Rooh (Book 2 - Singhania Brothers)

Part 6 : A father

"Doctor, can I see him once?" Arnav forced the words out of his constricted throat. That was the third time he was getting the same reply from the doctor. In no way, it hurt lesser than the extent it did in the first time.

"You can! Go ahead. He is in the common ward." The doctor replied politely.

Arnav nodded his head and turned to walk towards Aryan's ward. He entered the ward and slowly approached Aryan. He had been hospitalized for two days now. Doctors had told them the fever wasn't going because of weakness. The major cause was malnutrition. The fever was just not subsiding and Aryan's body was too weak to respond to strong medication. Doctor has said they would lose Aryan if his body didn't recover from fever soon.

The child who refused to sit idle even for a second was lying still on the hospital bed, looking so pale and burning up in fever. Arnav's eyes burned looking at Aryan. It was all his fault. He was the one who was responsible for Aryan. He couldn't make himself go nearer and took a step back unconsciously.

His leg hit another patient's bed and he stumbled over. Someone held him in meantime. Arnav looked behind to see Aniket looking at him in concern.

"Aap thik ho, Bhaiya?"

Arnav regained his composure and nodded.

Aniket hugged him. He was feeling very scared and Arnav's embrace was the only place that could calm him down. "Aru thik ho jayega, Bhaiya!"

Arnav hugged him back. There was nothing he could make himself say. He was too scared himself to give any assurances. He looked around. There were another patients and their families all around.

A elderly man, who was cribbing at the IV in his hands smiled as soon as a child was placed on his lap. There was another woman who was holding her husband's hands who was sleeping on the bed, tears freely falling down from her eyes. A middle aged woman, who was repeatedly caressing her child's head, trying to offer some comfort to the child and to herself.

Arnav wondered if all of them were going through the same. He was suddenly feeling suffocated there. He gently pulled back from Aniket. "Tu Aru ke paas ruk, Ani. Mai aata hoon thodi der me."

Arnav went where his legs took him. After twenty minutes, he was standing in front of the idol of lord Shiva. His mind had turned numb, not allowing him to think coherently. Aryan's lifeless face swimming in front of his eyes, his hands joined in front of the idol on their own accord. That was a first!

Tears threatening to fall, Arnav clenched his eyes shut, wishing that the almighty would hear the storm inside his head without speaking it out. He could not try to speak something that wasn't meant to be conveyed through words, could not explain something that was inexplicable, could not express something that he could only feel inside his chest.

"Kya hua, beta?"

Arnav opened his eyes, blinked off his tears and turned to the source of voice. It was the priest of the temple. He walked up to Arnav with a smile.

"Kuch pareshani hai?"

Arnav wanted to shake his head and walk out but something inside him urged him to nod his head in agreement. He was about to speak when a person approached the priest.

"Panditji?"

The priest nodded at him and took a thread from the idol's feet and handed it over to the middle aged man.

"Ab toh Mere bache ko kuch nhi hoga na, Panditji? Mera bacha abhi bhi hospital me hai. Yeh mai uski salamati ke liya kar raha hoon." The man asked.