Tender Storm

Chapter 1

The Regency hospital pharmacy was always crowded, thanks to the ample amount of patients that came and went since there was no other hospital nearby.

The schedule for the pharmacists had been clear, according to the head of the department Dr Shah who was strict with a tolerance level of...well..zero.

"Sakshi?" Someone was calling her and Sakshi blinked her eyes open "what?"

"That patient over there" Piyush, her colleague and senior in charge nudged "he's waiting since forever".

Sakshi wiped her forehead with a tissue "my shift is over" she groaned in exhaustion.

"Not until Yuvika takes your place" Piyush said sternly. Sometimes Sakshi would wonder if he was gender biased as he always complained whenever there were ladies around. Or probably it was her imagination.

"I called her...she said she'll reach in ten minutes" Sakshi said hopefully "can I leave now?"

"No" the reply was quick, much to Sakshi's irritation "attend to him"he pointed towards the patient.

Sakshi nodded and after giving the medication, came back to the counter and slowly took out the phone after observing if anyone was around. Usage of cellphones were strictly prohibited on duty.

There were five missed calls, four from Amit and she sighed. He never called unless something was important. That's the way he was, atleast with her.

They had been engaged six months ago after she was done with her internship. It was purely arranged by her parents and the wedding was scheduled after a year since Amit was pursuing his PhD in software programming.

She had liked Amit during their first meeting itself. He was a simple and sweet guy and it was his charming personality that had attracted her to him, probably the only time they were on a date. Both the families were traditional for that matter and neither of their fathers had encouraged any more dates. Although she had wanted to learn more about him, she had to console herself with the notion that he wasn't uptight or orthodox, like her father. It was one silver lining in her boring and monotonous life.

And much to her delight, he had gifted her an iPhone during their engagement and they had exchanged numbers. The late night conversations and funny banter kept her wanting for more.

"Sorry I'm late!" Yuvika came panting towards her and shoved her handbag on the desk "got stuck in the traffic".

Sakshi breathed a sigh of relief "thank God! I'm all about to faint". Yuvika rolled her eyes "you're acting as if it's your first day".

Sakshi gritted her teeth "I know! Every single day feels that way...thanks to that Piyush jerk" she swore "I don't understand why he hates me so much!"

Yuvika gave a sly grin "seriously? You don't know?" Sakshi shrugged "well..it's not my fault my parents fixed my wedding with someone else". Most of the staffs knew he had a huge crush on her, well...most of them except Sakshi herself "he should have mustered up courage and spoken to my parents instead of sending mixed signals".

"He's a coward" Yuvika said simply "and you're better off with Amit than that jerk...anyway don't you have to go somewhere?"

Sakshi stifled a yawn "we're going to Amit's house for dinner...his sister is coming home".

"That's great" Yuvika wore her apron while Sakshi removed hers and kept it in her locker "wasn't she the one who conceived much later?"

Sakshi nodded, after lighty washing her face and applying a gentle amount of compact "after ten long years".