Don't leave me behind

Leaving me behind all alone

When Virat arrives at the bus accident site, following orders from his superiors to assess the situation, a chilling realisation hits him—it's the bus boarded from Nagpur to Gadcharoli, but he can't help but notice that the damaged bus is the same one that she had boarded earlier that day. The scene before him is one of chaos and destruction. The bus lies on its side, windows shattered, debris scattered across the road. People are screaming and crying, their faces stricken with horror. 

Among the wreckage, Virat catches sight of Sai's handbag, thrown haphazardly onto the ground. The bitter taste of fear coats Virat's mouth as he processes the possibility that Sai and their son could be among the injured or, worse, the deceased. His mouth goes dry as he struggles to keep his composure. His heart sinks as he spots the familiar luggage among the pile of unclaimed items. Panic surges through him, and he begins frantically searching for Sai and their son.

His search leads him to a torn scrap of Sai's sari near the unclaimed dead and their burning sites, the acrid smell of smoke and burning metal fills Virat's nostrils, making it difficult to concentrate as he searches for any sign of his wife and child. Mixed with the stench of gasoline and burnt rubber, it's a scent he will never be able to forget. 

A mixture of despair and fear as he realises the implications of finding Sai's sari in this horrific scene, he jumps to the worst conclusion. 

'I should have stopped her from leaving; I should have fought for her and our son.'

'But now it's too late. God... they're gone. They were my everything. How could I have let this happen?'

Despite the weight of his grief, he combs through every list of the deceased, survivors, rescued individuals, and those transferred to nearby hospitals. His fingers grip the paper tightly, crumpling the edges in his desperation. He runs his hands through his hair in frustration, feeling the sweat and tears on his skin.

Virat's fingers tremble as he runs them over the names, feeling each letter as if it will somehow give him a clue or confirmation.

The lists feel grainy and rough under his fingers, the pages slightly crinkled from being handled by so many people. His hands shake with anxiety and determination as he continues to search. 

Everything seems lost to him, but fueled with desperate hope, he resolves to visit each location in person, but every effort ends in crushing disappointment.  Virat's desperate search leads him to visit hospitals, morgues, and temporary shelters set up for the survivors. Despite his exhaustion and emotional turmoil, he refuses to give up hope. He frantically asks every person he meets about Sai and their son.

But his wife and son seem forever lost to him. Exhausted to the point of collapse, Virat finds himself wandering aimlessly through the hallways of the last hospital on his list. He can't help but feel like he's failing as a husband and father. How could he have let this happen? How could he have lost his wife and son in such a tragic accident?

The thought of going back to their empty home without Sai and their son makes him want to scream in anguish. But as he reaches the end of the hallway, the weight of hopelessness threatens to overwhelm him; faint cries pierce the silence. He stops in his tracks, the sound leading him to the NICU. A glimmer of hope ignites in his heart.

Approaches and stand to observe from the big window in the wall separating them. His eyes scan over rows of incubators until they land on one at the far end. Sees a flurry of nurses present inside trying to calm down a red-faced crying baby. His heart breaks, already shattered from the tragedy he finds his life becoming. Heart clenching at the piercing cries.