Twist in Time

My whole entire heart

Abhimanyu sat next to the hospital bed, clutching onto Akshara's hands tightly. Pacing his foot up and down, his gaze did not move from her face as he gripped her hand tighter and pressed kisses up and down it, pressing his face against it. His heartbeat was beating out of his chest like a drum and he held his breath, feeling like he was suffocating by the moment.

"Akshara" he cried as he waited for her to wait. Watching her like his life depended on it.

Because it did.

What had taken place was one of the scariest moments of his life. He felt like he had lost his whole entire life. Everything. All over again.

Ambulances had rushed quickly, Abhimanyu had been inconsolable with horns beeping rapidly in the background, not agreeing to let go of Akshara and so they had to take him with her upon realisation he was the 'Mr. Abhimanyu Birla'.

Abhi had quickly arranged for her to be seen by the best 'Trauma' doctor straight away and she had been taken into the Emergency Department instantly. After being under doctor's review for a couple of hours, she had only just come out and he had not let go, even for a second.

And Abhimanyu felt his entire heartbreak as he watched her lifeless figure, all dressed in a hospital gown with dressings covering all over her and hooked up to monitors that were keeping her under observation.

If he could take every single bit of her pain and put it on himself, he would.

He knew for certain now.

He could not live if something happened to her.

"Akshara... please baba... don't do this to me" he whispered, his entire soul numb and desperate for her touch.

"I was really bad wasn't I ... away from you for this long... please don't punish me like this baby"

"I can not live without you Akshara"

His thoughts were broken by a knock on her room.

The doctors.

Abhimanyu stood up instantly, brushing the tears that had welled in his eyes. A team of three doctors walked in and one of them was his friend, Rohin.

"Rohan... how is she?" Abhimanyu asked restlessly, his hand still gripping hers.

Rohan gave him an empathetic glance, taking in his state. He looked totally disheveled and out of sorts. He had known Abhimanyu for a long time, since college when they met at a random pub crawl and he had never seen him so worked up or disturbed ever. The emotionless Abhimanyu Birla - he never thought he'd see the day. But who could blame him? When love comes, it comes like this.

"Abhimanyu...I can understand your state but please take a deep breath" Rohan told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Rohan got him to sit down and offered him a glass of water but Abhimanyu shook his head.

"Please" Abhimanyu begged, "please just tell me she is okay"

Rohan gave him a gentle smile and nodded, putting Abhimanyu out of his misery. "I have spoken to the trauma doctors and she is now out of danger. They did some imaging to ensure she did not have any internal bleeding or head injuries and it seems that she has been lucky because there is none. Her vitals are also now normal and stable".

"But Abhimanyu..." Rohan continued and Abhimanyu watched anxiously.. "she has lost a lot of blood from external bleeds, we had to give her a blood transfusion and there is no doubt a very very small rib fracture that she has suffered on the right-hand side..."

"Rib fracture?" Abhimanyu gasped sitting up immediately, his heart pounding through his chest.

"Relax... it's okay.. rib fractures heal on their own and it will just take a couple of weeks of rest, and minimal mobilisation. Plus given how small it is and since it's on the lowest rib, she likely will not even be able to feel it, it will heal much quicker. She can still walk around and partake in daily activities but she will just need to take care of herself. We have also prescribed some pain medication"