When Tulasi took everyone to the treatment room, they were all shocked for a moment. Because the one lying there was none other than Chirant…
The moment Meera saw him, she collapsed. When Tulasi asked what happened, she came to know that he was Meera’s friend.
Manya took Meera outside to calm her down. Tears streamed uncontrollably from the corners of Meera’s eyes, rolling down her cheeks.
“You were so angry with him… then why are you crying now?” Manya asked sarcastically.
“No matter how angry I am with him, I don’t have the strength to bear it if something happens to him, Manya,” Meera said, crying.
All their friends tried to console her, but none of them could calm her down.
Just then, Tulasi came there and said,
“Look, Meera… even when I didn’t know who he was, I cared so much because he saved my life. Now that I know he’s your friend, won’t I take even better care of him? Don’t worry, I’ll take full responsibility for him.”
“That’s not it, aunty… I’ve never seen him in this condition since childhood. Seeing him like this suddenly… I couldn’t stop myself from crying,” Meera said, wiping her tears.
“Alright, Meera… you should leave now. If the PG closes, it will be difficult,” Tulasi said.
“Aunty… can I see Chiru once more before leaving?” Meera asked.
“Okay, go see him. I have some work, I need to leave. Nidhi, you stay here and take care of him. I’ll be back soon,” Tulasi said and left.
After seeing Chirant again, Meera returned to the PG with a heavy heart. As soon as she reached, Prakash called.
“Meera, Chiru hasn’t come home yet. Is he still there?” he asked worriedly.
“Yes, uncle… he’s here with me. He said he’ll stay here with me and my friends for a couple of days. Don’t worry,” Meera replied in a low voice and cut the call without waiting for his response.
Hearing this, Prakash felt doubtful—Meera wasn’t even talking to Chirant before…
But he simply thought, Let them start talking like before again, and stayed quiet.
Meanwhile, Nidhi sat beside Chirant as her mother had told her to. She kept looking at him intently. A strange, beautiful feeling began to grow in her heart.
As soon as Chirant regained consciousness, he saw Nidhi and asked,
“Who are you? Where am I?”
“In the afternoon, you saved someone, right? I’m her daughter, Nidhi. Right now, you’re in our hospital,” she said.
“Saved someone? From whom? What are you saying? I don’t understand anything,” Chirant said, confused.
“What? Why are you asking like this? Don’t you remember anything?” she asked in shock. Then she continued,
“I’m not just her daughter… I’m also your friend Meera’s close friend.”
The moment he heard Meera’s name, Chirant immediately sat up.
“Did Meera come… to see me?” he asked eagerly.
“Yes… she came, she saw you, she cried… and then she went back to the PG.”
“What? Meera cried?” he asked with even more curiosity.
“Yes… she cried a lot. Is she crazy or what? In the afternoon, she looked at you like you were her enemy. But in the hospital, she cried as if something had happened to her. I feel like there’s a big story behind all this… what do you say?” Nidhi teased him.
“When we were kids, both of us studied very well. But as we grew older, my memory became weak and I started forgetting things. That’s why I got low marks in exams. When this kept happening again and again, my father didn’t want me to continue studying. But Meera believed in me. She convinced my father somehow and made sure I continued my studies. But when I kept failing repeatedly, she stopped talking to me. Still… she likes me a lot even now,” Chirant said.
While they were talking, Tulasi came in.
“How are you feeling now?” she asked.
Chirant turned to Nidhi and asked,
“Who is she?”
Tulasi was surprised by his question.
“You may forget after saving me, but I won’t forget, dear. My daughter definitely won’t forget you,” she said with a smile.
“Leave that… tell me, how are you feeling now?” she asked again.
“I’m fine,” he said, still confused.
“Good. I’ve brought food. Eat and take rest. I’ll come in the morning and talk to you,” Tulasi said.
“Mom, I’ll stay here tonight and take care of him,” Nidhi said, looking at Chirant.
“Oh silly girl, we have many nurses in our hospital to take care of him. I’ve already told them to make sure he faces no trouble,” Tulasi said.
“No, mom… I won’t come. What they do is different. I want to take care of him myself. He saved your life—I should stay near him and look after him,” Nidhi said stubbornly.
“You foolish girl… how can I leave you alone here? I’ll stay with you. I’ll ask Bhatt uncle to send our dinner here,” Tulasi said, stroking her head.
“My good mom,” Nidhi said, hugging her.
Just then, a nurse came and asked,
“Madam, did you check the report given in the evening?”
“Oh, sorry… I forgot. It’s on the table, I’ll check it now,” Tulasi said. She took a couple of steps, then turned back and said,
“Nidhi, serve him food. After he eats, give him the tablets. Come after he sleeps, we’ll have dinner together,” and walked away.
Nidhi served food to Chirant and gave him the tablets.
“Take the medicine and rest well,” she said gently.
“By the way… when will they discharge me? My father is alone at home. I need to go soon,” Chirant said worriedly.
“Oh… is that so? Mom said she’ll talk to you in the morning. You can ask her then. For now, just rest,” she said and went to Tulasi.
When Nidhi reached her, Tulasi was sitting with Chirant’s health report in her hand, looking deeply worried. Her face had turned pale.
Seeing her mother like that, Nidhi asked,
“What happened, mom? Why are you sitting like this?”
Hiding her worry, Tulasi said,
“It’s nothing, dear… come, let’s eat,” and handed her the food.
“Mom, leave that… why do you look so worried? Tell me what happened,” Nidhi insisted.
“I’ll tell you… you eat first,” Tulasi said, avoiding the topic.
“Come, mom… let’s eat together,” Nidhi said, making her sit.
Tulasi was lost in thought, slowly eating. Watching her, Nidhi said irritably,
“Hey Tulasi… why are you sitting like this? I’ve been asking you what happened, but you keep avoiding it.”
Coming out of her thoughts, Tulasi smiled,
“Oh, so you’re talking to your mother without respect now?”
“I’ve been asking politely since so long—‘Mom, what happened?’” Nidhi said, slightly annoyed.
Tulasi laughed at her anger and asked,
“Alright, leave it. Did Chirant sleep?”
“Yes, mom… he slept. But mom… his father is alone at home. He was asking when he’ll be discharged.”
“For now, I don’t even have the thought of discharging Chirant. His condition is not as good as we think… it’s very serious. In one sentence… he is in a dangerous stage,” Tulasi said.
Hearing this, Nidhi was shocked.
“Mom… what happened to him? Tell me…” she asked in fear.
To be Continued…..
You can also read this story in Kannada.
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