Author's pov :
Maya woke up from her sleep due to the continuous buzzing of her mobile. She answered the phone call without seeing the caller id.
XXX: Hello darling! Missing me?
She got startled, and all her sleep flew away as she listened to the voice. She hung up the call and threw it on the bed. Didn't she warn him not to interfere in her life anymore? Didn't he realise his mistakes? For God's sake, she is happily married to the man she loves. Why can't he understand that? Why can't that man let her live her life peacefully?
She dialled Avinav's number. But the call went unanswered. She again dialled his number. Again, he didn't answer her call. That's when she saw his message that he was out for some important work. Her eyes were pooled with tears. She sat there, not knowing what to do. Her breath became uneven due to her continuous crying. She took a deep breath, trying to control her fear.
All she wanted to do was hide in her husband's arms. Her mobile was ringing continuously. It was him again, Rajesh. She cut the call and blocked the number. But how could that man let her live peacefully? He messaged her from another number.
She banged her hand on the nightstand in frustration, which made the glass frame fall on the floor, shattering into small pieces. Blood started to ooze from her hand as some small glass pieces pierced her soft skin. She thought she could live her new life happily without the baggage of the past. But how could she be when her past was not leaving her? She was in pain not because of the wound on her hand but because of the wounds in her heart. She clutched her head due to the pain. Her body started to shiver, and her head started to spin. Her eyes became blurry. She looked for her mobile and dialled Surya's number with her shaking hands.
Surya: Hello Mia!
Maya: Sunny! Rajesh ....
Before she could talk more, she fainted.
**********************
Arjun is lying on his bed, looking at nothing in particular. A lot of thoughts were running through his mind. He thought about what Avi said a few hours ago. He is right in his place. Once, there used to be no secrets between them, but now they just don't know what's happening in each other's lives. He sighed sadly.
He came out of his pool of thoughts due to the continuous buzzing of his mobile. He lifted the call without seeing the caller ID and was about to scold that person for disturbing him but got panicked when the person on the other side said something to him. He immediately ran out of the room while calling someone.
**********************
Avinav was so busy talking to Surya that he didn't notice the continuous vibration of his mobile, which was in silent mode. They were lost in their talk when Surya's mobile screen displayed Maya's number. He answered the call but got panicked when she uttered Rajesh's name.
Surya: Hello Mia!
Maya: Sunny! Rajesh ....
Surya: Hello Mia. Mia? Are you there? Hello!
"What happened?" Avi asked, getting worried.
"It's Mia. I think it's something to that man. She just uttered Rajesh's name. I didn't know what happened, but she was not responding," Surya said, with helplessness.
Avi checked his mobile to see if he had missed calls from Maya. He immediately called Arjun and told him everything and told him to check on her.
"Oh no! She called me too. But my phone was in silent mode, so I didn't notice. Come, let's go. How could I be so careless?" he was blabbering and scolding himself for being so irresponsible.
Seeing him like that, Surya shook his head and dragged Avi along with him. He locked the apartment, and soon both of them were on their way to Avi's home.
**********************
Arjun ran to Maya's room as soon as he got a call from Surya. He was shocked when he entered the room, as she was lying on the bed, unconscious, and blood was oozing from her hand. The bed sheet had blood stains, the glass frame on the nightstand was broken, and the glass pieces were scattered on the floor. He took the water glass from the nightstand and sprinkled some on her face. But there was no response from her. He again sprinkled some water in the hope that she would wake up.
Diya entered the room with her medical kit and sat beside Maya. She touched Maya's forehead and checked her pulse. She checked her BP levels, which were as low as she had guessed. She removed the glass pieces carefully, cleaned the wound, applied antiseptic, and bandaged her hand. She called someone from her phone and gave instructions to that person.
After finishing her call, she shook Arjun's torso and told him, "Arjun, pick her up. We have to take her to the hospital."
"But why?" Arjun asked her.
