Chapter #6- Broken Pieces Inside and Out
"I.. I ha.. have to g.. go", Prince said and left the store room with Rani standing astonished trying to cognize what happened a moment back. In the same state of mind, Rani left the hospital heading her way back home. Sky was wine blue bubbling with stars as day settled in night but Rani was numb as never. Staring at the moon through her window, moonlight falling in her fathomless eyes, she was not able to come out of the moment spent with the guy she had always dreamt of, or did she never want to come out of it? All she did was to bite her lips in agitation with tears of ecstasy rolling down her cheeks. She knew it was the best feeling she ever had. "Would he also be thinking about me?", Rani thought blushing, "why wouldn't he?".
Rani was just presuming her thought to be true when she had knock at door which brought her to check back in to world of reality. "It's a call for you m'am", the servant advanced with telephone in his hand. Rani took the call to know it was from hospital. She was reluctant to ask the reason she wanted to know anyway. The call from hospital receptionist let Rani know about her cell phone which was found near the store room. It must have slipped out when she rushed home. Rani did not want to go but there was no way out; she needed her cell phone. Rani departed for hospital and decided to come back as soon as possible so to avoid contact with Prince. She knew she would not be able to bring herself to meet his eyes.
The car stopped outside hospital and Rani slinky walked to reception. Although she had made up her mind not to meet Prince, soon after receiving her gadget, her heart could not resist to see a glimpse of her love. Hence, she took a step to the room where his sister, as she believed, was admitted. Sneaking through translucent door she could barely see inside, yet clear enough to notice no one but the patient alone. "Excuse me? who do you want to meet?", stated an unfamiliar voice.
Rani turned her head to perceive a nurse standing suspiciously waiting for an answer. She scratched her brain to think of an excuse liable enough. No later did she get it when nurse questioned Rani for being a relative. "Yes yes, of course", Rani blurted out, "I am her sister- cousin sister". Nurse looked confused until she claimed of not being told about any relative by patient's guardian. That was what Rani had been waiting to discuss; she questioned where was Prince. What the nurse spilled caused a credibility gap for Rani. "Her husband has gone to bring some medicines from store down the road", uttered the nurse walking inside the room.
Rani stood there flabbergasted, left with doubts. She went inside to further ask what did the nurse exactly mean. "What do you mean by husband? Who's her husband?", she questioned with hopeful eyes. "Prince", nurse answered to cause Rani jump out of her skin. She knew it was a misconception as the girl was sister of Prince. Rani was beside herself upon hearing his name. "Prince?", she slurred, "but he said the girl is her sister". "I never did", chipped in a voice so recognizable. Rani looked around with lump in her throat to see none other than Prince standing there with stiff look on his face,"it was always you", he said. His words came as bolt from the blue for her leaving her tongue tied. Prince went ahead, "I had been trying to tell this ever since you misinterpreted her as my sister. No, she's my wife; the lady I took my vows with, the lady I have to look after, the lady who needs me and the lady who has the rights over me. I hope that's clear and there's nothing more you would want to know". His confession ran her blood cold; her heart sank to freeze beat. A knife was pierced through her heart. Prince, with a heavy hand, asked Rani to leave. Rani left the place in aghast.
While walking down the road, the sky tar-black and heavy wind blowing, her mind was traumatized with what she heard from the person she lately trusted the most, the man she fell in love with, was not hers. The tyranny of nipping wind pricked her face. A heart broken Rani could not hold it inside anymore and broke down into tears. Wretched in grief, Rani tossed herself on the road moaning, "I lost my first love. The sheets that had to be written with my first ever love story, will now remain unfilled. How would I bear the brunt that we were not destined to be? How would I ever love anyone again? WHY God? Why did this have to happen to me? If You didn't want us to stay together, then why did You bring him so close to me? WHY?". An awful and implacable approach of doom overwhelmed her. The pain was excruciating; she could hardly take a moment out of agony to gasp. The wind was sighing and thrashing in the tree tops and the boughs moaned. Soon, a curtain of rain beat down on her.
Rani rested herself on road side. Moments spent with him blazed away through her mind. There was no way to lessen the pain. All she could think of was how he had cloned his eyes to reflect a feeling of love for her while it was never true. The flames of hatred brew up in her heart raising to her eyes. "I hate you Prince Thapar and I always will. You broke my heart deliberately as if it was a thing to play with. I will never forgive you. I HATE YOU Prince.. I.. I love you.. No! I just can't hate you. My heart is so engrossed in loving you that there's no time to hate. I love you Prince", she cried out unknowingly that someone had been chasing her down the road since she left the hospital. "I love you too", said the stalker and slipped way back to hospital.
Reena Kapoor
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