Tujhse Hain Raabta

Arnav

"Take cover!"

"You've been here for more than 10 years."

"It is time for you to rest."

"You're done, Randhawa."

Waking up with a gasp, Arnav turns to switch on the light. He wipes the sweat off of his forehead and takes a look at the time. 4 am. Four hours of sleep, that is one hour more than he got yesterday.

It was two weeks after his surgery, his physiotherapy was to start today. He got up carefully not wanting to damage his knee further and got busy with his morning activities.

"You're up already? Good morning." he was greeted by his mother, Mansavi, as he got out of his room.

"Ah, yes. Couldn't sleep much. Good morning maa."

Manasavi's face morphed into expressions of tension as she heard that her son couldn't sleep well, before she could voice her concern, Arnav spoke up."I'm fine maa. I had a good sleep. It is just that I woke up too early."

"I'm going to go make some breakfast. Do you want some?"

"Chup kar. You're the patient here. Go, sit down." She ushered him to be quiet.

(shut up)

"I'll make some food for you and then I'm going back to sleep."

Arnav settles himself on the couch and stretches his leg on to the centre table.

"Your physiotherapy starts today, right? His mother asked, stirring the batter to make dosas.

"Yes. I have an appointment for 11 am."

"I'll drive you."

"It is fine maa. Prateek will take me."

"Are you nervous?"

Nervous? Yes, he was nervous. He was more than nervous but there's no way in hell he would ever admit to feeling like that.

"No."

                                                                    —----------------------------------------------

"Good morning, Lt.Randhawa! Nice to meet you." Dr. Brijesh, one of the best physiotherapists in the city, greeted him with a painfully wide smile on his face.

"Good morning, Dr.Brijesh." Arnav greeted him with a tight lipped smile. "You can call me Arnav."

"Great! Let's take a look at your file. I'll ask you some questions later on and then, we'll decide on your rehabilitation process."

One hour later, he was out of the hospital feeling uncomfortable. Dr. Brijesh had asked all sorts of questions, right from the moment he got injured to the moment Arnav sat down in his office but that's not what made him uneasy. It was the fact that Dr. Brijesh had a permanent smile plastered to his face and his voice was cheery as fuck.

As he was waiting for Prateek to pick him up from the hospital, his phone went off with a text message. It was from his mom.

How did the session go?

Prateek pulls up in front of him and Arnav settles into the passenger seat. He shoots off a reply to his mom saying he is on the way. He isn't a fan of texting. He believed conversations are better face to face or via a phone call. Moreover, he was on his way back home.

"Kaisa tha?" Prateek asked.

(How was it?)

"Teek tha. He has asked me to come in twice a week. Next session is on Thursday."