What could have been...

Chapter 5 - The Hero is Back!!

I am really sorry to keep you all waiting for so long. Here is the update. Frankly speaking, I have no idea what I have done in this chapter. I just hope you all like it. It is not edited, so ignore the typos, if any. So here you go.....

Nandini took a step inside the room, her eyes still glued to the person on the bed. He was lying on the bed in the centre of the room surrounded by some machines to which she did not pay any attention as all of her concentration was on the person, she had lost the hope of seeing. She looked at his sleeping figure and his closed eyes. She took another step inside the room and moved away from the door making way for the rest to enter behind her.

Everyone came in and stood surrounding her. Her friends were also shocked to see the person. Dr. Sarkar and Mr. Malhotra too stepped in the room and stood beside the person on the bed. Looking at all their shocked and worried expressions, Mr. Malhotra said, 'Don't worry, he's fine. He's just sleeping.''

Sensing all the commotion in the room, the person woke up and blinked looking around, adjusting his eyes to his surroundings. As soon as his eyes took in the faces of the people present in the room, his eyes widened and when they rested upon Nandini, a small smile appeared on his lips. His eyes shone with happiness and he uttered, 'Nandini.' He sat up on the bed with support of the headrest. Nandini walked upto him slowly and stood beside him looking at him as if she was afraid he would disappear if she as much as blinked her eyes. She raised her hand to touch his face to convince herself that he was really there.

She placed her hand on his cheek and he leaned in at her touch closing his eyes. Her eyes were filled with tears as she whispered, 'Manik.' Manik opened his eyes and smiled at her. That was it for Nandini. She crashed on his chest and hugged him tight and started crying. He too hugged her back trying to calm her down. It seemed as if they forgot that they weren't alone in the room. Their friends, who stood rooted to their places, finally moved towards them as if they were waiting for some confirmation that it was really Manik whom they were seeing and not just some hallucination.

Alya, Mukti and Dhruv hugged Manik taking Nandini too in the group hug. Navya and Aryaman stood beside them smiling. Navya put her hand on Nandini's back and rubbed it to calm her. Finally, they broke the hug and moved back. Everyone's eyes were moist. Nandini and Manik looked at each other emotionally. Suddenly, remembering something, Nandini widened her eyes and looked at Mr. Malhotra and asked, 'But, he.... How did he reach here? And how did you come to know about him?'

'Relax, child. Calm down. Last 4 months, he was in this hospital. After that accident, he was in a coma. He woke up 2-3 days back. He is almost fine. Just a few more days in the hospital for observation and lots and lots of rest and he'll be completely fine. So Nandini, child, wipe those tears. Such a beautiful face and tears don't go along well,' Mr. Malhotra said with a smile.

Nandini gave a small smile and wiped off her tears. She looked at Manik who was looking at her only. He looked happy to see all of them, especially her. Their staring session was interrupted by Mukti who asked, 'What exactly happened to him?' All of them looked at Dr. Sarkar for explanation.

'See, basically all his external wounds have healed,so he may look alright but we have to keep his internal injuries too in mind. In such cases as his, the internal wounds take a lot of time to heal. His wounds have almost healed but we need to take precautions. Mental stress is not allowed at all. Proper diet and lots of rest is needed along with timely medication. One thing that I wanted to mention was that since the accident was a head on collision and he was in coma for 4 months on a high dosage of medicines, it has had an effect on his memory. Its nothing serious, just that his memory is a bit fuzzy from the night of the accident. He knows what had happened but doesn't remember the exact details. This phenomenon is quite common, nothing to worry about. Eventually, he will remember everything but it will take time. You all are his friends. You know what had happened. You can try and see if he remembers but remember not to stress him too much. Got it?' He explained.