"Just shut up and pick her up. I had already talked to Vidhi and asked her to arrange everything," Diya said, getting annoyed with his questions.
"But."
"Argh! For God's sake, she had fainted. Her BP levels dropped again. And I guess she again had a panic attack. So, just stop your stupid questions and do what I say. I need to check on her, Arjun," she yelled at him.
Arjun nodded his head and picked up Maya in his arms. Diya followed him while talking to Avi, who had called her as Arjun was not answering his call. She instructed him to go straight to the hospital where she works.
**********************
In the hospital:
Arjun was sitting in the ward, constantly tapping his foot on the floor, trying to control his nervousness and fear. Diya was checking Maya inside along with her senior doctor, Mrs. Anitha. As soon as Diya came out, along with Anitha, Arjun bombarded them with his questions. Diya shook her head and told him to meet them in Anitha's cabin once Avinav and Surya had come. Arjun nodded his head and went inside the room. He sat on the stool that was beside the hospital bed. He kissed Maya's forehead lovingly and sat there looking at her.
**********************
Avinav and Surya reached the hospital and rushed to the room where Maya was admitted, as Diya had already messaged them the details. As they entered the hospital room, they saw Arjun, who was sleeping while holding Maya's hand. Maya was sleeping due to the effects of sedatives. She was looking pale. Her right hand had a band-aid, while her left hand had a drip. Avi leaned down beside the bed and caressed her head lovingly. A lone tear escaped his eyes, looking at her in this condition. He had never seen her like this.
Surya woke up Arjun and asked him, "What did the doctor say?"
"Atta told us to meet her in her cabin once you guys had come," said Arjun.
"Okay! Come, let's go. Surya will stay here until we come," said Avi.
In the doctor's cabin:
Avi and Arjun knocked on the door.
"Come in," said Anitha.
"Hi, Aunty!" Arjun and Avi greeted her.
"Hey, guys! Come and have a seat. Diya, go and bring Maya's old records." Anitha said, looking at Diya, to which she nodded her head.
Anitha and Arjun's mother, Janaki, are best friends and classmates. They did their MBBS and MS together. Anitha is a psychiatrist, while Janaki is a cardiologist. She was the one who treated Maya the last time she had a panic attack.
"So, Arjun, tell me what happened before she fainted," she asked Arjun.
"I don't know, Atta. I was resting in my room when I got a call from Avi saying that Maya had called him, but he didn't answer her call as his phone was silent. Later, she called out to Surya, but she only uttered Rajesh's name. After that, there was no response from her side. So they told me to check on her," said Arjun.
"Hmm. Okay! Diya guessed right, Arjun. She had a panic attack. She might have calmed down a bit when someone was there with her. Because engaging them in conversation, asking questions, or saying soothing words will help them distract from their symptoms. You guys were saying she was alone in her room, and, on top of that, Avinav had not answered her call. It might have taken a toll on her. She might have gotten tense and cried. You know right, if she cried continuously, her breath would become uneven, and she would have a severe headache," Anitha said, scribbling something on a piece of paper.
All the while, Avi was keenly listening to each and every word Anitha was saying and mentally noting them in his mind. He felt guilty for not answering when she called. Even Anitha was observing him while she was explaining to them the situation.
"You do not need to feel guilty, Avi. You just don't know about her condition. By looking at your expressions, I can say that you know neither about her health condition nor about her past. All I can say is to shower your love on her. Remove her insecurities and fears. She is a person with lots of insecurities and trust issues. She has hidden all her pain within her. She will be at peace only if she lets it out all by herself. I'd seen her slip into depression years ago," Anitha explained to Avi.
Avi was taken aback when he learned that she had slipped into depression.
She looked at Arjun and Diya and told them to leave. Both of them nodded their heads and left the cabin.
"I don't know whether you know about this or not, but it's my duty as a doctor and your well-wisher. Do you know why she gets nightmares?" Anitha asked him.
Avinav shook his head negatively.
