• Eternal Night •

41

When Shivaay woke up next, his head felt heavy. And surprisingly, it felt warm. It took him a few seconds to realize that someone's palm was on his forehead. It felt nice. He sighed.

"Hey there sleepy head!"

Shivaay heard someone say. He had to smile. It was a sweet voice. He looked in the direction of the voice. It belonged to an equally sweet face. She looked like she was tired. But still, Shivaay smiled at her.

"Feeling better?" she asked again.

Shivaay knew this person but just couldn't pinpoint who she was. Neither did he understand what he was doing in a pristine white bed. He thought more about it and a slow fear crept under his skin. He didn't even remember who he exactly was. Or where he was. He was as blank as the day he was born.

"You fainted because of the stress. But everything is okay now. Yeah? All is fine now..." the girl told him while brushing his hair away from his face.

Shivaay's eyes closed and he found himself pressing his face against her hand. Then the warm hand also pressed itself against his face. He soaked in the feeling for a few moments and slowly, all the thoughts came back to his head. He was going through that weird test and had blacked out. And then, with a start, Shivaay remembered what Annika had done. She had told him that he was brave, that she was blind to not see it. Or had she said she was a fool? He didn't really remember. But he did remember how it made him feel. His poor, broken heart had indeed skipped a beat. Then she talked about ice cream and going on a date. When had she ever done that? What wouldn't Shivaay give to hear this in a scenario where he wasn't gagging on a pipe? His lips quivered.

Then the back of his head tingled. Shivaay was pretty sure that Annika had kissed him. It was their first intimate touch in months. He had not bathed in two days and yet she had touched him like that. It felt so weird to Shivaay. Why was Annika suddenly so soft towards him? She had probably said a few other things too but Shivaay hadn't heard them. Even if he had, he didn't really remember what she had said to him.

The darkness before his eyes was so comforting. But he had to look at Annika. Letting out a small breath, Shivaay slowly opened his eyes. Annika's exhausted face was hovering inches above his. Seeing his eyes, she smiled. Her other hand caressed his throbbing forehead.

Fighting the urge to close his eyes and sleep again, Shivaay smiled at her. He croaked, "Hey."

Annika's face immediately split into a bigger smile. She got up and pressed a button. The bed tilted up. Before Shivaay could understand what was happening, Annika was holding a glass of water in front of his lips.

"I am pretty sure that you are thirsty..." Annika gently coaxed him to have the water. "Come. Drink it."

Seeing the water, Shivaay realized that he was actually parched. He averted his eyes and took a few sips of the water. It set his throat on fire and the bitter, metallic taste in his mouth intensified like it was no one's business. He had to flinch.

"Oh, it's okay. Drink a little more to wash the spray down. All the bitterness will go away."

Shivaay heard Annika say in the same warm tone she had used in the test room. His stomach cramped. Why was she doing this now? It was a bad time to get attached to him. Still, he listened to her and finished the glass of water.

He saw Annika wipe his lips with her fingers and the knots in his stomach deepened. He rested his head back on the bed and took a good look at her. This woman, she was different. She wasn't the Annika he knew back in India. This was the version that he had perhaps dreamt of when he had gotten married to her. This person was sweet, caring and dare he say, in love with him. What was he supposed to make of all that?