Chapter 10
Abhimanyu paced up and down the terminal. Why was his flight getting so delayed? He wondered if he should just rent a car and drive the 11 hours to Udaipur, to Akshara. It was now 4 days since he has seen Akshara and he have called her about 400 times but she never picked up. It wasn’t out of character for her but it still made him anxious. Akshu had a habit of leaving her phone somewhere and forgetting about it for days. He wondered maybe if he could call the landline to her house but Akshu was probably at work. As he made up his mind to call the hospital and ask to speak to her, he heard the call to board his flight.
“Finally.” He rushed to the gate. I’m almost home, Akshu.
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As soon as she opened her eyes, Akshara closed them again. The light was unbearable and she felt like her head was going to split open. Another migraine. She felt the pillow, pulled it from under her head and put it on top of her head. The pain was unbearable. She moaned in pain as she felt like daggers were being shot on top of her head.
“Akshu, beta? Kya hua? Tum theek ho na?” Akshu heard Badi Mama’s worried voice. She wanted to say something but only a yelp came out. She felt her body shaking uncontrollably.
“Kairav, jake Doctor ko phone karo. Yeh dard mein tadap rahi hai.” Badi Mama cried. Akshu heard Kairav’s footsteps running out before she lost consciousness one more time.
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Dr. Mahima was at the reception talking to a nurse when the phone rang.
“Doctor Mahima, someone is having an emergency and want to speak to a doctor. Should I call Dr. Mehra?” the nurse asked.
“What? No give me the phone.” Mahima took the phone, “Hello?”
“Hello? Hello Doctor? Can we please get a doctor to come to our house, my sister is very unwell.”
Mahima recognized the voice. “Kairav?”
“Mahima aunty, is that you? Can you please send someone over. Akshu’s condition is getting very bad.” Mahima could tell Kairav was crying.
“I am on my way.” Mahima grabbed her stuff, the emergency bag, and a nurse and rushed to her car. House calls were not something surgeons did but Mahima had grown to love Akshu and was getting worried. What happened to her? Is that why she didn’t come today?
What Mahima saw at Goenka Villa shocked her. Akshu was laying in bed, in and out of consciousness. The only sounds coming out of her were tiny moans as if she was in a lot of pain.
“Why is she not in the hospital? Please move.” Mahima rushed to her bed. Akshu’s BP was dangerously low and her body was burning up.
“Call for an ambulance now!” Mahima screamed at the nurse.
“How long as she been like this?” Mahima asked everyone in the room.
“Since yesteday.” Badi Mama answered.
“What?!?! She has been suffering in pain since yesterday and nobody thought to get her help? Aarohi is a doctor! She at least should know better but she’s walking around in the hospital without a care.” Mahima could not believe it. She took Akshu’s hand which was burning hot. Oh you poor sweet child. Hold on just a bit longer.
“She’s been having panic attacks since she was little and a lot of times she will black out but she was always fine the next day.” AG said
”She had a panic attack and lost consciousness and all of you thought it’s okay to leave her to suffer?” As a doctor, Mahima was trained to keep her cool but she just could not looking at Akshu. How could her family even do that? And Aarohi? At first, she thought maybe Aarohi didn’t know Akshu became unwell while Aarohi was at work but she has been in this condition since yesterday and Aarohi didn’t do anything? She will handle Aarohi later.
As the ambulance took Akshu away with Mahima to the Birla Hospital with the Goenkas following in their own car, Mahima’s thoughts went to her nephew who was still in Delhi. Unaware of how much pain his Akshu was in. He would burn the whole place down. Mahima was scared for Akshu but even more scared of how Abhimanyu would react.
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As soon as Abhimanyu landed in Udaipur, he rushed to his driver and told him to collect his bags while he took the car and rushed to the hospital. It was still 3 pm so Akshu was still at work. He could not bear it any longer and just wanted to have his Akshu in front of him and see her smile that made his knees go weak even now, after all these months. Enough. I am going to tell Akshu how I feel. I am going to propose to her today. Being away from her for 4 days made him realize just how much he loved her and how harder it was becoming staying away from her. It felt like everyday when he said bye to her, the 12 hours wait to see her again more and more unbearable. But the 4 days? The worst 4 days of his life.
He finally reached the hospital and parked and ran to the hospital. It was 3:30 pm so that meant Akshu was most likely in the Pediatrics department. I’m almost there, Akshu.
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Mahima checked Akshara’s vitals again and saw no improvement. Her fever was still 104.2 degrees and her blood pressure was still very low. Mahima was getting worried about how the fever and the low bp will have an impact on her organs. The IV and the medications were not making a difference at all. And her lab results? Mahima had done a complete blood count as soon as Akshu got to the hospital and when the results came back, Mahima was shocked. Her RBC, her ferritin levels, her WBC, her hemoglobin levels…nothing in that report showed anything near the normal range. When was the last time Akshu even saw a doctor?
Mahima went and put a hand on Akshara’s head. She has really grown to like this girl. Her simplicity, her modesty, her honesty had won her over. But mostly how Akshu made Abhi so happy was what really mattered to Mahima. She always had a soft spot for her nephew and always hoped for him to find a girl that made him happy. Akshu was that girl. She wondered if Akshu felt the same about Abhi as well.
Just then, Akshu stirred in her sleep. “Abhi…” Akshu whispered so softly that Mahima barely heard her. “Abhi….” she whispered again.
“Akshara? Can you hear me? Do you need Abhimanyu? He’s on his way from Delhi. He will be here soon I’m sure to come see his Akshu.” Mahima hoped Akshu was hearing her.
“Abhi….” Akshu said once again before going back to a deep sleep.
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As soon as Abhimanyu walked past the hallway with the ICU wards to go to the pediatric department, he felt like if someone was calling him. He turned around to look but nobody was in the hallway beside him. He picked up his pace and start making his way to where he thought Akshu was and again he felt like someone was calling him. I think I’m losing my mind. As turned the corner, for a third time he thought he heard someone call him. It made him feel uneasy.
When Abhi finally reached the Pediatrics department, Akshu was nowhere to be found. He looked into each room but there were no signs of her. He decided to go talk to the receptionist to see for what department Akshu was logged in for.
When he got there, he saw Mahima looking worried while looking at a file.
“Hello Tayi-ji.” Abhimanyu greeted her.
“Oh you came directly here?”
“Ya I had some work. Tayi-ji, do you know where Akshara is?” He was so lost in his thoughts of Akshara that he had failed to notice the way his aunt was looking at him or how behind him in the waiting lobby were Badi Mama and Kairav.
“Abhimanyu let’s go to my cabin.” Abhimanyu followed her and once they reached her cabin, Mahima turned around to look at Abhi with a concerned look.
“Now don’t panic because it’s very important for you to stay calm okay?”
“What’s gong on? Is everything okay? Is it Maa?” Abhimanyu looked at Mahima and he knew. “Please take me to my Akshu.”
Will tag everyone tomorrow
Edited by MimiLulu - 3 years ago
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