❝Live a life of Lies, die a death of Truth.❞
The one thing fate is good at is spinning dangerous turns and planting deathly bogs in the stream of life. When you are stuck in the eye of the storm, the truth can't set you free; but the lies can give y...
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Swipe. Fingerprint. Pull down the notification bar. Lock.
I've been repeating the same thing for the past one hour. Ayansh has not replied to my texts and he didn't even come online on WhatsApp since this morning. I called him in the afternoon and that wasn't answered as well.
He's usually like this on busy days as far as I've noted, except he always calls back in an hour. Or comes home early to apologize for ignoring and do something romantic. Of course, I don't expect those out of him. But it feels so fishy today that he isn't here yet and it's one hour past his working hours. He must be really caught up in his work. One week of holidays does that to your work zone.
I sigh as I glance at the grandfather clock in the hall. The grudge metallic needles point a sharp 6:45 against the shine of the rustic gold disk as the pendulum below it swish left and right at timely intervals. A sense of disappointment settles in as I realize that I have to get my first ultrasound done without Ayansh. I already called up and shifted the 4 PM appointment twice, hoping he'd come home by then but 7 was the last slot they gave me and the hospital was to go under maintenance the following week after today. I try calling him one more time, but this time, it says the phone is switched off.
Is something actually wrong?
I push that thought no sooner than it enters my mind. It is just work stress, I know it. Even my phone call to his PA Jogi after Ayansh didn't pick up this afternoon confirms it. He was talking in a rushed tone and he said Ayansh would be home soon.
But he isn't home. Even one hour past six.
I stand up, brushing my hair one last time and getting out to hail a cab to the hospital. I can't drive in the mood and condition I am in.
As I get in the cab a few minutes later, I call Jogi once more. The call rings for a while and to my absolute shock, he cuts off my call. What the heck? I get pissed off beyond limit as I decide not to call either of them till he reaches home himself. There is only so much I can do.
I reach St. Mary's Memorial hospital within time and directly walk past all the sectors to the gynecological section. Dr. Sarah Jane is there to greet me.
"Took your time, didn't you, Mrs. Mishra?" She asks, playful anger in her tone. I flash a fake smile to her as I sit in the chair.
"Isn't Mr. Mishra here? I thought the time shift was for him," she says as she looks at the doorway.
"He's caught at work, apparently. So it's just me," the sting in my words wound myself. It's just me like it's supposed to be.
"Oh, that's why I'm getting this vibe from you. Pity." She tsks like it's any of her business. When I say nothing, she gets back to what her actual business is and asks me to change into a medical robe.
When I'm changed, she takes me to the ultrasound table and I wordlessly lie on it. The plain white of the room's ceiling gives me a weird sense of anxiety. In the zoned out state, I partially notice the ultrasound machine come to life and the transducer connect to the machine. Dr. Jane sits in the chair next to the machine as she slowly covers my lower body with a linen cover that she pulls with her gloved hands. Then she opens my robe in my abdominal region.
