Not old, but a cameo from my future book.
A life without Uttara for Vidyut's wasn't even a nightmare.
For, a nightmare is still a dream but he never wished to live without her. Never envisioned it, or to be exact, it was never happening to him. He could flip days into nights to create a way out for him. He could let the stars crash, let this entire universe combust into gigantic flames before it ever, ever, took place. He may be a powerless human, a man sitting in the narrow streets of one small country, on a planet that was one in a million, and an unidentifiable molecule of the cosmos.
He could be nothing in the vast infinity, yet he held the conviction to swap heavens with hell, move and disrupt the gods for her, only to be with her.
Only for his Tara.
His Uttara.
His wife.
His totality.
"Goodness, her vitals are getting well now, Dr. Jaykar." He heard the nurse check her for the second time in the past 3 hours that she was shifted outside.
"We can repeat a shot on her. It will wipe off any traces of the drug if still present. The blood dialysis reports will be with us and we will be able to plan out her next medicines." The doctor, Yashasvi Jaykar, explained scribbling the same on her charts and ending it with his signature.
"Thank you for saving her, Dr. Yash." Vidyut looked up at him with gratitude and the man smiled empathetically. "I couldn't trust anyone but you for her. Not even myself. I had almost lost her yesterday. If not for you being here, I do not know what I would have done."
He couldn't thank them enough, nor move, look away, or stop thinking back to the past 26 hours that he had switched places. Vidyut was never good at handling families, he would always let his juniors or fellow doctors break the news to the patient's family inside the waiting room. In the entirety of his career, he could count the handful of times he had interacted with distressed spouses, parents, children, or friends.
Now that he thinks back to them, he can feel their apprehension, their distress, impatience, and fear of losing their family behind the closed doors of the operation theatre. He had always been on the other side, working and saving the patient but for the first time, he was left behind the closed doors of the surgical room, waiting.
Doctors had performed an immediate blood transfusion on Uttara seeing she was drugged consecutively three times as per the marks on her arms. Her veins in the area had started clogging and blood had thickened due to the effects of high drug dose, which the doctors had to surgically remove after a quick MRI and CT scans.
How grateful Vidyut was to this efficient team of doctors in Pune? He could only feel the numbness in his brain each time he tried to think of the amount of things that could have gone wrong.
His doctor's brain had taken a setback and only the emotions clouded his senses. He didn't act like a doctor but a deranged husband who could feel her pulse drop in his hold, her body going cold, and her lungs not taking enough air.
His life wasn't breathing and he could feel himself choke at the mere memory.
Not that he still felt better. He could feel a hold around his windpipe, sabotaging his breaths as Uttara had yet to open her eyes.
Her beautiful eyes were forever engraved in his soul. Her eyes were the miraculous pair that had attracted him and later enslaved his entire existence towards her.
"Don't go there again, Vidyut. It was our duty to save her, first as a patient and next, you were my batchmates. She is my biggest competitor's wife. I wouldn't have left a chance to take a lead in our race towards the best." Jaykar smirked grinning, he goaded him. Yashasvi Jaykar was always prudent, a chaser towards the title of being best, and would always find ways to surpass his competition.
"This will give you one for a very long time." Vidyut glanced at him and then back at his wife who slept peacefully. "I will owe you for life."
After all, he saved his life.
"Get some rest. Your wife is getting better, Dr. Vidyut. A few more hours and she will be up and back talking to you." He assured him positively, squeezing his shoulder and moving towards the door. "She is a superstar and if the media gets to know she married a slug, they will have a field day. And, another win for me, not that I don't know that I look way better than you."
Vidyut rolled his eyes at his jesting. Another reason he ignored Yashasvi Jaykar's existence in his 5 years of MBBS degree. He was 'narcissism' in its human form. Rakshit would never hold a torch to his level.
The door closed and he took the exit, the nurse followed hot on his heel.
His shoulders slumped and he crossed the distance between them, hovering over her sleeping form. Her eyes had sunken back, her skin mutating to form eyebags and the oxygen mask had consumed her features. Her mane of black straight hair was sleek and greasy, something she would have whined about already, eating his ears out.
