It was too late - A Shivika ff

Chapter 15

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Shivaay got tensed, and so did the others. 
Shivaay," Rudy, jaake dekh."
Tej," Mai bhi jaata hoo."

As Tej and Rudra left, to find out the reason why Jhanvi's scream had resonated in the hospital, Shivaay looked around and tried to remove the tubes and needles in his hand, while getting down from the bed. 
Dadi," Billu kya kar raha hai tu?"
Shivaay," Dadi, I think something has happened to Anika. I need to go and see."
Shakti came forward and held his hand. 
Shakti," Shivaay you are not completely fine now, stop all this and stay here quietly. I'm sure Bhabhi just got scared, Rudra and Bhaisaab have gone to check na, everything is fine. Just relax."
And he helped Shivaay back on the bed and ensured that all tubes and needles were fine and not hurting his son. 

A few minutes later, Rudra came back, walking slowly and head down. Probably had some tears in his eyes. Shivaay got hyper again.
Shivaay," Rudy, what...what happened? Why did Badi Maa shout?"

Rudra raised his head, looked at Shivaay. He quickly changed his expression, trying to make it look as normal as possible. He blinked and glared in succession to prevent any tears rolling down his face. It seemed that Rudra was putting on a mask, a mask like the one Shivaay used to have on his face when he used to suppress his emotions inside him. 
Dadi held Rudra's hands. 
Dadi," Ru, kuch bolega? Kya hua Jhanvi ko? Anika theekh hai na?"
Shivaay," Rudy kuch bol."

Rudra looked into Shivaay's eyes for a few seconds. He could see the pain his silence was giving him. He could see that with each second that Shivaay was passing, unaware of Anika's health, it was like a knife stabbing him right in his heart. He could see that if he stayed mum for even a second more, Shivaay would rip off all the things attached to him, just to go and ensure that his Anika was fine. Just to ensure, that HIS Anika was fine. 

Rudra was brought out of his trance by Shivaay's light tap on his cheek. 
Shivaay," Rudy bol kya hua hai, mujhe darr lagg raha hai."
Rudra," Bhaiya relax karo kuch nahi hua hai Anika bhabhi ko. She is fine."
Shivaay," Aur Badi Maa?"
Rudra," Mom bhi theekh hai bhaiya.She just stubbed her toe from one of the benches outside."
Shakti and Dadi heaved a sigh of relief. 

Shivaay," A stubbed toe? Badi Maa screamed her lungs out because of a stubbed toe?"
Rudra," Bhaiya, trust me you wouldn't want to experience the pain of a stubbed toe. Ruins your whole day."
(Ones who relate, raise your hands!)
Shivaay was not utterly convinced but decided not to push any further. He had a feeling that Rudra was lying to him. He could just sense it. Shivaay has almost been parenting Rudra since the day the youngest brother understood the complications his parents had, since the day he was heartbroken watching his parents fight, since the day he had turned to his bhaiya for solace. Shivaay had not just been his brother, he had been Rudra's whole world. He was practically raised by Shivaay as his own son, and from his heart and mind, Rudra had already credited Shivaay as his father. Is there any father in the world who cannot see through the acts and faces that his child puts up?  
Yes, only fathers like Tej Singh Oberoi and not Shivaay Singh Oberoi. 

Jhanvi had not come back to Shivaay's ward, neither had Tej. Pinky was no where to be found in the corridor. Dadi, Shakti and Rudra were sitting in Shivaay's ward with solemn expressions, assuring each other, that soon all of this would be over and they would happily return back to Oberoi Mansion, when any of then would feel like this was a mess which had no exits and no ends. Melancholy prevailed, but they had hopes in their heart. Or maybe it was not hope, it was just an illusion. An illusion which had not been broken, an illusion which was waiting to be shattered by the deadliest of weapons, an illusion that everything will be fine. And what caused this illusion was no one other than Rudy himself when he had come back to Shivaay's ward from the place that was going to destroy this illusion. 

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Anika's ward had a completely different atmosphere inside. Jhanvi was a crying mess, sitting on the couch and Tej was sitting beside her, arm around her shoulder, so that she would calm down. Om was standing on one side, looking at the ground, trying to grasp what just happened. Pinky was on the other side, hand cupping her mouth and after what she saw, only one thing came out of her mouth," Oh my Mata!"

So what happened was this....

