Juda Hoke Bhi Tu Mujhme Kahin Baki Hai

Part 3

They keep staring at the picture.

"Paaapaaa"

When his little princess called, Raman immediately recognized from the tone that something very emotional was coming up.

"Hmmm" he said still staring at the picture.

"Meri wajah se aap aur Ishima door hue na? Agar mai nahi hothi to Ishima hamesha aapke sath hothi na?"

Oh No! The question that he knew would be asked someday and which he tried to avoid always was finally spoken out. Unable to answer the question raised by her, he just closed his eyes and slipped down the memory lane.

His mind worked like a projector playing the trailer of his life on the screen of his eyes.

First came the glimpses of the day they first met. Then flashed theit fights, the accusations, the misunderstandings, the challenges, the contract, the marriage one after another.

A faint smile adorned his lips as his mind played those scenes and he fondly remembered how she always won over him in actions and words. The first few months of marriage, when he said I Hate You, she said I Hate You More.

Having beaten up and thrownnout Param for molesting her, he showed I Respect You, then during Amma's court case she showed I Respect You More.

Although during Sanjana and Mani's entry in their life they accused each other of mistrust, he confirmed I Trust You,and she in return proved I Trust You More.

He then remembered the day when he went out of his way and dramatically confessed to her. If he said I Love You, she adamantly said I Love You More.

She was his Jhansi Ki Rani after all. Always ready to fight and conquer.

There was only one occassion when he won over her. That is when she said the 3 Golden Words.
Yeah! You heard it right.
He believes those 3 words were more magical and heartwarming than I Love You to him and to her too.
Those 3 Golden words were I Am Pregnant! His happiness knew no bounds and he replied We Are Pregnant! Yes, for the first time in his life, he won over her with his reply. He didn't just say those words he meant them and he acted upon them.

It was worth watching when he stood beside her during her early morning sickness rubbing her back and holding her hand. After she was done he would make her sleep on the bed and then rush to the washroom himself to throw up as he would start feeling sick due to the smell.

Early morning puking and late night cravings were his daily routine then. Yet he never complained because they brought happiness in his life. He had started to believe that God was paying back for all his miseries in past.

Then came the day when she finally proved that she was the ultimate winner in war of words. That was the day for which both had always waited. The day when she was taken to the labor room. She was on the stretcher screaming in pain, he holding her hands said I am with you, she tightened the grip and said I am within you. And then the stretcher was pushed into the labor room, her hand left his and he stood there wondering why she said so.

He tried to enter the room only to be pushed back by the hospital staff. Her words echoed in his mind. He could not help but wonder why she said so. He requested the staff to let him enter which made the doctor furious.

The doctor said,
"Look Mr.Bhalla! Your wife's case is already complicated. If you donot co-operate we will be unable to save both. So please stay away and let us do our work"

"Complicated"
"Unable to save both"
"I am within you"
The words echoed in tge silent corridor. It said something was very wrong and he had no clue about it.
He was going crazy outside the labor room.