The operation went on for what felt like hours. Abhimanyu and his team were in the operating room for over 3 hours. Meanwhile, Manjiri and Yuvraaj Ghosh waited outside in the waiting area anxiously for any minuscule update on their son's surgery.
The door to the operating room finally opened and Abhimanyu walked out with Dr. Rohan, removing his mask before facing the Ghosh family.
"How is he? How is our son? How is Yuvaan?" A panicked Yuvraaj Ghosh began bombarding Abhimanyu with questions.
Manjiri looked at Abhimanyu, waiting for him to speak. "Yes Dr. How is our son? How is he?
The word son pricked Abhimanyu's heart every time Manjiri said It, but like a good doctor, Abhimanyu tried to keep his expressions and his demeanor as professional as possible. He would never compromise with his duty as a doctor.
"He is doing fine. The surgery was successful. He will be shifted to the patient room very soon and then you both would be able to see him. Rest, the future steps, recovery process, Dr. Rohan will explain to you."
"Thank you, thank you so much doctor!" Mr. Ghosh thanked Abhimanyu profusely while Manjiri looked on, her eyes watching Abhimanyu's every move.
"No, don't thank me, Sir. This is what we are trained to do. Save lives. That is our duty as doctors." Abhimanyu did not save lives for the accolades or the show of gratitude he would receive from his patients and his families. He became a doctor because he actually believed in the institution of medical science and how it can better the lives of people.
Abhimanyu gave Manjiri one last look before turning around and making way to his cabin. He wiped the lone tear that rolled down his eye, quickly, before anyone had a chance to question him about it.
~*~
The moment Abhimanyu sat down in his cabin, he took out his phone and dialed the first number on his speed dial list.
And she answered on the first ring. "Hi, Dumdum! I was just thinking about you." Just then he heard her soft playful giggles, making his the corners of his lips turn up in a rueful smile. "Okay, okay! We, we were just thinking about you." She rectified.
Abhimanyu wiped the tears prickling his lower waterline as he tried to speak, but no words came out. They were stuck at the bottom of his throat. Abhimanyu covered his mouth with his hand to stop from letting out a cry.
"Abhi?" Akshara paused and Abhimanyu could feel Akshara's brows furrowing as concern laced her voice. "Are...are you okay? Is...is something wrong?"
Abhimanyu held the phone away from his face, took a few, deep, calming breaths before answering. "I...I love you, Akshara."
"I love you too, Abhimanyu." Her voice was laced with concern and confusion but her words the tone of the voice was firm, definitive.
Akshara paused before continuing. "Abhi, are you okay? Is something wrong?"
"I...I am just tired. It was a very hectic morning." He explained.
"Okay..."
"I'll..." He paused before continuing. "I will talk to you when I come home. I'll be home soon."
Abhimanyu heard Akshara pause on the other end of the line. "Okay, I will wait for you."
Just then a knock was heard on his door. "Ahh, Akshara, I umm, I have got to go."
"Okay."
As he was ending the phone call, Akshara spoke again. "Abhi..."
"Hmm?"
"Whatever it is, whatever is troubling you –you will get through it. We will get through it. I love you Abhimanyu Birla. You are the strongest man I know."
Abhimanyu smiled at Akshara's words –from the heart this time. "I love you to. And Akshara...thank you...thank you for being you."
"You can show me how thankful you are for me when you come home, okay?" Akshara's trust and positivity was an instant breath of fresh air for Abhimanyu.
"Okay." He chuckled, before ending the phone call.
A knock sounded on the door again, bringing Abhimanyu out of his Akshara high.
"Come in." Abhimanyu called out, fixing up his posture and moving some of the files around on his desk.
The door opened and Manjiri Ghosh stepped in. "Can...can I talk to you, Doctor..." She paused and then said "...Abhimanyu?"
"Sure, please take a seat."
"Can we go somewhere else?"
"Your husband –wouldn't he ask questions, wondering where you are?"
"I told him I needed fresh air."
Again a lie, Abhimanyu scoffed. His mother was a liar. He looked at his watch and then back at Manjiri. "I am off anyway, so yes, I guess we can talk."
~*~
"Thank you. Thank you for saving my son's life." Manjiri thanked Abhimanyu for what would be the nth time that day.
"I am your son too. Do you ever think of that?" Abhimanyu was done playing nice. His frustration, his questions, his hurt –it was all piling up, boiling over to the edge.
Manjiri and Abhimanyu sat on the bench in the Birla Hospital garden, hidden from prying eyes. Manjiri sat on one side of the bench and Abhimanyu the other with a considerable distance between them. To anyone walking across the Birla Hospital garden, it looked nothing more than two strangers sitting on the same bench.
"I am sorry, Abhimanyu."
"Sorry for leaving me or sorry that you bumped into me after all these years?"
"I can explain –
Abhimanyu had a lot to say, a lot of pent up anger, abandonment issues –but he held himself back. Instead, he took a deep breath. "I am sorry. Go head, please go head, say what you want to say."
"Harshvardhan Birla—your father, how is he?"
Abhimanyu was confused. There was no anger, or even a hint of malice or hatred in Manjiri's voice for the man whom he hated to the bottom of his heart. In fact, she seemed quite awe towards the man.
"He...he is doing fine." Abhimanyu felt his throat dry and disgust pile up in his own demeanor as he thought about that man.
