Jab(when) we met (completed!)

18) A breakdown

Hello people!! 

So here I am! with another chappie!!!  

Hope you dont like it!! :(  

(read it and you'll know)

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The following evening, I had such a breakdown.

~~Flashback~~

I was sitting in the balcony, minding my own business. Actually I was waiting for the sun to set. From my balcony, one could get an excellent vies of the setting sun, birdies flying to their nests, clouds turning shades of pink and orange. It was so serene, and finally, today, I decided to capture this glorious moment.

Yes, I loved photography but I didn't have any awesome SLR Camera or something. Cameras are the last thing my parents cared about. Even if it was my passion. Well, screw them. I took a position and set the camera to NO FLASH mode and my fingers traced the upside of the camera for the bulge that would capture the scene by pressing it down.

Just then I felt someone jerk me violently. Sure enough, it was Mum. "I won't have it with you and your camera any more!! NO PHOTOGRAPHY UNTIL YOUR HOLIDAYS!!"

"Mom?" I whined in disagreement. That would be of no help anyway. I decided to back off after that, after all it was apparent that she was in a sorta bad mood. Hmm, let her cool off. She had not been well since the last weekend. Our family physician said that she had viral fever.

As I walked up to my room, my dad caught me by my arm. "I am going to take her to the hospital for a full body scan. You stay at home and study. Okay?" " Okay, papa." There was no room for argument with my dad. And I hated hospitals. It makes me cry, seeing those small children waiting outside the chemo room. I couldn't stand it anyway.

So around Eleven in the morning, my dad and my mom left for the hospital. My mom agreed after a lot of reluctance to go get a scan. A full body scan was actually pretty expensive, explaining my mum's reluctance. "It's no use!" She would keep saying. That was true to some extent because a viral had no connection to getting a body scan done.

But my dad just wanted to give himself that assurance. You know, just in case. It wasn't like our physician had asked for it, anyway.

My exams were a month away, so I was not worried. My parents were the kind who were never satisfied. Even if I did get the best of results, they never cared. But if it did go down, even by a small, micro percentage, hell breaks loose. I get grounded and stuff.

Here I would see my best friends - they were promised nice gifts if they achieved a certain goal. Like an iPod or a new phone. I would not even imagine of getting something like that from my parents. They don't even know which phone I have, and they have no clue about what I would like.

Look, I am not complaining. But that's how it is for me!

So , I sat there, staring at the textbook (science), with no interest to work myself. "Wheeeeeeee!" Came the sound of my phone. It was the latest angry birds ringtone. It did give me a scare whenever that ringtone sounded. It ALWAYS took me by surprise. Even thought I have had it for two weeks now. *sigh* My dad had laughed the first time he heard it and my mom told me to delete it right away.

Heehee, I didn't. I liked it.

"Hey baby! :*" Karan was getting seriously pathetic these days. Every message had a kissy content! It made me disgusted. But I didn't complain. He was just being loving I guess. Too loving? Overreacting loving? Ghosh, I don't know.

He would follow me around during every break. Wouldn't leave me alone. Sometimes I craved back for those days I was single. It felt so free and independent. But I never felt like this around Sohail. Surprisingly. His company was always precious to me.

So I was just watching t.v when my landline rang. I immediately picked it up, hoping for it to be from my dad. It was. "Hey, order dinner later on. The money is in the pink box in the cupboard." "What-"happened dad? He had already kept the phone. His voice was so serious and had a hint of sadness. I wanted to ask him a billion questions, but I was not allowed. I had to wait for my answers.

So, I spent a very tense evening thinking about what would have caused my dad the worry. Wasn't she fine? Mom was always strong - she would get fever once in a year. I was really worried at this point, as drastic imaginations made me shudder with fear.

I hadn't even thought about dinner. From where I would order. What I would order. And before I could think about it, in came my dad. He didn't say a word and just went inside the bedroom and slammed the door. He was not going to come out. I knew it. Question was, where is mom?

So I made some pasta to fill my tummy who didn't have feelings like worry or fear. I felt guilty. Here I was, sitting on the sofa, gobbling food away, with no idea where or how my mom was. I couldn't ask my dad. He would probably have an outburst. He needed some time alone.

Another day passed by in the dark. I didn't have my answers yet. And nor did I question my dad. He left early in the morning when I was asleep. He left me a note saying "going to the hospital. Ask the maid to make you some lunch." Rage grew inside me. I was her daughter, didnt I have a right to know? I was going to ask him first thing in the morning, a whole night is enough to cool off. But there! He had already gone.

I rang both their numbers, but got a busy dial tone. Damn.

The maid hadn't turned up that day, so I had to manage with the previous day's left overs. I couldn't concentrate on studying, so I watched t.v. Just watched. Not listened to a word of it. My mind would always wander off. I told Karan everything and all he said was 'dn wry :P' like it was not a big deal.

He turned up late at night, as usual. Without mom. Again. I wasn't asleep yet, so I ran to him and hugged him.

"Is it that bad?" I asked him, looking up. He slid his arms around me and patted me.

"I don't know." Is all he said. I learnt from his prattle that my uncle was staying in the hospital with my mom in the night and that the full body scan had revealed something unexpected. Unexpected meant bad.

End of flashback~~

It was late at night and I couldn't sleep. My dad was sleeping in the room next to mine. Had been crying a little. I was scared about my mom. I still hadn't got any news from my dad. I tossed and turned around my bed, played music to sooth myself, but in vain.

Suddenly, I heard my day's voice. His sad, depressed voice. He was probably talking to someone over the phone because I could see light from the door gap.

"Nahi, nahi. Buhuth khorab. Lung cancer huichi. Nahi, Kebe smoke nahi."  

Translation - "no, no. Very bad. Has got lung cancer. No, never smoked."

My heart crashed into pieces as I heard him say that. My mum had lung cancer.

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So, I know. Bad news. :( 

I am sorry people. There are always bad times in people's lives. :( 

Question is, what happens next?? :O 

Please keep reading! I will be constantly updating from now, I promise! :) 

Sorry for the laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate update. :/