"Your hair is matted, they have lost its shine, Tara. Wake up and demand me to let you go wash them. Why are you taking so much time? I miss your little complaints." His knuckles brushed against her cheeks, they had lost its rosy tint which always made him kiss her. He loved watching her flushing, blushing from the other corner of the room when he would work silently while she would be going live for her fan meets.
"You know I hate being ignored by you." He murmured a complaint to her, pecking the back of her palms and blinking away the moisture. He wasn't supposed to cry. "I am sorry she did this to you. I should have not left you alone."
Dropping his head against her sleeping form, he let the white bedding soak the traitorous tears that were too stubborn to leave the threshold of his eyes.
"I am so sorry, Tara. I am so sorry."
All his life, he had considered himself lucky to be a part of the Chauhan family, to be raised and known as Rashi and Harshvardhan Chauhan's son but for the first time, he regretted being born to that woman. Being born in this world where she was still breathing.
Although she was out of their lives now, he couldn't shake the guilt of what that woman did to her.
And for what? Him.
How delusional someone could be? How harming her would have driven Vidyut towards her was out of his reasonings? He couldn't think or form logic, worst he may never look into Uttara's eyes and not remember that woman's deed.
"Don't sleep just yet."
Vidyut was shaken and forced to sit back.
"Bhai." He averted his eyes towards the floor within mini-seconds of meeting Anirudh's gaze.
Not just Uttara, how will he ever look into his family's faces and live with them?
"Come with me. You will freshen up, eat, and then you can come back to her." He shot of instructions which Vidyut will be rejecting. "And I dare you to say no to me. Say that 'n' word and you will see what I am capable of."
"I know what you can do, Bhai." Vidyut smiled at his threat. "You destroyed Rocky within hours and got Avantika Sahay arrested with her own pawn-Farhan's statements. Her husband has announced their separation and ran away from India with his daughters. Her assets are confiscated and her men have deserted her. She has no one now. She is completely alone and rotting in that cell."
"Those men of hers are waiting inside Advait Rajput's basement to meet their ends." Anirudh snorted with vengeance. "And I know that man, he is a crazy bastard. A sadist animal who would tear them to shreds before he is satisfied for the day."
Vidyut frowned at the information. "I didn't know you were friends with the cartel."
"They owed me." He rolled his eyes and patted Vidyut as he pushed him towards the door. "Start moving, if you don't I am calling Mom and tell her everything."
"You wouldn't." Vidyut twirled on his heels. A finger pointing towards Anirudh. "You said it will remain a secret."
"Until you keep listening to me." He stated with finality.
Vidyut stomped and turned back, glaring at the door with the intensity to combust it he slammed it open and strode out to follow his commands.
After leaving Nitya's place, Anirudh made Vidyut spit out the secrets with threats to stop searching for Uttara. He had left no choice to but blabber about the happening of that night. He was coerced into sharing his part of the story and Uttara's part he knew.
His admittance to the real reason for the marriage left Anirudh enraged and disappointed on so many levels that he stormed out of the place leaving Vidyut.
He tried reaching his brother for the whereabouts of his wife but not once Anirudh had responded to his calls, he had no option but to come looking for Avantika Sahay himself.
A shower and some food later Anirudh nodded for him to leave the hotel room.
Vidyut grumbled a sigh and stood up to leave when he felt the urge to remind Anirudh of their agreement. "You would keep the secret of my marriage to yourself."
"Yes, I would." Anirudh glanced up and leaned toward the table where the cutleries were scattered, nodding. "Do you not trust my promises?"
"I do." The armor in his eyes broke and he fell back on his seat. "Just I do not want to break Mumma's trust in me."
"Yet you married a random stranger because you wanted to move out of our home?" His questions were harsh and Vidyut deserved to be grilled. "What if Uttara was a gold digger? Or the opposite of the picture she painted for you that night? What if it was all a part of an elaborated game to get to Chauhan's heir?"
"But none of it happened." He averted his eyes from him hearing him scoff. "She is so, so much better than any woman I could ever meet. My Uttara is the best fit in our family, in my life." In my heart.
He hummed tauntingly. "You were only lucky to bump into her, or should I say stumble into her arms and got lost in her innocent eyes without second guessing her whereabouts, and next you announced her as your wife to the world?"