"Is he good to you? Are you good to him?"
"Why do you care about him so much? He –he abused you! He tortured you. You left –you had to leave home because of him! He is a monster!"
Manjiri's brows furrowed as she listened to the extent of hatred Abhimanyu carried in his heart for his father.
"Don't say that! Harshvardan Birla –your father, he is not a monster! He is a very nice, very caring and very kind man."
"Oh yeah? If he is so kind then why did you leave him? He must have done something horrible to make you leave! I heard you two arguing. He used to yell at you!"
"You don't know the truth, do you? He never told you..." Realization dawned upon Manjiri.
"Told me what?"
"I thought he would tell you –the truth, after all these years –but I guess he never did. That man and his morals." Manjiri shook her head. "Abhimanyu –your father –he wasn't the problem, I was."
Abhimanyu's brows furrowed upon listening to Manjiri's words. "What do you mean?"
"I was 24 years old when I married your father. I –I wasn't in love with him. It was an arranged marriage set up by both our families. I loved Yuvraaj. I had loved him since I was 18 and we met in college. We both loved each other but our parents never approved. I was forcibly married off to Harshvardhan Birla. That man –let me tell you –he was the most understanding and patient man, ever. We didn't even consummate the wedding –he didn't force me either until I was comfortable with it."
Manjiri sighed, remembering the turbulent times of her marriage. "I would be lying if I said I tried to love him, tried to give my marriage a chance. I didn't. I just wanted out of the marriage. Harsh knew I loved someone else but yet he accepted me as I was. He never asked me any questions. He just said, 'I want you to be happy'. And then you were born. I...I tried but I could never develop that motherly bond with you. I didn't love your father, so how could I even love you? You –I had you because that is what was expected of me, not because I wanted you."
Abhimanyu's heart shattered in a million pieces upon hearing his mother's confession. "You...you didn't want me?"
"No, But your father did. He stayed up with you, changed your diapers, lulled you to sleep, fed you formula because I refused to breast feed you. Your father was a great man, who loved you dearly. I just couldn't be the perfect wife to him or the best mother to you. Every time I would look at you, it would remind me of what I lost out on with Yuvraaj."
Manjiri took a deep breath before continuing. "As you grew older and you began to recognize things, faces, attitudes, your father asked me to pretend to be a caring mom. He would wake up early, every morning, pack your lunch, get your breakfast ready, iron your school uniform, but tell me to get you dressed and put your lunch in your school bag. He did all the legwork, but made it seem like I was the one who did it all."
"Why?" Abhimanyu felt disgusted with himself. The father whom he had spent the majority of his life hating, he was the one who loved him infinitely. And the woman –the mother's love he craved for –she hated him.
"Because he knew that having a mother was important to you. He would see you trying to get my attention, craving for my love –and he wanted to give you that. I did it for as long as I could –until I bumped into Yuvraaj again. I cheated on your father. I had an affair with Yuvraaj whilst still being married to your father. And yet, that man –those fights you heard –that was him getting angry at me, pleading me to not leave you. He was fighting for you. He begged me to not leave. He begged me to stay –for you."
"It wasn't your father who divorced me, Abhimanyu. It was me. He just asked one thing of me. He told me to never tell you the real reason of why I was leaving. He knew you wouldn't be able to bear it. You wouldn't be able to handle the truth knowing that I never wanted you. He decided if you were left with good memories of me, to preserve our bond. He didn't mind being the bad guy for you."
"Your father, he is a great guy, Abhimanyu. He wouldn't even touch me without my permission much less lay a hand on me. He begged me to stay, for you. He gave our marriage 100%. It was me who couldn't even give it 0.01%. I wasn't in love with him. The marriage was a personal hell to me. My heart, it was always going to be with Yuvraaj.
Abhimanyu was rendered speechless at Manjiri's confession. "I spent all this time hating my father, when he was the only person that cared for me." Abhimanyu blurted out, his throat clogging up.
"I am sorry. I thought he would have told you by now..."
"Does your husband know...that you have another child out there?"
"He knows I gave birth to a baby, but he didn't ask me any further questions. I haven't told him about you and I don't want to. I spent the last 20 years trying to erase every single memory of my past. I don't want to open a Pandora's box now." Manjiri answered, unapologetically.
"Is that all I am to you? A bad memory from the chapter of your past that you just want to erase?" He scoffed.
Manjiri did not answer.
Abhimanyu let out a silent grunt. He stood up from the bench, not wanting to be in Manjiri's vicinity for longer than a few seconds.
"I don't hate you, Mrs. Ghosh for love makes you do crazy things. In fact, I am glad you freed yourself from an unhappy marriage. I am happy for you. But I can't forgive you. You want to hide me from the world as if I am your dirty little secret. All those years you were gone –I kept waiting for you. I felt unloved . Unwanted. Sir –my father –he tried to love me, care for me but I pushed hi m away because I thought he was responsible for you leaving. Oh god. The things I said to him. The way I behaved with him –I feel ashamed of myself!" Abhimanyu exclaimed.
"So thank you. Thank you Mrs. Ghosh for telling me the truth. Thank you for telling me that the man whom I considered the devil all this time –he is my guardian angel."
Abhimanyu turned around without giving Manjiri so much so a glance before making his way to his car. He wiped away his tears as she settled into his car, turned on the ignition, stepped on the accelerator and made his way out of the parking lot.