HM was shifted to the room… PS had taken Ammi to the hospital cafeteria as Ammi hadn’t eaten anything since morning… AS had rushed to get the prescribed medicines and KS was sitting besides HM, holding her hand… She was cautiously caressing HM’s hair when HM’s eyes fluttered… She was gaining her consciousness… It took her a moment to register the surroundings… She recollected the ticking sound… the instincts kicking in and the last moment jump out of the jeep… the impact of the blast had pushed her further away and caused her head to hit the roadside… After that she had no memory… She saw KS smiling at her… she smiled back causing the ever grumpy, no-nonsense cop to shed tears… “Aapne humara jaan nikal diya tha… Kahe karti hai aisa…?? Maza aata hai aapko hum sab ko pareshan karke?? Kal bhi pata nahi kaha chali gayi thi… woh bhi bina bataye… Ka haal hoga Ammi ka ye khayal dimaag mei nahi aaya??” “Ammi ka ya aapka??” HM asked naughtily… “Aansu pohchiye KS, hum thik hai… Aur jab aap hai toh hume kaise kuch ho sakta hai…” KS smiled while wiping her tears… “Waise aapko kaise pata chala hum kaha hai??” KS narrated the incidents of the entire morning… HM felt guilty… her actions had caused great trouble to all her loved ones…
“Thank you humari jaan bachane ke liye… Aur hume maaf kar dijiye KS, hum kal thode pareshan the…” “Maafi mat mangiye MS… Hum jante hai aapne aisa kyu kiya…” KS said. HM had a surprised look, “Anu Bhaiyya ne hume sab bata diya tha… Hum sharminda hai MS…” KS said. “Aapko sharminda honeki jarurat nahi hai… Galatfehmiyan ho jati hai…” HM tried to reason KS or say she was reasoning herself. Ammi and PS walked in… “Haseena… meri bachchi… Kya harkat thi yeh?? Apni Ammi ka toh soch leti… Agar tumhi kuch ho gaya toh hum…” Ammi was emotional… “Ammi aap please royiye mat… hum bilkul thik hai… aur aap toh janti hai humare line of duty mei aisi choti moti chotein lagti rehti hai…” “Kaha se ye chot choti hai MS? Jaan nikal gayi thi humari…” PS said… “Acha choti nahi hai… lekin abhi toh hum thik hai na… toh please aap log smile kariye…” HM tried to lighten the mood. “Waise Ammi hume bhook lagi hai… subah se kuch nahi khaya hai humne…” Ammi chuckled… She knew HM’s habit… she would get hungry whenever she wanted to divert any topic… “Hum aapke liye juice le aate hai…” KS said and was about to leave when AS walked in.
AS was frozen at the door when he saw HM awake… He had never felt this happy before… “Anubhav beta, waha kyu khade hai… andar aaiye…” Ammi said… “Ji…” After placing the medicines on the side table, he asked, “Ab kaisi tabiyat hai aapki Haseena ji…?” HM saw his clothes stained with blood… her blood. He seemed to have aged in the last night… HM noticed the worry lines on his forehead, his eyes had caved in and shoulders had slouched. She could read the guilt in his eyes… “Hum thik hai Sir. Thank you humari jaan bachane ke liye…” HM smiled at him; she knew what he needed. AS’s heart fluttered. He was overwhelmed… “Thank you kehne ki zarurat nahi hai… Aap thik hai yahi kafi hai…” KS gave him a weird look. AS knew it was his cue, “Hum chalte hai… Khayal rakhiyega” AS said and left. HM felt bad; AS had left abruptly… KS noticed it but decided to stay silent.
AS reached home… Maa was waiting for him… “Anu… Itna khoon… Haseena kaha hai?? Thik toh hai na who?? Kahi tumhe toh chot nahi lagi hai na??” “Maa… shant ho jaiye… Hum bilkul thik hai… Haseena ji ko chot lagi thi… yeh unhi ka khoon hai… Lekin abhi who thik hai… Hospital mei hai…” “Lekin…” “Maa… hum phele snan kar lete hai… fir baat karte hai…” AS said and left for his room. Had he stayed longer Maa would have read his eyes… He quickly showered. HM was fine now… why was he so restless…?
He had seen many officers getting hurt, losing their lives… then why was he so affected by HM’s condition? Why did his heart stopped beating when her car blew up into pieces? Why KS’s words affected him so much? He started looking for a file… in the matter of 5 mins he had messed up his ever-shining room. What was happening to him?? “Kaha gayi who file?” He gave up looking for the file and sat on the bed with his head held in his hand. Maa had been watching him all this while… She walked in and placed her hand on his head. He instantly hugged her placing his head on her stomach and broke down… Maa held him close and waited for him to calm down… AS finally spoke, “Kya kare hum Maa?? Kuch samajh nahi aa raha hume… Kya ho raha hai humare saath?? Kyu aise ho gaye hai hum??” “Anu… tum sawal sahi puch rahe ho lekin galat insaan se… In sabhi sawalon ke jawab tumhare andar hai… bas dimaag ki jagah dil se pucho…” AS looked at her confused… “Har uljhan dimaag se suljhe ye zaruri toh nahi… Dil bhi utna hi kabil hai… ek mauka do usse…” Maa said… Noticing that her Anu had got the hint, she decided to leave… Before leaving she said, “Aksar hum jo chahte hai woh humare samne hota hai lekin hume dikhai nahi deta…” she said handing him the file which was lying on the bed side table.
Maa had given him all the answers but in a puzzle… He closed his eyes and started recollecting her words again… Every word reminded him of the time he spent with HM… Her smile… Her talkative eyes… Every moment that they had spent together… And the blast… His eyes flew open…tears streaming down… Her calm behaviour affected him because she was important for him… He was afraid of losing her because he loved her… Loved her beyond all boundaries…
