Kalaba Kadhala | Part 1

Chapter 31

Priya and Chitra couldn't watch Anushka loose herself like that. They rushed to Anushka's side, kneeling close, their own eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Anu, pull yourself together," Priya whispered, her voice a warm caress amidst the icy dread that enveloped them all. "He is going to get through this... He'll come back to you. Just breathe..."

But Anushka could barely focus on the present moment. In her mind, flashes of memories collided—Prabhas's laughter, the way his eyes lit up at her terrible jokes, how he never disappointed her in expressing his love, how he made her feel special and how surprised he seemed when she proposed, his love radiant and genuine. No, it couldn't end this way.

"I can't let him go," she managed, her voice breaking. "I won't. I refuse. He can't leave me."

"Anu," Chitra spoke softly, placing her hand gently on Anushka's back, offering comfort and solidity. "He's a fighter. You know that. If anyone can pull through this, it's Prabhas."

A glimmer of hope flickered in Anushka's chest, but it was drowned out by fear and despair. "And what if he doesn't? What if Naidu took him away from me forever?" The word 'forever' hung heavy in the air, a haunting promise of loss that made the room spin.

"I swear to you," Aditya said, his voice thick with emotion, "we will make sure he has every chance. We will not let Naidu win."

Anguish twisted in Anushka's gut as she pulled herself up to her feet, confronting her brother with an intensity that shocked them all. "But what if it's not enough? What if it's too late for him?"

Before anyone could answer, the doors to the treatment area swung open, and a doctor stepped out, his expression serious yet compassionate. "Family of Prabhas?" His voice carried the weight of a thousand fears, and Anushka felt her heart plummet. She could see the creases on the doctor's forehead, the way he held his clipboard tightly, as if clinging to the hope that its pages contained the answer she so desperately sought.

Anushka rushed forward, her voice breaking, "Is he... Is he okay?"

The doctor held up a hand, forestalling her. "He's stable for now, but he's still critical. We've done everything we can to keep him alive, but it's touch-and-go. He needs to fight, and he needs support."

"Support?" Anushka echoed, a sheen of determination filling her grief-stricken eyes. "I will be there for him. He will hear me, and he will know that he can't leave us."

"Anu..." Aditya started, but she cut him off.

"No more waiting! I need to see him! I need to be there!" Her brother's hands tightened on her shoulders, grounding her, yet she was a tempest, wild and unyielding.

"Alright," the doctor said, softer now. "You can see him for a few minutes, but he's unconscious."

With shaking hands, Anushka followed the doctor, her heart pounding in her chest like a war drum. Her family fell in behind her, a support network of love and shared sorrow. She was terrified of what lay beyond the curtain that would reveal the love of her life—vulnerable, perhaps close to death. Yet despite the fear, hope flickered. Prabhas was in there, and she would do everything in her power to bring him back from the edge.

The sterile smell of antiseptic and the distant beeping of machines filled the air as Anushka walked into the ICU. Her heart raced, echoing a desperate cadence against her ribcage. She felt as if the world had collapsed around her, leaving only the remains of her hope scattered on the floor with shards of glass.

Prabhas lay motionless, swathed in crisp white sheets that seemed to glimmer hauntingly against his dark skin. Bandages were wrapped around his torso, and the sight of the tubes filling his mouth and connecting him to the various machines twisted her insides. She couldn't believe it. Anger and fear fought for dominance within her, creating a swell of emotions that made it hard to breathe.