After checking on Shivaay, Dr. Mathur had come to check Anika. He had seen Om curled up on the couch and had slightly shaken him up. Om got up, a little dazed because he hadn't had a good night's sleep. When he saw Dr. Mathur, he just smiled and went to freshen up.

In those few moments, Jhanvi had come to check on Anika. She entered her ward calmly, trying to mentally prepare herself for the bad news that Dr. Mathur might give or the miraculously good news that she might hear. Dr. Mathur had been standing right there, checking Anika's vitals and noting down on his board. The time for peace to be ruined had come. 

Jhanvi went up to Dr. Mathur and that was when she saw Anika's face. 
What she saw, she couldn't bear. Scared as she was, Jhanvi couldn't help but scream out. Hearing her scream, Rudra and Tej had rushed in from Shivaay's ward and Om had come out of the washroom in a panic.
Om," Mom, kya..."
And then he saw his mom looking at Anika and no other words came out of Om's mouth. He just stood there, staring at what his mom was staring at too. 

Dr. Mathur was not pissed, although he should have been. He was an expert, working in the medical field for years and he knew how people reacted to things they'd never imagined. 
He was just going to say something when Tej and Rudra barged in.
Tej," Jhanvi why did you scream?"

Jhanvi could not answer. She just looked at him with teary eyes. Rudra and Tej also came in and saw what had made Jhanvi shout. Rudra just turned his back, unable to see such a heart breaking sight. 

Dr. Mathur," Mrs. Obeori, I'm sorry but you should not scream like this, it will disturb the patient."

Jhanvi could just give him a look of apology. She was going to collapse when Om held her and made her sit on the couch. Tej sat beside her and Om came to Dr. Mathur.

Om," Dr. Mathur, what is this? Why is bhabhi's condition like this?"
Dr. Mathur" Mr. Oberoi, what else were you expecting? I'm sorry to say but you and your family have not been taking the fact seriously that Anika has been a victim of a bomb blast. You do know that blasts cause fire and debris. How can you expect a person to not have burns when they just came out of a gunpowder explosion?"

Om could not say anything further. His eyes were fixed on the fragile form lying on the bed with God knows what all machines, tubes and needles attached to her. 
Dr. Mathur," It wasn't my intention to scare you like that, but please understand that this is not a small deal. I cannot say yet what is going to happen until Anika gets conscious, but please be prepared that the news will not be very pleasant, so that you all can stop screaming in the hospital. "

He called a nurse and asked her to sit there and monitor Anika's vital from time to time. He also asked her to call him immediately if something goes wrong or she gains consciousness. 

Pinky was standing outside the ward. She had come there, listening to Jhanvi's scream and now that she had heard what Dr. Mathur had said, she wanted to see what was the whole hype about, that had led to her otherwise calm, sensible and collected sister-in-law scream like a hooligan. 

Pinky slowly entered the ward a went to Anika's side. One look at her face and she was frozen. She understood why all of them had gone numb, because the same had happened to her. 

Anika was lying motionless on the bed, not even the usual up and down of her chest. Only the changing lines on the various monitors showed that she was breathing. More than half of her face was black and brown from the burns, you couldn't recognize her. It was just one of the eyes that seemed safe, except for a small burn, leading down to her cheek, which was all left of her beautiful face. The remaining was charred by the unfortunate, deadly blast. As she slept, you couldn't even make out the placement of her eyebrows and eyes, they blended in with the black of her burns. It was most definitely not a fine sight to watch. The glowing, cute Anika was gone. What remained was a scarred, frightening Anika. The fact that Pinky had shed a tear looking at what suddenly happened to the pretty innocent looking girl in a few hours just made it all the more worse. 

Pinky," Oh My Mata."
She quickly wiped her tear, so as not to show anyone that this sight had shot an arrow where it hurt. 

Now, everyone was processing the their thoughts. Their illusion of an Anika in good health was shattered. The hope was alive, yes, they still hoped and hoped so fiercely that they thought it was the truth, that Anika would live. But the false image that Anika would be fine was gone, because Anika would never be fine again. Never. How much ever the burns and scars from her body would be covered, the scar that her heart and mind would bear after she saw herself, would remain as a mark forever. No amount of love or warmth could ever heal this. Not now, not ever. 

