Juhi lazily opened her eyes stretching her arms out.. Waking up from a peaceful deep slumber, it made her forget where she was... slowly it dawned on her that she was in Shashank's room and she was supposed to keep a watch over him at night.. Rising up with a jolt she looked towards his bed and saw him fast asleep .. that soft snore made her smile unknowingly..
A bit relieved that he was asleep she regretted falling asleep.. Running her fingers through her hair, she slipped her feet into her slippers and walked slowly towards Shashank..
She checked the parameters on the monitor and was satisfied that he was doing well.. He looked so peaceful while asleep..She thanked god that he wasn't in pain.. Placing her hand gently over his hand she gave a gentle squeeze and walked out of the room..
Sitting in her cabin after freshening up, she was lost in deep thoughts.. She was anxious about Shashank's biopsy report which was expected in another two days time.. She hoped and prayed the report would come as negative for malignancy .. He didn't deserve to suffer more .. she sighed..
Also one main agenda on Juhi's mind was to schedule an appointment with the gynaecologist at Sanjivani.. It was high time she stopped stressing and started thinking about a tiny soul growing within her.. she thought
Anjali who came back fresh and energetic after resting well at home the previous night walked into Shashank's room.. Greeting her dad good morning she pecked his forehead which actually startled Shashank but at the same time he didn't feel awkward ...
He was getting used to his daughter's love and affection...
Opening the blinds of the window , she said
"Dad, you need to have a shave.. It is not nice seeing you with stubble although you still look devilishy handsome I must say..." she winked
Shashank blushed hearing Anjali..
Picking up the electric shaver from the kit she brought from home, Anjali placed a towel around his neck over the chest.. Shashank stretched out his hand and asked her to hand over the shaver to him.. Switching it on he brought his hand to his face and felt his hand trembling... He tried moving his hand to the other side of his face and it continued to trembled again...
Noticing the perplexed expression on his face , Anjali said " Dad let me do it for you.."
Without a word he handed it back to her..
Anjali sat on the bed beside him and began her task from the right side of his face.. His eyes remained shut ..
Five minutes later once she finished her task, she handed him a mirror.. It was the first time Shashank was seeing himself after he regained his consciousness..
" See dad how handsome you look now.. " Anjali said
He finally saw himself.. in front of him was a man, who looked like a charmer, clean shaven,
Plaster around his head, those eyes held a lot of memories but the mind didn't ...the dark circles evident around them... letting out a deep sigh he placed down the mirror on his lap.
" Anjali .." he said
Tell me about us, about you, about me .. our home..." his voice trailed
Anjali had a broad smile on her face... she was going to fall in love with her dad even more in this journey.. she chuckled
" Dad it's just you and me ... at home..
Mom passed away years back.. " she said placing her hand over..
" okay....." he sighed
" Also dad, you must know that you own this hospital , Sanjivani... You are the CEO...." she said
" Ohhhh... " he exclaimed
That was news to him
"When are we going back home, Anjali " he asked
" That, only your doctor can decide, dad.." Anjali said
There was a knock on the door and Juhi walked in and stood at the foot of his bed..
"Good morning Dr Shashank.." she said
" Good morning Doctor..." he replied
" How are you feeling this morning.." she asked him
Ignoring her question he asked
"Doctor, when can I go back home.. I'm tired of lying in bed all the time..."
Acknowledging him with a brief smile , Juhi replied " In another two days, Dr Shashank... We can't risk any kind of infections at the moment ..."
Shashank sighed..
" But you can move around in this room .. you can also get some fresh air from the balcony.."
She said ..
Although unconvinced, Shashank briefed a nod in agreement with what she said.. He held her gaze from the time she walked in and never let it go .. While Juhi tried to look away, he continued to hold her gaze.. There was something about her and he wanted to find out..
Just then a nurse walked in informing Anjali that the patient was all prepped for the surgery and they were waiting for her...
Excusing herself Anjali walked out after saying a quick bye to her dad ...
Now it was only Shashank and Juhi in the room... Shashank thought this was an opportunity to get to know her...
So he asked her " Doctor, can you help me sit in the balcony for sometime... "
" Yes.... Dr Shashank..." Juhi stammered as she was surprised by his request.. she walked towards the corner of the room and brought the wheelchair..
" Do I need to use this..." Shashank asked pointing to the wheelchair
" Yes, Dr Shashank.. It would take sometime for you to get back your orientation..." she replied
Shashank remembered the shaving incident that happened few minutes ago and agreed to her without any argument ...
She held his arm and helped him stand on his feet.. he felt shaky ... Helping him sit in the wheelchair she moved it to the balcony adjoining the room...
Shashank took in a deep breath when a splash of fresh air hit his face.... He felt good ... She let him absorb the freshness... There was absolute silence except for the birds chirping ...
