Clash of Ego

Shravan barged into the army medical clinic with Captain Rakesh, a fellow soldier who was badly injured. The army doctors rushed to Rakesh's side and took him into the Operation Theatre. Shravan overheard the doctors saying that he will require a blood transfusion but they were currently out of his blood group. Hearing this, Shravan volunteered to donate his blood as he had the same blood group as Rakesh.

Amidst all the hustle, Shravan didn't notice the pair of eyes intently watching him. Suman thought to herself, how will Shravan donate blood. He is afraid of needles. She reminisced about the time when there was a blood donation camp at their school and how Shravan tightly clutched her hand when they drew his blood. No matter how hard she tried to push Shravan and his memories away, she couldn't. When she thought she was finally getting over her heartbreak, she found out that she would be joining a mission led by none other than Shravan Malhotra, the boy who taught her that love was a mistake. But, she was shocked when she saw how much he had changed. The mischievous glint in his eyes was replaced by intense stares. She kept avoiding him but she knew that she couldn't hide from him forever.

One of the doctors turned to Suman, now an army medical officer, and asked her to draw blood from Major Shravan. Hearing her name, Shravan quickly turned around and finally noticed her. He went through mixed emotions. His heart told him to tightly embrace her and apologize for what he had done. But, his brain told him that nothing was his fault and that he needs to stay ten feet away from her. He couldn't trust the girl who broke his heart. The day she accused and insulted him without giving him a chance to explain himself, the carefree and jovial Shravan died. He was replaced by a serious Major Shravan who had no room for love in his life.

Suman quietly led Shravan into the examination room. The silence between them was excruciating. They both had so many questions they wanted to ask each other and admit that there wasn't a second when they didn't miss each other but their ego got in the way so they kept mum. Shravan sat down in the room as Suman pulled up a chair and took out her tools to draw his blood. Shravan watched her intently as she cleaned his arm off with an alcohol wipe. She still looked so beautiful. Suman brought the needle close to his skin and paused as she saw him stiffen his arm. She finally broke the silence and whispered, "It'll hurt less if you relax your arm. If you want, you can hold my shoulder".

He sat there quietly with his arms to his side declining her offer. Suman thought to herself he had become arrogant now but she knew that he was still the same delicate boy. The second this needle would pierce his skin, he'll scream out like a child and squeeze her shoulder tightly. But, suddenly the thought of piercing his skin made her queasy. She didn't want to hurt him. Her fingers trembled as she touched his forearm trying to find his vein. Her heart was thudding so loudly that she couldn't focus on finding his vein. All she could think about was how his skin felt the same yet so different. There was a familiarity when she touched him but his skin that was once so soft was now rough and hard.

Shravan wanted to get this done and over with quickly. He knew he couldn't control his feelings for long when she was sitting so close to him tracing his skin with her feather-like fingertips. He rolled his eyes and asked in an annoyed voice, "Can you please hurry up? I have a lot of work to do".

She pressed her fingertips harder into his forearm and mumbled, "I can't find your vein". Suman was confused why she was having such a hard time. Drawing blood is the most basic medical procedure. She felt distracted by her own blood rushing through her veins. It seems that even after so many years, Shravan still had the same effect on her.

Shravan was losing patience so he took her hand that was holding the needle and suddenly jabbed into his arm. He nonchalantly said, "My vein is here".

Suman was taken aback by his sudden action and tightly clutched his hand to stop him. She yelled out, "Shravan! No!" She looked up shocked to see that he didn't even flinch. He wasn't afraid of needles anymore. He had changed. He wasn't the same boy she once knew.