The Night Has Ended

Chapter 9

On the 30th day, when Khushi was working in physiotherapy, Arnav watching as usual from the windows, he watched as she wheeled over and opened the door.

"Dr Raizada, right?"

He sheepishly admitted it.

"You want to talk to me about something? I noticed you watching me for a while now. Not to be mean or anything, but it does make me uncomfortable"

Arnav fell over backwards, trying to apologize. He didn't mean to make her uncomfortable. He wanted to talk to her. He knew she might be leery of men after her ordeal, which is why he was staying away.

"I'm leery of certain men, Doctor. Not all of them. There are good men in this world too. I suspect you are one of them", she smiled at him, a genuine smile that lit up her eyes, and that was when Arnav put a name to this feeling. Love... he was in love with Khushi Gupta.... No just Khushi. He was in love with Khushi. He wasn't sure why or how, since he didn't really know her at all. He just felt a connection. He definitely admired her, her strength, her resilience and her attitude to life. He knew all about her, her story, but the person she was, he didn't know. Oh, but he wanted to. He so wanted to.

"If I'm one of the good men, then would you mind if I visited you after your physiotherapy session?"

"A visit?"

"A small one. Just to say hello"

"ok", she smiled, as she wheeled her chair back to the weights.

That evening, after his shift was done, Arnav came to her room with a thermos. And he poured her some hot cocoa, sprinkled some cinnamon, and told her amusing anecdotes of his life as a doctor.

That became their routine then. Over hot chocolate, they exchanged life stories and their "mutual admiration society" as NK termed it, started. Arnav was an orphan himself, but he was one of the fortunate ones. His parents were wealthy and they had perished in an accident when he was 22, and nearing the end of his medical school. He lived with his Dai Ma, his nanny from when he was a child, and current housekeeper. He explained that Dai Ma was 17 when his 21-yr-old mother had rescued her from her abusive husband, and put her to work in her house. After her marriage, she'd just followed his mom, showing up at the Raizadas' doorstep the next day with her bags, and taking over the smallest guest room as hers. She'd called herself their housekeeper and nobody had said anything about it. His dad used to joke that his mom brought Dai Ma as her dowry, and Mom used to respond back that she was her most precious possession, so Dad was lucky. When Arnav was born, Dai Ma became his nanny, and Arnav got the love of two mothers. They'd helped each other overcome the grief of losing his parents. Khushi could sense his love for this woman who had raised him and loved him as her own.

She told him about her own childhood at the orphanage with Sister Teresa, making it sound idyllic and cheerful, when he knew it could be anything but. But he did see the love Sister Teresa had for Khushi, and so had listened politely with head downcast, nodding appropriately as this mild sister-of-God had threatened to cause him bodily harm if he so much as made Khushi sniff. He'd promised never to hurt her and meant it. He'd taken that oath in front of a nun after all.

Exactly 43 days after she was wheeled into the hospital on an emergency stretcher, Arnav wheeled Khushi out of the hospital to Sister Teresa's house. She would have to come in for outpatient therapy, and then to take her casts off, but was deemed physically healed enough to go home.

Khushi arranged her physiotherapy sessions towards the end of Arnav's shift, so he could pick her up after he was done, and bring her home. They usually detoured to have coffee, or chaat, or sometimes just drove to Lodhi gardens to watch the swans while eating ice cream.

It took nearly a year before Khushi was healed physically, back to her normal health. She had to have surgery to fix her jaw, she'd lost a few teeth and got dentures fixed, the plastic surgeon had offered to get rid of all her scars, but she refused. They were a mark of her strength and she was not vain about her beauty. Besides, the scars were mostly on her back and she didn't plan for anyone to see them ever. The scars on her jaw and cheek had healed enough that she could cover them with makeup, and she was back to her bouncy, chirpy self. She still had nightmares and was slowly becoming an intermittent insomniac. All of this healing came at a hefty price, and though the media offered her vast sums to air her side of the story, she refused. The divorce had not gone through, but her lawyer managed to get signatures as soon as Karan was convicted, but this time with a large amount of alimony up front. They helped allay her medical costs, but Khushi refused to use the money for anything else. She wanted to forget the entire Gupta family. But Arnav saw the distant look she got in her eye sometimes, the facial twitch that meant she was remembering an unpleasant memory. They were good friends at this time, but that is all they were. Friends, because Khushi had a barrier around her heart, and she refused to bring anyone inside that barrier. Only Sister Teresa could visit occasionally.

After a therapy session, Arnav met with Khushi with a bunch of files in his arms. They drove to Lodhi Gardens to their favorite spot near the lake, and he handed her the prospectuses of around 20 colleges in Delhi. He knew she had a degree in history, and he'd gathered information about masters and PhD programs. Khushi was touched. And with Arnav and Lavanya's encouragement and persuasion, had applied to a few colleges around Delhi.

Towards the end of the second year, the media resurrected the old Gupta scandal again, since the three Gupta family members were released from jail. The media started playing the same clips from the traumatic night and Khushi withdrew into her shell again. It took another few months before she felt back to normal again. One of Arnav's friends suggested a therapist who worked primarily with domestic abuse victims, and he persuaded Khushi to try her out. Dr. Makhija was a godsend for Khushi. She understood exactly what Khushi was going through, having been through something similar herself, and they bonded well. The new therapy sessions were working better than before, and the insomnia was almost gone. The nightmares were gradually reducing, and Khushi was ready to face the world again.

In the third year, she dropped the bomb at a dinner at Lavanya's home, with NK and Arnav also attending. She was moving to Mumbai. Dr. Makhija had deemed her healthy enough to not need regular therapy anymore. She wanted to pursue a PhD course in a college in Mumbai and had applied and been accepted. Arnav was shocked, and tried very hard to control his feelings of loss and betrayal. But he realized that Khushi needed this. A change of venue would help her heal faster, and he'd smiled and eaten while listening to her excitedly relate her plans for when she would be in Mumbai. Then he'd dropped her home with a cheery wave, and gone to his own house to cry in Dai Ma's arms.

Six months after she moved, Arnav, after another restless day of missing her, had stood in the balcony of his apartment, missing her tremendously after chatting to her for nearly an hour earlier. Dai Ma had asked a relevant question, "What's holding you back in Delhi?"

"My life is here Dai Ma"

"Oh, I thought your life moved to Mumbai six months ago"

Arnav had appeared startled at this statement, then hugged Dai Ma deliriously and he went about trying to leverage a transfer to a Mumbai hospital. Six months later, Dai Ma and Arnav had packed their bags and moved to Mumbai.

Khushi had just finished her lectures for the day, and was walking back to the bus top, when she noticed a familiar figure standing at the entrance to her college. She blinked her eyes to ensure it wasn't just wishful thinking.

"What are you doing here, Arnav?"

"I live here now, Khushi"

Khushi just stared at him for a bit, until his words seeped in and a beautiful smile lit up her face. She jumped into his arms, startling him, "God, I missed you so much"

"I missed you too, Jaan"