"Dr. Atul, I'm sure I can do it. I agree, I don't have much experience, but practice makes perfect and I can give a shot at this case..." Dr. Armaan, the new psychologist ran his eyes over the patients previous records.
Riddhima Shashank Gupta was a 23 year old blind and mental girl who had killed her father accidently. He looked at the picture next to her profile. A scowling angry young woman who didn't look so happy for being torn away from her freedom, from the life she normally lived. She looked... he couldn't describe the million emotions etched on her face, but one thing was certain. She was beautiful. She was extremely beautiful. Her silky black hair fell madly over her frowned face. Her steel gray eyes wandered aimlessly... coming across nothing but darkness. He wondered what it felt like seeing nothing but black every time you opened your eyes. Closing his eyes for a second, he tried comprehending the strange feeling.
"Dr. Armaan?" Dr. Atul squinted his eyes.
"Yes?" Dr. Armaan said, coming out of his wander.
"So... you're up for the challenge?"
"Totally."
Ok guys, that was an intro... And I think it's awful... somethings definately missing!!! Do comment and feel free to critisize!!!!
~|Part 1|~
"Did you hear about the new doctor? He's going to be treating that blind girl. She's crazy! Doesn't even take her food ever since she came here. Ufff, and her tantrums! WE can't even do anything about her, and he thinks he can-" The old doctor stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw Dr. Armaan grinning cheekily at her. Uhh... Good luck, Dr. Armaan!"
"Thank you..." Armaan looked at her name tag. "Dr. Verma."
He walked confidently into Riddhima Gupta's room and saw her laying on her bed, staring at nothing in general. She looked even more beautiful lying on the bed, her hair creeping over her milky face now darting right and left trying to find out who had just entered the room.
"WHO IS IT? GET OUT OF HERE!!! I DON'T WANT TO EAT! GET OUT!" She stood at the edge of her bed and waved her hands in front of his face. She suddenly stopped.
"Miss Riddhima." A suave voice spoke. She tried finding its location. Finally, locating him, she smacked her palm on his face, trying to make out his features.
"Say it again." She commanded him. He remained quiet. "SAY IT AGAIN!" She punched his face.
"Say what?" He asked her softly.
"R-r-r-riddhimaaaaaa," she emphasized.
"Riddhima."
"Yes!" She explored his face, dug her nails in his eyeballs, messed up his hair, felt his stubble, ran her hands over his cheeks... finally reaching for his lips. She ran her fingers slightly along the edges as if to memorize the contour. A strange look crept over her face. Feeling a little discomfort, Armaan took her hand off her face.
"I'm your new doctor, Riddhima."
"DOCTOR? I DON'T WANT A DOCTOR!!" She warned him, grabbing him by the collars, digging her tiny fists into his chest. "I'M NOT MENTAL! I WANT MY PAPA!" She started sobbing into his arms. For a minute, he forgot she was a murderer and took her into his arms, calming her.
"Shh... Ok, fine. I'm not your doctor. I'm your new friend, alright?" He told her.
"Best friend?"
"Yes, yes. Ok now you might as well stop crying." He wanted to tell her that the tears didn't look so pretty on her, but refrained himself from doing so. Instead, he took her off of him and made her lay on the hospital bed.
"So Riddhima... I've heard you haven't eaten." He said, holding his breath.
"NO! I want my papa! I want him to feed me!" She thumped her fists on the bed. He noticed how thing she was as a result of not eating.
"Where is your papa?"
"I don't know. Mamma said... he left me because I was a bad girl. I can't see... and then Mamma... she sent me here. She doesn't love me either." She shook her head negatively.
"Can I feed you?" He tried persuading her. "Papa will be so happy when he sees his little angel eating. You think he likes it when he sees you so thin?"
"I WANT HIM TO FEED ME!" She bawled. He put his hand on her head.
"He can't. He's not... here anymore."
"What do you mean anymore? He's at home, with Mamma!"
"He's... dead, Riddhima."
"NO! NO HE'S NOT!" She felt as though someone had dropped something extremely heavy on her. The only one person she loved in the world... was DEAD? He couldn't die... how could he die? Suddenly the events of the night rushed into her head.
Her parent's discussion turned into a heated argument. They started yelling at each other. Her head starting throbbing.
"Shashank! She needs to be taken to a mental hospital! I can't... I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!" her mother shouted.
"PADMA, she is your daughter! I can't let her rot in a mental hospital. She's too dear to me!"
"Shashank, I love her as much as I do. But she's too much of a burden for me to take care of anymore. I can't stand her tantrums anymore!"
She felt her world crumbling around her. She was a burden to her parents. Am I that bad? She thought to herself. No... how could they do this to her... Unable to take the pressure anymore, she grabbed whatever was near her and threw it in a random direction. She heard her father's yell... and everything went silent.
*End of flashback*
She gasped. It was her. She killed him. Reality dawned upon her.
"Hey, where are you!? You're leaving me too? I'm not going to kill you!!!" She pleaded.
