Three Blonde Wishes

Chapter 6 - First Blonde Wish

Atif

Is it true that when two people, make the same wish, at the same time, it comes true?

My eyes met Aarzoo in the street.  She gazed at me like she couldn't see anything beyond me. She looked feeble. Her hair came onto her face as it was a breezy night. I smiled at her as I recalled how her hair was all over her face when I saw her for the first time when she was a child. She couldn't bring herself to walk forward, she was losing balance. I started walking fast to get to her but I knew it was not going to be enough. She was going to hit the ground soon so I sprinted to get to her but just then a man caught her. It almost looked like he appeared out of nowhere to hold her. He sat on his knees, looking at her while she leaned on his chest unconsciously. I sat in hurry and checked her pulse. It was way too low. 'Aarzoo, look at me. God, she has fainted' I mumbled as she was not responding. I was about to pull her closer and carry her home but just then he carried her in his arms and looked at me for directions, I quickly directed him to our house and he placed her on the bed very gently. 'She's got low blood pressure. You have to lift her feet above her heart level to aid blood flow to the brain' he said as he looked at her. Of course, I knew that but my hands hesitated to touch her. He left the room giving us privacy. I had no choice. I brushed her hair away from her face and loosened her sweater for her to breathe freely. I looked at her to see if she was gaining consciousness but she was not. I grabbed her both her feet gently. Just when I started lifting them gradually she gained her consciousness and kicked me in reflex. 'Relax, it's me' I said thrusting both my hands in front gesturing for her to calm down. 'It's me, Atif' I repeated as she gasped for air. 'You passed out down the street' I told as I held her wrist to check her pulse again. 'Why haven't you eaten anything all day' I asked her and she stared at me. 'It's not good for-'
'why do you care' She interrupted sounding very weak.
'Eat something so you feel better' I continued. 'Why do you care?' She repeated her question.
'I don't' I replied. 'This is my job' I added. 'Please leave me alone' she said still not looking at me. 'Look, I'm sorry for whatever happened. It clearly shouldn't have happened. But there's nothing we can do. Nothing is going to get better by starving' I said as she remained silent without replying. 'I'll inform Diego to get you some dinner. Please eat'
'Stop pretending like you care' she said. 'You're my responsibility' I defended. 'If you don't consider this marriage as marriage and me as your wife, how do I become your responsibility? I am not your responsibility' she said as she tried getting up from the bed but fell back due to weakness. I held her by her shoulders to support her sit but she pushed my hands away. 'If you ever see me dying helplessly on road someday, please let me die. I'd rather die than be touched by you' she said. That went straight to my heart and hurt me very deeply. I slid my hands inside my pockets. There was no point replying to what she just said. If anything it would cause more damage and make things worse than it already was. I got out of the room to thank the guy who helped me but he was gone already. I looked around in the lobby but there was no one to be found. What a strange man.
~
Even though she meant nothing to me, I started to get worried about her. She was not taking care of herself and I was in no place to do anything about that. How ironic, a doctor's wife is sick. I went to the hospital even during offs. Only because I didn't want to be home around her. She had started her job hunt and I knew she'd soon move out. I rested my head on the table wondering what would happen if she moves out. How would she manage as she's new to the country and a very introverted person? I didn't insist on her staying. I didn't know if it was the best thing to do. What would our families have to say if they knew what was happening here? I left things to happen. Whatever was right would happen. Just when I was about to doze off I heard a knock on the door.
'Could you come with me to the morgue Dr' Dr. Tanya said as she peeped into my cabin. Dr. Tanya was a doctor from the cardiology department. She was a good acquaintance. 'I need to check on the serial number and other details of the patient who passed away yesterday.'
'Kind of spooked out to go alone' She added and chuckled. 'You're a doctor for God's sake Tanya' I l laughed as I got up to tag along with her. 'What's the cause of death?' I asked her as we waited for the elevator. 'Postoperative congestive heart failure' She said. 'The family has signed to donate the body for educational purposes' She added. I raised my eyebrows as not all families as brave enough to do that.
'I would've called Drevis but he's busy' she nodded as we walked. 'Why are you here today, if I may ask?'. 'Yeah, it's okay, I mean, just in case of emergencies' I made an excuse. 'Fight with the missus?' she asked in a teasing way. 'Kind of' I agreed and laughed. We reached the morgue and Tanya was doing what she had to. I looked around the room of dead people and exhaled. I looked at the patient covered in a white cloth. A few helpers joined us in the room to put the body in a black zip bag. Just then, I saw this person's stomach going in and out as if he was breathing. My eyes widened as I took a closer look. The stomach still going up and down I walked fast towards the body 'He's alive!' I yelled. The body was immediately placed back and I stuck my finger below his ear to check his nerves while Tanya checked his wrist. 'No movement' she said as she checked carefully. I remained in the same position hoping for a response. 'Are you sure Dr. Atif?' she asked. 'Dr. Atif' she called out my name again for a response. 'Yes damn it! I saw him breathe' I said as I stepped back. 'There's no way he could be alive; I was present when he died' she replied. I looked at the patient more carefully this time. The body remained still but a few seconds later, he breathed again. 'Look look look!' I said as I pointed towards its stomach. 'We can't do this! Please check!' I yelled. The nurses and the doctors checked and confirmed that the patient was no more. 'You people think I'm crazy, I saw the patient breath' I said in my defense. I was reassured the patient was not alive. I walked back to my cabin alone exhausted and frustrated. I threw water on my face and exhaled resting my hands on the sink. Random things flashed my mind as I decided to go home and rest. I was worried about my mind playing tricks on me in the morgue. This is not the first time it was happening. I needed rest. My phone flashed with a new notification. Dr. Drevis sent a new number to me and said. 'Here's the lawyer's number. He is from the states, one of the best lawyers I've known. I respect your decision but think about it again'. I clicked on the new number to check the display picture. With the look of the picture, it looked like it was taken after reaching the mountain top post a long trek. Side profile of a middle-aged man, wearing sunglasses, smiling at the view. The description said Farris Qadri with a US flag in the about. Just then a new message notification slid down my notification bar. A new message in the group. It was Dr. Drevis inviting all of us for dinner at his place with our spouses in the evening. Everyone replied with great enthusiasm whereas I was thrown into perplexity as to what to do. There are no ways I could convince Aarzoo to come to a party with me. I'd probably make some excuse I thought to myself throwing my phone beside me. But I truly respect Dr.Drevis and never disagreed with anything he said. He's like a big brother to me. I got home and decided to give it a shot. If she agrees, good for me. If not, I'll just attend it myself. I made up my mind before talking to her but to my surprise, she agreed to attend the party with me. I freshened up and left the house after dressing up quickly. I waited in the car for her. She walked down thirty minutes later in a beautiful pastel pink chikankari suit. Her hair was partitioned loose. Half of it was on her back while the other half was on the left side. The dupatta was pinned neatly on her right shoulder. She could've worn anything western but she chooses to dress traditionally. It was the first time I saw her dressed up so well in so many days. I caught myself staring at her as she walked gracefully towards the car. I looked away as soon as we made unexpected eye contact. 'Thank you for coming' I told her as she sat next to me. She nodded looking outside the window as the car started. I looked outside my side of the window avoiding awkwardness between us. We looked on the opposite sides avoiding any kind of interaction during the travel until we reached our destination. Dr. Drevis and his wife greeted us with a warm welcome hug. There was Dr. Tanya already present with her husband and her 3-year-old daughter. I was surprised to see Aarzoo blend along so well with my co-workers like nothing ever was wrong in her life. She was getting attention from so many people as she was my newly wedded wife. I stopped watching out for her as I saw her comfortable. Later we enjoyed the party on our own.

