Hi All,
Just a little musing on my side of what if this was how the separation/leap started.
She gently knocked her knuckle against the frame of the door and waited. “Abhimanyu? Abhimanyu?” There was no response as usual. She frowned and then carefully opened the door balancing the serving tray in one arm. “Abhimanyu?” The room was dark and eerily still. “I brought you some food.” She made her way to the dresser making sure to watch her steps as she lifted her foot over a stack of thrown files. Placing the tray on the dresser she went to turn on a lamp. Her eyes welled at the sight of him sitting against the wall hugging his legs in front of him staring off in a dazed state. His eyes were red, fresh from crying. “If you’re not hungry please drink some mango juice at least. The family needs you.” She saw his head turn to her at her last words and then turn back into position without a word. She collected the other steel tray that had been left in the afternoon and walked out of the room with a heavy heart.
“How is he?” She was asked as she made her way into the kitchen.
“The same Parth,” she replied as she gently wiped away a tear. “He didn’t eat his lunch. I doubt he will eat his dinner too. It’s been three days. How much longer can he last? It was like last time but so much worse. None of this should have happened.”
“You’re right Shefali. None of this should have happened. Neil’s death and then Manjari chachi in the hospital. Akshara she…” taking a big sigh, “She shouldn’t have done what she did. She is responsible…”
“She didn’t tell Neil to go and fight. She went to the hospital because she had stomach pains. What was she supposed to do to stay at home? All of this just isn’t fair. She made a mistake going to the NGO but it was a tragedy what happened to Neil. And the girls in the end. They were saved. But I also understand…at what cost? And now to find out that Akshara…”
“Karma!”
Parth and Shefali both turned to see Arohi standing in the doorway with an empty water pitcher. She had been seething since she heard the news. Another thing on her long list of grievances against her sister. She couldn’t even let her mourn in peace without making it about herself once again. The attention always had to be on her but this time she couldn't even confront her about it. “I needed to get water.” she replied, answering their gaze.
“We could have called one of the servants to get it for you,” Parth said. “You should take it easy with the baby and all.”
“I needed to leave my room. Get some air.”
"Here let me," Shefali said and took the pitcher from her hands to fill.
**************************************
He took in steady breaths not understanding how he could still be alive. His eyes were blurry. His head was hurting. His body felt weak. And his mind kept replaying the news in his head over and over again.
—Flashback—
“She’s stable for now, Sir. We’ll keep monitoring her.” He let out a breath of relief after what felt like an extremely long day. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see his father’s face etched with great concern for not only him but his ex-wife.
“Abhi-” Harshvardhan was taken aback as he felt his son hug him tightly. It was a need he rarely ever felt before from him. He simply stood there and embraced his son with full heart trying to provide what little strength he had to give on another grueling day of tests for the Birla family. He patted his back and then pulled away when they heard a voice speaking out in greeting.
“Dr. Abhimanyu, I’m sorry to disturb you. But I have some reports I think you need to see.” It was the gynecologist that was in charge of Akshara’s case. “If we could?”
Abhimanyu nodded his head and walked into a nearby empty office to talk. “I’ve been informed by Akshara about the miscarriage.”
“I tried calling Akshara but I could not get a hold of her.” Abhimanyu glanced downward in a reflective manner. “My deepest condolences Dr. Abhimanyu for your brother. And I understand your mother is ill at the moment. Your family is going through a lot. So I apologize for taking you away. This should be short.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
“We had some issues today with the sonography. One of the machines was acting up today. We’ve retired it until someone can come by and fix it. The other machine we have is working perfectly fine. All of this is to say I got the reports back. It is true that there was a miscarriage but one child is still alive.” Abhimanyu’s eyes lifted in disbelief. “Your wife needs to be scheduled for another follow up appointment to check how things are progressing. Please have her call me.”
“Y-yes, doctor…” He managed to reply, still unsure how to process the news.
“I’m sorry,” looking down at her pager. “I have to go check on a patient.”
Once alone he let out a gasp as he leaned his hand against the wall trying to steady himself. “One’s alive,” he swallowed. “One’s alive…alive…Ak-Aksu-ara. I need to tell her.” He stumbled out of the office and pulled his phone from his pocket. All he could hear was the ringing but no answer. “Why do you never answer your phone?” he barked.
“Abhi?” Harshvardhan questioned. Abhimanyu looked through the window and saw his mother with her eyes closed. “She’s resting. Dr. Rohan just came by to check on her. Is something the matter? That was the gynecologist.”
“I have to go to the Goenkas. I will be back soon.”
