Paayal - His Scarred Butterfly ✅

46 - THEIR PREGNANCY

திருநாள் இந்த ஒரு நாள்
இதில் பல நாள் கண்ட சுகமே!
தினமும் ஒரு கணமும்
இதை மறவாது எந்தன் மனமே!
(This is a special day,
In which I feel the happiness of many good days!
In every seconds of every day,
I will never forget this moment!)

35 days later,

Krishna had left for hospital. Paayal and Diya had breakfast as usual, and settled themselves on the floor to explore the toy world of Diya.

"Maa, I am going to cook dosa now," Diya declared, grabbing a toy plastic grinder.

Paayal laughed, "Chellakutty, You should use dosa tawa to make dosas. Not grinder,"

"Yes ma. But I have no dosa batter. I am going to grind the batter now," Diya laughed.

"Oh yes. My baby is intelligent," Paayal pinched her cheek affectionately and added, "Grind soon. Maa is waiting for your dosas,"

Diya nodded her head and added invisible imaginary ingredients to the tiny toy grinder. Paayal admired her cute antics with a smile, waiting for her to complete her imaginary grinding.

Suddenly Paayal experienced a change in her senses. The room swirled around her. The floor swayed beneath her. Her vision turned blurry as if a haze of grey clouds surrounded her. She shook her head and blinked her eyes in an attempt to focus. But everything went in vain. The world in front of her eyes disappeared as her eyelids closed, and she collapsed on the floor near Diya.

With a flinch, Diya's focus shifted to her mom. Her innocent heart and mind could only be horrified. "Maa.... Maa... " Diya's little hands shook her mom, her trembling voice carrying a mix of fear and helplessness. But Paayal remained unresponsive.

Diya's panic intensified. That intensified fear and her despair to bring her mom to life again made her remember a scene from a movie - Hero splashing water on heroine's face when being unconscious.

She immediately rushed to the center table where a jug was placed. The water filled jug was too much to hold for her. She hugged the jug to her chest, bringing it near Paayal and placed it on the floor. She scooped water in her little hands and sprinkled it on Paayal's face while her cry echoed in the hall.

Paayal's eyelashes fluttered. Her brain awakened to the world again, her eyes meeting Diya's teary eyes, her ears resonating Diya's sobs. Her motherhood surged in her, giving her strength to sit up immediately and to hug Diya. "Chellakutty, Don't cry. I am alright," She patted Diya's back.

Diya's cry faded away in her mom's reassuring embrace. "What happened, Maa? Let's go to Papa's hospital." She sniffed her nose.

Paayal smiled, her fingers gently wiping Diya's teary face. "Okay, dear. But who taught you to splash water, if someone faints?" She inquired, wondering about her daughter's presence of mind.

"I saw it on TV," Diya replied with an innocent smile.

Paayal raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh!! Brainy doctor's brainy daughter!!" She exclaimed, pinching her chubby cheeks.

Diya giggled cutely and said, "Let's go to hospital, Maa."

"Hmm, Let me call Papa before that. Let's see what he says," She said, raising to her feet, wondering the reason for her dizziness. Her fingers dialled Krishna's mobile number, her head still feeling heavy.

On the other end, Krishna's mobile rang in his cabin. But He was in the operation theater to assist a crucial heart surgery of a 12 year old child. It was an emergency accident case, in which the tyre of a car crashed into her chest, leading to cardiac damage. Though Krishna had seen a lot of patients, blood, even dead bodies while learning, this case made his eyes wet. He blinked his eyes, thinking, "I should not cry. I should have empathy. But, It should be my strength to feel the patients and to help the patients. It should not turn into my weakness to make me emotional which would divert me." He controlled his tears, his hand reaching the scalpel.