Winner of Wattpad India Awards 2020 (Judge's Choice) in the New Adult category.
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"The lights are cheeky, you can't live without them, and yet if you get too close, they'll blind you. Darkness? Well it doesn't cheat. It's cool and soothing. It's r...
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"I can drop you home if you want," Nakul offered, staring listlessly at the door labelled Delivery Room.
Obviously, he could not hear the screams echoing through the worn down and crowded hallway of the district government hospital they were in. It was the nearest one, about an hour-long drive away from Bhabra.
The stench of misery was overpowering. There were only three sets of benches in the corridor, all of which were occupied by old, sick people. Many were standing against the wall and some, tired of waiting for hours, had settled down on the floor. Harassed looking nurses were running around, snapping at everyone who asked questions and yelling that the doctors were busy. Madhu couldn't blame them for being rude, this place was severely understaffed.
When Madhu had encountered the couple at her doorstep, it had taken her a minute to snap into action. Rushing back inside the house, she had found Nakul on his hands and knees, fixing the plumbing. Somehow, he was able to read her frantic words and followed her outside. Madhu could only stand and watch as he calmed down the pregnant lady, and silently agreed when he asked if he could use her car to drive to the hospital.
The three hour long wait after arriving was excruciating. Madhulika was left to talk to Suman, trying to distract her from the contractions and the fact that there was dried blood on her sari, while Nakul and Raju—Suman's husband—sorted out the paperwork.
And now here they were, restlessly waiting, listening to Suman's screeches because she had refused to take any painkillers.
She touched Nakoo's wrist, willing him to look at her. "Where's Raju?"
"Gone for a smoke maybe." Sighing, Nakul pinched his forehead. "You don't need to be here though; this might take a while."
Madhu leaned against the wall, too tired to worry about how unhygienic it was. "You don't need to be here either."
"Suman is my Rakhi sister, that is why she came to me."
"Then I'm not leaving, any sister of yours is a friend of mine."
Her looked at her oddly, lips in a straight line and dark brows furrowed. Thinking that he hadn't caught what she said, Madhu opened her mouth to repeat her words.
Before she could do that though, a nurse came out of the Delivery Room, her beady eyes scanning the noisy hallway.
"Relatives of Suman?"
Seeing Madhu step forward, Nakul turned in the direction she was facing, and hurried there when he saw the nurse.
"How's she? And the baby?"
The nurse sized him up, taking in his towering frame and squaring her shoulders, as if preparing to physically restrain him. She reminded Madhu of her school nurse, a stout, four-eleven widow who never missed an opportunity to scold kids for getting hurt, but at the same time, was fiercely protective of all of them.