"Don't." Vidyut shot him another glare taking a threatening step towards him. "You said you will never bring it up again."
"I did. But do you not want to avenge that bastard? He fucking molested our family member and hit her. He deserves to be punished."
"And that will go easy on Uttara?" Vidyut gritted harshly. "No, they will bloody tarnish her. I would rather die than let her through all of that again. That's never happening so you better forget it and stop bringing. it. up."
"Fine." He stretched the word with a smirk and raised his palms near his head. "This is packed, sealed, and buried from today onwards. No other soul gets to know about that night from me. None."
"Better" He nodded and watched Anirudh return to his meal.
"You don't need to stay here. You can go back to Mumbai." Vidyut suggested and Anirudh's actions halted.
"I prefer to watch out for you." He shrugged.
"Really? What about business, family, and Bhabhi? You don't want to go back to them?" He knew something was off with his brother. He had seen his phone ring continuously by Dhwani but this man wouldn't touch it, he would look away or busy himself with petty tasks such as bringing medicines or talking to the police himself. Anirudh was avoiding her.
"I wouldn't go back without you two." He chipped pulling his composure. Anirudh could bring up his calmness in the toughest of situations but lose it when it comes to his wife.
Like Vidyut could forget his rationality when it comes to Uttara and Rakshit would dump his playfulness for Shreya.
These women had an alien influence on the Chauhan men, making them jump out of their traits and make them different people altogether.
"It could take weeks before Uttara gets better and travel back."
"Then weeks it is," Anirudh answered his unasked question. "I take you both back with me. Her especially."
The last murmurs made him frown yet he let it go. He had more pressing matters to attend. His wife to be exact.
"Okay then. I am leaving for the hospital."
He hummed in acknowledgment.
Vidyut sighed and left behind his unsaid thoughts with him in his hotel room.
They had driven towards Pune from Panchgani-the place where this tale had begun and where it was buried back.
He entered her hospital room after a duration of 2 hours but he could see small changes in her. Her breathing pattern was slow and steady, her heart rate had stopped palpitating, and her face had slightly regained its color as the glucose was changed. The nurse whom he had requested to keep a check on her in his absence stood up watching him return, she bid a small greeting and went back to her station.
He settled near her bed, the metal chair screeching under his weight.
"Did you wait for me, Tara?" Like a magnate, his fingers threaded with her delicate ones. He latched on to them being careful of IV cannula and kissed her soft skin. "But I am. I am waiting to hold you again in my arms. Please wake up."
He smiled for her.
"I just want to take you back to our home. Hold you close and lay near you. I want to listen to the beats of your heart and let you hear mine. I cannot fall asleep knowing you are not near me, Uttara. Let me close my eyes and sleep beside you in the comfort of our home. I want to fall asleep holding you, holding my entire world close to me, and feel this burden off from me and only yours on my chest. I do not want anyone or anything. Nothing but you. Just you."
For the second time, he placed his head against her bed and breathed in the same air as her. He let his fingers hold her securely and give in to his exhaustion. He did not fight his sleepy stature until she did.
"V...idyut..."
"Tara?" His eyes snapped open and he flew out of his chair, hovering over her with his widened eyes to check if he had her right.
Her eyes, those deep, soulful, and miraculous brown eyes were open. If there was death at one end, and life at another. These brown eyes would be the only ones to lull him into either one. Between heaven and hell, her brown eyes were his way out.
"Y...you..." She licked her dried lips and his vision turned blur to witness her face, he fought them back to let her have his fill of her. "Vid...yut."
"Do you feel any pain? How do you feel? Can you hear me?" He questioned, pressing the call button, he tried cupping her face when her fingers tried to move, wanting to move. "No. Don't move. You will strain yourself."
"W..ater..."
Her dried lips made him curse himself. He was quick to fetch a paper cup and a disposable spoon. He removed her mask and dropped a small droplet on her lips to moisten them.
"You cannot have water, Baby. I wish I could let you have some but you cannot." He explained and dipped his finger in the water, placing his wet finger against her lips to relieve her with some of her thirst.
She blinked softly, the daze made him clutch onto her fearing she would fall back into the abyss she had returned from.
