Rikara Scribblings by Savina

The Trial Honeymoon : Part 16

Pinky's eyes darkened with anger when she heard his name Omkara Singh Oberoi. This was the same man whom Gauri had spoken of; with whom she had... "I heard she was hospitalised, Ma'am. I just wanted to see her once." Omkara said in a pleading tone, interrupting her thoughts. Had Pinky not heard of him from Gauri, she would have permitted him to visit her; he looked genuinely worried for her. But now that she'd known what he had done, and how he'd crushed her little girl's heart, Pinky gave him a cold shoulder. "Why?" Pinky asked in a dry voice. "Why?" Omkara repeated after her, as if looking for an answer, and after a long pause, he said, "Because... Because I just want to see if she's... doing okay."

Pinky smiled sadly looking at the man in front of her. Doing okay! How easy was it for him to say that? Only she had seen how Gauri was doing okay for the past one month! Pinky heaved a sigh, before she said in an aggressive tone, "She's alive and breathing, Omkara. She was doing okay without your presence for the past twenty odd years, and she has been doing okay for the last one month too." Omkara realised that Pinky knew about him, and had probably heard about him from Gauri; he was just unaware as to how much of it she knew. Already ridden with guilt, Omkara swallowed hard and said, "It's just that when I heard she was admitted in the hospital, I began to worry about her, and I thought..."

Pinky's sarcastic chuckle made him stop talking, and his words died on his lips. "Worried?" Pinky said with her eyes turning moist and glassy now, "You, Omkara Singh Oberoi, were worried for my daughter? Why? You did not worry about her when you treated her like she was some piece of trash, or... or... some commodity? You did not worry about how she felt when your father called her names that no woman would ever want to hear and be labelled. You did not worry about her when you were cruel enough to say she didn't matter, despite all that you and she... And now you say you're worried? Why? How should it bother you if my Gauri is doing okay or not? Why should you be concerned if she lives or..." Pinky left that sentence incomplete, and broke down into tears. Omkara stood looking at the floor, unable to say anything, as tears clouded his vision.

"My Gauri..." Pinky said between her sobs, "She used to be so full of life. She used to light up the room when she would walk into it. But now?" Pinky wiped her tears and with quivering lips, she said, "Now I do not even realise if she is in the same room. The girl who chattered nonstop, whom I had to threaten to shut her mouth, today I have to coax her to talk. The girl refuses to eat, and zones out into her own thoughts when I talk to her. She's turned so lifeless... I don't know where my Gauri, the one so full of life, has vanished. The girl who used to flutter around like a butterfly, she's in there, lying on that bed inside, smelling like the hospital sheets... It's like I don't recognise that girl... It's as if, I don't know who she is anymore..." Pinky said, pointing out to the door they were standing outside of. Omkara closed his eyes; it was hard enough to recall her hollow, lifeless gaze. It had been more than a month since he had seen her, and yet he could picture her dead eyes, like it was just yesterday. Her eyes, that once looked at him with all the love she had in her heart had looked at him like he had crushed her soul and spirit, her very essence.

Pinky sat on the chair nearby and covered her tear-stricken face in her palms. Not knowing what else to say or do, Omkara sat next to her. Moments passed by in silence. Just when Omkara thought it was getting awkward with the silence, Pinky spoke up, "They've kept my girl here for three days. They say they are running tests on her, but none of the doctors are saying anything. They are only telling me that they want to be absolutely sure before giving away the test results..." Omkara looked at the woman, and felt the tears burn in his eyes.

Pinky kept muttering prayers, hoping for Gauri to be safe, and Omkara could only stare at her. He had never got to experience such love, such concern from his mother. Yes, he had his Amma, but she was like his mother, not his mother. Despite all of what Pinky said to him, and knowing that she was raging mad at him, he placed his hand on the back of his hand, "Everything will be alright."