Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Chapter 1


The silence of the night was broken as an ambulance sped through the dark lanes of Delhi. The sound of the siren alerting anyone who was still awake that somewhere a disaster has struck.
The ambulance stops at Fortis Hospital at Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi.
The paramedics rush in with a stretcher towards the operation theatre.
Behind the stretcher two guys rush in... One in a dirty vest and black pant and the other in a brown leather jacket, a red angry birds t-shirt and a pair of jeans.
The first guy looked dirty, tired and haggard... He looked in a state of panic with a wild look on his face. His hands and chest were covered with fresh blood stains as well as his cheek had a mark of a small bloody palm.
The second guy looked equally tensed and worried but he was doing a better job to keep his panic at bay. His leather jacket also had blood stains on them.
A doctor approaches the stretcher. After initial visual inspection, he says to those two guys: That's a bullet wound. She has been shot in the chest. It's a police case. We can't start any procedure before police arrives.
The first guy grabs the doctor's white coat with his bloody hands and grits through his teeth: Doctor, you better treat her right now. Because if anything happens to my Khushi, I will make sure this hospital is closed and you never treat another patient again.
The doctor gulps seeing the wild look in his eyes. For a moment he considers calling security for his protection from this mad man.
The other guy grabs the first guy from the back: Arnav, this is not the time to pick a fight. Let them do their job.
Then he turns to the doctor: Doctor, my name is NK. This lady is his wife and he is distraught. Please forgive him. But right now, we can't wait for the police to arrive. I have already called the police and they will be here shortly. You need to start the treatment before anything happens to her.
The doctor looks at the girl in the stretcher. He sees a soft, angelic face on a delicate petite body in a yellow and some unrecognizable coloured suit lying on the stretcher. The suit is wet and red with blood. The faint movement of the chest indicates she is struggling to take every breath. His heart melts at the sight. He nods his head and shouts for nurse and ward boys to take the stretcher to the operating room.
Arnav runs after them to the operating room holding Khushi's lifeless hands with NK running after him. As they reach the operation theatre, the ward boys pulls his hand out of Khushi's hand and wheels her in the room.
A nurse comes to him to check his wound. But he gives her such a furious glare that she scurries away from him.
Arnav slowly steps backward until he reaches the wall and slowly crouches down on the ground...
NK feels the sting of tears in his eyes looking at Arnav. He always thought of him as the strongest man alive. He had an image of Arnav being invincible. This broken, defeated man does not resemble that image at all.
Suddenly, Arnav looks down at his arms and looks up to NK in panic: NK, what if they need blood? I have all her blood on me. I need to give them back her blood. She will die without her blood...
Arnav gets up and about to get to the OT when NK catches him.
NK: Control yourself Arnav. They will get blood for Khushiji. Let them do their job.
Arnav keeps repeating with a wild look in his face: She needs her blood... she needs her blood back...
NK, unable to control him, screams: Shut up, Arnav. You need to let the doctors do their job.
Arnav gets startled by his scream. He collapses back on his previous spot on the floor...
He says with a pained expression as tears roll down his eyes: Did you know NK? Red was my favourite colour on her. But I don't think I have ever hated a colour as much I hate Red right now.
Tears roll down NK's face as well seeing Arnav so broken...
Arnav keeps seeing flashes of the memories in front of his eyes. Both the good ones and the bad ones...
Their first meeting and Khushi falling in his arms, Khushi running after him with the Mannat key, her smile, her tears, her winks, her crazy expressions, her funny looks, her dance, her singing songs while washing clothes on the pool side, her sneezing, her talking in her sleep, her falling in his arms over and over again, her sad face, her pranks, her getting shot and falling... All these scenes keep running through his mind like acid burn...
Suddenly Arnav feels as if he is suffocating. As if all the air disappeared. As if his breathing stopped. He lifts his trembling hands and clutches his heart tight. He feels as if his heart beat became sluggish...
His entire body starts to hurt and numbness starts to set in... He looks up and sees the Operation Theatre's door opens and the doctor comes out...
NK rush to the doctor while he struggles to stand up with sinking heart on his suddenly weak and trembling legs.
The doctor says: The bullet hit her heart. We tried our best to revive her. But I'm sorry. We could not save her. 


1 comment:

  1. i have book marked this story i do not know for how long ...i just started to read this ....khushi no more ...i am heart broken

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