Will You Write With Me

16

“What happened to him?”, Navya asked Palkha in the hospital. The police informed Palkha about the accident as he was the last person Arun had contacted. Arun’s phone was always unlocked and so it was easy for the police to provide information at the right time.
“He was hurrying to the college to see you”, he said with his wet eyes. “The police say that the road was slippery and so the driver lost the control over the car. It seems like he didn’t wear his seat belt and injured his head. He is so unfortunate”, he added with tears.
“What is his condition now?”, Navya’s father asked. Navya was taken by her stepmom to make her sit somewhere, as she kept weeping.
“I don’t know uncle. But I am sure that he is in danger”, he said and started to cry. Her father gave a tight warm hug to Palkha to console him.
The darkness of the Universe covered Navya, she was lost in sadness and kept crying. She noticed her father having some words with the doctors. After the conversation with the doctors, he walked up to Navya and sat beside her.
“Will he be okay? Can I see him now?”, she asked her father with tears.
“You should have seen him before Navya. Now it’s too late”, he said with tears. After her mother’s death, that was the first time she had seen her father crying.
“I lied to him. I was the one who told him that you were in college. All this is because of me”, he cried. Navya could not help her father to control his emotions, she could not help Palkha to control his tears, she could not help herself from her own misery.
“He is in coma. Doctors say that he had very little chance to survive”, her father said by rubbing his tears.
Two policemen came and interrogated them with some formal questions. And finally, they handed over a new typewriter to Navya’s father saying that they had found it inside the cab with him. He found a typed letter in it, he opened the letter and started to read. Drop of tears kept adding for every word. He then gave both the typewriter and the letter to Navya.
She started to read it slowly in tears.

Dear Navya,
I know that, I was the last person you want to talk right now. If you don’t want to talk with me, then at least read this one. I had made so many mistakes in my past and I was okay with it. Because I believed that humans are designed in such a way to do mistakes. But, after our argument, I feel so ashamed of myself. May be humans are designed to do mistakes, but relationships are designed by love. It cannot bare lies, harsh words, betrayal, abuse, etc. Love cannot accept any bad things. But love can forgive. And I need your forgiveness. I really didn’t mean to hurt you the other day. I know you love your father; I should have not said bad about him. I made a mistake, I am a stupid, I know. I got the fortune to love one of the beautiful humans in the world and yet I failed her with words. Just like how you love your father, I love my mother too; she too loves me back. She might have sounded little harsh that day, but she is different in person. She will truly love you and accept you, like me. I tried to explain this to you, but things didn’t fall at the right place that day. Emotions were too high and we both were mad. I promise, everything will be fine. Universe will help us. We will write our story as we planned, together, forever. I am sorry and happy birthday!
With love
Arun.

         She cried loud in pain. She wanted to hug Arun and kiss him. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry too. But it was all too late then.
The next day, Arun’s parents came to the hospital with tears. Both his father and his mother were unable to speak anything as it was their son, lying motionless and speechless inside the ICU. Navya’s father and Palkha was there with them and tried their level best in consoling them. Navya walked slowly up to Arun’s mother to apologize. The moment she saw Navya, she ran up to her and hugged her tight.
“Sorry ma. I should have not talked to you like that. He was too upset that you were not happy about it. I really didn’t mean anything to hurt you”, she cried.
Hearing her words, Navya’s body started to get paralyse. The wrath of guilt started to haunt her.
“You don’t worry ma. Once he wakes up, I let him know that I have no objection about marrying you with him”, his mother added. That moment Navya realised that his mother loved her son so much. She wanted to do what her son loves and nothing else. “I was wrong, it was all my fault”, she cursed herself. Arun’s mother somehow convinced Navya to go home and take some rest.
“Nothing will happen to Arun ma. You please go back home and take some rest. You can come by evening to check him”, she said and sent her off with a hug and a kiss on her cheek.
After reaching her home with her stepmom, she isolated herself in the room. She cried out loud and slapped her for all her mistakes. “I should have opened the door to him. I should have talked with him. I should have let him lived”, she cried. But all her ‘should have’ had no meaning then. That one call we didn’t pick might be their last call. That one message we ignored might be their last message. That words we didn’t listen might be their last words. Because death keeps no calendar for anyone. She cried herself to sleep on her bed. It was 5.30 in the evening, Navya’s phone rang. She woke up from her sleep and saw her mobile. It was Palkha.
“Hello”, she said anxiously with her sleepy voice. 
“Arun left us all Navya”, he said hiding his crying voice.
Her biggest fear became reality. She hung up the phone in silence and hurried back to the hospital. She saw Arun’s mother and father sitting silently as their soul was dead within them. Navya’s father was busy in consoling Palkha who was continuously weeping. Navya walked up to Arun’s mother. She started to cry once she saw her. She hugged her tight and cried out loud, “He has left me alone dear; he is gone. My only child is gone from this world”.
Arun’s mother refused to see her dead son’s face. His father went inside a room to see him, one last time. Navya’s tearful desperate eyes was paused on that particular room.
“Do you want to see him?”, Navya’s father asked her. She didn’t utter a word, but he knew that her daughter wanted to see Arun. He took both Palkha and Navya with him inside. They found Arun, lying on a stretcher, lifeless. His entire body was packed and covered except his face. All the shared laughter smiles and all the happy moments with Arun, flashed before Palkha once he saw his dead friend’s face. He ran out from the room weeping loudly. Navya slowly rubbed Arun’s head gently with tears.
“I found my story in you. And I believe that only you can write it with me, till the end of my life”, his smiling face flashed before her eyes. Tears started to flow from her eyes, she began crying. Her father held her hand and tried to back her off. But he couldn’t. She kissed Arun’s forehead and said, “I am sorry”.

