Tu Dua Hai

Chapter 34

Darshan glared at her for a moment. “Darshan, ok please come down, I swear I will never ask you to do anything. I am sorry. Look I am going, just please come down.”
Gauri tried to persuade him, and she was pleased to see that Darshan considered her for a moment and then started to get down. Suddenly, as he tried to sit down and slide, his foot slipped and he lost balance.
Gauri, though she screamed with fright, didn’t waste a moment as she lunged forward and held Darshan’s hand. She realized a moment later that lot’s of sharp glass pieces had pierced into her foot as she had stepped through them to get to Darshan. Her both feet were on fire, paining and bleeding, but she tried to ignore them as she held Darshan’s hand.
Darshan had managed to fall on the railing itself, instead of toppling over the edge and falling to death. Still, he hadn’t yet regained his balance yet as he was drunk and he would have surely fell down to his death if Gauri hadn’t caught his arm.
Darshan’s parents came to the terrace running and Gauri shouted at them to stay away as there was broken glass everywhere. She managed to pull Darshan who had got a few scratches on his arms though they were not bad at all. He wasn’t even bleeding.
She heaved him down to safety and once she was sure  that he was safe, she pushed him to his parents through a glass free area.
They caught him. He had now sobered due to the pain and the horror of the fall itself as he hadn’t drank much. He realized with horror what had happened when he saw Gauri sink down to the floor surrounded by the glass.
She was in utter pain and it was then he noticed the blood around her. He tried to rush to her, but his mother prevented him.
“There are sharp glass pieces all over the floor dear. We don’t want you to get hurt as you are the only one who can lift her and carry her.” Darshan was amazed at the cool logic of his mother even in such situation.
He quickly set to gather the bigger pieces and put them aside carefully until his mother brought a broom and swept all the pieces of glass aside. Gauri had closed her eyes by the time Darshan reached her, her face had a pained expression. He sat down her and gently took her foot in his hands. Gauri lay still. There was a lot of blood everywhere. Darshan carefully and slowly removed one of the pieces in her foot. Gauri gasped, sharp pain shooting in her leg. Blood started to flow from the wound.
“Don’t remove….gla glass pieces…. Hospital.” Gauri was only able to whisper few words before she fell unconscious. Darshan was completely sober due to all the mess and he was feeling terrible.
All of this, just because he had to get drunk. He had to act stupid… Darshan couldn’t even bear to look at his wife. He cursed himself again and again as he carried Gauri to the hospital.
He insisted on sitting beside her and holding her hand when they were dressing the cuts on her feet.
When the dressing was finished, the doctor took Darshan and his mother to his cabin.
“Darshan sir, Raval ben Gauri’s legs have got some deep cuts. Please take care that she doesn’t walk for at least a week. She should not even touch the ground with her feet. So you will have to help her shower, get dressed and you will have to carry her if she has to move. Also, she had lost a lot of blood so take care of her diet. I am prescribing some medicines for painkillers and some antiseptics. Waise ye sab hua kaise? Why did she even step on so many glass pieces?” He asked.
Darshan and his mother looked at each other. Finally, his mother spoke up.
“Err, it was my mistake. I broke a glass and she came rushing to me to see what had happened. She didn’t notice the glass pieces on the floor.” Hearing his mother lie made Darshan feel worse. He quietly slipped out of the cabin under the pretext of buying medicines.
Once again, Darshan Raval kneeled in front of God, this time for his wife. “God, please make her get well soon. Please, I beg you. Make her pain go away. It’s all my fault, punish me for it. Why are you punishing her?”
He cried and sat there for a few minutes until he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He looked up to find his mother.
“I am sorry maa. I am really sorry. This happened because of me, if I hadn’t been so drunk….if I hadn’t thrown the bottle down… I am sorry.” He hugged his mother and Rajal tried to comfort her son.
“Come on, Gauri needs you. Be strong and don’t blame yourself. It’s all Ayesha’s fault.” She said and Darshan tensed. But he didn’t say anything and walked towards Gauri’s room. He opened the door of her ward silently and peeping in, he noticed that she had woken up. He stood at the door, debating with himself whether he should go in or not. He wanted to be close to her, to apologize to her but then he was afraid too. Afraid that she would hate him for all the pain he had caused her. He remembered the way he had shouted at her and winced. No, how could he face her after all that? How could he even think that she would forgive him after what he had shouted at her and then hurt her. No, he could not go inside and face her. Also she needed to rest. He was about to shut the door when Gauri noticed him standing at the door and called him.
“Darshan? Did you…do you need something?” She asked and Darshan sighed. How had he managed to get the most caring wife in the world, he didn’t know. Here she was lying in the hospital bed, her both feet heavily bandaged and in immense pain.
Still, the first thing she asked was if he needed something. He remembered all the times she had cared for him, put up with his drunk attitude. He also knew that the reason for his reduced drinking was somehow Gauri.
He walked towards his wife and held her hand in his won. Gauri was a bit surprised at this but she stayed quite. She liked the feel of his hand on her own, the firm grasp of his fingers which seemed to convey that he was going to hold on to her forever. Then suddenly she was reminded of how Darshan had shouted at her.
“You are not my wife, this marriage isn’t real.” He had said and these words stung her.
And the fact that he was going to die because of his carelessness and alcohol made her angrier.
How could he just…. The fact the he could have died hurt her more than his words. She withdrew her hand from his and looked away to hide the tears forming in her eyes. Darshan sighed.
“I am sorry Gauri. I am really sorry. I shouldn’t have… I shouldn’t have got drunk and I shouldn’t have…shouted at you. It was all my fault. I shouldn’t have thrown the bottle at you. Now that I realize, it could have even hit you. I am sorry. I will understand if you don’t want to forgive me, but still I am sorry.” Gauri didn’t say anything. After a few moments, Darshan’s hands brushed her cheek gently and he gently pushed the hairs that had fallen on her face. With a last look at her, he rushed out.
He just couldn’t bear her silent treatment. He was used to her talking to him all the time. She wasn’t as talkative as most of the girls, but she talked to him often. Now that she was quite, he realized how much she occupied his life.