19 Dates

Chapter 57 (part 2)

They drove in her car back to her apartment; she took him in & asked him to wait in the living area. The apartment was very simple, without being decked by any expensive artefacts & decor which Shalini used to prefer. It was all so strange for Dev to see her like this, a happy cheerful & ever smiling person being turned to this sad person in whose eyes was a hidden pain of past & present. He was very anxious to know why was she living all alone & in such a way. In sometime she walked out to the living area & along with her was Neeraj but not as Dev had seen him last. Neeraj was in a wheel chair, his eyes constantly looking at Dev without bilking for a single second. Dev was still trying to comprehend & believe what he was seeing:

Shalini, "this is my reason to walk away from you."

Dev, "I was told you had left him, Shalini what is wrong with him? How did this happen?"

Shalini, "the very moment you left, I helped him up to the bedroom & as I was cleaning his wound & helping him up, I told him everything about us. I told him that I wanted to go away from his life to be with you because I was in love with you. Dev, he tried to kill me, with the rage inside him he was choking me to death. He did not notice how close he had walked to the edge of the stairs as he was dragging me out of the room, we fell down but I managed to hold on to the support. I got up & rushed to see if he was ok but there was blood everywhere, he had a severe head injury. I rushed him to the hospital where after a few hours doctors informed me that it was too major for him to ever recover. He lost his ability to speak, walk or to do anything else apart from being alive on the wheel chair. Only his heart beats to keep his organs alive, brain activities are very little."

Dev, "all this happened & you did not inform any of us?" (shockingly)

Shalini, "yes Dev I choose to walk away from all of you because your lives were great. I had no courage within me to leave him like this; I was the only family he ever had. I spoke to my boss and within a week he arranged a job & a living for me here in London. I got him here for treatment but he remains non responsive to all medication."

Dev, "but why keep all this away from me Shalini, you think I am so heartless that I would had done nothing to help you?"

Shalini, "this is exactly the reason Dev why I choose to walk away from you. Your life was perfect & was even reaching to a better place. With me, you would had left everything." (tears flowing down her cheeks)

Dev rushed towards her & hugged her, "you stupid girl, I love you so much."

Shalini, "I love you too Dev."

His 19th date made him realise his love, love stayed within both of them as it always was & as it always will be. If it makes you think that this is a very tragic end to a happy story, well it is not because there is no tragedy in a man perusing the girl whom he loved, only to find her and there is a new beginning to a girl's life in accepting love, after all that she thought would never be good for him. Many years back then & many years to come, Dev & Shalini friends forever.

The End.