"Don't close your eyes on me again, Tara." He threatened her while he was on the verge of losing his breath. He had watched her go numb unconscious in his arms once and would forever remain imprinted in his soul. He had died a thousand deaths in those crucial 26 hours and 23 minutes that she had lay in this hospital bed. "Don't ever do that to me again."
"I...I am..."
He placed a finger against her lips, "I know, Baby."
The doctor entered, this time the shift had changed and another resident doctor was here to check on her. Vidyut followed his actions like a hawk, his rationality returning to him.
"Her signs seemed to improve." He made his observations and gulped noticing his stare.
Vidyut nodded. "Are we making changes in her meds? I think we can drop glucose and start the liquid diet for her."
A certain more questions and suggestions made him nod to everything, ready to approve and sign them. The resident stammered like an intern on his first day and Vidyut rolled his eyes stopping him before he could write the same on her charts.
"Don't let anyone intimidate you," he checked his name tag. "Dr. Rahil. You are her doctor in charge. Not me. Make your own readings and use your brains."
"S...sorry, Dr. Vidyut. Sir. I...You...are a senior surgeon...I didn't want to object to you." He stumbled on his word and repeated the entire process, this time fishing approval on his recommendations from him.
He bid an uncomfortable farewell and ran out of the door as if his house was on fire.
Uttara glared at him with disapproval as he returned to his seat.
"What? I was making sure he makes no mistakes." He shrugged.
If not bounded, she would have loved to strike him with a good enough comeback.
"Why did you go to her?" He asked the question that had kept bugging him for so long. "What was it that you were hiding from me, Uttara Chauhan?"
She averted her gaze. He gently made her turn back towards him. Her moist eyes met his, and he could feel his life return. He took a sigh and smiled through his tears for her, she was the only one he could cry for.
"Don't ever pull stunts like this. There should be no next time. This was the only time I found you in a hospital bed. It may be my one of the favorite places but watching you here kills me." He confessed wiping the lone tear that slid past her eyes. "And, stop crying. Do you want me to hate this place for making you cry and go jobless?"
It earned a curve from her, a negligible smile that she was trying so hard for followed by a strangled sob.
"I am sorry I couldn't protect you from her. I wish I had not let you go that night."
She shook her head, parting her lips but she was yet to gain her speech back.
"I didn't think she would harm you. She was supposed to wish for my happiness as she kept claiming to be my mother, not snatch the reason for it away from me. She lied about loving me, Tara. She did not. A mother who loves her child cannot snatch his happiness but she did. She harmed you and lost her existence in my life, a little hate that was left in my heart for her is no longer there. That woman was never a part of my life but after this, she could never be a part of the same world I live in." Her fingers moved and clutched his. Even when she lay battered in this bed, she was caring for him and Vidyut couldn't meet her eyes. He had once doubted her love for him and look, she never failed to display it for him. "She...will never get to you again. Not even a sight of you...I promise."
And, he would do everything in his power to make that possible. If that meant erasing Avantika Sahay's existence from this world, he would gladly get it done.
But before everything, he needs to take her out of there and back home. For, his stubborn brother wouldn't return without them.
"She is fit to travel." Dr. Yashasvi declared on her 3rd day of stay. "She needs proper bed rest for two weeks and a healthy diet. The blood reports are perfect except low level of hemoglobin which can be easily fixed with some beetroots and a good bowl of salad before a meal. I have prescribed your medicines but you can stop taking them once you no longer feel dizzy and weak. Your husband is a doctor himself and would gladly intervene in my prescriptions."
His smirk irked Vidyut.
"You can always tell him if you feel any discomfort and listen to him. After all, he is the best after me, Mrs. Chauhan." He left no chance to goad him.
"Don't you have other patients to see, Mr. Best?" Vidyut shot him a sarcastic smile.
"Why? Are you insecure that she may compare my brain and beauty to yours and decide to send you back alone if I stay here another minute?"
Uttara's chuckle made Vidyut snap towards her.
"Tara." He was offended but her name left him as a whine to which she grinned. Somehow, watching her enjoying this banter made him drop his scowl and walk towards her. He sat near her and interlaced her fingers with him. "You shouldn't be smiling at his words."