Juhi stood beside him, resting her arms on the balcony railings, remembering all their balcony encounters... and was lost in thoughts..
After a moment Shashank looked up to see her deep in thoughts ... "Doctor.." he called
There was no response...
" Juhi ...." he called
Juhi looked back at him in lightning speed....
Shashank looked back at her with a confused look seeing her react that way...
" What did you just call me, Dr Shashank.." she asked
Confused, Shashank replied.." Doctor.."
" No after that.." she said
He looked even more confused at her..
" You are confusing me , Doctor.." he said
" You said my name..." she whispered
" Maybe ... But isn't that your name ..." he asked, still unaware of the volcano that just erupted within her after hearing her name from his mouth...
Realising the situation they were in, she stammered... " Yes.. Dr Shashank.. That's my name..." and continued looking outside the balcony while her body continued to tremble ...
After a few minutes of silence, Shashank spoke again..." Tell me about yourself , Doctor.. and about us.... like how do you know me..."
Juhi gasped ... should she tell him everything that she wants to tell or only those that he needs to know right now...
"Doctor...." Shashank called bringing her out of trance..
" Are you okay..." he asked
" Yes .." she lied wiping the sweat beads formed on her forehead...
Clearing her throat , she began
" I was your pupil, Dr Shashank... I trained under you as a resident neurosurgeon..."
"Ohhhh ... " Shashank exclaimed
" You live here in Pune ... " he asked
" No .. I live in Mumbai..."
" With your family , I suppose.." he said
Juhi nodded
" You hold the post of Chief of Surgery here.. right ... I saw it in the case file.." he said
Nodding her head in agreement, Juhi replied " Yes, Dr Shashank... You offered me the post which was previously held by you, when you underwent surgery for the first time... And I accepted the post...
There was a recurrence and that is why you have been operated upon once again ..."
Shashank remained absolutely quite... So he has survived two surgeries... and this one cost him his memory ... he looked disturbed...
Gathering courage she gently placed her hand on his shoulder...
" So you volunteered to operate on me ..." he asked
" You wanted to be operated only by me ..." she replied
All these revelations disturbed Shashank... it was like pieces of puzzle scattered all over and he was trying to put them back in vain...
"You were my mentor, guide.. later we became colleagues.. and then friends and then......" she paused...
He looked up at her and their eyes locked ..
" and then.... " he asked questioningly
" and then..." she repeated as words failed to come out of her mouth....
Just then Sis. Philo rushed inside the room, saying one of the patient's condition is deteriorating and Juhi was needed to attend immediately..
Ending their conversation abruptly, Juhi asked Sis Philo to help Dr Shashank get back to his bed and rushed out of the room...
Shashank was upset.. he was hoping to find a missing link that connected him and the doctor whose eyes speaks volumes ... the missing link to the emotional connect they share ...
As the day progressed Shashank waited for Juhi to visit him so that he could continue the conversation...
While Juhi , an hour later, after stabilising the patient , realised she needed to meet the gynaecologist...
Walking into Dr Sunita's cabin who had had just finished her consultation for the morning session and was going to take a lunch break, welcomed Juhi with a warm smile ..
" What a lovely surprise Dr Juhi..
What brings you here .." she smiled..
Juhi smiled back and replied " Dr Sunita, I'm pregnant... 6 weeks now ... So I just want to follow up with you hereafter..."
An elated Dr Sunita congratulated her..
" I'm so happy for you Dr Juhi... Congratulations to you and to your husband..." she smiled
" Thank you ,Dr Sunita...
I just have one request to make
Can we keep this to ourselves confined to this room.. I haven't disclosed to anyone at the hospital... My husband and I are of the opinion that we will disclose when time is right since it's too early now..." Juhi said
" I totally respect your decision Dr Juhi... please don't worry about that...
Let me examine you first..." she said
After the examination, Dr Sunita prescribed her multivitamins and folic acid tablets and also suggested a scan at the 8th week..
Thanking her Juhi walked out... hoping if by the 8th week, Shashank had regained his memory she would take him along for the scan .. she would manage to convince Dr Sunita with some reason to make up for his presence.. she thought...
Walking towards his room she peeped through the glass door and found him fast asleep .. Not wanting to disturb him and not wanting to further extend their previous conversation she walked back to her cabin ...
Juhi got busy with a surgery followed by consultations and the routine rounds...Anjali had decided to stay back with her dad that night... And Juhi was asked in fact ordered by Anjali to go back home and rest...
Juhi decided to see Shashank before she left for home...
Inside his room, Anjali was feeding him dinner while he was fussing like a little child at how bland the food tastes..
Juhi stood at the door witnessing his antics and chuckled... How much she loves this man... she thought..
Walking inside she asked Shashank " How are you feeling now.."
