A Piece of Soul

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Naina was in labor since 6 hours...she was brought by Aalekh to the hospital in the middle of the night and now it was early morning... She was told by the nurse that her brother had to leave urgently due to some emergency meeting at the headquarters... She wanted to cry at her fate... Such a big day in her life and she was truly alone.. More than happiness at her baby's arrival, she was feeling emptiness.. He wouldn't be here with her to welcome their baby... He wouldn't even know that he became a father...thinking about him every second she remained in labor for another 8 hours and then she heard the sweetest and the most soothing sound of their baby cry.. She felt her heart swell with love just by listening to the sound and she heard the doctor tell her that it's a baby boy... Their boy... And before she could even look at his little angelic face, she passed out in sheer exhaustion..

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He lived through the hell and survived it... Living for nine months in that remote area near border as a civilian wasn't easy... He had been a part of many discrete missions and came out as a survivor before too but this time it was hard and painful... Living with the knowledge that his love was alone and lonely in their house didn't let him sleep... The danger was too much to ignore and he didn't know if he would ever be able to see his love, his life again.....He could feel her pain and restlessness more than he could feel his own... Many a times he wanted to break the protocol and contact her somehow without letting anyone know.. But the realization that his one wrong move could cost them their mission and country's security held him back.... He worked hard day and night with only one thought in his mind that the sooner he completed his mission the sooner he would be able to go back to his jaan.. He couldn't forget the look on her face when he was leaving.. She didn't cry nor did she try to stop him from going.. But the look of absolute emptiness on her face haunted him every night.. He didn't even turn back to wave at her when he was leaving.. He knew that if he did turn back, he wouldn't be able to go... So here he was nine months later, successful in his mission and back to the headquarters first as per orders to submit the proofs against a terrorist nest he had been after... And the first thing he did after reaching headquarters was to open his locker and took out his cell phone which he had submitted as a part of the protocol before going to the mission... He charged his cell phone and the moment it came to life, he dialed his jaan's number... He felt his heart in his mouth and he was literally counting seconds till he heard her voice again... But he was surprised to hear Aalekh's voice on the other side when the call was finally answered... He had never imagined such an emotional Aalekh but his reaction made him shed tears unknowingly... He sounded as if his biggest prayer got answered and probably that was actually the case.. He knew what Naina and her happiness meant for Aalekh and it would be no surprise if Aalekh prayed for his return every second of the day...But what scared him to death was Aalekh's reaction when he asked about Naina from Aalekh and why was he answering her phone.. He just got a small reply from him that he was coming to pick him up and that his Naina needed him like never before... And before he could ask a million questions and go into the panic attack, the line got cut as his phone died on him again... And those 20 minutes till Aalekh came to pick him up were the worst 20 minutes of his life... Only he knew what horrible thoughts ran through his mind sucking the life out of him... And when Aalekh finally reached him, he was engulfed in the most tightest hug he had ever got till date by anyone... And he didn't shy away from hugging his brother in law back... After all he was like another Naveen to him by all means... And when he asked Aalekh about Naina, he got the most weirdest reply... That she was currently fulfilling his biggest dream and that he would get the biggest surprise of his life in next few minutes.. He relaxed somewhat at that, at least Naina was fine... And after a few minutes he felt his life leave his body once again when he was brought to the hospital instead of their home... He got so scared for his Naina's well being that sweat rolled down his forehead and his hands shook with fear... Aalekh said nothing to relax him as he wanted him to witness God's miracle by himself... He wanted to see the look on his face when he would first come to know about his baby.. He wanted to witness that moment when a man who was coming home after nine months, who had no idea about his wife's pregnancy would see his wife in labor... He wanted to capture that moment in his mind to tell Naina later on...His sister deserved to know what her Rajveer's reaction was like when he first came to know about their baby....
And sure enough Rajveer's expressions were priceless when he took him to the labor room where Naina was admitted...his expressions were of such unbelievable wonder that he couldn't help but take out his phone and capture his expressions for forever... Rajveer kept on reading the words 'labor room' for a minute or two without moving.... It was as if he couldn't comprehend the meaning of this, it was as if the situation was not sinking in... And it was genuine...he could not even imagine that his Naina was pregnant and handled everything alone... When she needed him the most, he wasn't there with her.. He wasn't there to take care of her, he wasn't there to pamper her like he always did... At the time when she should have been treated like a princess, she was all alone fighting with the fear for his life and safety... He wanted to yell and scream at anyone and everyone who would care to listen to his pain.. But before he could even think of acting on his instinct, the door to the labor room open and a nurse came out with a little bundle of happiness in her hands.... His happiness, their happiness... The nurse looked at him with a confusion on her face as if she couldn't decide whom to hand over the baby... He wanted to cry at the situation... Nobody even knew that he was the husband of the girl who was under labor and he was the father of this new born.. Hell even he had no idea that he had such happiness to look forward to when he would return back home... He heard the nurse ask Aalekh to hold the baby, clearly recognizing him...and he heard the magical words Aalekh uttered... That she should hand the baby to him as it was his right to hold the baby before anyone else.. After all he was the father of the baby and that's what Naina wanted and prayed for fervently all these months... He felt a tear roll down his eye at that.. His Naina must have been through hell and he was responsible for her misery.. How would he ever compensate for his absence during her pregnancy.. How would he ever make up for the lost time??? How would he ever deal with the fact that he could not feel his baby grow inside her?? That he could not see her looking beautiful and radiant with a protruding belly...