"When she was in school, a guy misbehaved with her. I mean, he touched her inappropriately. When she complained about that boy to the person in charge, that boy put the whole blame on her. He said that she was forcing him to love her and was disturbing him. Even her friends supported that guy and went against her. They left no chance to mock her. That's when her trust issues started. She stopped trusting people," said Anitha.
She just gave him a few brief details. There is more to the story. She knew how much Maya had suffered in the past. She was the one who treated her.
Avi was shocked to hear this because he really didn't know about this issue.
"How do you know about this, Peddamma?" Avi asked her.
"I told you, right? She slipped into depression a few years ago. I guess she was in her first year of engineering. She had a panic attack at that time. One day, Arjun came here along with Maya. Her eyes held immense pain, and she seemed to be lost somewhere. I treated her that time. She attended counselling. That's when she poured her heart out in front of me," said Anitha.
Though she knew about Maya's nightmares much earlier, she hid them because she wanted Maya to tell Avi on her own.
"What's the reason for her panic attack?" Avi asked her.
"I think it will be better if she tells you herself. Well, did you read the letters in her secret box?" Anitha told him.
"Letters? How do you know about them?" Avi asked, coming out of shock.
Anitha sighed and told him, "She told me during her counselling. She said that writing letters and keeping a diary had helped her through all the chaos of her life. In fact, she had called me five days earlier to ask for my suggestion."
Flashback:
"Hi, Atta!" Maya greeted her.
"Hi, Ammu! I thought you forgot about me by being with your husband." Anitha teased her.
"No, Attta. How can I forget you?" said Maya.
"Acha okay. So, what made Mrs. Maya Avinav Krishna remember me?" Anitha asked her.
Maya blushed at hearing her name.
"Umm, Atta," Maya said with hesitation.
"Is everything okay, Maya?" Anitha asked her with concern.
"Everything is fine, Atta, but," said Maya.
"But?" questioned Anitha.
Maya confessed, "I want to confess everything to Avinav, but I don't know how."
"That's good. Even he has the right to know everything. So what's the problem?" Anitha said so happily.
"I'm having nightmares again. Actually, I thought to tell him everything, but whenever I think about those incidents, I get nightmares," said Maya.
Anitha sighed, listening to her.
"My body shivers when I think about them. I'm not understanding anything. What's happening to me? Why am I not strong, Atta? Whenever I think I'm over with them, the same situation repeats itself," Maya cried helplessly.
Anitha thought for a while and said, "First of all, stop crying, Ammu. And we can't be strong all the time. Everyone has their own weaknesses. Acha, why don't you give him all those letters you have written for him? And also, your diaries, where you have poured your heart out. Then you don't need to recall all those incidents. What do you think?"
"Hmm," Maya mumbled.
"Listen, Ammu, fighting with our inner demons is not easy. Who told you that you were weak? There are many people who give up on their lives for some silly reason. But you stood strong. Yes, there are many people who are facing bigger problems than you. But small or big, every problem has a solution. And learn to love yourself, Maya. Accept your flaws. We have to accept ourselves first for who we are. Search for where your happiness lies. We can't change the past, but we can build a better future. Trust yourself first. If you don't trust yourself, how can you expect others to trust you? Hmm. Anyway, one day or another, you have to tell him everything. And it's his right. So, why not like this?" Anitha explained it to her calmly.
"I'll think about it, Atta. Thank you," said Maya.
"So now you are saying thanks to me, ha. Oh, no! I forgot that Pranav told me that he had to talk to you," Anitha told her.
"Okay, I'll call him, bye-bye, Atta," said Maya.
"Bye, Kanna," said Anitha.
Pranav is the younger son of Anitha. Pranav, Maya, and Surya are best friends.
**********************
"I read around five letters completely. I thought I was reading them by sneaking," Avi said, chuckling.
Anitha laughed a little. They talked for a while, and soon Avi left the cabin.
Keep smiling and take care ❤