Chapter 7
A.N - I'n always apologizing to all of you for my late updates. I try to keep it to one week per update, but it's hard with school and work. So i'm sorry to everyone. I also would like to thank everyone for their kind words. It is you guys that keep me writing, so thank you so much. This is a shorter chapter than what I usually write, but I did not want to wait any longer to update. Anyways I hope you all ENJOY!
It had been 3 weeks since their wedding and most of it had been spent at the hospital as Chakor's bullet wound healed. Suraj had spent as much of his time with Chakor as he could, especially after the incident that had happened after the first day. Someone had leaked the news of Chakor's kidnapping and being shot, and it had spread like a wildfire. Not long after the doctor had told them the news, did the reporters show up to the hospital and some into her room. Needless to say Suraj had been furious. It would be marked down in the history of the hospital, about what happened that day.
After the initial shock of the reporters coming in and beginning to take pictures and shout questions at his wife, Suraj's body began to shake with anger. He had grabbed two male reporters, who had stuck mikes in Chakor's tear-stained face, and were being especially loud, by their collars and thrown them out of the room. Everyone had stopped to stare at the commotion at this point, but Suraj could not have cared less as he shouted out in fury, "SAB LOG, ABHI KE ABHI, MERE PATNI KE KAMRE SAI NIKHLO!" All the reporters had taken a step back at Suraj's threatening stance as he stood protectively in front of Chakor. Some began to protest, talking about how this news was critical, but Suraj cut them off with a raised hand. His voice low and more dangerous than anything anyone had ever heard, Suraj spoke, "Joh bhi meri patni ko pareshan karega, uski zindagi koh meh barbhad karke rak doonga." The frankness in his voice was clear to all and everyone shuffled out of the room.
Suraj had to watch for agonizing days as Chakor cried till her eyes dried out. The doctor had a nerve specialist friend of his come in, but all Suraj saw was a shaking of heads. Chakor's nerve had been damaged at her hip, and nerves were something, that as of yet, had no remedies.
Day by day, Suraj watched as Chakor became a shell of herself, and his heart pained more and more as he saw her wither before him.
All Chakor could feel was numbness in her whole body. The crying had finally seized and all that was left was a feeling of nothingness. She had refused almost everyone in her room when she wasn't being tested for one thing or another. She only allowed Tejaswini Maa to stay with her during the day, as she needed some type of motherly touch, since her own mother did not come. Imli had cried when Chakor had refused her, and Vivaan had left with her after being refused himself.
It was during the night though when Tejaswini Maa would leave that she let him in. She didn't know why, but she felt some feelings of security when he stayed with her. She hadn't noticed until the fifth night, after she had woken up from the nightmarish laughter of Verma, that Suraj slept on the uncomfortable chair in the room, right beside her. Whenever she had woken up so far, she had always seen him on the couch, and she wondered why he stayed with her for the hundredth time.
But it was his large hand enclosing her own, that brought warmth to her for the first time when she had woken up that last night in the hospital. Suraj had laid his head on the bed, as his hand held hers tightly. The back of her hand was right by his lips, and Chakor watched as he unconsciously, in his sleep, gave it a kiss. And for the first time since the incident, Chakor felt a tingling pass through her body. She fell asleep much later, when the tiredness took over her body, and slept while basking in the warmth of her husband.
Chakor had tried walking the last few days, and had managed successfully, with no assistance from anyone. It had lifted her mood for just a bit, before she realized, that though she had been lucky enough not to lose her ability to walk, she would never be able to feel the wind whip past her as she ran freely.
She had been grateful that Tejaswini Maa had stayed and given her so much support. The elder lady had burst into tears a few times when she thought Chakor wasn't looking, and Chakor felt grateful for all her generosity over the past few weeks. She missed her own mother quite a bit, and she had heard that Imli had tried to persuade their parents, but to no avail, they refused to listen, and Chakor realized refused to care. It broke her already fragile heart even more.
Vivaan had tried to persuade her to let him stay many times, but she always felt a gut-wrenching feeling in her stomach at the thought, and she never accepted. Imli, now getting bigger from her pregnancy, was always too tired to come to the hospital. The few times Chakor had spoken to her over the phone, had unfortunately always ended with Imli in tears. Chakor was too tired to deal with anyone else's emotions.
She'd always been the one to take care of people, and yet it was her who had lost a huge part of her life. She wondered why god did this to her, and why it had to be after she had lost her family, her love and her freedom already.
What angered and numbed her all at once, was how easily she had given up. She didn't think she had the ability to move on and fight this by herself. But who else was their that could possibly take her away from this nightmare. And no sooner had that thought crossed her mind, Suraj came into her hospital room, where she was currently alone, and told her, "Tum ab ghar aa sakti ho. Doctor Vikram neh sab paper sign kardiye hai, aur kaha hai keh tum ghar lot sakti ho."
Suraj had brought clothes packed by his mother for her and he handed it to her saying, "Yeh lo tumare kapre. Hum bahaar tumhari intezaar karehe hain." Chakor watched him leave and she got up from the pain carefully. As of yet she had felt no pain, but the doctor had said that the nerve had damaged very weirdly, and certain things woukd trigger the pain. She took the clothes out, carefully changing into the simple, red, salwar kameez. She went to tie the dori in the back when a piercing pain hit her. She let out a shriek of pain, as she fell to the floor.
Her eyes were shut tightly, as she held her breath, at the pain coming from her hip. She had only stretched her arms back, but the pain had been intense.
Chakor felt a familiar pair of warm hands gripping her shoulders and then wrapping themselves around her waist, gently picking her up from the floor. She opened her eyes to see Suraj's face lined with worry, as he held her face in his hands. "Tum thik to ho na Chakor? Kya huwa, tum aise floor pai kyun giri huwi thi?" The concerning tone of his voice and the lack of crying from the last few days, felt like a dam bursting, amd Chakor began crying again.
She felt so weak and she hated it. She couldn't even tie the dori of her suit. And with the floodgates of water flowing out of her, Chakor threw her arms around Suraj and tightly held onto him, voicing her thoughts out loud. "Hum kitne bekar ho gaye hain, Suraj. Hum sirf ek dori ko nahi band sakte. Hum dhor nahi payange Suraj. Khabhi udaan nahi ban sakte. Hum ab kuch bhi nahi karsakte!" She sobbed as she poured her feelings to the one person who had felt comforting to her at all, in this emotionless hospital.
Chakor finally felt those warm, comforting hands wrap around her, and she gradually began to calm down. Her sobs turned to sniffles and her tears which had soaked through Suraj's shirt, had died down. She had her face pressed up against his chest, while he laid his head on hers.
She felt him pull her body away from his, and Chakor already missed the warmth of his body. She looked at his face and into his eyes which now held a determined look. "Kisne kaha tum udaan nahi ban sakti? Kisne kaha ke tum kabhi dhor nahi paogi? Us Doctor ne? Are woh kya jaane, tumhare uss zidd ke baarein me, joh me jaan tah hoon. Chakor toh kabhi nahi hasr ti. Aur me tumhe haar ne nahi doonga. Hum tumhari madad karenge. Hum tume aisi udaan bana yenge, ke tumhe kabhi yeh lage ga nahi, ke tum nahi dhor sakti. Yeh Suraj Rajvanshi ka wadha hai."
For the first time in 3 weeks, Chakor felt hope bloom in her heart. And it had come from the last person she had expected it to come from.
Suraj's assurance and determination was met with a smile, and he gave a smile of his own back to his wife. They would get through this, together.
