Clean Bowled

Chapter 61

*Aslesha*

"Lekin pehle kuch kha le? Bahot zor ki bhook lagi hai mujhe" I say as my stomach does gud-gud.

He glares at me. "Pehle bataao" he demands.

"Dukhne lag gaya pet aaahh" I say clutching my stomach and making a pained expression.

Viraj's expression turns deadly. If I was not a girl, I'm sure he would have broken my nose by now.

"Khaaye? Please?" I ask batting my eyelashes and he sighs and nods. I smile weakly and start walking downstairs to the kitchen.

"Kuch aisa banaao jo paanch minute me bann jaaye. And don't try to be over smart. Paanch minute se jyada lage na toh mai sahi me khane nahi dunga" he says and I sigh.

Kitna bhi stall kar lu baat ko, batana toh padega ab. He'll think that I'm such an idiot. He'll be angry, that I know. Other than that, what will be his reaction, I have no clue.

I start making bread omelette and with each passing second, the pit in my stomach starts growing. It starts getting hard to even swallow the food.

I keep away my plate after two bites and Viraj suddenly gets up and slaps the counter in front of me.

"Khaao ye! Pura khatam karo!"

"Mere pet me sab ghum raha hai. Ulti jaisa ho raha hai. Mujhe nahi khana" I whine.

"Chup chap kha lo or else I'll stuff it in your mouth" he warns me.

"Mujhe nahi-"

"Aslesha you're just making me more and more mad. Look at your bloody weight. Tumne itna weight lose kiya hai ye paanch saalo me, Jesus Christ! Not that pehle tum jyada healthy thi. I've noticed so many times, how you skip lunch or other meals and it drives me insane that I can't force you to eat because mera utna haq nahi. Ab haq gaya tel lene. Tum ye khaao pura. Khatam karo isse" he says, or should I say roars, in anger.

"Okay fine. Don't get your panties in a twist" I say and he glares at me again. "Okay sorry! Kha rahi hu" I say and somehow finish the contents of my plate.

"Ab bataao" he says.

I stay silent as the realisation hits me again in full force. This. Is. It.

I walk to the back of the house which overlooks the sea and sit on the mattress that is on the floor. Viraj follows suit.

"Yaad hai jab mai Bangalore gayi thi dance competition ke liye?" I ask him. He frowns like he doesn't remember. "Tum bhi tab Mumbai me the. We used to talk on the phone those days" I remind him. "Ha ha. I remember now" he says.

"Tab ke kuch dino se mera sarr dukh raha tha. Chakkar jaise aati thi. I ignored it ke aise hi kuch hoga. Chashma vagera laga hoga. But Bangalore me jyada hi dukhne laga sarr and during the flight home, it was unbearable. Papa had come to pick me up. I was so happy to see him. Vo bhi bahot khush the mujhe dekh ke but his smile completely disappeared when he saw that there was blood coming out of my nose. Vo seedha mujhe hospital le gaye waha se where we met Dr. Chawla. She told us to do some tests jiske do din baad results milte. I remember you being worried, phone kar ke chillaye the tum mujhe that I didn't call you when I reached. Mai tumhe waha Mumbai me tension nahi dena chahti thi so I didn't tell you" I say and he nods looking into a distance like remembering those days.

I bring my knees close to my chest and continue, "We then got the reports and Dr. Chawla said that I had brain tumor. It was not the cancerous type and could be removed completely by surgery. That didn't make me relieved or anything. I remember tab mai hospital ke parking lot me itna royi ke kyu mere saath aisa hua. I was so scared. More than me mai papa ke liye royi. Pehle brain tumor unke wife ko le gaya aur fir beti ko lene aa gaya. It was not the fatal kind of brain tumor but it all depended on the surgery and I didn't know whether I was going to survive" I say and then realise that the tears have started flowing freely down my cheeks.