The Desert Lily

Chapter 21

Not proofread!

Ayush slowly got down from the car. He had a lightly fractured right hand and a bandaged head. The pain had reduced with days and he was home after spending nearly three days in the hospital.
Due to god's grace, he didn't have any major injuries. Samaira exited next with a huge bag in her hand.It obviously contained his clothes and stuff.
His eyes were tired and hair was left dishelved. Still, he walked with his head held high in front of Samaira. None would say he had just met with an accident if one sees the expression on his face.
Samaira still had her heart beating with extreme brisk. It had literally stopped when she was informed about the crash. She had undergone a deep turmoil,seeing him in plasters with eyes closed. The sight of Praniti's lifeless body, lying on the hospital bed was the first thing that came to her mind.She was not at all strong enough to face another loss. She was sure she would collapse any moment.
She had stared at him until he opened his eyes.
"Praniti.. "was the first thing he said after gaining conciosness. He had then seen Samaira standing by him with concerned eyes and slowly looked down. Samaira could only smile and happy tear escaped her eyes. She was not sad that herself was not the first thing that came to his mind. She was happy that he was fine and can remember everything.

Ayush now opened the door to his room and sat on the bed while Samaira kept the baggage on the floor near the cupboard. She placed all the medicines on the table beside the bed.

She walked out of the room with some dirty clothes to dump in washing machine.

After a while, she started chopping onions to prepare lunch. As she chopped, her mind wavered to elsewhere.

Ayush was leaning on the wall, sitting on the hospital bed. He had a bowl of soup infront of him. Samaira had given that to him a few minutes ago. Before she could say anything further, he had shooed her away convincing her that he will be able to drink it himself.
He slowly held the spoon filled it with soup. Then he brought it near his mouth. The spoon was a bit flat one. So it's contents spilled on his shirt. This repeated several times and Samaira was seeing all of this from a distance.
She smirked at the stubborn human inwardly and approached him. She snatched the bowl intently and put a spoonful of soup forward.
He drank it, without another choice.

After finishing it, she saw that some soup was there on his chin. She rubbed it away with her dupatta. When she noticed that there was some more. She used her bare fingers to clean it.

"Ouch! "she was brought back from her thoughts as the knife left a small scar imprinted on her finger.

..................
It was night time and all the three kids were home. They had been staying at Jannat's house while their parents were away. But Samaira made sure that she sees them daily.
Kevin was now clinging onto Samaira unwilling to let go. He followed her everywhere, holding the end of her kurthi.
She would ask him to sit somewhere but he would refuse. Then she would lift him up and hold him for a while. Rheyan was no less. He would throw tantrums every now and then,crying every thirty minutes.
Then our mother would have to keep Kevin down and console the younger one.
From all these, she understood that they had missed her like hell. So, she was not feeling tired dealing with her children like any other mom.

Finally, it was time to sleep and she made the kids sleep somehow.

She then took small steps to Ayush's room. He was spreading the bed cover that was curled up at a corner.

"How are you feeling now? "she asked observing him from head to toe.

"Fine. Fine. You go get some sleep. "he replied as le rested on the bed.

"Call me if you need help with anything. Don't be ashamed to do that. Being in need of help is humane.Okay?"she said as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Sure. Will call you. "he assured.

She went back still unconvinced. She was sure he wouldn't ask for help as he doesn't want to disturb her nor show his weak side before her again.

Samaira layed down on her bed. She was dead tired of everything. Soon she drifted off to sleep.
.............
Ayush tossed uncomfortably on his bed. His hand and head was paining sharply. It literally drove him crazy.
His jaws twisted and stiffened but did no help to reduce the pain rising within.
He tossed once more but landed on the floor. His back hit the floor with a large force that it became harder for him.He struggled to stand and once he did, tumbled down again.
He layed on the without doing anything for a while so that he can at least calm himself down.
He held his head with one hand . An angry sigh left his lips.
Suddenly, the lights turned on and he saw Samaira standing at the door. She ran towards him.
"Didn't I tell you you should call me? "she hissed as she put an arm around his shoulder and made him sit.

"Keep quiet!! My head's paining. "he said loudly.

She decided to keep quiet and helped him to stand upright. She held him with so much cautiousness as if he was made of glass.

He sat on the bed,leaning to the wall and closed his eyes not before asking her to go sleep.

"It's okay. I'll go once you're asleep. "she said as he made herself comfortable on chair near the bed.

"The kids will be scared. "he said.

"They're fast asleep and I've also kept pillows surrounding them. "she replied.

"Hmm. "

Ayush was really exhausted and he slowly fell asleep eventhough he could feel pain.

Samira stared at him with concern. It was hurting her deep inside to see him this way. She wiped off a tear that rolled down her cheek. She didn't know why it pains her to think about something dangerous happening to him. He had been a constant source of support for her and stood by her always. She never thought she would see him so vulnerable one day.

It was past midnight and Samaira too was about to fall into a deep slumber when she saw Ayush clutching the bed cover tightly. He was sweating profusely and talking something in his sleep. She got off the chair and stroked his forehead so that it may lessen his pain.
She continued to do so until he freed his grip from the cloth. Her eyelids were too heavy to do anything anymore. She sat on the floor and kept her head on the bed, slowly surrendering to sleep.
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Phew. After a long time!! I've been in really bad mood these days. Was not able to concentrate on anything. I'm sorry for not updating.
Now that I've updated, Pls do vote and comment!