" I'm better , Doctor.." he replied
" Busy day ?? He asked since she didn't visit him after the morning encounter..
"The usual routine.." she smiled
" I did visit you twice but you were fast asleep.. " she replied.
" ohhh .. " he said
"I will take you leave for now, Dr Shashank
Anjali , please call me if there is anything at all.. okay .." Juhi said
Reluctantly she finally said " Good night Dr Shashank... Good night Anjali .." and walked out of the room..
After Juhi left, Shashank cleared his throat and spoke out " Anjali , Dr Juhi told me she is from Mumbai... So where is she staying here.. at a hotel ???
Anjali was confused what to answer
She knew she had to tell the truth...
" Dad, Dr Juhi stays in our house whenever she visits Pune ... It was you who asked her to stay back at home instead of those lousy hotels... "
" Ohhhh... " he was shocked hearing the same
After a brief pause he asked " So we trust her so much..."
"More than you ever know, Dad..
She is almost like family ..." her voice trailed
Shashank remained quite... There is more to it than meets the eye .. he thought
That night sleep was nowhere near him.. his thoughts kept going back to Juhi...
While back home Juhi showered and slipped onto his Kurta.. She ended up sleeping in his room on his bed ... She needed that comfort... And she slept well
Two days later, Juhi was in her cabin anxiously waiting for the biopsy report ... Pacing up and down her cabin, muttering hundreds of prayers, she kept looking at her phone for the mail to ping ...
Half an hour later, the much anticipated mail popped up on her screen.. Her hands trembled.. Taking a deep breathe she clicked open the mail and scrolled further down to click open the attachment...
Her heart thudded against her chest as the attachment opened .. And she burst out crying reading the report ... It showed
Impression : Negative for malignancy .
Tears of joy and relief streamed down her cheeks as she read and re- read the report four times...
She immediately dialled Anjali's number and broke the news to her..
Anjali's happiness knew no bounds hearing this fantastic news...
After hanging up the call , her hand went down to her stomach and she shut her eyes as if she communicating to the tiny soul growing in there...
She needed to inform Shashank regarding the same and he was due to be discharged today.. So she rushed to the washroom to make her self look presentable and headed to his room..
There he sat on his bed reading the newspaper sipping on his black coffee... She wished him good morning and seated herself on the chair next to his bed..
" Dr Shashank.." she said " I have a few things to let you know...
" Go on..." he said dropping the newspaper on his lap while continuing to sip on his coffee..
" First, I just received your biopsy report and it came as negative for malignancy..and that's a good news..
Shashank smiled acknowledging her..
" But we will have to go through a few rounds of external radiotherapy just to make sure there aren't any remnants of the tumour left behind and avoid further recurrence.." Juhi stated
" That's fine, Doctor.. You know it the best.." he smiled
" Second , you will be discharged today.. I will schedule your follow up visits and the radiation therapy and hand it over to you... including the do's and dont's ..." she smiled
" I'm sure you will feel even better once you are back home..." she said
Shashank nodded his head in agreement placing back his cup on the bedside table...
" if you have any queries, please feel free to ask, Dr Shashank.. or you can even call me anytime ..." she said
" Aren't you staying at my home, Doctor??
I'm sure I will have a good in- house service..." he chuckled
Juhi was stunned .. So Anjali must have revealed it to him.. While actually she was planning to move out to a hotel before Shashank could be shifted back home...
Gathering herself after a brief pause, she spoke " I was actually planning to move out.... I was just waiting for you to get a little better..." she said
" Dr Juhi, Anjali told me you always stay back at my home whenever you visit Sanjivani, I fact I was the one who insisted to do so... Nothing has changed even now.. You will continue to stay there and hereafter when you visit Sanjivani.. And that's an order..." he stated
With a big smile on her face, Juhi looked back at him and nodded her head in agreement...
" Anything else you want to ask, Dr Shashank ... else I would like to go and get your discharge papers ready..." she said
"Yes there is one thing ..." he said... " The conversation we had in the balcony the other day remains incomplete..."
Juhi felt her blood rushing to her face... while Shashank held her gaze...
" We will soon.. Dr Shashank.. I got to go for now.. Excuse me .." she said and rushed out of his room.. leaving behind more doubts in his mind to be solved..
Juhi minimised her encounter with Shashank during the day.. Shashank was discharged towards the afternoon and Anjali accompanied him home while Juhi stayed back at the hospital..
It was a 25 minutes drive from the hospital to their home.. Looking out of the car window, Shashank felt familiar with the places as the car sped through the roads.. He felt strange..
Upon reaching home, Anjali helped him out of the car.. Shambu who was waiting for his master was elated seeing him back home.. Shashank didn't recognise him.. Anjali came forward to ease the situation and informed Shashank that he has been with them even before she was born and continues to serve them even today..
