RaYa Snippets

Farmhouse Shenanigans (Part 2)

Pihu twiddled her thumbs as she looked at the sorry card she had made for Ram. She didn't know that rides made him sick, and now she felt guilty for forcing him onto the spinning swing.

Shayad woh itne bhi khadoos nahi hai, she thought as she recalled the small smile on his face as he watched her play with Priya. She also knew that he was the one who had arranged this amusement park setup for her, despite him shaking his head earlier.

"I hope woh theek honge," she said to herself as she got up from her chair and walked up the stairs. As she approached his room, she noticed that the door was wide open, but no one seemed to be inside at first glance.

"Mr. Khadoos? Aap yaha ho?" She called out to him as she peered inside. Taking a few steps inside, she noticed that someone was curled up on the bed.

"Mr. Khadoos?" She approached the bed and noticed that it was him, but he didn't look good. Despite the beads of sweat on his forehead, he was trembling fiercely, as if the room were freezing.

Realizing that something was wrong, Pihu sprinted out of the room and down the stairs, running towards the kitchen, where Priya was cooking a meal for them.

"Mumma... Mr. Khadoos..." She panted as she tried to regain her breath. "Woh... theek... nahi... lagg rahe..."

"Oh no! Ajay, main abhi aayi. Mr. Kapoor shayad bimaar padh gaye hai."

She rushed up to Ram's room, while Pihu trailed behind her. As she walked in, Priya could immediately tell that Ram was not okay.

"Mr. Kapoor? Kya hua? Aap theek toh hai?" She asked, trying to keep her voice stable as she walked up to him. In reality, she was internally panicking as she remembered his health scare from five years back.

"Pills shayad expired the," he whimpered. "Achha nahi lagg raha."

"Pihu, neeche jao aur Ajay se kaho ki ginger tea jaldi bana kar le aaye. Mr. Kapoor, aapko kuch nahi hoga. Aap jaldi theek ho jaayenge. Dheere dheere saans lete jaiye, panic mat kijiye."

Pihu nodded and quickly left the room, determined to make sure her Mr. Khadoos would feel better soon.

"Nahi... Priya mujhe bohot darr lagg raha hai..." Ram sniffled as his stomach churned.

"Main hoon na? Aapko darrne ki zaroorat nahi hai. Aap uth paayenge?" She asked as she noticed his face turn a greenish hue.

"H-haan... lekin..."

Priya took one of her hands and softly placed it on his chest to calm him down. "Main aapke saath hoon, ghabrane ki koi zaroorat nahi hai. Mujhe pata hai ki aapko darr lagg raha hai, lekin aap aise hi lete rahenge toh aapki haalat aur kharab ho jaayegi. Aur phir aapko hospital jaana padega. Aap jaana chahte hai?"

"NAHI!"

Pihu ko bhi hospital se darr lagta hai, bilkul apne Papa ki tarah, Priya smiled.

"Toh phir mere saath chaliye. Aapko kuch nahi hoga."

Ram gingerly got up, and Priya led his shaky body towards the bathroom. She helped him unbutton his shirt so it wouldn't get dirty and helped him sit on the floor. She rubbed his back and whispered to him soothingly as he heaved into the toilet. Fetching him a water bottle from inside the room, she coached him to take slow sips before helping him wash his face and leading him back into the room.

"Mr. Kapoor, aap kapde badal lijiye, main aapke liye baraf wala pani le kar aati hoon," Priya said as she walked towards the cupboard.

Not hearing a response from him, she turned around to face him. There, she saw his glassy, vulnerable eyes and lower lip trembling as he tried to hold back his tears.