Not Him

Epilogue - One

The Other Rahul:

I opened my eyes. I was lying on a hospital bed. It was Roh that came to me at once. She jumped up from her chair and bent to me?

"Duggu?" She called. Her eyes searched for something in my eyes. But who she was searching for was no longer there.

"Roh..." I called.

Her tear-filled eyes went wide in a bit of shock. "Rahul?" She asked. "Is that you?"

I nodded. She went pale. Disappointment, shock and fear and sadness clouded her face. She dropped back to the chair she was sitting. I sat up on my bed. Mom and dad were there. Mom was still crying.

"Mom," I called. On that mom cried harder. Dad was trying to get mom calm. He gave her a hug and patted her back. I watched him. I wished if he never comes to know what she did to him. Because I knew that mom does love him still. In a way... Their relationship has a chance to stay held together. I did not want to be the cause of the end of their marriage.

"Mom," I called her again. She looked up at me. "Come here," I told her.

She walked to me and then started crying hugging me. So much drama...

I freed myself from her hug. "Stop crying," I said. "And don't hug me. And I don't really want to say this and all, but...it's okay. Whatever it was, it was in the past. Don't make a scene of now."

She was looking at me.

"What?"

"You are really back." She said. "You are back to normal."

"Yeah," I said. I guess the other guy was nothing like me, so she could easily see the difference.

"And you will be here. You won't leave, right?" Mom asked.

"I guess..."

There was more of that crying drama. And then dad wanted an explanation. I had to explain to him. Because Roh seemed to be in a daze. She was sitting there like a statue, pale and unable to move. I felt bad for her. He was a good guy.

When I was explaining about him taking mom to the place of the accident, Roh looked at me.

"How did you come back?" She asked.

"Well, he was hurting mom. On purpose, but still... And she said she will die if I am dead" I looked away. It's really embarrassing to say these things. "Can we cut the drama now? I want to go home. I don't get why we are still in the hospital. I feel fine. Can we go home?"

A few days after I came back, I knocked on Roh's door. She opened the door and looked at me. She was avoiding me like I was invisible for the past few days. So it was for the first time I saw her up close after being back. She looked like a mess. Eyes red. She probably cries a lot nowadays.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked her. "Please," I added as I felt she might try to avoid me again.

She nodded. She came out of the room, instead of letting me inside.

"Roh, I know you are sad. But at least pretend to be a bit happy in front of me? Aren't you even the least bit happy that I am back?"

She looked at me. "Of course I am." She said. "I am happy you are back."

"You don't look like that though," I said. "And you have been avoiding me ever since I came back."

"What do you expect me to do?" She asked, her eyes filling up again. "I can't see your face. When I look at you, I see him. I start missing him. But he is not here..."