rajveer naina - fated

chapter13

"You love her, don't you?"

Abhimanyu had asked him.
He had looked up, shocked, unable to believe that his friend had guessed the truth that he had concealed for so long

."What rubbish are you talking about?"Raj replied,"Of course I don't, I just…"

"I notice that you haven't asked who I'm talking about."

Abhi had commented, with a knowing look on his face that was at once sad and understanding.

Raj's shoulders had sagged in defeat as he realised he had already given himself away.

"Don't ask me this question,"he had begged his friend,"Don't make me say it, because if I admit it even once…"

Abhimanyu had understood, he never asked again.He didn't need to, he already had his answer.

/For most of the last twenty five years, Abhimanyu has felt completely and utterly alone.
Oh he had married, had children too. He had kept in touch with his old cadets, seeing them as often as possible, but he had still been alone.
Because one by one, his friends had left him.First it had been Navin, and then Raj, both of their lives tragically cut short. In the end, he was the only one of the three friends who had been left, the only one that remained alive.In the darkest moments… he has wished that it was the other way around, that it had been him who died and not Raj.

He has envied his ex-cadets in a way, although they had lost one of their best friends, they still had each other, friends who could truly understand each others' grief.

For the first four years after Raj's death he had tried to keep an eye on Naina, to ensure that nothing happened to her, to protect her for his friend's sake. But every time he saw her, she was further and further away than she had been the last time… detached, as if she had already left this world far behind and was preparing for the next one.

When she had died too, he had failed once again, failed to protect the girl that his two best friends had loved the most, one as a sister and one as….

Even if Raj had never admitted it, Abhimanyu had known, oh he had known.

He had known every time he saw Raj look at her longingly, every time he would speak of her, every time he had that far away look in his eyes.

He had known and he had been too much of a coward to pursue the matter, to convince his friend to speak about his feelings.
He had thought that there would be time.He had thought they would have their whole lives together to be happy, and that he could be there also, a friend to them until the end.How was he supposed to know that fate had other plans?

He walks to the infirmary intending to check on Raj… Dhiraj,to sit by him for awhile, to savour the sight of his friend in front of him after twenty five long years and then he sees her sitting there, and realises that he feels absolutely no surprise at all./

Asha had not been able to sleep. She had been trying for the last two hours, tossing and turning while she thought about him lying in the infirmary.

Finally she had realised that she wasn't going to get any sleep anytime soon and had quietly gotten out of bed, slipped on her sandles, put a shawl around her to protect her from the cold and came here to the infirmary.

Now she sat by his side, watching over him, unable to understand the immense feeling of relief she felt just to know that he was safe, that he was alive. She had never doubted that he would be alive, not even once, so then why had there been this fear that she wouldn't see him again, that she had lost him…

Asha places a hand on his forehead, checking to see whether his fever has gone down or not and relieved to see that it has subsided slightly.
He is asleep, the result of the heavy dose of painkillers that they have given him. Unable to resist, Asha smoothes his hair from his face, thinking that he is probably overdue for a haircut.