"He is funny." She mumbled glancing at Dr. Yash who looked very proud until he heard her comment.
"What? You could choose 'funny' as the only adjective for me, Mrs. Chauhan? I am deeply hurt. There are millions you could choose from, why don't you try again?" He pouted. Imagine a 30-year-old man pouting and acting like a teenager with messed up hormones that left him as dramatics.
"She wouldn't." Vidyut snorted and shot a glare towards his nemesis. "Stop trying to fetch compliments from my wife or you will be the one I use my scalpel on without anesthesia. You may be the best physician in the country but I am a goddamn better surgeon, Jaisingh."
"Damn, love does wonders to a man." He shook his head in surprise. "The Vidyut I knew would never break his mark of 30 words a day but look at you, you can speak for hours at this rate."
"Shut up." He rolled his eyes and sighed Uttara chuckled. "Will you please like to get lost from here, Dr Yashasvi Jaisingh?"
"Why not, Dr. Vidyut Chauhan." The man laughed at his request and stopped at the door, his laughter sobering up and ready to pull up his mask of professionalism. "I hope to never see you here again, Vid."
Vidyut exhaled and nodded knowingly. "Same, Yash. Let's not meet inside a hospital again."
He left and Vidyut turned towards his wife who looked much better after a good rest.
"He is a good friend." She commented and he hummed.
"I have missed your blush." His knuckles brushed against her cheeks and her face morphed into a deeper shade making him smile. "Ready to go back to the circus, Tara?"
She nodded with uncertainty.
"This time, there will be no evil joker to trap you. It will be your show, your performance alone to impress your own audience." He asserted. "And, you won't be alone. You will always find me in the crowd cheering for you. My eyes wouldn't stray away from you for a second. I will be there to watch your back and make sure none reach you without your consent. It is a promise."
"I trust you to watch out for me, Vidyut." She leaned into his palm and nodded again. "I love you."
"I may never believe in that word, but there is something I know." He took a deep inhale, breathing into her scent and meeting his eyes with conviction. "It is that I live in you, Tara. I live nowhere but with you, in you, and for you. That is the only thing I know. The only one you should know and remember. Vidyut lives in Uttara. There is no truth but that."
■ ■ ■
A quick nod towards his staff and they shuffled on their feet to run back to their allotted areas. Within another minute the seat belt sign was turned on and Anirudh clipped it shut. His brother helped his wife and then followed.
The jet came to life and it started gliding on the runway, elevating and up in the air. They were flying towards Mumbai, back to their home with Uttara who was given a green signal to travel, yet she was put to sleep to make travel convenient for her. He watched Vidyut unbuckling the belts and removing the divider between their seats turning it to a couch, he gently pulled her in his arms and carried her to the room located at the far end, away from the seating area.
Anirudh followed his cue and moved towards the bar area, uncorking the scotch, and pouring a good amount in two glasses.
Vidyut took the seat to him and he slid a glass towards him.
"What is it, Bhai?" He questioned sipping a small amount while Anirudh was pouring his second.
"Nothing." He dropped casually and stared into the night sky, it was cloudless, clear, and calmingly haunting. "Why would you ask?"
"You are trying to get drunk." He pointed towards the empty glass he was refilling. "Is it the alcohol not getting to you or someone who's got under your nerves?"
Anirudh chuckled mirthlessly. "You were always the observant one."
"Are you avoiding someone?" He took a leisurely sip and watched him like his object of study. "Is it Dhwani?"
"Bhabhi." Anirudh corrected him, shooting a glare as he gulped the entire liquid at once. "Dhwani Bhabhi. You will address her with respect."
"Depends on how long she remains that."
"What the hell do you mean, Vidyut?" The glass cluttered on the steel counter with a loud clink.
"Sir, is there something I can do for you both?" The assistant who came running towards them was waved back by Vidyut who met Anirudh's gaze head-on.
"We are good, Miss." Vidyut turned towards a raging Anirudh, jaw clenched and eyes shooting fireballs enough to burn him. "Last I heard, she served you divorce papers. I wouldn't be shocked if you did the same to her."
