***Vedant's POV.***
I wave at Arya as she drives off in her car. I turn and get into the building. I sigh and get back to work and don't think about how my wife tried to convince me to go to my sister's exhibition where I was planning to go when I heard about it.
I missed what was going on in Mayra's life for a long time, and I don't want to miss more. The trophies in her room give me complexes and also make me feel proud that I have an overachiever sister. I smile and shake my head.
Teasing Arya was wrong, but I love it, especially the results I get. I have to go home early and talk with Mom and Dadi. I know their answer but I want to try it. I have to push at some point, but not too hard.
After completing my work, I reach home at 6. Mom is on the couch busy knitting a sweater for her new daughter. Dadi, on the other hand, is looking through some magazines. Dadu comes into the living room with a phone in his hand. Mayra and Arya are nowhere to be seen.
"Ved, you are home." Mom says.
"Yes." I say and sit beside her. "Is Arya not home yet?"
"Did she tell you she would be going shopping?" Mom asks.
"She did and she also told me her Nanu gave her some urgent work. But she should be back by now. Did she call?" I ask.
"No." Mom says.
"Don't worry. She must have gotten distracted in the mall." Dadi says.
"But she would have called if she got late." I say.
"Call her if you are that worried." Mom says and I nod.
I call her but she doesn't pick up and that's odd. Arya is the type of person who picks up a phone in almost three rings. She once told me that she doesn't want a person to wait for her call to be picked up. It is the most frustrating thing in the world when you call someone and they don't pick up. I try again but she doesn't pick up again and I start getting concerned for her.
"She is not picking up." I say and Mom gets worried too.
"Call one of her brothers while I'll call Raghu." Dadu says and I nod.
I call Parth as he is in college and often stays home at this time and he picks up in two rings, "Hey, Jiju. How did you remember me today?"
"Hi, Parth. I called you to ask if Arya is there by any chance?" I ask.
"No. She has not been here today. Why? What happened?" He asks, sounding concerned.
"I called her to find out where she was and how long before she would come home but she is not picking up her phone. Do you think she might have gone to meet her friend or somewhere-" I ask and he interrupts me.
"Arya never misses a phone call and that's concerning in itself. And none of her good friends are here. They all are in Chandigarh. Still I'll try to find her and tell others." He says.
"Okay. I'll try calling her again." I say and hang up.
I turn to Dadu and he says, "What did Parth say?"
"She has not gone home. What did Nana Ji say?" I ask.
"The usual. The last he heard from her was when the delivery he expected had arrived. And that was at half past five. The delivery was late so she had gone shopping then for her Nanu's work." Dadu says.
"Mata Rani, please protect Arya and keep her safe." Mom starts praying.
"I will go there and see for myself." I say and dial her number again.
"I'll come with you." Dadu says.
"No. You all need to stay here in case she comes back home." I say.
"But-" Dadu goes to say but I interrupt.
"Her call is busy now, which means she picked up someone's call. Mine had been busy a minute so she might have been trying to contact me." I say.
"Let's wait for two minutes then." Dadi says, "And see if she calls."
"Okay." I say and wait for those two crucial minutes.
My phone rings and I look to see it is not Arya but someone I would have never expected to call me or even have my number, "Hello, Mayra."
"Hello. Arya called me to the hospital." Mayra says while my Mom's face goes blank while Dadi is irritated.
"Hospital? But why?" I ask, now more concerned.
"There is nothing to worry about. She said she sprained her ankle while trying to save a kid from an accident and also her arm got scraped. That's what she told me. Also her car is out of fuel. She tried to call you as soon as she got the phone and saw your calls but when it was busy she called me. I told her I will inform you and asked her to rest till we reach. I am reaching there and would send you the address. Bye." She said and hung up. She said all that so quickly like she feared I would not listen to it all or hang up on her.
"What happened?" Mom asks.
"Arya is in the hospital." I say and Mom gasps, "She is fine. Nothing to worry about. Mayra is almost there and I am going to."
"I'm coming with you." She says.
"No. You would be staying here and preparing a good soup for Arya. She would need it. Okay?" I ask.
"But..." She says and when I shake my head, sighs.
