The Boxes We Are Put In

Chapter 2

Her name is Arya Devan. She has an oval face, long hair and intelligent-looking eyes. Unlike other girls, she was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a shirt over it with a magenta woollen stall. She was also wearing a unisex Fastrack Watch. Her right hand was right now draped in Rekha miss's white cotton dupatta, which is now red. And we were riding in an ambulance.

We were on the highway when it happened; in the middle of nowhere. So the most that could be done was a small dingy government hospital in a small town. The place looked haunted even.

I watched as I was being given stitches. It was funny because I could not feel the pain anymore as they injected anaesthetic before giving stitches. And I could watch a needle going through my flesh.

"Does it hurt?" The doctor asked me in broken English.

"No," I said.

"You don't have to watch it. You can look away." He said. Maybe people usually look away as they are being stitched up.

After my hand was bandaged up, I was asked to take some rest in the emergency room. I was given an IV too as I lost blood. The police came and talked to me. The guy, Nikhil, was waiting at the door, looking all like a troubled puppy.

"So you grabbed the knife to save your friend?" The policeman asked me. "So brave, huh!"

"He is not my friend," I said. The police looked confused. "It was an accident, reflex action," I said.

Even I don't know why I did it. Why did I hurt myself so badly to save a random guy? "But if I had not grabbed it, He would have been in a much worse state. So..." I said. When I looked up, Nikhil was looking at me. Even he looked confused, hurt even. What was he expecting?

I sat outside the emergency room. I wanted to talk to Arya, apologies. But I did not know how to. I mean, what should I say? I felt so dumb. I was so dumb that I fell and was unable to do anything. Me - a guy. And she as a girl saved my ass. And looked bloody cool at that too.

My mind was currently in a blank state. Humiliation and embarrassment, plus I was still in shock. So I did not understand why it hurt when Arya said it was a reflex action that she saved me. She did not mean to. But it made me feel worse about the whole situation.

The night passed on, and I got informed by Alex sir that they informed our parents on both sides about what happened. I started getting Amma's calls. I told her I was okay, but she was not convinced. That was exactly what I was expecting from Amma. She always freaks out when I get hurt in any tiny way.

The next morning, I saw WhatsApp photos of our friends who arrived in Goa. My first Goa trip...was cancelled like this.

I ate a pretty crappy lunch with Alex sir, at a local hotel. And we took a parcel for Arya and Rekha miss. Alex sir gave me the packet and asked me to take it to them. Arya had been shifted to a room that morning. I walked into a bad-smelling tiny room with flacking away paint on the wall.

Arya was at the window looking outside. My heart gave a squeeze when I saw her. She was quietly looking outside. Something about that was kind of like a painting.

"Lunch," I said in a small voice. "Sorry, it's pretty bad..." I added. Arya did not look around. Rekha miss came to take the lunch. My eyes were still on Arya. Hoping she will look around at me once. Though, I was still feeling pretty unsettled inside.

"Everybody else reached Goa, right?" Rekha miss said, opening the lunch. "Arya, come have lunch, no." Arya turned around and came to the table. I stepped back. I still could not meet her eyes.