Chapter 23 :" The Curtain Falls "

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Dedicated to everyone who read this story till the end, those eleven people who voted for the updates and the six who had taken time to leave a feedback  .

Three Months Later

Gauri woke up that day with same dread as the past one month , she walked to his room and saw his pale face and inched near him to see if he was still breathing and let out a sigh when he did just like the last two weeks .

Then turned to find Marcus , the forty year old caretaker,  Arun hired to take care of him ,looking at her with compassion as she continued to struggle with accepting the inevitable. 

As she stepped outside his room , Marcus followed her and so she turned to see if he had anything to say about last night.

" He is in pain mam ,and letting him go will be the kindest thing for him,  " he spoke up,  and walked back inside but why does he fail to understand she wasn't ready to lose him forever .

She knew he was in pain , she knew how much struggle it has been for him to eat or even sleep . And she knew how much it hurts him to not be able to lift his son anymore ,she know all of that and yet she didn't want to let him go. 

She walked inside her son's room to see him still asleep with a tear stained face and her heart broke all over again , he sensed the change in atmosphere at the house and it was getting harder for her everyday to get him bid goodnight to Arun as he refused to leave his father's side.

As she stepped into the kitchen ,she found it was already occupied by her mother. She had been Gauri rock the past two weeks and without her support Gauri would have probably collapsed under the stress of everything .

" Coffee ?" her mother asked, as she poured a cup for her and placed it gently in her arms before continuing to cook.

" Dad called ?" she asked,  after a sip trying to keep her mind fixed on mundane conversation at the moment .

" No ,we talked last night . He is at work. Apparently there had been an homicide and Ishaan is at Meera's house,  " her mother answered back,  as she flipped through the stack of pancakes which was Rahul's favorite.

" How did you do it maa ,send dad out for work everyday with the knowledge he deals with criminals and murders on every day basis. I know it got better when he was promoted that he wasn't on the field anymore but that was not the case when you got married ,  "  Gauri spoke up , wondering how her mother survived through it. 

For Gauri ,she always considered her father as a hero that she never actually thought of the perils he can get into in the line of fire. 

" Gauri, danger doesn't lie in your chosen career alone. It everywhere around us and death comes in all forms as well. The only way to survive is to accept the risks that comes with it, it was the first thing your father  told me before asking me to marry him.  That I need to be strong enough to accept the risks that comes along with his job,  " her mother spoke up,  leaving her with new found knowledge about her parents .

" And beta, no one can ever be prepared to face death of their loved ones. We all learn to live with the grief because that is the way of life,  " her mother spoke up , at her silence and before she could respond Marcus walked out of Arun room and one look at his face , she was running back to his room .

" Maa, Wake Rahul up, "  she called out to her mother,  as she rushed inside the room to find Arun, short of breath .

" I am here Arun ,right here , " She answered back , as she held his hand tightly intertwined with hers looking at him without falling apart. Then her mom entered holding a sleeping Rahul right beside her who looked scared to see his father sick that he hid his face in his grandmother shoulder.

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