Baarishein

1

Ritwik couldn't believe it had happened. After returning home with Kriti after their weekend with the Goyals, they discovered her answering machine brimming with messages, all from Rishabh urgently requesting that Ritwik call him. Kriti anticipated finding a similar inundation on her phone, which had been left behind with a dead battery the night before their departure. Despite charging it overnight before leaving, she decided to leave it at home, prioritizing a phone-free and relaxing getaway weekend.

Even before he dialed the familiar numbers he already knew it had to do something with his father, otherwise Vijaypath would be the one calling. And when Rishabh finally answered Ritwik felt his knees giving up. His father had had a stroke and had been admitted to the hospital for four days already.

He secured a first-class ticket on the next flight to Mumbai, departing in just a couple of hours, forcing him to make a swift dash to the airport. As he finalized the booking over the phone with the airline, Kriti made her way to his bedroom, retrieved his suitcase, and promptly filled it with the clothes from the small duffel bag she had lent him for their planned three-day getaway. Some of the clothes had seen previous use, while others were freshly laundered, a detail that didn't concern her. Without bothering to fold them, she grabbed everything in sight from the closet, tossing as much as she could fit into the suitcase. Their paths crossed in the middle of the hallway.

"The little notebook is here," she said, handing him both the large suitcase and the small object that had also been in the duffel bag.

"Thanks for packing; I need to be at the airport in thirty minutes," he explained, though she was already aware, having overheard his mention of the impending time constraints during the booking process."I'll drive you; Sunday nights usually have light traffic. Let's go," she offered, and they quickly made their way outside.

"Thank you," Ritwik managed to say, fighting back tears. Kriti nodded in response, biting her lip to restrain her own emotions. "Give uncle a hug for me before I get the chance to do it myself," she added, watching Ritwik pull his suitcase with one hand, while tightly clutching his wallet, passport, and Mishti's journal in the other.

It was a little past eight when Ritwik entered the Noon mansion. He had called Rishabh on his way from the airport, and his brother was just about to leave for the hospital. Despite the long journey from the airport to their house and then to the hospital, the brothers had decided to make the trip together.

"Rishu," Ritwik offered as he embraced Rishabh.

"Ricky bhai!" Rishabh replied, already breaking down as they hugged.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through it alone," Ritwik, tears streaming down his face, held his brother even tighter.

"It was a dreadful scene. Towards the end of the day during a meeting, Papa was speaking one moment, and the next, he was on the floor," Rishabh explained, causing Ritwik's guilt to intensify. He shouldn't have entrusted the business to Vijaypath.

Concern etched on his face, Ritwik inquired, "What have the doctors said?" even though Rishabh had already provided the details the day before.

"He needs to rest. Until yesterday, he was on a ventilator, but now he can breathe on his own," Rishabh shared as they finally separated.

"Is there any lasting damage?"

"By Waheguru ji's grace, he isn't paralyzed, but his right side isn't moving well," the younger Noon explained, wiping away some tears, though more continued to flow.

"Is he able to communicate?"

"Yes, he was pleased to learn that you were coming. When you called yesterday, I was still there, even though I was about to leave because he insisted I don't always stay with him. On Friday and Saturday, I spent most of the day there and even stayed overnight, but yesterday he insisted Arohi and I enjoy the rest of our weekend and not worry about him, as he was already stable. You know how stubborn he can be," Rishabh added, offering a faint smile at the remark. However, Ritwik couldn't reciprocate it. The blame for Vijaypath's situation fell squarely on his shoulders. Without overthinking it, he found himself laying fault on Mishti. If she hadn't deceived him, he wouldn't have abandoned his father, and the anger he hadn't felt toward her in a long time surged back forcefully.