Sheetal breathed in relief and laid herself comfortably on the bed - her skin feeling much better after the ointment her doctor gave. The itching sensation was still there but the medicine was doing its work slowly and effectively. She was also prescribed medicines for her stomach ache, much to her own relief after a whole day of sheer agony.
She was laying on the bed with her eyes closed when her parched throat stared irking her out of her relaxation. Gulping, she was about to call out for someone when she refrained, suspicion creeping in her mind.
Should she take the risk of trusting anyone else with her food arrangements?
She remembered Khushi telling her that she was way too oblivious of her food and not wanting to repeat her mistake, she shook her head and started getting up from the bed to fetch her water herself. She was in no way looking forward to another misery right now.
Her feet however slipped and she fell on the bed again, groaning as she felt her organs turning upside down - just like her life. She groaned, staying unmoved for a few seconds to let her body rest.
"Look like the stars are no longer in my favor. Even a glass of water seems so out of reach nowadays." She grunted loudly and tried standing up on her feet again, this time, slowly.
"But it's better to endure this pain than to trust someone else and then finding poison in the water later." She huffed, concentrating on where she was putting her feet as she finally started walking.
Payal who was about to enter the room with fruits, halted at the door which was left ajar. An idea was what she felt instantly creeping up on her as Sheetal's monologue fell into her ears. A smirk bloomed on her face when the said Sheetal started moving towards the door to exit her room and fetch water to avoid further accidents - and at once, Payal turned on her heels and scurried downstairs, thanking her stars for Sheetal's tortoise speed.
She rushed into the kitchen, kept the bowl of fruits back and poured some oil in a smaller bowl. Making sure there was no mess, then she ran upstairs and hid behind the pillar. She patiently waited for Sheetal to appear lest someone else ends up falling victim to her plan.
When she heard a familiar groan, she chuckled and lifted her head to see Sheetal almost limping due to her condition.
"She is so fond of touching my sister's husband, right? Now I'll see how she touches anything else." She mumbled to herself as she started pouring the oil on the stairs in the welcome of Sheetalji.
She deliberately chose the bottom stairs to execute her idea, wanting to break Sheetal's bones for sure but not wanting to commit the crime of murdering her straight. Though she would love to do that, she did not have the heart to kill someone no matter how much she detest their very existence.
A hand landed on her shoulder as she stood up after completing her task and feeling a rush of adrenaline, she whirled around, thankfully to find Anjali and no one else.
"Payalji, what are you doing?" Anjali's question was heavied with bewilderment. She looked at the glistening oil on the stairs, then at her sister-in-law, her eyes wide.
"Why are you pouring oil here?"
Arnav, who witnessed every action of Payal, also stood at a distance, confused but wanting to know what was going on in his naive sister-in-law's mind.
Payal looked around and put a finger on her lips indicating Anjali to stay quiet. Taking hold of Anjali's hand, she then pulled her behind the pillar and peeped outside to find Sheetal approaching the stairs.
"Payalji?" She turned around to see her Nanad raising her eyebrows in a confounded gesture.
Payal snickered, and pointed towards Sheetal.
Anjali along with Arnav who was still standing afar, followed Payal's finger and gasped seeing Sheetal walking towards the staircase where Payal had spilled oil.
Anjali looked back at Payal with open mouth and wide eyes.
Payal giggled seeing her flabbergasted look and shrugged her shoulders.
"Payalji, this is too much!" Anjali exclaimed, her shock reducing into a grin as she looked back at Sheetal.
"But she deserves it!"
"Of course she does!"
Both giggled and looked ahead to watch the fun. As for Arnav, he stood there covering his mouth not because of shock but because of his laughter.
He was so agitated after the doctor's visit to Sheetal. He had planned to call Neha so she could prescribe the wrong medicines to Sheetal but the latter had instead insisted on calling her regular doctor - leading his desire to see her suffer more go down the drain.
But now, looks like Payal's mischief will be filling the void.
And the fun actually began as Sheetal placed her feet on the stair step and the next second, she felt herself slipping.
"Ahhhhhh!" She yelped, horrified as she felt a sudden rush of adrenaline in her body, racking through her aching muscles. She felt paralyzed for a second as she saw herself approaching the cold floor, till she fell on it, limp and mewling.
Tears spilled from her eyes when a strong throb boomed through her body, her legs and hands both injured. She held her head, feeling everything around go hazy and felt a bump on her forehead, resulting from its contact with the cold floor.
She let out a scream, partly of pain and partly of sheer vexation.
