Unexpectedly

Returning back

Yay! New update? What? I know, I know the one or two who are reading this regularly are surprised but I had time this week and didn't feel like reading... So when you can't read, you write! And I did so😁😁!!

*****

Two weeks. Two whole weeks in that bland lonely hospital room and now he was free. Vijay couldn't be more relieved than this. He was still restricted to moving his arms and doing any tiring physical activity but he felt he was doing much more than just lying in a bed and reading or scrolling through the apps on his phone. 

It has been two weeks now that Divya has contacted him. Why? The reason was obvious. His mother. What Leela pulled that day left both of them way too awkward to even say a word. He was so embarrassed that he felt like throwing himself out of the hospital roof. But he held it all in and never even mentioned Divya in front of his mother. 

Right now he stood in front of his dorm with his parents preparing for his welcome. Harsh was with Maggie. He got discharged a few days before him so they might have patched things up between them. Paritosh basically became an errand boy for his parents. He was someone who barely said anything but was always there in his subtle ways. 

It was also really good that Maggie was keeping Surbhi at bay, because if his parents saw her, his mother might get some ideas. And his father? Now that was a reaction he was unsure about. His father has always been quiet, maybe like him, or even more. He was really strict and definitely the example of a father to be feared. Vijay respected him, even though he worked in a village and had completed just his schooling, he had this air around him that made people keep a distance and respect him. Only his mother could handle his father. 

As for him? He was way too cut off from his family to have a heart to heart conversation with them. But he didn't deny the fact that they were still his family and he loved them. Even his devil of a little sister. 

"Here let me get it for you. " His mother took the bag that contained the manga from his hands and made him sit down comfortably. He ate quietly and left to meet Harsh. His mother didn’t protest. She knew that he was capable of looking out for himself now.

Harsh was expecting Vijay. Even though the latter wouldn’t show it, the former knew that he  cared. This accident was good for him, in a way. He was finally able to reconcile with Maggie! And maybe now his problems would solve themselves too. A man can hope.

“So?” This was what Vijay said when he reached Harsh’s room.

“Eh, so-so. But the good thing was that Maggie and I made up. I feel so much better now. “

“..”

“You don’t have anything to say? *scoff of course you don’t.”

Vijay again stayed quiet and sat beside a well bandaged Harsh. It looks like he didn’t break a bone but his outer body took a toll. It might leave some scars.

“What about you?” 

“Hm? Oh, I am good. My mother is here to take care of me.”

“For how long?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, she has to return home someday. She can’t be here with you forever dude. You would need someone to take care of you when you are down.”

“That is exactly what video games are for.” Vijay answered bluntly.

Harsh ignored this comment and kept speaking. “Come to think of it, Maggie told me Surbhi was asking about you. Surbhi… Hmm… Don’t you think she can fill the role?”