The grey canvas

• Part 3

6 months now:

I laid motionless under the duvet and mumbled countless prayers to heaven.

-"TARAAAA..." Dev's call came for the second time.

One more call and I knew he'd be inside the room any moment. He was usually fast in climbing stairs. And now that I was in a mess today, his pace was definitely gonna increase!

Please help me god... spare me from his anger..I pray you.

-"TARA?" His prominent voice hit my ears. He was finally there....ready to grill me with his unfathomable rage. "Oh, here you are, sleeping at such an odd time! That too under a duvet!!" He spoke sweetly instead.

Not sleeping Dev, I'm hiding here.... just becoz of you!

-"Aren't you feeling warm?" He spoke again.

Ofcourse. Winter is leaving and I am still burried under this duvet!

-"Tara? Get up yaar.... how long will you sleep?"

Why are you talking so candidly? You think you won't appear fishy this way? But at the end you are going to blast me. So why this pretence now??

-"See. I got such a lovely toy for princess and you aren't even noticing!....Taraaa.. get up na!!" He nudged me and when I still didn't move, he bent over to remove the duvet from my face. "I knew you weren't sleeping!" He remarked immediately.

"I am not well..can I just take a nap?" I muttered in a whisper and pulled the edge of the duvet to cover myself again.

-"No way." He snatched it and threw it away at the foot of the bed. "When I'm there, talk to me. No sleeping now. You have got the entire night and even the entire morning...sleep then. As much as you wish.. Okay?"

"Hmm." I nodded.

-"Good. Now see this." He held an enormous stuffed tortoise before me.

"Its pretty." I remarked, quite honestly, for it was really cute and its buttery green velvet was too good to feel.

-"Only pretty? No 'where_is_my_toy' phrase??" He enquired furrowing his brows.

Ohkay, this is embarrassing, but I need to admit that I was always jealous of my baby whenever her daddy got her new toys!

"What will I do with toys?"

-"Tara? Are you okay? You're talking so differently..." he bent again to touch my forehead. When he realised that I didn't have a temperature, he cupped my face and gently asked- "Whats cooking inside your head? Why are you talking this way??"

"Nothing is cooking." I replied almost inaudibly.

-"Hmm?"

"Hmm."

-"Or you want to say something but is unable to gather up the courage?"

"Say what?" I gulped a huge bout of saliva down my throat. I was being caught, isn't it?

-"You know that better."

"I don't know anything." I nodded nervously.

-"Stop lying already?"

Damn.

"Okay. Lets both of us stop pretending." I pulled in a deep breath and started- "Yes, I had gone to your hospital...to get my left angle checked.. and the doctor  said there that its just a small fracture which will heal really soon... so yeah, nothing to worry.. I am fine."