Titaliya

Chapter 41

The little girl sitting on the stool was adorable, with her long hair in two clumsy pigtails and a pink dress. There was a half-melted ice cream cone in her hand, and she was desperately trying to salvage what was remaining of it.

White curtains behind her billowed out, the sky outside the window sapphire blue and cloudless.

Is this heaven?

The room was light and airy, the little girl smiling and happy, and for a second nothing was wrong with the world.

"Auntie!"

The little girl dropped her ice cream into the dustbin at the corner of the room and walked over. When she placed her hand on Anjali's, there was a pinprick of pain. She looked down at her hand. An IV line extended out of her veins, colorful fluid being supplied to her body at a steady drip.

"You're awake!" the little girl said, revealing a gap in her teeth. "I'll call Appa!"

She ran out of the room, and Anjali could focus on where she was. The clean and bare lines of the room had distracted her for a second, but there was an air purifier in the corner of the room. She was connected to monitors, and there was a discarded oxygen mask on the table next to her.

Doctors and nurses came through the door, followed by the little girl and a man Anjali could see was her father.

The doctors started their examination.

"I'll wait outside until they're done, Ms. Raizada," the man said.

The doctor who looked oldest, a silver-haired woman in pink scrubs, took her hands.

"Ms. Raizada, do you know why you were admitted?"

She remembered the pain in her stomach, the power of it enough to knock her out. Even now the pain was there. She knew it was a possibility from the time she was in the resort. She was an adult, and she had escaped Shyam's plans weakened and ill. There was only so much a baby could take. In a way she was relieved. Her baby had suffered too much from the beginning. She could not fault her princess for giving up. At least now, the baby would be at peace. It felt like she was half-way through her mourning already. She had known for a while that her baby's fate was doomed.

"I know," she said.

"You lost some blood, so we gave you a transfusion. By my estimate, you will make a full recovery. You can try for another baby in a few months. I'm very sorry for your loss."

The doctor's clinical assessment of the miscarriage was easier to bear than she thought it would be. Anjali didn't know if she could handle sympathy at the moment. The loss of her pregnancy felt almost inevitable now.

After the doctors were finished, and satisfied that she was recovering at a reasonable pace, they left and the man came back in with his daughter.

"I'm glad to see that you're doing better, Ms. Raizada," the man said. "I've informed your brother of you being here, and he's on his way."

"My brother?"

"Yes. I'm an employee of ASR Designs, Harish Murthy. I recognized you from the family photos in his office when you collapsed. Your ID confirmed it."

"Harish Murthy?" she asked.

"I'm Renu!" the little girl piped in.

"I'm sorry. I didn't have anyone to take care of her at home."

"It's fine," Anjali said. If anything, the little girl made her feel better. Her baby was gone, but there were other children in the world who were loved. Other children who were happy and loved by their fathers. It made the future seem less hopeless.

"Auntie, are you okay now?" the little girl asked. This time, Renu was careful not to hold Anjali's hand strongly.

"I'm alright, sweetheart."

She turned to Harish, who was typing away on his phone. He was probably updating Arnav on her condition.

"Please tell my brother I'm doing fine, and to not rush in getting here."

Harish looked up startled, and nodded before continuing his messaging.

"I'm sorry you're having to spend your weekend in the hospital like this," she said. "Especially with your daughter."

"It's okay, auntie. I want to be a doctor," the little girl announced.

"That's great," Anjali said.

"Ma'am," Harish said. "I'm sorry about what's happened."

"Thank you."

"What happened?" Renu asked.

"Your Appa is just sorry that I got sick, sweetheart."

Anjali leaned back against the soft hospital pillows, breathing in the smell of the detergent. It was horrible of her, to be so unaffected. Her baby was supposed to be her life. But her life was in shambles now. She mourned her baby, in her own way, silently and calmly. But she wouldn't let the loss stop her.

"Di!"

Anjali flinched. She hadn't wanted to see her brother so soon. Again he was coming to her rescue. She worried that if she let herself, she would break apart in front of him, leaving him to pick up the pieces of her life like he did so many years before.

"Chote, I'm okay."

Arnav froze in front of the hospital bed. She knew she looked fine. Tired and sick, but fine. It would confuse him, that she was still coherent despite everything that had happened in just a few days. But she was stronger than she expected, or maybe it still had not sunk in yet.

"Di, I'm so..."

"You're so sorry. I know. We all are."

Arnav looked like he wanted to hug her, but it wasn't in his nature to hug people anymore. He instead stepped back into the empty sofa at the opposite end of the room. Renu was standing behind her father's legs, peeking out at the new stranger.

"It's okay sweetheart. It's just my brother."

"Oh," Renu said. Anjali noticed she didn't move from behind her father.

"Di, I'm arranging for you to be transferred to a bigger hospital."

"No, Chote. I'll be discharged soon. There isn't a need for us to go anywhere."

She only wanted to go home, to nestle her head into Nani's lap and cry her heart out.

"Di, how are you so normal?"

"I don't have another choice, Chote. Crying won't bring my baby back."

Arnav sighed. "Di, I should have done something sooner, figured out what Shyam was doing before it got so far."

"I was his wife and I didn't notice anything. I was getting sicker and weaker and I still trusted him. You can't blame yourself for this. There's only one person to blame, and I don't think he even cares."

Writer's Note

Hey guys, updated again. Firstly, if you feel like checking out my other work, please check them out at:

tapas.io/arushi

I update my original works more regularly. Secondly, if I'm not updating this story frequently enough, feel free to let me know on Twitter (@MsArushi)