I have been wanting to write about this for long but just thinking of this made me sad but I finally decided to pen it down.
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30th December 2022
Rohit immediately sat up straight as he reread the news again and again.
His heart stopped for a few seconds as he tried deciphering the words written.
Rishabh got into a serious car accident.
Their Rishabh! Their child was fighting for his life and none of them were with him.
He was in Maldives, Virat was in Dubai and everyone else were in their respective cities.
His phone pinged with a call from Virat and he already knew what it was about.
"Rohit." Virat whispered from the other side.
Rohit sucked in deep breath before exhaling it shakily.
"he'll be fine, he has to be." he muttered reassuringly.
"I saw the pictures, they are terrible." Virat bit his lower lip in anxiousness.
Rohit had seen the pictures too, of the car, of Rishabh and everyone time his heart thudded even louder seeing the condition of both of them.
He was constantly refreshing the news but there was nothing except the speculations the media made of how brutally injured Rishabh was.
"we have to go there." Virat spoke, this time with a little more confidence.
"on it." and the words rolled off Rohit's tongue instantly.
.......
The news spread like fire and everyone was booking the quickest flight they could to Dehradun.
Their child, their friend, their brother was not going to suffer alone.
They were not only a team on field but also off field.
One for all, all for one.
.......
"I'm sorry baba but I have to go back, Rishabh chachu is not well." Rohit kissed Sammy's hair as he hugged the little girl.
He felt horrible leaving on her birthday, they were in Maldives in the first place to celebrate it but circumstances had taken such a wild turn.
"he'll be fine right?" Rohit nodded as he smoothened her hair, "please take care of him." Sammy's eyes watered in response.
Even though they had only told her that he was midly injured, she knew it was not good seeing her parents expressions.
"can you give this to him?" she sniffed as she handed her father a 'get well soon' card that she had made.
Rohit gulped the lump in his throat as he nodded his head and took it from her before kissing her forehead.
........
Hardik held Jassi's hand on one side and Bhuvi's on another as he peaked through the window into the OT to see Rishabh lying unconscious on the table.
His body was covered with bruises and Hardik's heart sunk even further. Jassi pressed his shoulder in comfort while he himself blinked his eyes rapidly to get rid of the tears.
The doctor came out and his family and them waited in anxiousness for him to give the updates.
"he's doing okay as of now." he informed, "but we will have to refer him to Delhi or Mumbai after he's stabilized for better treatment."
"he'll be alright, right?"
"yes, thankfully he was taken out at the right time and though he has suffered some grave injuries, they are recoverable."
"would he be able to play cricket after this?" Bhuvi asked the most dreading question.
Cricket was everything to Rishabh, he had given his everything for this sport. This was his life and if it would be taken away from him, he wouldn't be able to cope up with it.
The doctor's expressions turned a little stressed and Jassi's knees wobbled thinking of all the negative possibilities.
"from what we have diagnosed, yes. He should be able to get back on field in a few months but that solemnly depends on how he is put into recovery but that's step number 2. Our first priority is getting him stabilized." the doctor excused himself.
"he'll he fine aunty. Our Rishabh is way stronger." Jassi held his mother as she cried against his chest.
........
MS was taping his foot impatiently as he waited for his cab to reach Rishabh's hospital.
His morning was definitely not the way he expected when he turned on his television in the early hours.
All the memories of Rishabh being the goofy and happy kid flooded in front of his eyes. The kid was too good for the world.
Everytime, anyone needed any help, he was the first one to stand up.
Mahi bhai's head went blank as he hastily booked the quickest flight he could and prayed to God all his way.
Rishabh was going to be okay.
........
Virat quickly pulled the hood over his head as he sneaked into the hospital from the back door.
The media had occupied the front and their motive was not his well being, it was all for the hike in trp.
The way they had exploited his pictures, pictures where he was barely conscious, struggling to register things around, they were showcasing the images as exclusive only on their channels.
Virat's eyes had spitted fire seeing one such news channel who actually went to the scene to recreate the act of accident.
As he walked through the corridor towards Rishabh's room, he wasn't sure if was strong enough to see his kid in that condition.
He wasn't sure if he would be able to take that blow.
His mind on it's own accord played a memory of him scolding Rishabh who was mimicking some train engine sound and also trying to sledge an Australian player.
"they were trying to sledge you bhaiya, I had to give back." he had very innocently replied and his nonsense talk had indeed gifted them his wicket in the next ball.
Virat chuckled as he remembered the way Rishabh had jumped in his arms and lifted his brows in a told you so manner.
As Virat neared Rishabh's room, he could see the entire bunch sitting outside.
With all these people, usually their talks and laughs could be heard till downstairs but today there was pin drop silence and he could only hear occasional sniffing sounds.
He saw Mahi sitting on the bench and everyone else sitting surrounding him to seek that comfort and assurance that he always radiated.
MS blinked his eyes at him while Yuzi and Rahul rushed forward to hug him. He patted their backs before slowly walking upto his door.
He took a deep breath before looking in and his heart pained seeing those number of wires connected to him, bandages covering him almost completely. He quickly looked away to blink out the tears and quietly came to sit besides MS.
MS rubbed his back before stating, "doctor said he's fine. He'll back in no time."
Virat let out a sigh in relief before joining his hands in a silent prayer.
"where's Rohit?" MS asked him.
"I talked to him few hours ago, he was at Mumbai airport, aata hi hoga."
[must be coming.]
MS nodded before he leaned back and Yuzi let his head fall on his shoulder in tiredness.
........
Rohit half smiled when he saw all of them almost dozed off. His flight was delayed by few hours and he had never felt more helpless.
Though he did get a text from Virat stating Rishabh was now doing well and it had calmed him down to a certain extend but he needed to see him in person to be fully sure.
The doctor made an appearance at the exact moment thus waking everyone up at once.
Jassi's eyes fell on him first as he came forward to hug him. Rohit said nothing but held him tighter as his body shook against his.
Jassi had been trying to stay strong since morning but the second he saw Rohit, all his walls broke down and he was a kid again in front of him.
The doctor informed them that Rishabh was now conscious and that they could meet him.
(you cannot meet the patient all at once especially in such large groups but for the sake of story, they can.)
The team slowly entered the room and saw Rishabh staring at them, his eyes still half droppy because of seductives.
The team let his mother and sister and his family meet first and after they had calmed down and left the room to complete the formalities, they surrounded him.
"how are you feeling now baccha?" MS asked gently brushing his hair away from the forehead.
Rishabh blinked his eyes and could only nod his head slightly in response.
"you're never driving a car again." Virat announced furiously, "what were you thinking driving that fast? What if something bad happened to you? You think your mother would have liked your surprise then?"
"calm down Virat." Jaddu interrupted his rant but Virat's eyes were flashing aghast.
"no he needs to know the consequences to his actions. He thinks he can drive like it's f1 racing and not think about his family." Virat's voice choked as he tried controlling all those unsaid emotions.
Rohit held his arm seeing his condition while Virat looked out of the window.
Rishabh slightly lifted his fingers towards him and Virat was immediately by his side, eying him in concern.
"I'm sorry bhaiya, I'll take care next time." Rishabh words were croaked as he forced them out of his parched throat.
Virat smiled gently at him as he nodded at him sternly, "you better."
Rohit pulled out the hand made card by Sammy and showed it to Rishabh whose eyes immediately brightened looking at it.
He delicately traced his fingers over it before signalling Rohit to keep it next to him.
"get well soon Spidey, we cannot wait to have you back." Rohit gently patted his cheeks.