“Stop intimidating me!” She blurted out while fastening the bandage on my shoulder. A chuckle left my mouth at her reply.
“I'm just looking at you, Sunflower!” I responded sitting straight on the bed.
“Your eyes are enough to make me..” she stopped in the middle as she bit her lower lip making me smirk.
“To..to..stop bothering me!” She shouted, closing her eyes.
I pulled her closer, slowly lifted her chin to look back into my eyes, and whispered, “To make you wet! Isn't it?”
Her eyes opened instantly and she patted my chest lightly. “You're so shameless Kashyap, your mom is sitting right in the next room and here you're saying all these dirty things to me!”
“Who started?” I eyed her, making her startled.
“Huh, I'm just a girl!” she replied and moved away keeping the ointment and bandages into the box.
“No! You're not just a girl, you're my girl!” I said while winking at her.
She shook her head in disbelief and went outside to bring water for me. My eyes shifted to my knees and tension surrounded the air around me.
Though most of my injuries would recover with time, but the doctors were doubtful about my knee injuries. They said my knee joint have been dislocated due to severe injury. Though they had tried their best to operate it, yet the risk of failure couldn't be withdrawn.
I tried to move my legs but the pain was irresistible. I was so particular and punctual about my exercises but yet there was no improvement in my knee which was killing me from inside.
No, I've to make my knee work at any cost. I couldn't afford laying on the bed for the whole day and then sitting on an electrical wheel chair to roam around.
My queue of stress came to an halt as I heard Reya's sweet voice when she settled beside me. “Here, drink this!” She forwarded the glass of juice.
My hands trembled as I extend them towards here. Sweat buds rolling down the edge of my chin. Before I could grab the glass, my hands were held by a soft pair of hands.
“Are you okay, Vayu?” my Sunflower's sweet voice entered my ears making my pacing heart rest a little. Her touch brought quietness in the ruckus going on in my mind. She caressed my hands between her soft small hands.
My eyes met her, filled with concern and care.
I nodded swiftly with a small smile on my face but I knew she wouldn't be satisfied with my answer. And hence, she shook her head.
“Don't lie to me babe!”
I'm always astonished by her senses. How could she ever get to know if I'm lying or not? She holds such powers in herself to read my subconscious mind. She can even judge my body language.
“It's just…” I was about to let my fighting thoughts come out of my brain in front of her when I heard Mummy's voice as she entered the room.
“Kya baate ho rahi hai?” She said with a bright smile on her face.
“How's Papa?” I instantly changed the topic and looked at Reya who understood that I couldn't let it out in front of my mother.
“He's good! He's trying his best to bind up the work there so that he can spend some good time with his son!” She chuckled while taking a seat beside me.
I nodded with a smile and leaned against the headboard while Mummy continued her never ending stories about my childhood. And my little girlfriend eagerly listened to her and laughed out loud at my childhood tantrums.
“Maa…ye ab bhi ese nakhre karta hai?” She asked my mother when she told her about how much of a choosy person I was back then.
“Ab to thode kam ho gaye hai par karta to hai hi!” She replied, pulling my cheeks gently.
“Mere saamne to nahi karta lekin!” Reya replied, grinning like an idiot.
My eyes narrowed at her while I replied, “Tu baat baat pe to thappad maar deti hai!”
“Sahi hai to! Mujhe bhi yahi karna padega!” Mummy said, giving a high five to Reya.
Seriously? Earlier Navi and Reya were in the same team and now my mother joined them too! Cool! Huh!
Our talks continued for some time before we decided to sleep. Mummy slept beside me while Reya took the couch.
Though Mummy asked her to sleep on the same bed beside her but she denied saying it won't be comfortable for all of us on the same bed.
FEW HOURS LATER
It has been two hours since the lights were switched off and Mummy and Reya slept but I was not able to sleep. The tension about my knee injury wasn't letting me sleep anytime soon. I was becoming restless with each passing second.
I was feeling suffocated in the room but I couldn't walk out of it on my own. I was trying to move my legs but my efforts were going into vain.
When I gave up after almost thirty minutes of struggling to move my legs so that I could walk, I felt a soft tug at my wrist.
My eyes moved in the direction and I saw Reya kneeling down at my level. “Come on! Let's go to the balcony.” She whispered slowly so that her voice couldn't reach my mother sleeping beside me.
“But Sunflower…” I tried to say but she kept her palm over my lips and muttered, “I know you can't sleep and so could I, so let's go there and get some fresh air.”
I nodded and she helped me to lift my body. She kept my arms around her shoulders as she took me to the balcony in steady and slow steps.
She arranged the pillows properly on the chair and made me sit on it comfortably. She took another chair and settled close to me.
Taking my legs into her lap, she was about to touch my feet when I stopped her, “Sunflower, don't!” I tried to withdraw my legs away from her but she tightened her hold around them.
“I know you're restless, Vayu! Let me massage your feet, you'll feel better hmm?” She cooed while gently moving her hands over my sole.
“You aren't supposed to touch my feet!” I whispered looking at her with soft eyes.
“Tell me what's bothering you?” She questioned as she continued to massage my sole.
