Raman clutched his wife to his chest, securing her protectively as she fell limp into his waiting arms.
"Romi, papa" he yelled, as he strode quickly towards his bedroom, Ishita in his arms. "Call Dr Mehta, now." He entered their room, heart in mouth, followed closely by his mother, mother in law and all the Bhalla and Iyer women.
"Ishita" he whispered, laying her gently on their bed. "Ishita, oh God, please be okay. Ishita, wake up."
"Puttar Kya hua ishita puttar ko?"
(What's wrong with Ishita, son?)
"Raman, hato, mujhe dekhne do. Ishu, kanna, kya hua. Murugan, kya hua?"
(Raman, move, let me see. Ishu, child, what's wrong? What's wrong Lord?)
"Bhai, bhabhi was fine, phir kya hua."
(Bhai, bhabhi was fine, then what happened?)
"Akka, Vandu akka what's wrong with Ishu akka?"
"Quiet"
Raman turned to face the gaggle of women pressing onto the bed, his arms still protectively around his wife. His voice was quiet, but had a tinge of steel to it.
"Doctor aa raha hai, and until he gets here, I want absolute quiet in this room. Ishita has been sick since yesterday lekin usko rest dene ke bagair aap sab yahan shor kar rahe hai."
(The Doctor is coming, and until he comes, I want absolute quiet in this room. Ishita has been sick since yesterday, but instead of letting her rest, you all are creating a ruckus here)
"Rinki, Mihika" he called as he spotted his daughters frightened face peering from behind her dadi. "Please take Ruhi outside."
"It's okay, beta" he called out to Ruhi, even as Rinki stooped to life her up. "Mumma will be fine. Aap sab bhi please, just give her some air, she... " He stopped in mid sentence as he felt Ishita stirring in his arms.
"Ishita" he looked at his wife in relief, his heartbeats returning to normal as she opened her eyes. "Ishita, are you.."
"Raman" she whispered, interrupting him. "I'm okay baba..."
His relief was giving way to anger now, as he looked down at her, her face white, a sheen of tears in her eyes. He had just been away a week, and God knows what she had done to herself.
"No, you're not" he retorted. "Dr Batra told me about yesterday Ishita, and Dr Mehta is on his way. As soon as he has checked you out, we are going straight to City Hospital. No, no arguments" he said fiercely, as Ishita mumbled in protest.
"Yesterday? What happened yesterday, Ishu?" Vandu chipped in, as she handed Raman a glass of water. "Give her a few sips Raman."
Raman carefully raised Ishita up into a sitting position, one arm securely behind her, and held the glass to her lips, accompanied by a chorus of remarks from the mothers.
"Kya hua tha kanna?"
(What had happened, child?)
"Haan, puttar, kya hua kal? Ishita puttar tum ne toh kuch nahi kaha humse"
(Yes child, what happened? Ishita you didn't tell us anything child)
Raman felt an unreasoning, unjustified anger at the world. He could not bear to see his Ishita like this, and he wanted to blame someone for it.
"Jab mein nahi tha, toh aap log ko khayal rakhna chahiye tha na ma " He muttered, as he took the glass away from Ishita and settled her back down again. ( When I wasn't here, you people should have been taking care of her, ma)
"Lekin bhai, Ishita me humme kuch nahi bataya " Simmi retorted.
(But Bhai, Ishita never told us anything)
'Raman" Ishita touched his arm softly, her eyes pleading. "Simmi is right, mein ne kuch nahi kaha tha. Kuch nahi hua hai. Mein bilkul theek hoon. Please. Lekin, mujhe aap se akele mein baat karni hai. Please."
(Raman, Simmi is right, I didn't tell anyone anything. Nothing has happened. I'm perfectly fine. But I need to talk to you alone. Please)
YOU ARE READING
Desire ✔️
Fanfiction"Not fair" she whispered breathlessly. " You're only supposed to look" "Is that right? " his voice was teasing, but thick with passion. " Well, I don't play fair baby" After meeting unexpectedly and becoming marooned together during a blizzard in th...
