Kolhapur Chronicles

20. mine

The faint sound of tires on the hospital bed accompanied by the murmurs of people around fell on her ears, waking her up from the not-so-sound sleep she was in. Pallavi had tried hard to stay awake the entire night, but the number of tears she had cried followed by the multiple sets of emotions she experienced dropped her eyelids to her cheeks, making her sleep in the uncomfortable position she was sitting in. Stretching her shoulders, arms and neck, she took a moment to register where she was, and the entire flashback of events screened in front of her eyes, making her run on her feet to his room. She saw him through the same glass window, a few wires missing from his body, and the realisation hit her.

She had fallen for him.

She was about to take this chance with him.

But how will she confess?

How would she tell him that 12 hours after rejecting him, she is ready to accept and be a part of this relationship? How would she look into his eyes and make him realise that she would be a hundred percent devoted to him, give her equal share in everything they do together- from housework to life decisions?

The mere thought of spending her life with him fluttered her heart, and her lips curved up to form a small smile. She looked up to meet his eyes, except this time, there was a glass barrier between them, and his eyes were closed. The hurt spread through her veins as she came to the realisation that the eyes that were shut today would always meet her orbs whenever she connected them.

Always.

Never was a day she remembers that she looked at him and he looked elsewhere, be it in Hyderabad when anger oozed out of them, or be it Kolhapur where pride, affection and care radiated through them.

His eyes always found hers.

Even in the room full of everyone, one joke or comment was enough for him to lock his eyes with hers, them having a moment in themselves which was forgotten by her soon.

Not today.

Words couldn't express how badly she wanted those long eyelashes of his to lift themselves from his cheek and touch his eyebrows, how badly she wanted his eyes to look at her once, to give her the affirmation that he is safe and sound.

She walked herself searching for the doctor to settle the restlessness of her insides. Finding him with a few other junior doctors, she patiently waited for him to finish and approached him slowly.

"Doctor, Raghav-" her meek voice barely reached him but he managed to catch the words.

"Don't worry beta, he is stable and fine now, better than yesterday. We are monitoring his vitals and the dislocation too is minor. He would take about 4 weeks to get out of the sling and a few more sessions of physiotherapy to be back to normal as before."

Relief hit her hard, even though a part of her knew she would be totally fine only after she spoke to him.

Only after she looked into his eyes.

Settling herself on the hospital bench, she sipped on a cup of tea while observing him through the glass window. A lot had changed since he was here. Never had she imagined him being this important to her. The train of memories took her to that one night in Hyderabad, when she had confronted him in a cafe where a chair caught fire, resulting in chaos which then escalated to Raghav getting into an accident. At that moment, she had merely helped him out of humanity, only because there was no one else to be there for him. She very well understood the feeling of tending your own wounds- both physical and mental, and she did not want anyone else to go through that feeling ever.

That was the sole reason she had helped him.

That was the very first time she had noticed a soft corner of his, the mouth which hurled abuses and threats had taken the courage to firmly thank her, making her feel noticed and valued. Even though the following events were for the worst, this moment would remain etched in her memory forever.