“The Goenkas?” Harshvardhan repeated before he saw his son walk away.
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Abhimanyu took a deep breath as he walked up to the main doors of the Goenka villa. It was open. He could hear the voices of Bade Papa and Kairav talking. It seemed they were having conversations with multiple people. He looked down hesitant to put his foot over the threshold but mustered what courage he had in him to face this head on and placed his right foot into the entryway.
“What do you mean?” Kairav scolded into the phone, “How long do we have to wait?”
“Oh, I see. You haven’t heard from her?” Manish asked in a deflated tone. “I would appreciate it if you call me if you hear any news. Thank you.” He looked down on the list he had in his hand and searched to see what the next phone number he needed to dial. That is when he felt the presence of someone. He turned to see his ex son-in-law still dressed in a white kurta. “Yes?”
“Is Akshara at home?” Abhimanyu asked in a clear tone.
“Home? Is Akshara home?” Kairav suddenly exploded.
Abhimanyu looked at him and spoke again, “I know you are upset with me. A lot of things have happened. But, please tell her I am here to speak to her on the matter of the children.”
“Speak to you? You really want to speak to her?”
“Kairav.” Manish warned, sensing the increasing volume of his voice.
“Even we would like to speak to her, Abhimanyu. How could you just let her walk out the door without making sure she made it home?”
“What do you mean?” He replied with anger. “I’m not her keeper to know where she goes.”
“Right, no longer her keeper because you just threw her to the curb like some piece of trash? Human decency at least should be shown for a woman who just had a miscarriage!”
“Kairav!” Manish interjected, giving a hard stare at his grandson. “Things are already high enough, let's not start a scene here too. Remember there is still another sister in that house of his.” He then turned towards Abhimanyu and very calmly yet firmly spoke. “Akshara never came home yesterday. We have been calling her phone but she is not answering. Do you know where she went?”
“She left on her own accord. I do not know where she went. I came here because this is where she should be. If I knew she would be someplace else I would not have come here.”
Manish gave a sadden look at the almost robotic demeanor of Abhimayu’s responses. “Not even one day I see.”
“Excuse me, Manish Goenka?” The three of them turned and saw an officer standing at the doorway.
“Yes?”
The officer took off his hat and placed it underneath his arm as he walked across the threshold. He handed over a clear plastic bag that contained a cell phone. “This belonged to Akshara Birla?”
“Yes, but? How?”
“We went to the Birla residence and were informed to come to the Goenka residence instead. I’m sorry to inform you that there was a bus accident. The brakes malfunctioned and it fell off a cliff. This was recovered at the scene. We are still searching for passengers but,” taking a pause, “It does not look like anyone survived. I’m sorry. We wanted to provide the belongings to the families as soon as we could. I’m very sorry. My condolences.” And with those last words he placed his hat back on and walked out of the Goenka villa.
Abhimanyu stood there frozen trying to process what was said. He suddenly felt a pair of hands clutching his kurta and the hot angry breath of his ex brother-in-law. “You! Are you happy now? Now, she’s gone! She’s gone all because you just let her walk out the door!”
“No, no, no, no!” Abhimanyu said with increasing anguish. “That’s. Not…it can't..it be…there was one child alive. One survived. The twins…one made it…”
“What are you talking about?” Kairav asked, shaking him so he would look at him. “What are you saying?”
Abhimanyu swallowed as tears involuntarily flowed down his face. “One twin survived. The doctor just-just told me that when we took Ma to the hospital. One survived. I called her phone but she didn’t pick up. I was trying to inform her that one survived.”
“This is why we never make decisions in the heat of the moment!” Manish bellowed. “I know my Akshu has made her own share of mistakes. She is not blameless but this…I…can’t. How many times has your anger cost you? How many times do you have to make the same mistake and not learn from it? You were thinking like a brother. No issues. You lost your brother. I understand. You were thinking like a father. No issues. You lost your children or so we thought. In all this thinking and feeling not once you thought about your wife? What she might be feeling? You were her husband. You were supposed to take care of her. She just had a miscarriage. But what did you do? First thing that entered your mind? Divorce. Wah!” Clapping his hands dramatically. “And you are a doctor. A doctor is suppose to be empathetic to patients, right? Care for them. That is your profession. Do you kick patients out immediately after surgery? No, you have…what is it call? Post op care! Yes, post care! You make sure the patients are taken care of. Their health and well-being. Even on this ground you could not make even the slightest bit of effort to see that she made it home? If we had started earlier with help maybe we would have found her before this bus accident. Well, no more chances. It’s done! It’s over! Instead of thinking things through with a cool mind you let everything just fill up and you blew up like a volcano. Boom!” Manish took in a deep breath trying to control his anger.