They were hurt. Badly hurt. But probably the pain was more because they had lived in a false world. If they knew Anika would be in this mess, it would have pained, but much lesser. They were living in the bubble that Anika would be fine, which caused them much more agony than it would have actually caused. All because of an imaginary thought, an imaginary image which would never be true. Stupid bloody illusions. 

While everyone was silent and stared unbelievingly at the condition Anika was in, Rudra found it necessary to speak.
Rudra," Yeh kya hogaya bhabhi ko?"
Everyone looked at him.
Rudra," Aisa lagta hi nahi ki yehi meri Anika bhabhi hai, jo parso tak mere peeche bhaag rahi thi, apni Chandni se mujhe maarne, aur aaj, aaj aise behosh si yahan padi hai, aisi shakal ke saath ki pehchani na jaaye. Kyu hua yeh sab? Kyu? Kyu hamesha sab bhabhi ke saath hi hota hai?"

Om quickly went and hugged him.
Om," Shhh...shh Rudra, awaaz mat karo. Bhabh ko disturb hoga na."
Rudra started crying in his arms. 
Om," Rudra tu ro kyu raha hai? Pagal hai kya?"
Rudra lifted his head to see the red eyes of Om. 
Rudra," O, aapko dikh nahi raha hai kya?"
Om," Rudra, tujhe yad hai jab Mallika hamare ghar aayi thi apni shaadi se bhaagkar? Humne ek doosre ki teams ko darrane waala challenge kiya tha na? Tujhe pata hai unke paas aise bhootiye bhootiye waale bahut saare masks the, yeh bhi unhi mei se hai. "

Rudra removed Om's grip from around him. He was certain that Om had lost his mind. 
Om," Aise kya dekh raha hai? Tu sabse pehle darr gaya tha na? Issiliye bhabhi ne yeh mask lagaya hai, taaki woh hum sab ko darra de and jab Shivaay bhi darr jaayega na, tab woh yeh mask nikaal ke hum sab pe hasegi. Bolegi dekha kaise aap sabka pappu bana diya maine. Tu firse darrna chahta hai Rudy?"

Now it was evident to everyone that Om had not taken this well. Rudra, with fresh tears running down his cheeks, gripped Om's hands and shook him vigorously.
Rudra," O, sapne mei se bahar aa jaao, yeh koi mask wask nahi hai."
And then hugged him tightly.
Inaudibly he whispered," Yeh hamari badkismat hakeekat hai."

With Shivaay's name being uttered, Tej realized that Shivaay was waiting for them in his ward. 
He got up and tapped Rudra's shoulder. 
Tej," Rudra, Shivaay is waiting for us."

Rudra and Om pulled out of the embrace, looked at Anika once again and took wobbly, shaky breathes to face the reality.
Om," We cannot tell this to Shivaay right now."
Rudra," O, if we don't go there now, then the next minute we will find bhaiya here."
Om nodded his head.

Om," Rudra, you go. Don't tell him anything. Just make up some excuse for Mom's scream. When Shivaay sleeps, tell the others not to come here before the last thirty minutes of visiting hours. Mr. Oberoi, you please stay with mom here. "
Looking at Pinky, he said with some malice in his voice," You can go anywhere, do anything, just don't tell Shivaay that you came here. It's not for bhabhi, it's for your son's own well-being."

Rudra went back to Shivaay, and gave him the stupid reason of a stubbed toe. He fake assured Dadi and Shakti as well. Jhanvi and Tej were not to go back to Shivaay's ward because if they did, he would ask them about Anika. 

He would ask them to shatter the illusion Rudra had created. 

Zindagi badi kutti cheez hai, kabhi bhi badal jaati hai.
Kismat badi kutti cheez hai, kabhi bhi palat jaati hai.

Par usse pehle, illusion sabse kutti cheez hai, kabhi bhi toot jaata hai. Jab toot ta hai toh zindagi ko dekhne ka nazariya badal deta hai, aur jab nazariya badalta hai, toh kismat bhi palat hi jaati hai.
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I hope everyone is safe and in good health. I'm extremely sorry for the late update, in compensation of which I've written the longest ever chapter, longer than the previous one as well. I haven't been able to reply to the comments on the previous chapter, lack of time. 
I know we are in quarantine and being busy is just an excuse, but believe me, since the lock down, my work has increased because all the veles at home are surfing content on the net. 

I hope I'm not disappointing you all. Please let me know what you think of it, all opinions are welcome. 

Until next time,
<3