KISMAT - A MishBir SS

part 3

PART 3

Mishti slammed down on the breaks - why was there a huddle in her usual cycling route - that too this early? Parking her bike on the corner of the road, she got down and started walking towards the crowd - feeling very unsettled, but not understanding why.

She knew why the minute she saw the man on the ground, blood flowing from a deep gash on his head

"ABIR!" 

****

She plopped on her knee and lifted his head on her lap

"Abir!" She cried, tapping his cheek, "Abir. Can you hear me?" Tap.tap.tap

He wanted to tell her he could. He wanted to tell her not to worry. He wanted to tell her so many things but he couldn't speak. He couldn't even nod

"Abir please" she continued.

His eyes fluttered open one last time as he saw tears cascading down her cheeks and onto his face before his entire world went black. 

****

Mishti couldn’t believe how her day had turned out. Tired, mentally and physically, she plonked on the hospital chairs, waiting for the doctor.

“Yeh kya ho Gaya, Abir” she muttered, pressing her hands to her head, worried for her friend. 

Kuch nahi hoga her heart assured her. He would be alright. 

He had to be. She couldn’t sit anymore, she pushed herself off the chair and rushed to the OP emergency. It was closed. He was inside. 

Closing her eyes, she muttered every prayer she knew even as she held back her tears. 

She was aware of the looks she got, she was aware that she must be quite a sight even without the tears flowing down her face. 

If it was some other time, she herself would have been startled at the depth of her own feelings, but not now. 

Now all she wanted to know was that her best friend was fine. 

He had to be. 

He was the one everyone turned to in trouble. He was the one who took care of the entire family. He was the one who saw that everyone he cared about was happy. He was the one who put a smile on the faces of people he loved. He was their joy. He was their mirth.

And in the short time she had known him, hers too. 

The tears that she had been fighting back threatened to escape.

“If it lightens the burden on your heart, it’s okay to cry. Just like laughter in happiness, tears in sorrow is normal. It's completely okay to cry”

OF COURSE!!

Why didn’t she see this before? That stranger at the Kutch utsav. It was Abir! She should have known. She should have known that it couldn’t have been anyone else. Only Abir would stop when a girl was crying and offer words that would lighten her heart when he was looking for his own sister. Only Abir would put other people before himself and his needs.