and finally everyone retired to their rooms.
In the meantime Virat cautiously approached Sai and wordlessly sat beside Sai. He didnt want to startle her.
As he took her in, he saw her burning a hole in the ground, sitting stiff.
Virat- Sai he softly called out as he touched her shoulder.
That broke her out of the trance and she jumped a lil in response.
As she turned to look at him but her face and eyes that always shone with her usual blend of happiness, mischief was blank today. The twinkle was missing.
Virat- kya hua, tum yahaan garden mein itni thand mein kyu baithi ho.
Sai- nahi ...kuch nahi. She shook her head. Chaliye, andar chalte hai.
Virat- Sai...kya hua hai. Mujhse share nahi karogi...
Sai- bass hawa kha rahi thi. Aap chaliye, andar chalte hai. Aapko freshen up hona chahiye- she said gesticulating to his uniform. Sab thik hai
Virat- Sai- kuch hospital mein hua hai kya?
Sai- sab thik hai...kuch nahi hai. Chalo. She grabbed his hand to drag him in.
Virat gave in and went in but he knew something was wrong....and he was determined to find out what.
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