 Everything was great until I realized I had not seen her for quite some time. She wasn't around. I started looking for her. I asked people around if they had seen her but no one knew where she was. I started to panic as she was nowhere to be found. She was unwell. I was worried if she was okay. My mind came to rest when I saw her sitting on the swing on the lawn outside. She swung gently and stopped as she heard my footsteps. I walked closer to check on her. She looked at me and smiled as if she knew it was me. I sat on the swing beside her without saying a word. After several minutes of silence, I spoke 'I didn't know you were such an extrovert'

'I can pretend' she smiled. 'Well, I didn't know you could pretend to be happy so well' I chuckled softly

'I'm a girl, I can pretend to be happy very well' she replied back and left me speechless. 'Anyway, what are we going to do now?' She asked. 'About what?'

'About the-divorce' She said. 'Oh yeah-that. Yes, I've talked to my lawyer. He's getting it done' I replied. 'Great!' she said and exhaled. 'You know Atif?' I took a moment as she addressed my name for the first time. 'I know we're not good for each other. But I hoped' she said. I looked at her and she looked back at me. 'I hoped that someday, sometime, things worked out between us' she completed smiling sweetly but her eyes screaming in pain. I looked into her eyes and asked myself if she deserved the pain I was giving her. My heart replied instantly, of course not. I wished with all my heart, that we get a divorce soon. For her happiness.

'I wish we get our divorce soon' She said breaking eye contact and looking at the sky. I stayed in the same position looking at her as her hair partially covered her face and moonlight shone on her eyes. 'for your happiness' she smiled.