"I'm here." Armaan stared at the lines of worry that suddenly vanished as soon as he spoke.
"What's... your name?" She asked him. She wanted to hear his voice. It made her feel safe.
"Armaan."
"Armaan..." She savored the sweetness of his name on her tongue. "Armaan and Riddhima..."
He looked at her, eyebrows furrowed. "Armaan and Riddhima?"
"What... I like it." She flashed a sweet smile.
He didn't take her too seriously...
"I'm... hungry." Her stomach grumbled loudly.
He laughed. "Good! Let me get you some delicious food!"
"NO! Don't. Leave. Me!" She tried grabbing his hand, but grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her. She wrapped his arms around his sturdy waist and snuggled her face into his stomach. "Stay right here..."
"Um. Okay." Her touch made him tingle. "Sister! Sister! Oh, shit not her!" Sister Lovely came bouncing into the room. He rapidly thrust Riddhima's arms off himself. Sister Lovely made up the biggest fables around. It was his first day, sure, but he'd already caught her talking to the other nurses about a doctor's hot affair with a patient.
"Hello ji!" She swung her arms, eyeing Riddhima peculiarly.
"Get the best food in the hospital for Riddhima! Hurry, please! Thank you..." He sighed as she left the room.
"They never call me Riddhima. They just call me the blind bat. So mean!" She stated, dejectedly. "But you're the best! You call me Riddhima. You're so nice!" Her face gleamed with delight as she almost jumped off the bed.
He smiled as he caught hold of her. "Relax."
He had climbed the first step to success. He'd made it. He had gotten her to eat, but, there was a problem. The girl couldn't eat by herself. She wanted someone to feed her. She couldn't hold a spoon; neither could she construct morsels with her hands. She drank like crazy, water trickling down her neck and into her shirt. She'd call him "HEY" and would always be grabbing his hand, not letting him go anywhere. He had to stay by her until she fell asleep. She'd never say please or thank you. Now, it was his job to turn this untamed young woman into a sophisticated, charming, and polite young lady. Who knew what dangers he'd fall for, in an attempt to climb the stairs of success.
"Riddhima, I'm not going to feed you now. I want you to eat with your own hands," Armaan told her. It had been about two weeks since their first meeting, and now, Armaan thought it was more than necessary for her to eat by herself. He couldn't sit around here all day with her.
"NOOOO!! She whined. "I like it when you feed me!!"
Ok. I will feed you only if you try eating by yourself." Bribing always worked, with kids, and she was no less than one.
"Finee."
He took her to the table and sat her on the chair, and kneeled behind her.
"Ok, hold the spoon." He positioned the spoon in her palms, scooping up the hot soup and lifted it to her mouth. "See, you did it!"
"Yay! Oh, I dropped it!" She said, disappointed that the spoon had slipped out of her grasp.
"It's okayyy!" He couldn't help but smile at her childishness. Her eyes widening in horror every time she thought she had committed a grave mistake, her lips parting slightly"
"What will I get if I eat myself?" Hmm... so she was getting even with him.
"What do you want?"
"I want to go out... It's... suffocating in here."
"Okay, I'll try to arrange that..."He got up to leave when she grabbed his sleeve.
"With you, I want you to be with me!" She tugged at his sleeve.
"Okk..." He left the room, a little disturbed. He was a hunch for her, someone she started to strongly depend on and couldn't live without, her recliner. For him, she was only a patient, nothing more. How could he... how could he fall for a girl who had the mentality of a three year old. She was insistent on everything.
"Aha! Dr. Armaan! How've you been, buddy," Dr. Atul said, walking towards him. "I need to talk to you about your patient. Meet me in my cabin!"
"Sure, sir." Armaan smiled. Dr. Atul was one jolly man!
|~|~|~|~|~|~|
"So, how's it going, Dr. Armaan? Any progress?" Dr. Atul asked.
"Yes... she's started to eat by herself, but bribed me for doing that. She wants to go out..."
"Ahh! I can understand that. Being stuck in a hospital room isn't very pleasant. I shall arrange for an outing."
"Sir, there's a problem though. She... She wants to tag me along..." Armaan said, looking down, hoping Dr. Atul wouldn't look at in negatively.
"Ahh... I see! She's grown attached to you. Very attached, in fact. Dr. Armaan, you need to start keeping your distance. Stay within the limits, otherwise... you'd have to face the consequences... Anyhow, you can take her out where ever you wish."
"Thank you, sir." Armaan walked out of the cabin wondering what Dr. Atul had meant by 'consequences'. He was her doctor and she was his patient. In fact, she was his first real patient"
"ARMAAN! ARMAAN!" Her voice rang through his ears as he saw her running around frantically, her hands waving in the air as a few nurses tried holding her back.
"RIDDHIMA! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" He yelled at her. Hearing his voice, her line of worries on her face disappeared.
"You left me alone!" She jumped to hug him, but fell to the wrong direction. He grabbed her thin waist and thrust her towards his chest.