“Bade Papa!” Kairav shouted with concern as the old man started to stumble. He caught him in his arms and started to move him to the couch. He felt Abhimanyu rushing towards them and he turned and warned, “Don’t!”
Abhimanyu rooted himself when he heard the voices of Mimi and Bade Mama rushing from behind him as they had just returned home from the mandir. “Manish!”
“Tell him I want him out of this house.”
“Bade Papa calm down. Please. Your heart!” Kairav warned.
“Tell him! He is no one to us anymore. Tell him!”
“Manish what is going on? What’s happening?” Swarna asked, confused by the whole situation that she had just walked into.
“She’s gone Swarna. She’s gone! Along with the one child that had survived.”
“What? Who? Akshu? No.” She looked towards Kairav and then Abhimanyu and understood. “No, not Akshu!”
“She’s gone,” Manish repeated, breaking down in tears. “She’s gone.”
Mimi covered her mouth in disbelief and started to fall. She felt a pair of strong hands hold her from behind. She looked up and made an effort to reach for the arm of the sofa. “I’m fine Abhimanyu,” she sternly replied as she left his hands. At that moment he just crumpled inside. Everything around him was hazy. Sounds were muffled and all he could see in front of him was another family in pain. He slowly walked backwards toward the door and tripped on his way out but managed to steady himself against the door. He then fell to his knees and bellowed from the depths of his soul, “Akshu!”
**************************************
Abhimanyu rubbed his eyes feeling the painful dryness and let out a shallow breath. He stared down at the sleeves of his white kurta and recalled the funeral. Akhilesh and Vansh had taken a red eye flight back from their business trip in Mumbai. They looked more weary and tired than the rest. He had come along with the rest of the Birla family to bring Arohi. He could see it in their eyes the look of pain, hurt, and anger. The anger he knew was reserved for him. He had quietly sat down in the back thinking how if he hadn’t been so rash and had made sure she made it home after their fight none of this would have happened. If he had maybe not exploded and signed those divorce papers. Maybe all of that could have been prevented. He had been angry; so angry. Telling her he never wanted to see her face again, telling her that her existence meant nothing in his life anymore but it didn’t mean he wanted her dead. Never in his wildest dreams did he wish for her death. Even if they weren’t meant to be together, even if their relationship had been a mistake she would at least still be in this world living. And now all he had was regret and guilt that the last words she heard from his mouth was hatred.
Abhimanyu buried his head in his hands remembering the feeling again and cried, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It was my fault. My fault.” He eventually laid down, his hands grabbing a hold of a pink dupatta and held it to his chest and cried himself to sleep. Another night on the cold icy floor that was once their bedroom.
**************************************
Little did anyone know 1,099.2 kilometers away in the city of Pathankot, Akshara was in the hospital laying in a bed with a bandage around her head. Her eyes fluttered open and in a panic she tried to get up only to wince in pain. “You really need to stop doing that.” She turned to her side to see a warm smile of a man wearing a plaid shirt. “Another bad dream?”
“Something like that,” she replied. “Abhinav?”
“Wow, you remembered my name. That’s an improvement!” He handed her a cup of water.
She scowled at his comment. “That’s only because you told me your name two days ago. I still can’t remember my own name.”
“Hey, don’t stress. I’m sure it will eventually come back. Remember you have to remain calm for your baby. The doctor said if all reports look good today you can be discharged tomorrow. You know it was something to have gotten off at the stop like we did. The bus later had an accident,” he took a pause, “Rest in peace those poor souls. But then what bad luck that a rock hit you in the head and you fainted. Luckily I was there to catch you and bring you to the hospital. And then you found out you were pregnant.”
“Yes, I know. That is what you told me before.” She cut in with irritation. “I may have lost my memory but that doesn’t mean I don’t remember what was said two days ago.”
“I’m just helping you recount the story, maybe it will help you remember.” He took the empty cup from her hands and placed it on the side table. He then started to pace the room. “Maybe you were on a journey or pilgrimage to a mandir? But you were dressed in white and it looked like you had been crying a lot. Hmm…” tapping his chin, “Or,” taking a sudden hesitant pause, “Your husband passed away?”
“My husband?” She slowly repeated.
“Is something coming back?” She shook her head. “You don’t look so good all of a sudden. Maybe I should go get the doctor.” And with that Abhinav ran out of the room.
She touched her stomach and then her heart. “Why do I feel so restless at the mention of that word?”
Taara
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