Wilted Petals

Chapter 3: The Rays Shine

It's been 9 years. 9 years since I bid goodbye to my human form of sunshine. 9 years since I made the biggest mistake of my life. And after those 9 years, Manish has barely changed. 

Behind the moderately thick facial hair, he still has that gentle face that always shines with a gigantic smile. The warmth of his eyes never cooled down one bit, and his tanned skin never lost the glow of internal and eternal joy. I'm just standing there, trying to soak every bit of this in. 

While I stand there, with my mouth gaping open, Manish lets out a sigh of disbelief, and I see his eyes spark with pure joy and excitement. "Jaya, it's so good to see you! Oh my god, it's been so long." His arms spread out in the expectancy of a hug, which I can never say no to. 

My arms reciprocate his action, as I snake my arms around him. When he slides his arms around my body, I can almost feel him melt under my touch. "It's so good to see you too," I say, as my grasp around him grows to be even tighter. I feel a little bit of the tension that's built up in the pits of my stomach dissolve like it's being doused in acid. I have him back. Oh my god, he's back, my thoughts ring in my head like church bells, as we kept melting into each other. 

Eventually, our reunion is interrupted by the sound of Adarsh clearing his throat. Immediately, the grasp we have around each other loosens, as Adarsh stands there awkwardly. A tinge of embarrassment glows on my face, as Manish fully lets go of me. "So, Manish, I take it you know the doctor really well?" 

Manish snickers a little bit, as his hands dive into his pockets. "Yeah. Remember how I told you about my childhood friend, Jaya? This is her." 

Adarsh's eyes widen, as the realization dawns upon his dusk like confusion. "Oh shit, you're Ashwini? What a small world." 

I let out a slightly awkward laugh, as my hand goes to the back of my neck and rubs it. I nod, and attempt to explain. "Yeah, but most people know me by Jaya. But the more you know!" 

All of us joyously chuckle like 13 year olds upon hearing a "69" joke, as I flip through my charts to get back to work. "Sorry, I got a little bit sidetracked. So, we're looking at your dad. He's recovering pretty well from his heart attack. He should be in the general care ward by tomorrow night at the absolute latest. But seeing how he's recovering, I don't think it'll take that long. If I were to estimate, he should be out of the ICU by tomorrow morning." 

Another sigh of relief deflates out of Adarsh, as I could see the invisible weight being lifted off of his shoulders. "Thank god. Dr. Balakrishnan, you're awesome. Thank you so much for your help thus far," he thanks, as his hand extends for another shaking. 

A satisfied smile curls at my lips, as I take his hand and shake it firmly. "You're very welcome. It's my pleasure." The minute that I finish shaking his hand, the beeping of my watch soars through the air. Shift's over, I tell myself, as I close up my papers. "Well, that's the end of my shift. Take care, Adarsh, and it was nice seeing you, Manish." 

Manish gives me a slight smile, along with a gentle nod. "You too, Jaya," he replies, as I walk out of the room. 

The minute I step out of the room, the unmistakable feeling of regret stings at my chest. The dreaded thoughts start to swarm my mind and dim the joy that was illuminated in those past 10 minutes. Goddamnit, Jaya, why didn't you ask for his number? This was the perfect time to ask. I let out a sigh in an attempt to alleviate some of the pain, as I catch sight of the night shift's intensivist. I try to push all these thoughts to the side, as my legs carry me closer to where the intensivist was standing. 

Maybe that is the perfect antidote to the pain.

*******

After giving an update to the night shift intensivist, I let out a little sigh of relief. Now, it's time for me to go home, call my parents, and get a lecture as to why I'm not married yet. 

Before I can step out of the hall, I hear the pattering of footsteps sprinting towards me. "Jaya, wait," Manish's familiar voice calls. 

I turn around to see Manish rushing towards me like a flood unleashed from a broken dam. When he comes up to me, I can see a question burning in his warm eyes. "What's up, Manish?" I ask. 

"I was wondering if you'd like to meet up later this week. It's been so long since we've seen each other, and I'd really like to catch up. How does coffee sound?" 

I can't control the smile that stretches at my cheeks. The thought of talking with Manish again over a good cup of coffee causes an unmistakable spark of joy to ignite inside of me. 

Without a moment of doubt clouding my mind, I nod. "That sounds awesome. Does Sunday at 2:00 work?" 

When I say yes, the fire in Manish's eyes from that question tones down to a gentle flame. "That's perfect. I'll see you then," he confirms. With that, I nod, turn on my heel, and swiftly walk away. This time, I let all my guards down and let my smile explode across my face. I almost sprint to my car so that I can sit down and spill all the beans to Jen. Apart from me, she'd be the next one throwing a party about this news.

When I sat down in my car, my fingers fumbled through my phone in order to find her contact. My heart is doing the salsa in my chest, as I feel sweat dampen my forehead like I had just run a half marathon. 

When my fingers press Jen's contact, I silently pray that she will pick up quickly. I feel like a dam that's ready to burst and flood her with all this information. I don't have to wait long, thankfully, because she quickly picks up. "Yeah, what's up, Jaya?" she asked. 

"You'll never guess who I saw at the hospital." 

I could hear Jen ponder the answer for a few minutes, then say, "Okay, Jaya. You know I suck at guessing games. Tell me." 

Bracing for her reaction, I say, "Manish." I could hear her jaw fall open in shock on the other end of the line. I keep my phone at a slight distance from my ear in case Jen starts screaming. I'm not in the mood for hearing loss today. 

"You're shitting me. Wait, he wasn't the patient, right?" 

I scoffed, and said, "No, thank goodness. We're meeting for coffee on Sunday." Almost silent squeals squeak on the end of the line, as I can't help at laugh at her joy. Her squeals were suddenly cut short, and I raised an eyebrow as to what happened that made her stop. 

"Wait. Are you going to tell him about 9 years ago?" 

My eyes widened, while my eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What? No. Why? I just met him. I don't want to lose him again." 

Jen lets out a little sigh of disappointment. "Have you considered the thought that he's married?" 

With that thought, my heart sinks a little bit. Shit. It had been 9 years, and Manish could've easily found someone. Someone miles better than me. Someone who he's probably madly in love with and has been for several years now. Someone who I do not look forward to meeting when the time comes. 

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Ooooh, Jaya's got a point. Do you think Manish has a significant other that will complicate things between him and Jaya? Let me know. 

Hey everyone! And finally, the first parts of the sequel are here! What do you guys think so far? All I hope is that it hasn't disappointed you so far. 

As always, please make sure to vote/comment/share/message/follow if you like my work! Follow me on Instagram (svts.writes) for teasers and updates regarding chapters and other works of mine. See you in the next chapter!

Love you guys, 

Shree