"Please stay, Mom. She is fine. I will bring her back with me. Promise." I say.
"Okay. But come soon." Mom says and I nod.
"Dadu-" I say.
"I'll tell Raghu. You go." He says and I nod.
I drove towards the hospital as fast as I could. I know Mayra said that she only has scrapes but I fear it is more than that. I have come to know Arya enough to know that she would always hide the worst things so as not to stress other people which is her bad habit. It is better she rips off the bandage and tells me upright what is happening then save me from stress.
As soon as I reach the hospital, I park the car and literally jump out of it in a hurry. I rush inside and ask the reception about my wife. She says she is on the second floor and I take the stairs. I try to get there as fast as I can and still it seems slow to me. Why is it when people are fast they are slow and when they slow they are fast?
"She is fine but she would need four weeks of recovery. Mrs. Mehra you have to make sure not to put any weight on your left ankle for two weeks then we will do some check-up and give you further details. Also you have to make sure to change the dressing of your left arm every day for one week. It is fine but I am worried about your head a little." The doctor says as I stand behind Arya and Mayra and they have yet to notice me.
"Head? You got injured on your head too?" I ask panicking and my wife turns around in surprise.
"Vedant, you are here." She says with a smile.
"What is so concerning about her head?" I ask the doctor.
"You are...?" She asks.
"I am her husband, Vedant Mehra." I say.
"Her head is good but it could be possible she has concussion or blurry vision. I'll write a prescription for it but she should take it only when her head is hurting way too much." She says and gives me the prescription, "But if she doesn't feel well after taking medicine, bring her to the hospital. Although on the second hand, I think she would be fine as she is not showing any sign of memory lapse and her vision is clear too. But just in case."
"When can she be discharged?" I ask.
"Tomorrow morning. We need to keep her tonight to observe that she is improving. By the way, it was brave of you, Mrs. Mehra. The parents are really grateful to you. They have sent some cookies for you." Doctor says to Arya.
"They didn't need to-" She says and the doctor cuts her off.
"But you can't have it. No solid food for two days at least." She says with a smile and leaves after nodding at me.
"I'll bring the prescription and inform Dadu about the change in plan." Mayra says, taking the prescription slip from me and goes out.
Arya looks at me and I take a good look at her. Her head has a bandage and so does her arm. There are some small bruises which have bandages over them. But most of all that scared me was cast around her ankle.
"It is not as bad as it looks." Arya says.
"What exactly happened?" I ask.
She gestures for some water and I give it to her. She drinks some sips and gives me the glass back and when I come back she says, "I was coming back after the shipping was done. That was coming late and got stuck in traffic.I was looking around when I saw a stall of corn. So I parked my car and got down to buy some as I wanted to eat it. I was standing there and a boy was standing with his Mom one stall away. I turned back to take the corn which was packed for me and turned around again to see that boy gone while her Mom was busy buying something."
"Take your time." I say when she stops as I understand her fear of getting lost.
"When I didn't see the boy, I feared he might be lost and her Mom would get worried. So I looked here and there just to be sure if he is with his Dad. But it turned out I was wrong. The boy was crossing the road to go towards a toy store. I thought to tell his Mom who now noticed his son was not with her but then I noticed a car coming and without thinking twice I rushed towards him. I don't even remember much after that. When I opened my eyes I was here and my phone was not with me." She says, "I am sorry if I made you worried."
"I should be worried, Arya. You are my wife and when I didn't see you at home around that time or didn't hear from you I was really concerned. Not because you are always careful to let everyone know where you are but because I don't like the feeling when you are not around. It makes me feel..." I say and stop before saying empty.
Arya has become part of my family but before that she has become my habit. A good habit. I feel this void whenever I think of her not being there when I come home. That thought scares the hell out of me.
"I am sorry." She says.
"You shouldn't be sorry. You should just rest." I say.
"Okay." She says with a smile and lays down on bed with my help.
I take her hand in mine and kiss it. She blushes and looks away while I hold onto her hand. I have to make her mine. I have to make her fall for me so she would never leave me. And I don't think I would mind falling for her too. I think it would be good for both of us. I want this to work.