"Don't you ever dare leave your room again! Do you understand?!" He hissed in her ear. Slightly frightened by his reaction, she nodded her head slowly. "Go back to your room!"
"Take me..." She softly asked.
"NO! You're going by yourself!"
Frightened, she released her hold on him and chickened back to her room, with the help of the walls.
|~|~|~|~|~|~|
"Don't yell at me!" She abruptly said, smelling his scent two inches away from her.
"I won't... we're going now... you wanted to go out right?"
Her face suddenly brightened at the mention of getting out of this horrid place.
"Yay!! Let's go!" She jumped off her bed and headed out for the door and instead banged her head onto the wall.
"Riddhima!! Watch it, and don't get so excited! He said, rubbing her head. "And don't tell me you're going to go out like this... change your clothes and freshen up a bit..."
He paged a nurse to help get her changed and freshen up. As she came out of the washroom... He started at her. Her hair neatly in place... she was wearing a gorgeous summer dress with blue roses printed on it. The dress fell just below her knees, showing off her slim long legs. He couldn't take his eyes off her... and for a second, he was thankful she couldn't see the hunger in his eyes.
"Let's go! Let's go!" She raced him out of the room excitedly while he tried his best to keep up with her. As soon as she made her way out of the hospital and into the coolness of the earth which she was craving for... the soft breeze kissing her cheeks, the sun was beaming down at her face. She couldn't see them, but feeling them felt wonderful. "It's such a beautiful day!"
"Yes..." He took her hand and led her down the path.
"Where are we going?"
"A park..."
"Talk to me!!"
"Hmmm..." He was thinking about asking her what had happened the night her father died... but she was in such a buoyant mood.. Better ask her when she's happy, rather than when she's in one of her mad moods. "What happened that night?"
"I- I don't want to remember it! Stop making me think of it!" She jerked her hand out of his, but he grabbed it back.
"Look, Riddhima! If you don't tell me, I can't fix anything for you." He spoke with firmness, knowing that she was obedient to his commands as she craved for attention.
She narrated the incident to him, a few tears streamed down her cheeks. "Why... why did it happen!?"
"Look, Riddhima. Death doesn't come with permission. You chucking something at him was just an excuse. If you hadn't done that, he would've died some other way. When it's time, it's time... our one-way tickets are booked, just... the departure time is unknown to us. Face it. Death is a reality of life, and we've got to be ready for it every second of our lives. I could die right now without a warning... There is nothing to be afraid of... of course, unless you've wronged. So get over it... he's probably in a better place than we are in and happier over there..."
"But the fact that I was the one who-"
"No! It wasn't you. Don't blame yourself. You're a beautiful young woman who has a lot to offer to the world. Soft inviting eyes, a beautiful smile... just give a smile to someone and release your inner love, show them your kindness. Their hearts will melt with the warmth your striking smile produces."
A huge grin appeared on her face as her cheeks flushed red.
"I wish I could see you."
"Don't stick to the fact that you can't see. What else have you got? You can hear, you can feel, you can move... you have a strong of smell... Thank God for those. Don't just focus on a single weakness and never get over it. You can feel me, can't you? You can sense the presence of a person even before they enter a room. I can't do that, despite having eyes!"
She giggled. "I can feel you?" She lifted her free hand to his face and felt the smile playing on his lips. She liked feeling his soft hair... and square jaws... and...
"Ok! now I want you to walk five steps ahead by yourself."
The smile came off her face.
"Oh C'mon! You can do it! What's there to be afraid of?"
"The emptiness around me," she replied.
"Nope. There is no emptiness. There are a few birds chirping ahead of you, a beautiful flower waiting to be smelt to your right, a tree standing in the distance bowing to its creator, ants constructing their abode... The ground speaking to you with every step you take, the clouds watching you. They must be talking to each other about how Riddhima can't walk herself..."
She scowled and took her hand out of his. One step. Two steps. Three. Four. Five.
"I DID IT!" She leaped with glee.
"Awesome! Now your treat, pani puri!" They walked to a nearby Pani Puri stand, this time, she didn't hold his hand. Instead, he guided her steps.
"AH! Armaan baba!" The Pani Puri guy, Nana Nautanki, jumped. "No Bulbul today, Ayee?"
"No, Nana... she's out of town," Armaan blushed at the mention of 'Bulbul'.
"Ahh, acha! Yeh kaun hai?" Nana whispered in Armaan's ears.
"Patient..."
"FRIEND! Best friend!" Riddhima again frowned.
"Yeah... best friend." He winked at Nana.
"Muhje... kuch samajh mein nahi aara..." Nana said.
"Baad mein, Nanaaaaa... Don't ruin the perfect moment." His phone rang. "Hello? Ahh, hey Babes! How you been doing? Yeah, missing you a lot... yeah... L-" He caught Riddhima listening to him with daggers in her eyes... eyes burning red with anger.
ROFL)
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