Prithvi... [Vol 1] (Ongoing) (Winner of Wattpad India Awards 2019)

Chapter 16

Nandini stepped out of the washroom, freshened up and all set to go home, and was astonished to see Vrinda and Nishi, sitting on the sofa and grinning at her.

“Why aren’t you in class?” Nandini asked, surprised.

“Errrrr…..it’s a holiday,” Vrinda beamed, “The college announced it today itself.”

Nandini chuckled. “The college announced a holiday because I have a fever?”

“Oh all right. We bunked today,” Nishi admitted. “Rishabh wanted to come but couldn’t because he has a very important lecture. We’ll stay here till you are discharged, then we’ll go to college and attend the remaining classes.”

“But you all came to see me yesterday too. And I’m okay now,” Nandini said exasperatedly. “The fever subsided last night itself and doctor just left some minutes ago after the check-up. I’m perfectly fine. We’ll be leaving for home very soon.”

“So we’ll go with you,” Vrinda said stubbornly. “And when we came yesterday you were sleeping, so that visit doesn’t count. We just gave your bag to your mother, and we had hardly sat down when a whole mob of people from your locality came in and we had to go. I think everyone in Shamli came here yesterday to see you,” she ended on an injured note.

Nandini sighed and then grinned affectionately at them. She walked over to the bed and sat down facing them.

“So tell us what happened yesterday,” Nishi asked agitatedly. “We were so worried when you didn’t come back. And then after the lecture we tried calling your home number and we heard that you had an accident -”

“And Prithvi saved your life and got hurt himself,” Vrinda said with a sigh. “That was such a brave thing to do. He looks like a dream and is as valiant as the hero of a movie,” she sighed, “how can anyone be so perfect…”

“Yes…he saved my life,” Nandini said in a small voice.

“Are you feeling ill again,” Nishi asked tensely.

“No, I’m fine,” Nandini forced herself to smile. It was partly true. Physically, she was fit and fine, apart from a lingering feeling of tiredness. Her emotional state, however, was a very different story….

She surreptitiously crossed her fingers and told them the same story she had told her mother in the morning after waking up. That Sumer uncle had wanted her to give an urgent message to Prithvi, and she had left her bag with Nishi and gone in search of him, and she had been giving him the message when a car came towards them with great speed. The rest of course they already knew.

The door opened and her mother came into the room along with Prakash.

“You both are back again!” he asked, glaring at her friends. “Can’t you let Di rest for some time?”

“Prakash!” Nandini and her mother exclaimed simultaneously.

“This is no way to talk to your sister’s friends,” Sarojini scolded her son. “Apologise to them right away.”

“That’s ok, aunty. We didn’t mind.”

“Sorry,” Prakash said sulkily and then scrambled up on the bed and snuggled next to Nandini, who smiled and hugged him close.

Last night was quite a blur. She only remembered going to sleep on the bench outside Prithvi’s room. After that she had groggily woken up in the night to see many people by her bedside, peering down at her. And she vaguely recollected Prakash instructing people to talk in a low voice so as to let her sleep, and even asking some of them to go away and leave her in peace.