My Mr. Artist

Chapter 31

During all these silent speculations, messy inner confrontations, and sudden realizations, each one was stung with the heavy weight of the truth, and their own analysis left them defeated. Shivin couldn't handle it anymore and simply slumped into a nearby seat as his head buzzed with a massive ache and felt destructive as the last bit of his self-conclusion turned out to be reality. His wife, Ramya, stood beside him, making her own drama-filled gossip in her mind as she also looked inside the room. Daksha fully broke down, her tears conveying her heartache when her lips couldn't move to scold those who wronged her. Paawni, their mother, stood rooted in one place, never taking her eyes off those inside the ward room. Saira turned pale; firstly, she was already traumatized by the word "accident," and now she felt betrayal, like being stabbed by the one who once made her feel safe. Arnav was one minute late to stop them from opening the door and now just became a silent spectator, but he was glad that there were just this many people and that the Awasthi grandparents, along with their uncle's family and others, stayed at home and did not crowd in front of the ward just to witness this scene.

Saransh was moved briefly after his treatment to a suitable single ward. It was already three o'clock in the morning, and Arnav suggested Shivin go home and inform Paawni maa so she wouldn't complain later about not knowing her own son's accident. He insisted that Ansh would not be able to regain consciousness for the next few hours, so they could come back in the morning, and till then he would stay at the hospital.

Shivin was not that strong mentally as well as physically after he suffered through a comatose state, and now his energy had already been worn out. Knowing his brother was safe, he nodded, "I will tell Maa when she wakes up and will take her with me right after. Thank you very much, Arnav." He patted Arnav on the shoulder, gazed inside the hospital room at Kiyah's silhouette, who had ignored everyone and gone inside the ward right after Ansh was shifted. Shivin frowned in disapproval; he wanted to ask that girl to leave, but he knew she was the reason his brother was safe and sound. So he decided not to make any fuss and go back to relax his tight nerves, hoping she would be gone by morning when he came back again. Daksha silently followed him back; she was like a mute the entire time, and this made him regret why he brought her to the hospital. Looking at her red eyes and lips pressed in a thin line as if she would burst out crying any second, he didn't know how to comfort her, so he chose to close his eyes and not see anything. The car ride was just as silent as before, but now their hearts felt even more unsettled than when they came earlier.

In the late hours of the morning, when everyone in the Awasthi family was informed about Saransh's "minor accident," first shocked gasps and then a terrific silence spread through the room. After calming everyone down, listening to concern-filled advice and worried scolding directed at the patient, Shivin took his mother and wife, reassuring the elders that Ansh would return in a few days and asking them not to worry much. Saira begged to come as she felt it was her fault that her bhai left that night with such anger. Daksha was also taken by their mother, who said, "She is his wife; she should be the first one to go."

But when they reached the ward and opened the door, they all witnessed a girl still in her wrinkled pajamas, hair thrown in a bun, sleeping on the chair near the bed. She leaned her upper body onto the bed, her head slumbered closely to Ansh, her hands intertwined with his uninjured hand, and both their faces carried a look of peace and closeness.

_

Kiyah didn't leave Ansh's side from the moment her eyes fell on his pale and wounded body. With the doctor's approval, she entered the room and guarded him until she finally dozed off. She was tired from all this scary roller-coaster ride she never signed up for, and now, with Ansh safe in front of her, her exhausted body and tight nerves had calmed down. She still didn't choose the corner sofa in the room but held Ansh's hand in hers and leaned down in an uncomfortable position beside him on that chair.