Second Chance

Chapter 19 A Nightmare or a Glimpse into Her Past

It is the middle of the night. Dev wakes up from the noise he unable to discern. He hears soft sobs with sniffles. He opens his eyes, struggling to keep them open. It's still dark outside. He turns his head to his left, where Mahi is supposed to be sleeping. However, he sees Mahi seated, still on the bed. Dev sits up to see what's wrong. He sees it is her sobs which woke him. She is sitting, holding up her left-hand wrist tightly with her right hand. She is crying softly.

'Mahi! What's wrong?' asks Dev in a hoarse voice. 

'I can't stop it. It keeps bleeding,' says Mahi while crying softly and holding her wrist.

Dev gets worried. He takes her hand to look what she means that she is bleeding. He couldn't see clearly. So he quickly bends back to turns on the sidelights. He sees her hand. He doesn't see any blood but, he sees Mahi still holding her wrist tightly.

'Let me see,' says Dev softly, asking her to remove her hand. She does. He doesn't see any blood but an old scar. He gets confused. Mahi wraps her hand again on her wrist as she says, whimpering,' I didn't have a choice. I didn't know what to do. I don't want to die. Please help me stop this.' 

Dev looks at her, crying for real. He suddenly realises that she seems awake but, she isn't. She is sleepwalking. Or Sleeptalking. 

'Mahi. Look here. It's not real,' says Dev wiping her tears from her face, trying to wake her up. 

She doesn't respond to him. So he holds her from her arms and gives her a firm jerk to wake her up. Mahi wakes up from the jolt, becoming confused. Her eyes are wide open in bewilderment. 

'What happened?' asks Mahi seeing Dev next to her. She sees outside. It is dark as she sees the clock on the wall to confirm. 

'Nothing. You were just having a nightmare,' says Dev trying to calm her. 

She feels her face wet, and so her eyes. She asks,' Was I crying?'

'Yeah! I guess,' says Dev.

'Was I talking as well?' asks Mahi looking at Dev becoming tensed. 

Dev recalls what exactly happened moments ago. He says,' Just mumbling. Couldn't understand.' He makes her lie back and tucks her in, asking her to try sleeping again.

He switches off the sidelights and lies down, turning towards Mahi. He sees Mahi still wide awake with concern on her face. 

'Can't sleep?' asks Dev seeing her wide awake. 

She turns her head in his direction with worried eyes. She shakes her head in a no.

Dev opens his left arm as he reaches for her arm with his right hand. He says,' Come here.'

Mahi slides closer to Dev, placing her head on his arm, closer to his shoulder. She puts her hand on his chest as Dev lies on his back and closing Mahi in his arms in a cuddle. Mahi, now resting her head on his chest closer to his neck. Dev feels her stress while holding her close to him. He starts moving his left hand in soft rubs on her back to soothe her as he places his right hand on her left arm. 

'Don't worry. It was just a bad dream,' says Dev as he places a soft kiss on top of her head. Mahi relaxes in his arms as she closes her eyes. Listening to Dev's heart beneath her ears, she drifts to sleep, hugging him. 

Dev feels her heavy and steady breathing as he realises that she is finally sleeping. On the other hand, Dev couldn't sleep for some time. He thinks about the events, happened today. First, meeting that man in the hotel lobby, then a sudden panic attack on the terrace and now this. He thinks, was this really just a nightmare or fragment of reality. He doesn't want to think much about it but, everything he witnessed so far seems to point him in some unknown direction. Dev looks down at her hand on his chest. He softly picks it up and turns it slightly to see the scar on her wrist. He caresses it as he thinks back to the story Mahi told her how she got it. Then his mind runs the flashes of Mahi moments ago, talking in her sleep. He places her hand back on his chest, softly rubbing the back of it. He then caresses her head softly as he plants a kiss on her forehead, holding her. He presses her gently to him. He eventually, still holding her protectively in his arms, falls asleep.