Could this day get any worse?
And despite the pitiful sight of someone sprawled on the ground, Payal and Anjali couldn't help but burst into laughter. They clasped their hands to their mouth and hi-fied as their bodies shook against the pillars in an uncontrolled titter.
But as Payal saw Akash and Manorama rushing out of their rooms to see what the commotion was about, her laughter disappeared and she ran to them before they meet the same end as Sheetal.
"Stop!" She shrieked and pointed towards the stairs. "There's spilled oil here. Walk carefully."
Nodding, both mother and son watched their steps as they approached Sheetal, whilst Devyani and Manohar were already by Sheetal's side.
"Looks like her leg is sprained. Akash, get her to the car, we'll need to get it checked by the doctor." Anjali feigned concern, looking at Sheetal who was laying on the ground like she would be dying soon whilst in actuality the worse that could happen with her was a sprained hand and leg.
Akash nodded and supported Sheetal's weight with his arms as he slowly lead her outside the house and into the car with the rest following close by.
"But how come there was oil there?" Devyani mused loudly.
Payal and Anjali glanced at each, gulped then shrugged as they opened the door for Akash to pass.
"Don't know, Nani/Dadiji."
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The whole of Raizada family pursed their lips in an attempt to stifle their titters. They tried to maintain a composed face at Sheetal who was laying on the hospital bed. With her hands, head and legs bandaged, she wasn't looking any less than a mummy. The mere thought tickled them again and they had to clear their throat every now and then.
If it would have been anyone else in her place, they would busted into tears but given to the fact that the one whimpering in pain was Sheetal - who ruined their days and nights by corroding their family - they couldn't help but take pleasure in her misery.
As for Aarav, he was just sitting next to Sheetal, crying silently at his Mama's condition.
The nurse shook her head in despair at Sheetal who was groaning as if she was about to die. There was nothing serious about her condition. Her right leg was sprained and her hands along with her forehead was swollen. Bandage was thus needed only on her leg but yet, due to Sheetal's over dramatic reactions on her wounds, they had to bandage her forehead and hands as well.
She wouldn't even listen to the doctor who was saying that it will be better if she just apply the ointment or ice instead of suffocating the affected area, but petrified over how her past days has been going, Sheetal was on the verge to topple the whole ward upside down.
Finally, a highly irked doctor did as she was told, not before warning Sheetal not to blame her in case her wounds take time to heal or get even more infected.
"You can take her home now. There's nothing serious, so she's not required to stay back. Just be careful with her leg and please, remove the bandage from her forehead and hand and apply some ice. It's not at all serious but could turn to be if she doesn't let the wounds get some air."
Embarrassed by Sheetal's childish behavior, both Anjali and Akash had to apologize to the doctor who simply walked away after giving them the prescription for some pain-relief for Sheetal.
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"Sheetalji, aap theek toh hona? Aapko kahin dard toh nahi ho raha? (Sheetalji, are you fine? Are you feeling pain anywhere?)" An innocent NK asked as Anjali finished settling Sheetal on the bed. They had just returned from the hospital and were now with Sheetal in her room.
Sheetal scoffed at his question.
"Of course it's hurting, NK. What do you think, I like to cry for nothing?"
NK nodded as a yes and then quickly changed it as a no as Sheetal's face turned red, causing the rest to chuckle silently.
"Um, I think she's fine now. We should let her take some rest." Anjali said shortly after and everyone nodded whilst Sheetal blanched.
If they leave then she'll be alone and once again vulnerable to that girl's attacks.
She shuddered just thinking about what else could left in store for her and not wanting her wild imagination become the reality, she cleared her throat and called out for Anjali before she could exit the room.
"Ji?" Anjali frowned, turning around to Sheetal who mustered an edgy smile.
"Forgive me for the trouble, but can you stay with me tonight? Erm, I mean, Aarav is obstinate on staying with me and owing to my condition, I won't be able to look after him properly. So, if you could stay back, it would be a great favor. Please?"
Anjali stared at her, then at Aarav who was totally paled after all that happened with his mother in just a span of a few days. She exhaled, nodding in agreement.
"Sure." She smiled, her heart denying her the permission to turn her face away from a child.
The relief that Sheetal hid behind her smile was not hidden from Arnav who grinned inwardly, knowing well for whose protection she needed someone to stay the night with her. He shared a glance with NK, signaling him to come outside whilst more and more laughter bubbled in him. He just couldn't wait to go and narrate this to Khushi.
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