The blooming Magnolia

Chapter 10

Both of us were seated in the high quality large sized couches of the hugely spacious hall at the patients' waiting area of the multi-speciality hospital. The pleasantly lit area is the center point to reach out to the multi-cuisine food court to the right.

Our wet clothes have now dried from sitting over two hours now, in the air-conditioned hall. Ahana's wound was being dressed and she would need stitches , so we are told to wait outside.

It was nearly midnight. Anika had been trying to reach her friend desperately for the past one hour. He was still out of reach. The fact that he was not picking up the phone, no matter how weird and selfish it sounded but it made me happy.

Anika had been crying since. She kept her face low all the time silently wiping the tears off her face.

It pained me to look at her but I could do nothing, not even console her, taking that she is not that fond of me that she would tell me what she felt and feel lighter. So instead of watching her cry, I thought of breathing in some air outside. The rain also appeared much less fierce.

As I stood by the road taking a few drags from the cigarette stick and then releasing the puffs of smoke in the air, thoughts of her crept into my mind again.

I may not know her at all, but there was one thing that I understood about her in these two hours. The way she looked at me when she clenched my arm a few hours ago, the way she was sitting strong, not shedding a single tear the entire time till her daughter got admitted, the way she broke down in the rain--- all of these were proof that she was a wounded soul within. There was unspeakable pain within her that she is not willing to show to the outside world.She had built enormous imaginary walls around her beyond which she won't let anyone in that easily.She somehow tried to project herself as a strong woman in front of everyone. Maybe she is one in her life. But she was also a weak soul deep within. I saw her being so vulnerable today. Maybe every mother becomes vulnerable when it comes to her own child. I was sure of another thing that behind those blank dark eyes, there were stories, sad stories. It made me wonder what they might be. What might have happened that she ended up alone.

Somehow, looking at her tonight, I realized how my mother must have felt when I underwent the accident and the subsequent surgery five years back. How my family would have felt when I couldn't recognize them initially.

I thought of reducing these cold barriers between us. I thought of trying to talk to her.

Now that my body felt much better after inhaling the nicotine, the first thing that came to my mind was a strong coffee. Coffee would help me reduce the mild headache that I was having. It wasn't a good idea to get drenched in the rain and our clothes had dried in our bodies. It might result in an unwelcoming fever for the both of us. Coffee was a good option for that too. Coffee can also be a good option for us to converse over.

Thank god, the hospital had a coffee vending machine.

I walked back towards the PWA to ask Anika if she would like to have coffee, the sight before me was not something I was expecting.

I saw Miss Tripathi in a snug embrace with a man, the man I knew was her co-partner in her company. It was a casual embrace but my heart said it was not right. My feet froze at the sight for a few seconds before they increased their pace beyond my control.

That means he picked up her phone?Why is she hugging him? Are they really friends?

What was more disturbing is when I reached there, none of them bothered to pull back. None of them noticed me standing behind.I attempted to clear my throat, a bit louder and for a longer time than usual, to make them aware of my presence.