"I am never divorcing her. She is my wife and she will remain that. My legally wedded wife." He slammed the counter and picked up the bottle, taking a large sip he was breathing harshly. "Take Dhwani and divorce in the same sentence again and I will push you down from this fucking jet myself."
"So possessive." He snorted and emptied his glass. Sliding down the chair, Vidyut rounded the bar and took in his private collection arranged systematically in the wall cabinets. Anirudh watched him pick a ten-year-old wine bottle and work on it with a bottle screw. "You care for her yet you are always the one who hurt her. What is this relationship called, Bhai? Is this what they say is love?"
"I don't know." Anirudh looked away from him. "And, I am not the only one who hurts. She can hurt me too."
"She can. She hurts you, you hurt her, again she would hurt you and the cycle will keep going. Don't you think this should end somewhere? It should end or it will end your marriage, Bhai." He pulled the bottle out of his hold and passed him a wine glass. "If you wish to save it that is."
"When did you become a marriage expert?" Anirudh asked tauntingly. "Weren't you the one who doubted if Uttara loved you enough when she left you alone? You drank yourself to sleep that night and did not try contacting her until Rakshit passed that false information to you and you are lecturing me on marriage?"
"You are drunk." Vidyut grimaced, "This sarcasm comes out only when you are sulking and out of your brain drunk."
"I can tolerate my alcohol better than you and Rakshit." Anirudh scowled at him, gulping the wine at once and shooting him an annoyed look to his younger brother who passed a glass of water towards him.
"Drink this. Hopefully, you will get your senses back."
Anirudh grumbled and took a begrudging sip.
"Do you want to tell me why have you been trying to ignore her?"
Anirudh's eyes shot open in surprise. "How do you know?"
"Let's say." He trailed acting "I may or may not have seen you avoiding her calls and reading her messages from the notification. The least you could do was talk to her once and hear her part. Take me on this, you ignore your wife and you lose a part of her every time she waits for you to respond. Sooner you learn, better for you."
"I didn't want to." He confessed after a stretched silence. "I couldn't bring myself to answer her calls. I knew what she was going to ask. She thinks I am a demon who would leave someone to die. I am not heartless, Vidyut. I may be possessive for my family but that nowhere means I am ignorant towards others. I would have never left Uttara to die. Today or tomorrow, I would have searched for her because I know you couldn't live without her. I was only trying to protect you but Dhwani had to accuse me. She expects the worst of me and I am tired of proving her fears wrong."
"Tired of her?" Vidyut blinked quizzically.
"Of course not." He snapped at once.
He could never be tired of his Petal. She was the most interesting person for him. Her actions were unpredictable while her words had a mind of their own. Her face spoke more than her lips, she would scrounge her nose when she disliked anything, pout when deep in thinking, bite her lower lips when confused, and shut her eyes each time she chided herself mentally. She wouldn't delve into matters that concern her but keep a note on everything that happened around her. She lived in a world that was beautiful, not because it was, but because she spread her kindness and made it livable. She made his surroundings bearable and made him a livable person.
She changed his outlook on things, she made him believe in compassion. He may have called her selflessness a curse for their marriage but it was what made her stay back. Her urge to think about others before herself was what made her give him another chance which he might have lost now.
"She thought of Uttara because she has seen what it takes to survive alone." Vidyut smiled painfully. "She thinks about others because some people do not think about her. She was forced to grow up before her age, Bhai. She has seen more real-world than we ever did. When we were sheltered all our lives, she was thrust into the system and witnessed how difficult it is to make an identity. We were given everything polished in gold but, she had to earn them in bronze. While we lived a protected life and had our family to help us stand back up, she learned how to help herself. She learned to dress her own wounds and forget the pain because she couldn't stop at one when she only had hurdles and thorns in her way. She was bound to face and get hurt a lot many times than we could imagine. It is only right that she keeps herself prepared for the worst and assumes all possible outcomes. She may have accused you of being partial towards our family but think about her, she was also trying to protect our family. Her way was different but making sure that our family was okay was not a mistake. In all of this, she may have hurt you but imagine the number of times she had to encounter the fear of losing Uttara in her mind. You and I can only imagine but she must have lived each one of them. And see, she survived them all but do you think she will survive this? She had you after going through so much and now that you are distancing yourself away from her, she will go through all of it again. Don't take something away from her which she had earned, Bhai. End this cycle and you will witness what she can do for you. Don't try to hurt her again. Don't push her into this abyss of worsts. You may come out of it alive but there are chances you will lose her."
