When our Lives Intertwined

Chapter 35. The Last Chapter.

Saying Sorry in Advance.

THIRD PERSON POV.

'An earthquake of 7.5 magnitude has taken place in the eastern region of Arunachal Pradesh. Many casualties are expected as the rescue operation has started now.'

The phone slid out of Dev's hand the minute he read it. He stumbled backwards away from the phone. His back hit the wall as he slid down on the floor. He felt harder to breath as his breathing got heavy. Virat and Anushka who were near him tried calling him but all the voices faded for him. It all felt blurry to him. He couldn't hear what everyone was saying to him, only her voice echoed in his ears.

'I love you too, Dev.'

'Remember we are a team now.'

'Main tumhe chod ke kabhi nahi jaungi. Never.'

'Ha. Something very important... I love you.'

'Wait for me. I will come back as soon as possible.'

Various such moments played like a slideshow in front of his eyes. The moments when she said she loves him, the moment where she said she would always be there with him, the promise that she would return. Dev remembered her promise to him, she had to keep the promise. She promised she would return to him and he promised to wait.

Rahul Dravid wasn't able to absorb what he just read. His gudiya, his beloved daughter, was there. Would she be okay? He sat on the nearby chair looking blankly at the floor trying to gather his mind as he felt all the energy drained out of him.

Anushka and Virat squatted on either side of Dev, calling him. Dev finally looked at them, his eyes wide with panic. Dev whispered, more to himself "We just talked yesterday. How? No, this can't be true. She promised, she promised she would return." Everybody in the room looked at his State as he sat there looking crumpled in fear. Virat cried a bit looking at his state. Dev looked at everyone "Usse kuch nahi hua hai. She promised to return to me and I promised to wait for her. She is, she is waiting for me. She is fine. She has to be fine, she promised!" Dev said getting up.

Everybody could understand that Dev was impulsinated with sudden news. He didn't sound like their calm composed Dev. He looked extremely anxious and tense. Virat stepped in and placed his hands on Dev's shoulder saying "Calm down Dev. Calm down." Dev shook his head vigorously and said "No. I am not going to stay calm. I am gonna go there and get her. She said she would come back. I am not letting her break the promise." Dev said with determination but one could see his eyes had tears.

Rahul Dravid looked at Dev and thought Dev was right. He too stood up and said "He is Right. She said she would come back. We shouldn't think of the worst. She would be fine." "We would get her back. We are just assuming the worst. She can be perfectly fine there." KL said, convincing others and himself as well. Dev nodded as some tears made their way.

Dev wiped his tears and said "Let's get to India and in Arunachal Pradesh as soon as possible." He started to gather his things to get out of here as soon as possible. He would not let himself get weak, he would find her. Anushka said "We talked to Ajinkya bhai and Rohit bhai. They have started the rescue operation there but all flights and trains there are cancelled due to the earthquake."

Rahul Dravid took his phone and said "Let me try if somehow I can get us there." He said and walked out of the room. Virat and KL too took their phones to try their level best. They would bring her back.

"I should inform her family na?" Dev asked, looking at others. They nodded as Dev took his phone and dialled their no. He gulped his tears as their phone rang. "Hello?" Came through the voice of Radhika's mother. "Hello ma'am. It's Devdutt here." "Ohh. I hope you got the message. We will come to India in two weeks to discuss things further." Dev closed his eyes as now all the sentences, talking about their future together felt like sprinkling salt on his wounds. "Ma'am an earthquake has taken place in Arunachal Pradesh and Radha has gone for a conference. We have not got any news yet."