Shashank nodded his head and stepped inside his house... walking inside he sat on the sofa and looked around.. He felt a strange familiarity with this place , it felt like he has known every corner of it since forever ..that it belongs to him... he felt strange emptiness
Anjali asked him to rest and guided him to his room... After giving him his medicines she tucked him to sleep..and walked back to her room closing the door behind..
Later that evening ,Shashank, after waking up from a sound sleep decided to walk around inside his home.. He walked into the room adjacent to his .. It looked liked someone was occupying it.. The smell of jasmine perfume made him aware of the occupant of that room...
He walked out and around all the rooms and then down to the living room.. Anjali who was cooking dinner was happy to see him.. She switched on the television for him..while she continued cooking, chatting random things in between..
Few minutes later, the door clicked opened ..
Juhi walked in looking all exhausted but was instantly perked up seeing Shashank relaxed out of the sofa watching television..
" Hi .." she said as she walked towards him
Sitting upright , Shashank smiled back..
" You look exhausted.." he said
Now Juhi smiled back and said she would freshen up and come back ...
Half an hour later Juhi walked down dressed in cotton pants and a t-shirt .. She joined Anjali in the kitchen and helped her arrange the table for dinner.. Shashank felt a strange sense of familiarity with that scene at that point of time... He tried hard to recollect his memories but he failed..
Dinner was a pleasant affair with Anjali recollecting all the memories, while Juhi continued to silently chew on her food..
Shashank noticed her silence but chose to keep quiet..
After clearing the table and bidding them good night Juhi was the first to retire back to her room.. She felt suffocated.. She tried watching television, it didn't help.. Picking up a book from the shelf she tried reading but couldn't... After tossing and turning around in the bed for almost an hour, she decided to get some fresh air .. maybe that would help she thought...
Wrapping a shawl around herself she went out and sat on the swing and rocked it slowly ... Her thoughts went back to Shashank.. Now that his health is back on track, she needs to work on helping him regaining his memory ..
A few minutes later she heard footsteps.. she looked back to see Shashank standing at her balcony door... Shocked was an understatement she felt at the moment...
"Dr Shashank, Is everything alright" she asked standing up from the swing...
" I'm fine.... relax... it's just that I couldn't sleep...
" How did you know I was here.." she asked
Confused...he answered..." I just guessed ..." he said
Even he wasn't aware how he knew he would find her in the balcony
There was awkward silence...
" Can I sit her for sometime..." he asked
" Sure..." she stammered and sat on the left corner of the swing while he sat on the right....
She looked at his face as he watched the dark blue sky... his face looked calm...
Clearing his throat he spoke " Everyday i wake up with a hope of recollecting at least something about myself, my life, my family, my home... But I can't... I just can't remember anything at all... I try to connect memories and remember them and it makes me feel they don't exist....."
She placed her hand over his which was resting on the rim of the swing seat...
He continued... "I feel strange emptiness inside my soul as if it has been robbed of all the love and emotions.... I am leading a purposeless life with no knowledge of my past and uncertainty of my future..." he sighed
" I don't even know why am I discussing this with you at this part of the night ..." he puts his head down in defeat..
There was deafening silence that followed
Juhi had no words to console him... she herself was helpless...
Mustering some courage , few minutes later she spoke finally facing him... " This too shall pass...Dr Shashank.. You are a fighter... You will fight this one too... Anjali is there to help you .. I am there..."
Shashank looked back at her and in her eyes he saw something which felt very familiar to him... the love, affection, care that it held ...
He now placed his other hand over hers and said.." Thank you Dr Juhi... I'm alive today.. it's because of you ... Thank you for all that you have done for me..."
Tears brimmed her eyes and slowly trickled down ... He felt the sudden urge to take her in his arms and hold her tight... Could he even do that... My god ... he said
"I think I must leave..." he said abruptly ending their conversation..
He rushed out from the balcony before his heart made him do something which he would end up regretting later..
In the rush, his leg accidentally hit the table while walking out and something from the table dropped down...
Cursing himself for not being watchful and hurting his little toe, he stopped in his track to pickup the small carton which fell on the ground... Picking it up he read the name printed on it... Placing it back on the table he picked up a small bottle of multivitamins ... he did the same...
He turned around to see Juhi standing with a shocked look on her face...
" Are you pregnant ..." he asked
" Yesssss......" she stammered avoiding a eye contact...
" How did you know..." she asked while walking towards him..
" These capsules and tablets are to be taken exclusively during pregnancy.. isn't it..." he replied...
" But how do you know that..." she was intrigued
" I ... I don't know... I guessed maybe... I don't know ... " he stammered with confusion overtaking him..
"Good night ..." he said and walked out of her room without uttering a word..