Yakshagni - An odyssey of unbroken devotion - II

5) Unsavoury Intentions

"Dharma, who is she?" Garima asked her.

"Her cousin Seema!"

A stunned Garima questioned timorously, "What? Are you sure?"

"Yes! It is her cousin. But why would she do it, Garima? She was here all along during the surgery," Dharma quizzed, dismay and anxiety weighing upon her heavily. She recalled an old conversation with Kamya from their school days. Dharma had been upset about a fight between her and a classmate who, in a fit of anger, had taunted Dharma for not remembering her life before coming to Mohandham. Kamya's assurance had comforted her with its logic, "Dharma, it is much better to not remember your life than knowing that your mother abandoned you when you were born. At least, you don't have a family but I do have one, and yet they don't care. Isn't that more painful? That girl who taunted you; was born after four girls and her father wanted to smother her. Her mother wrapped her in a piece of cloth and left her here. You are in a much better position than most of us. I think that is why she taunted you, probably because you are not bitter about your life!"

Recollecting her friend's reasoning, Dharma worried about Kamya's reaction when she would learn that it was her cousin Seema who had tried to hurt her.

'But why Dharma? What is her enmity with Kamya?"

"Don't know, beats me. Kamya always spoke of Seema affectionately."

"Do you think it is possible that Seema lost control of the vehicle?" Garima pondered aloud.

"You showed me the car waiting in the background. Clearly, she had evil intentions."

"Dharma, we should tell this to Guruji."

The current head of the institution was called the Guru.

"Maybe we should hold back till Kamya is awake."

"Seema is here. What if she tries to harm Kamya again?"

"I will keep a watch over her."

Garima checked her wristwatch, "Got to go, Dharma. Talk to Brahim and then decide."

Dharma nodded as they entered the hospital corridor and saw Seema and her family. The mere sight of Seema made Dharma see red but she suppressed her rising fury. To her relief, she saw Brahim. It was not the right place to tell him about Seema. He would not remain calm learning that the woman who caused the accident was here with a guilt-free mien that was inconceivable to Dharma and Brahim. She wondered if Chaitanya was aware of his wife's erratic behaviour or were the couple involved in the misdeed together.

The doctor breezed in to check on Kamya. It did not escape Dharma that Seema was unusually tense. Seema asked a nurse if she could talk to the doctor alone. To Dharma's relief, the nurse refused and Seema wore a sullen look.

"Want to tell you something important but not now. It is imperative that we don't leave Kamya alone," Dharma told Brahim under her breath.

They surrounded the doctor when he came out of the room, "She is fine but we are afraid that there is a clot inside her brain. Only a neurosurgeon can decide whether she needs a burr hole drainage surgery or a craniotomy. She has to be taken to Delhi," and he named a well-known hospital in New Delhi.

"But how will she be taken there?" Brahim asked

"That can be arranged. A donor has volunteered to bear all the expenses. A paramedical team from the Delhi hospital will arrive here shortly with an ambulance to take her. One of the family can go with her,"

"I can go with her," Seema volunteered but Dharma burst out, "No..." All, including the doctor, gave her varying degrees of looks.

"I think only her fiancé should go with her," Dharma added.