"Do you think I made a grave mistake?" He asked nervously searching for a word of advice from his younger brother.
"Depends on how long you take remedying it." Vidyut's word of advice came thoughtfully. "If you run to her the moment we reach Mumbai, I think you may have some chances to make up with her."
"She hasn't reached me since morning. I think she gave up trying." He glanced at his phone and lay silent if not those annoying work emails that kept filling his notification bar.
"She will be home by the time we land." He continued glancing outside. The pilot's announcement made him shoot an encouraging smile towards his brother. "And, it is your birthday tomorrow. You can always play your birthday boy card and act cheeky infront of her."
He chuckled gulping a second glass of water before moving towards the seats. "She would see right through me."
"That she would." Vidyut agreed moving towards the room to wake Uttara before they landed. He held the doorknob and glanced back at him. "I don't know what love is but I know one thing. If you lose your breath when she is in pain, don't push her away. Because she is the only one who can make you breathe again. You will die when she does."
"Do you plan to switch your profession to a relationship advisor now?" Anirudh raised his eyebrows playfully.
"I may think about it." He shot back. "How about you be my first customer?"
"I think I already have." He mumbled to himself.
A groggy Uttara was helped back to her seat and Vidyut buckled herself and him again as they were ready to land.
Anirudh brought his phone to life, her face lightened as his lock screen. His thump moved to caress her but turbulence hit them sending his phone crashing down the floor. They were asked to sit back as the pilots dealt with landing, all the time his phones flew in different directions due to inertia.
As soon as they were on the ground and halted, he jumped out of his seat and ran to pick up his device. The screen had cracked from the center, a huge crack falling on her smiling face.
His insides churned at the feeling.
The gates were opened and they were directed to step down when his phone buzzed in his palm.
Dishant calling...
"Hello?" He begrudgingly answered as the uneasiness rented his heart. It was past 11 at night and his mother would have his head if he returned past 12. It was the night of his birthday and as per the ritual followed all these years, she expected him to be at the mention so his family could be the first people he saw at the start of his new year in life.
"Sir?" Came his shrill voice and Anirudh gritted in annoyance.
"Speaking, Dishant. Why are you calling me at this time? And what is this background voice?" He followed Vidyut and Uttara who descended the iron stairs.
"I have...been...trying to reach you, sir." His voice was breaking due to a loud background disturbance.
"What is it?" He asked impatiently.
"It is urgent." Was he running or doing some physical activity? "Sir, the place...the building..."
"I cannot hear you, Dishant," Anirudh spoke loudly attracting all ears. "Can you stop and say it clearly?"
"The building is on fire, Sir." He was shouting through the speaker.
"What building..."
"The orphanage is on fire."
Anirudh's steps staggered and he pressed the phone against his ears.
"Orphanage?" Her face flashed for him. She loved those kids. Was she aware of what went down? "Did you inform Dhwani? Which one is it? Is she there with you?"
"N-no. she isn't with me but..." Dishant's scared voice trailed off.
"But what?" He yelled into the phone, ready to knock his assistant cold and throw him in the same fire. "Was she even informed?"
"I cann-ot reach her, Sir." He stuttered. "M...mam is nowhere to be found."
"What do you mean?"
"Last...last she was here but no one saw her leaving. She may be inside for all we know..."
The phone came crashing down and he stopped listening.
"What happened?" Vidyut climbed the stairs back up, shaking Anirudh's shoulders. "Were you shouting Dishant?"
Anirudh swallowed and nodded robotically. "Dhwani isn't home and no one saw her leaving."
"So, she must be somewhere inside the house?" He tried reasoning.
"Not house." He shook his head, trying to wrap his head around the information. "The o...orphanage. S...she never l..eft orphanage."
And it was on fire.
Let's say, Anirudh will be getting more than he expected. The night is going to be one hell of a showdown.
I expect a lot of comments and votes so I can publish the part ASAP.