Forget Me Not

I opened my eyes with great difficulty and felt  dull throbbing pain emanating from my limbs. As I tried getting up, prickling pain shoot up my right arm. "Argh!" I had a cast on it.

"You okay?!" A boy on a bed next to me was giving me concerned stare.

"What happened?"

"The accident, don't you remember?"

Oh!... One minute we were chatting happily, the other minute...BAM!! Complete chaos.

I nodded while looking around and saw other injured students.

"Such an unpleasant end of the five-day inter-college sports event!" he huffed. I recalled that he was the sports captain of the other college when I saw the cast on his left leg.

"Is it bad?" I pointed at his leg.

"Bad enough that I may not be able to play football." The dullness in his eyes got replaced with sparks as he grinned. "But, now I can concentrate on my other talent."

"Chess," he answered watching the questioning look on my face. I smiled at his enthusiasm; the movement caused slight discomfort on my right jaw. My good hand shot up to touch the spot. "No!" Tears brimmed in my eyes when I touched the stitches that stretched from the centre of my jaw to chin.

"Hey! It will be good soon," he said softly.

"NO! It won't be." My reaction was harsh. "It's my face!"

Confusion marred his face. He wouldn't understand; I already faced incivility for my dusky complexion.

He picked a paper napkin and started folding it. "I am Ankush," he said giving the folded shape to me. "Its origami paper crane, symbol of healing, um..."

"Lavanya," I replied taking the sweet gift.

"Lavanya means beautiful, suits you." He gave me a pearly smile making blood rush to my cheeks and started folding more napkins. I followed suit as he showed me how to do it. I gave him the not so good-looking origami crane wishing his leg got better soon so that he could play football again.

Hours later, a crane was perched on every bed in the hospital ward.

"Can you make other shapes?"

"This is the only shape I know." He answered closing his eyes as we all surrendered to sleep.

Next morning, when I came back after my check up, he had left. Miserably, I ambled to my bed and found an origami swan there. On it, was written, 'Forget me not.... Beautiful.'