Avneil FF

Chapter 42

Neil had tried ringing avni several times now...it was late afternoon and he hadn't heard from Avni and he was getting worried. She had not answered his calls, she was not in office. She was not with Aman or Ali. Finally Neil dialed neelama to enquire if she knew...Neelama suddenly woke up to the sound of her phone ringing Neil- neelama, hi! Kaise hoNeela- main thik hoon bacchaNeil- ma, aapko pata hai Avni kaha hai...subah se ghar se Nikli hai but I haven't heard from her...Neelama- vo...Voh actually mere saath hai. Neil- sighed in relief! - oh good! Voh phone Kyun nahi utha Rahi hai?Neela- vo...vo shaayad silent pe hoga. Voh Abhi chai Bana Rahi hai. Main usko bolti hoon tumhe phone karne ko. Thik hai. And she hung upNeil was puzzled...ma sounded worried too. She would normally cheerfully yap with him, pull his leg, enquire about bebe and his work...But atleast he knew that Avni was safe. He would speak to her when she got home though...Neela went out and saw Avni coming out if the study at the exact same time. She had a sheaf of notes in her hand.Neela- ye sab kya haiAvni- Maine kaafi kuch padh Liya hai...about the disease, treatment options. I have also made a list of the best surgeons and oncologists...so we can get a second opinion. I want to make sure that we are doing the best...Neela- baccha...sit down. Listen to me, I am happy with my current doctor. She's young but she's confident in her skills, and I have a comfort level with her. I trust that she will do the best for me.Avni- but ma...Neela - Avni, you met her today too. She seems like she knows what she's doing. At the end of the day, the medicine is the same...all that matters is if I trust my doctor and am comfortable with them. plus this is convenient for me also...commute wise etc...Avni- ok fine.Neela- vaise, Neel ka phone aaya tha Abhi. Tumne usse kuch bataya nahi?Avni- nahi...Neela- Kyun baccha? Atleast use message ya phone jar ke bol deti ki tum thik ho...bechara kitna pareshaan thaAvni- ma, main Ghar jaake baat karlungi. Filhaal AAP meri priority ho. Neela- Avni baccha, don't do this. I know you're worried but don't cut Neil off...he's your husband. Avni- I know that ma. And I'll talk to him. But right now I need to focus on getting all the information and ensuring that we know exactly what we are in for.Neela- sighed- Avni- vaise, are you ok with me telling every one...she trailed offNeela- was silent- she had always been very independent, she hated getting sympathy or pity...but she also realised that Khannas were family now and hiding something this important from them would not be right....Avni read her mother's emotions...Avni- I can tell them that you don't want to talk about it....Neela nodded Avni - Aman?Neela- main use khud batungi. Avni nodded.Neela- baccha tum ghar jao ..Neil already bahut pareshan hai Avni- but ma...Neela- Avni main thik hoon...I'll call you if I need anything. But I'm perfectly ok right now. And I am anyway calling Aman to tell him...I'm sure he will stay over after he finds out....Avni- nodded reluctantly....and took her leaveWhen she reached home and went up to the room...she saw Neil distractedly watching something and the minute she entered he paused it and was beside her in an instantNeil- Avni! Tum thik ho? Aise Bina bataye Kyun gayi...tum mujhe bol Sakti thi na ki tum neelama ke saath thi. Avni- held his hand and looked at himNeil saw that she looked blank.Her eyes were lacking her usual twinkle...if she had come from meeting Neela, she would usually look happy but here she was looking pensive. Her face revealed nothing, her jaw was set...he didn't know what to make of it.Avni- Neil, chalo tum. Mujhe Sabse baat karni hai. She said in a soft monotone.She led him downstairs and called the rest of them alsoPrakash- kya hua puttar? Kya baat hai? Tum bahut pareshan lag Rahi ho.Avni- mujhe aap sabse ek important baat share karni hai. She said softly. It's about neelama...Voh actually ye baat aapse khud share karna chahti hai but right now she doesn't want to talk about it...Bebe- kya hua Neela Ko? Kya baat hai...saaf saaf bol.Avni- ma Ko breast cancer hai.Everyone was shocked at this abrupt revelation.Avni- aaj hi unke reports main confirm hua ki cancer hai. Main subah se unke saath hi thi. Doctor se baat Hui hai...she explained the details. Also told them how Neela was doing. Finally she said - so basically unhone Kahan hai ki early stage hai. Surgery aur aage jaake chemo ke baare main baat ki hai. She said everything with barely any emotion in a robotic mannerBebe and Shweta were in tearsNeil and Prakash were shocked tooAvni- ma ko aap sab bhi jaante hai...unhe sympathy vagera accha nahi lagta...Voh filhaal iske baare main baat nahi karna chahti hai. She continued talking roboticallyBebe- ye kya bol Rahi ho tum? Neela mere liye bacchi kaisi hai...Voh humaare Parivar ka hissa hai. Sunny , Neil tum jao usko Yahaan ghar le aao..Avni- bebe, unhe khud Abhi pata chala hai. Aur iss situation se deal karne main thoda vakt lagega. Aur right now Voh kuch der akele Rehna chahti hai aur unke diagnosis ke baare main baat nahi karna chahti...she said firmly but in a soft tone. Aman hoga unke saath Abhi ghar pe.Bebe- sat down with a thump. - ye kya ho Raha hai she lamented Avni - bas yahi batana that aap sabko she said and walked back upstairsThey all gazed at her retreating figure sadlyPrakash- Neil tu jaa...Avni Ko iss vakt teri zarurat haiShweta- Haan puttar. Ye uske liye bahut bada jhatka hai. Bebe- pata nahi Bhagwan Aisa Kyun kar rahe hai....Avni aur Neela ne aaj tak zindagi main Kam dekha hai jo aaj phir se Voh unki pareeksha le rahe hai...she cried.Shweta tried to console her...bebe, please aap shaant hojao...dekhna sab thik hoga. Avni ne kaha na ki early stage hai. Neelaji thik hojayenge...aap please sambhalo Apne aapko. Bebe- continued to sniffleNeil had been witnessing everything silently...Prakash clapped him on the shoulder and said- beta, Avni ke paas jao.Neil immediately went up to his room. He was in tears...his neelama had cancer. He couldn't believe the cruelty of fate....and he was worried for Avni too. He knew how much Neela meant to her and this news would impact her most. As he went up to the room he expected to see her in tears but he was shocked to see her very calmly browsing on her laptop. She was scribbling some notes in between but there was no trace of emotion on her face now...it was all blank....and that worried and scared Neil more. Because he could see that she was once again putting up walls....walls that had been broken with great difficulty by him...she was closing herself off once again. He knew this was her default defense mechanism but he had really hoped that atleast now she would lean on him when the going got tough....He watched as she continued to work disregarding his presence.Neil was at a loss as to what to do now. He knew he couldn't let it be and he really wanted to take her in his arms and tell her it'd all be ok but he was also a bit hurt that after everything they'd been through she would still react like this in adversity....her walls were going up again, she was back to being in Ananya mode...and he didn't know how to prevent it.