Before We Leave

Chapter Sixteen

"See you at 6" Devi told and left the room.

She was busy the whole day with some last minute arrangements and also she had her checkup. So after lunch, when mom came to deliver me some clothes for the evening, she came to my room too. We hung out for a bit even after mom left. And she even chose the clothes that I should wear that evening.

She left and I started to get ready for the evening. I was excited to be telling the truth, not for these event but Devi seemed really excited by these whole thing and has been working tirelessly, so I had to make it more special.

I brushed my teeth again, sprayed some cologne and wore my shirt and pant. Devi suggested me to wear black tie and even though I was reluctant, I had to do it for Devi.

So I wore my attire, skipping any bow tie or tie in general and checked the time. It wasn't even 5 yet so I kept on reading a novel I took from Devi's collection.

It was 5mins to 6 pm when I got my crutches and made my way out of the room. But I stopped as soon I got outside the door of my room. The lawn was uncovered from the drapes surrounding and the only way I can describe is- it looked like a scene from a fantasy book, it looked magical.

A long pole was placed almost in the middle of the large lawn. And from the top of it fairy lights were coming town till the ground making it a dome of light. A campfire arrangement was made just beside the pole, it was still unlit. And tents were placed all around the sides of the lawn. A table on one side had some food items on it and water bottles. I realized it was a campfire get together. Devi and others had done a splendid job in decorating the place.

I stared at the setting in awe for a few moments and then gathered myself and knocked on Devi's door.

"Come in" she shouted from inside.

I opened the door and I was taken aback for the second time of the evening. Devi was standing on the side of her bed, trying to wear a watch. She was wearing a beautiful black and green dress running till her knees. Her hair was open and brushed, she wasn't wearing any makeup except some kohl in her eyes and a light lipstick. I wanted to pause that moment for a lifetime but I well knew I couldn't, so I stayed right there on the door, staring at her and taking every detail of that moment and storing it safely in my brain.

"How am I looking?" She asked, smiling after she wore her watch.

"Beautiful" I wanted to shower all the good adjectives to her but I knew it will never be enough.

Her smile widened. She gestured to let us go and we did the same.

We walked side by side and entered the lawn, a few of the male nurses was trying to light the campfire. None of the patients were there yet.

"So this is the Annual Campfire Night of our hospital, a one night fun for all the staff and some patients" Devi said, her arms wide showing me the place.

"Here is the campfire where all of us will sit around and drink some juice and eat some food and then tell stories and sing songs and talk about life" she said
I nodded to gesture that I have understood.

"And these are our tents, where if we get tired we can sleep. Ofcourse, patients who are well enough to sleep outside like me and you, not like Mrs.Bakshi" she went on and I kept on nodding to acknowledge that I have understood.

We stood there by the food table. Patients started coming soon after, some of them in pairs and some single. Some patients had one of their family members with them as well. All of them wearing sharp clothes.Devi told me stories about some of them as they made their way near the campfire. She told me how Mrs.Angelo, one of the nurses make her strawberry jam in winters and how Souza, my physio instructor has a good taste in old music. She kept on saying but all I could think about was her smile and how badly I wanna hold her hands.

The campfire activities started as soon as everyone was present. All of us gathered round the campfire with a juice box in our hands. Devi sat beside me and then the stories, the singing and the occasional dancing started. Everyone told stories about some of their most memorable events. When it was my turn, I told them the story of the girl who invaded my room in the middle of the night during my first night at the hospital. Devi blushed all through my turn and Devi told the story of how she once stole a frozen yoghurt from the hospital cafeteria one night.

Mrs.Bakshi told the story of her imaginary pirate husband and then changed the narration to a gambler husband the very next moment and finally sang a beautiful song, of which by the end all of us joined in to sing togetherly while Souza played the guitar.

The dinner was packed food which we ate by the campfire and patients who had to return to their room then took their leave. A few persons mainly the nurses and some staff, me and Devi and a couple of other patients were left.

We stayed by the campfire, Devi never leaving my side and talked some more, laughed some more, sang some more until it was past midnight and we all decided to call it a night. It was a magical night, the magic element added by Devi and her smile.

The tents were divided into boys and girls. So Devi said her goodbye and went to her tent and I retreated into mine. The tents were a bit small and I had zero experience in sleeping in one. But the weather was good, some crickets were chirping nearby and I closed my eyes to sleep. Before I knew it the tiredness took over me.

"You slept already?" a voice spoke.

I opened my eyes slowly to see Devi peeping inside my tent. She was still wearing the dress.

"Yeah, I was a bit tired" I said, chuckling.

"I couldn't sleep, wanna walk with me?" She said smiling and pleading with her eyes.