I didn't say anything for a minute because I wasn't able to decipher how to start. Words were not coming out of my lips.
“Concerned about your knee injury, aren't you?” She asked, making my brows twitch.
I looked at her in surprise. She knew everything without a word being shared.
She smiled at me while continuing her business on my feet. “Hna?” She asked again and I nodded, keeping my head down.
“So getting tensed about it, becoming restless, it will help to cure the injury, won't it?” She said sarcastically yet her voice was soft.
“I’m afraid that it will snatch my dream from me!” I whispered looking into her eyes.
“It will, if you keep sending those negative and failure signals to your subconscious mind!” She said calmly.
“I can’t stop them, they aren’t in my hands, Sunflower!” I cried.
“Only you can do that and you have to do it!” She pumped me.
“What if I fail?” I asked.
“I won’t let you fail. And if in the worst case, it happened, then it’s not you who’ll fail, it would be us.” She replied.
“Us?” I questioned in confusion, while continuously looking at her.
“Yes, you coz you’ve to give up on your dream, and I'll fail because I didn't encourage you enough to try harder, I didn't stand by you when I was supposed to carry you along with me. I'll fail..” before she could say any more words about her I kissed her on her lips.
She can't say bad things about herself, not in front of me. Because she has been doing everything, beyond her reach, for me.
“You know well how to play with words right?” I said pulling away.
Because she knew I won't let her fail if it is concerned with me.
“If it can help you win the battle with those unwanted and nasty thoughts in your brain, I won't mind playing along!” She muttered and pecked my cheeks.
“Doctors didn't say your knees won't be fine, they said you need to be careful and consistent about your health and exercise because slightest negligence can cost you a lot.” she explained while I listened to her with utter carefulness.
I sensed uneasiness in Vayu's behaviour when I entered the room. His eyes were fixed on his knees while he was trying to move his legs but failing each time.
Though I asked him then only, but Aunty came inside the room and I saw Vayu was not comfortable sharing anything in front of her. Not because she won't understand him, but because he didn't want her to worry about him.
We slept soon but I was just staring at Vayu's figure under the moonlight. The movements in his body were clearly depicting his restlessness.
I knew he was worried about his knee. And I knew that he would lose his strength in the process of self healing. But I couldn't let it happen, to him, to us.
“Thank you, Sunflower!” I heard his voice while my sole attention was fixed on massaging his feet.
“Shut up Kashyap!” I said without looking at him.
“I won't be this much better without you, babe!” He spoke again and this time I looked at him.
I smiled and shifted myself closer to him. “It feels better now!” He said gesturing towards his feet.
His arm snaked across my shoulder as he leaned closer to me. He rested his head on my shoulder while I held his hands gently.
I can't let him fail. He has to win. Everytime.
We stayed like that for almost an hour gazing at the moon and the stars.
Reya and Vayush were sitting in the balcony talking about random things and giggling under the moonlight.
They were like each other's comfort zone. Despite pulling each other's legs from time to time, they knew how much they're in love with each other.
Reya encouraged Vayush to not to lose hope and stay determined about his recovery. She knew how much IMA means to Vayush and hence she did her best to keep up with her love.
Himani's eyes flickered at around midnight and she roamed her hand on the other side of the bed. Her eyes opened when she didn't find Vayush sleeping beside her.
“Vasu!” She called out and sat up on the bed. Her eyes moved to the couch where Reya slept but she was amazed when she didn't find her there too.
“Kahan chale gaye dono!” She said to herself in a concerning tone and stood up from the bed.
She was about to switch on the lights of the room when she heard soft chuckles from the balcony.
Without switching the lights on she tiptoed herself till the balcony and peeked through the door.
Her lips curled into a wide smile when she saw Vayush and Reya sitting close to each other and chucking.
With time, she has started to develop a sense of affinity and love towards Reya. She adored how Reya had been taking care of his son in his difficult time without taking much care of herself.
Her eyes got tears witnessing his son giggling and happily listening around Reya. She got inside the room again and took her phone before moving back to the balcony's door.
She quietly clicked their picture from the back side and instantly added it to her status with the caption, ‘Mere bacho ko kisi ki nazar na lage!’
She smiled at time once again and got back into the room to sleep.
“What about our Roka, Sunflower?” Vayush asked her, intermingling their fingers together.
“Pehle tu ekdum thik hoja, your health is our priority Vayu!” Reya replied, snuggling closer to him.
“I'm sorry, Sunflower! I know you were so excited about it.” he said in a sad tone.
“Thappad khana hai tujhe?” Reya replied, narrowing her eyes.
“Okay, okay Madam! Sorry!” He quickly spoke up and pouted.
He pulled Reya closer to him softly. His lips brushed against her cheeks and jaw. “Thanks for coming back in my life, Vayu!” Reya whispered before keeping her lips over him gently.
His hold around her shoulders tightened as he started kissing her. She pulled away as she felt it might hurt his injuries but he said, “Please!”
She looked at him with concerned eyes and spoke, “You'll get hurt, Vayu!
He looked back into her eyes, and leaned closer, their lips almost touching, as he spoke, “Loving you, is healing me!” and attached their lips again.
Write a comment ...