A Thousand Years

Chapter 12

Suman's POV continued

Six months had passed since Shravan was suspended from the Kutch base. I was still working there but kept tabs on Shravan. After his suspension was lifted, he went to Tajikistan for a mission. I was worried for him but I trusted him to come back safely and carried on with my work. Recently, I checked again to see where Shravan was posted. I grew confused when I read his status as "Retired". There must be a mistake. Shravan is young and at the peak of his military career. He is one of the most respected and diligent army officers. There is no reason for him to leave the army.

I checked his status everyday but it was unchanged. I became worried and asked the Colonel if he had any information on Shravan since he was close to him. The Colonel sighed, "It's true that Major Shravan Malhotra has retired from the army. I was also very shocked. I don't have much information. But, some say that there was an accident in Tajikistan where Major Malhotra was injured. I guess his injuries were so severe that he had to retire from the army. I really hope that is not true. We have lost a talented officer". My heart was palpitating and I felt scared. Accident? Injury? How badly was Shravan hurt that he had no choice but to leave the army? I need to find him. The Colonel promised me that he would find Shravan's whereabouts.

Three days later, the Colonel called me to his office saying that he had an update on Shravan. I felt a rush of relief go through my body. I hadn't slept in the past three days because I couldn't stop thinking about him. Where was he? How badly was he hurt? The Colonel passed me a tiny slip with an address and said, "Major Shravan is being treated at this hospital in Mumbai but I was unable to get any information on his health". I expressed my gratitude to him for helping me and requested two days off to go see Shravan.

I got to the hospital and an elderly nurse tapped my shoulder, "Do you remember me?" I looked carefully at her. I had seen her somewhere. She smiled, "We met in Ladakh when Major Shravan had a bullet wound". I remembered that she was the nurse who had consoled me. "When I found out that Major Shravan was admitted at our hospital, I was wondering if I'd see you again", she smiled warmly.

I took a deep breath, "Is he okay? Can I please see him?"

Her smile faded, "He's not the same person anymore. He refused to meet his family when they came here. He knows that the condition he is in...even families leave their loved ones". I grew worried realizing that Shravan's condition was a lot worse than I thought. The nurse said that she couldn't give me more information on him unless he gave permission. I quietly waited as the nurse went to tell Shravan that I was here to meet him. The nurse returned and gently touched my shoulder, "I'm sorry, dear. He said he doesn't want to meet you. I have to respect the patient's decision".

I gripped the nurse's arm and begged, "Please? Can I see him? Just for five minutes?" She said she would try talking to Shravan again. She came back with a big smile and told me that after a lot of convincing, he finally agreed to meet me. She smiled, "He must love you a lot since he didn't even change his decision for his family". She led me down a hallway and we stood before his door. She took my hands and said, "Promise me that your love for him won't change after seeing him. He has been through a lot and neither of us can understand the pain he is going through. He's a bit stubborn but, you already know that. He thinks he can fight this war alone but he needs love to bring him out of this darkness. He's losing hope...be his light". I nodded and tears rolled down my eyes realizing his situation was serious.

I took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. He was sitting on the bed in a hospital gown looking out the window. His eyes were different. I have seen love, anger, and pain in his eyes but I've never seen this look before. His eyes were emotionless. I walked over to him and gently touched his shoulder. Without looking at me he asked in a flat voice, "Why are you here?"