TWO WEEKS LATER
One second is enough for the life to teach us about the value of love. All it has to do; is to take something we love away from us permanently. Because humans always value things they love only when they lost it. Navya was completely shattered, broken, fragmented, and defeated by her inner demons. They started to talk to her and pushed her inside a netherworld of hers. Her father had instructed her stepmom to keep an eye on her. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw Arun smiling. His memories terrified her every second. When our inner demons took over us, we will be defeated mentally, and will be ready to defeat ourselves physically too. Navya cut her wrists off as she decided to end her life. After 15 minutes her stepmom found her lying on her bed with a pool of blood around her. She then called ambulance and rushed her to the hospital. As she was brought in time, she was saved that day. When she opened her eyes, she saw her father, her stepmother and Palkha standing before her eyes in tears. Her Dad kissed her forehead happily in tears. She was sent to counselling sessions as she tried to commit suicide.
“So, Arun? You blame yourself for his death, isn’t it”, Dr. Liam asked her. She nodded her head.
“What makes you to feel that you are responsible for his death?”, he asked her again.
“Didn’t I tell you my story? You know why I feel responsible for his death. Because I didn’t… I didn’t open the door, when he called for me”, she said in tears.
“Is that why you decided to die?”, he asked her. She didn’t reply anything to that.
“Miss. Navya, why did you decided to end your life”, Dr. Liam asked her.
“Because broken hearts and shattered souls deserve a better place than earth”, she said.
He chuckled for her statement and continued, “Broken heart is true, and it’s painful. But unlike glass, broken hearts can be fixed. Shattered soul is dreadful, but unlike AIDS shattered souls can be healed”.
She remained mum to his philosophical statement with wet eyes, cursing herself deep inside.
“I know how you feel Navya. But this is not how it should end. Even if you die and go to heaven to see Arun, it will hurt him much more than his own death. You must live your life, because you have a life here”, he said.
“I don’t want a life here”, she muttered in her teary voice.
“Everyone feels exactly like you at some point in life. That’s life, cruel, but beautiful during the journey. There may be millions of surprises waiting for you, don’t miss it”, he said.
“How do you know that?”, she asked him.
“Because I too had a heartbreak, I too tried to end my life and I too blessed with miracles later in my life. It’s not just me, everyone has a story like you, like me. Because all our stories are written by the same author, Universe”, he said smiling.
Her teary eyes started to glow, there was something in his words, a magical truth.
“Ask Arun, whether he wanted you there with him”, he said.
“How?”, she asked frantically.
“You know where to find him. Find him in your memories, close your eyes and ask him”, he said.
She closed her eyes and slowly imagined her happiest memory with Arun. Lighthouse point park, new haven, she was there all alone. No other couples, only the shore, the tides of the sea, the romantic cold breeze, and the tall single lighthouse. She had been looking at the sea waves for a long time there. “How are you?”, a familiar voice struck her ears.
She swiftly turned her head and saw Arun standing beside her, looking at the tides. She was speechless and was in tears.
“I am sorry”, she cried and hugged him tight.
“Hey, you don’t have to be”, he said by hugging her.
“I miss you”, she cried loudly.
“I miss you too”, he said.
She released her hug and said, “Let me come to you. I am alone here”.
“No, you are not. Even I am not alone here either. There are millions like me here. They all are happy with the time they had in this wonderful planet, so am I. I want you to live and write your story, in your own way. Live for you, if not for you, live for me. You deserve to live, and you deserve to be loved”, he said and vanished from her sight. She slowly opened her eyes; her wet eyes witnessed the reality.