Arohan - The Ascent

Love Wounds - Love Heals

Hope - That was the name of the apartment, she and Tim shared in Manhattan.

Tim had asked her to pick a name for their love nest and she had chosen the name, Hope. Because to her, the house represented the hope with which she had come to the States. The hope of a better life, the hope of better treatment, the hope of a better future. But she had received far more than she had dreamed of.

She had received the precious gift of love. Only for that Love to be ripped away from her.

Those scars had not healed. Or so she thought. That evening when she had to search crazed, for her album with Tim, she had forgotten that she had kept it locked in the big trunk she had pushed to the attic. But why had she done that? Because, she always had kept the album close enough to retrieve, if she needed to feel close to Tim.

Why then had she locked the album away? Why did she no longer recall Tim's face like he was somewhere around her? Why could she not still feel his touch, as though he had held her safely in his embrace?

As she sat in the taxi from JFK to the hotel she had booked close to Hope, the questions swam in her mind unceasingly. The answer to all her questions seemed to be miles away from her, both physically & metaphorically.

Her mind wandered to how he must be, what must the conditions be like. Would he be safe? His words echoed in her ears, yet again. Throughout the flight, his words echoed in her mind, continually. She had been able to sleep or eat. her mind had become so agitated, that she wished for nothing more but a few hours of sleep.

"Mam?" the taxi driver called out to her annoyedly.

"Sorry," she mumbled and got out of the taxi. The Taxi driver came around and offloaded her luggage from the boot of the car. She dragged her baggage into the dimly lit reception, checked in, and was given the key to her room. It was not a premium hotel, but it was quite decent per New York standards.

As soon as she got inside her room, she checked the toilet. It was clean. She placed her suit case on the desk, went into the hoswer and had long shower. Her body felt battered and exhausted. She came out with the bathrobe wrapped around her. She was hungry but scared to eat. So she lay down on the bed and starred at the ceiling.

The jet lag , the tension, the knots in her stomach , her emotional exhaustion, everything seemed to morph into a drowsy state of lethargy. As she was about to doze her off, the word unwittingly slipped off of her lips.

"Vikram," a soft, velvety whisper escaped her and Urvashi dozed off.

UNAMA Headquarters - Kabul - Afghanistan -Undisclosed Location -Common Briefing.

The General, drawn from US Army and now heading the UNAMA ( Unitd National Assistance Mission in Afghanistan )stood before the incoming batch of peacekeepers. The highly trained men & women came from various countries including, US, Europe and neighbouring India.

"Peacekeepers, we anticipate that this year there will be acceleration in activity to destabilise the politically elected government and Taliban will try to grab power. What stands between chaos and order in Afghanistan , is you men. While, operationally you may be well trained and experienced to do what you need to, know that if you do not rely on each other, you might end of getting yourself or your team killed. And we don't want body bags.So collaboration & respect are the key words here. Am I clear?" he commanded.

There was absolute silence in the room, as the men & women absorbed the enormity of what they had been thrown into.

After the meeting Vikram settled in with his unit, that had been assmebled from across India. He had gone completely quite and mostly kept to himself. A part of him wished that he would be one of the causualities , so that he could end this agony for himself. Whatever he did, it would never be enough. She would never be able to forgive him for that day. It was now as clear in his mind , as day light.