Connected Heart

2 year ago #7

CHAPTER- 7

“What are you saying?” Nisha asked, not able to believe in her ears.

He frustrated closed eyes, cursing himself for blurting out about Sneha, even knowing how dangerous it could be dangerous for Nisha and Sneha.

“I forget,” trying to escape from there. He moved but stopped by Nisha’s words.

“You aren’t mad, right? Also, you know about Sneha, please tell me. I always prayed for some miracle, till today I hadn’t hoped but after listening to your words I got hope, I don’t know why I should trust your words when you deceive us but if even there is slight truth then I will forgive you and if this time my hope will snatch, then I can’t able to gather myself even not for Siyali,” her words were painful, he can understand the pain which she is going through.

“I know nothing,” he tried for the last time, closing his eyes, feeling pain.

“Go from here,” Nisha said expressionlessly, falling down, Abhinav turned to speak something but became panic seeing Nisha breathing with difficulty.

“Where is your pump?” He asked if she got an asthma attack, but Nisha shooed him away when he tried to help her.

“Please, let me,” he tried to hold her, but Nisha pushed him more. Her breathing became uneven.

“I asked you to go from here,” Nisha managed herself looking here and there for a purse, but her difficulty was increasing.

“Let me help you,” Abhinav pleaded further, but it wasn’t affecting her.

“Fine, I will tell you about Sneha. She is alive, and as you can see I am all right but first let me help you. And I am saying the truth,” Abhinav said getting anger, over this old lady stubbornness, her life can end but instead of taking his help, she is showing him anger well now he can easily understand how can a sweet girl like Sneha get such a killing temper as it runs in her blood.

“I don’t want to listen to anything,” Nisha said, thinking he is lying.

“What the f**k is this? When I pretend not to know anything you force me to blurt, but when I am telling the truth, you are denying,” Abhinav said, shaking his head.

“Saira is alive, get it,” a few minutes later he said, calming himself.

“Are you saying the truth?” Nisha’s voice was stuttering because of difficulty, but for now, nothing was more important than her Saira.

“It is true she is alive, but her condition isn’t good,” Abhinav said, recalling Sneha’s condition. A smile crept at his lip, but soon it faded.

“What do you mean?” Nisha asked.

“First, can I help you? If you will die, then it will only cause a problem, Aunt will kill me over that Sneha will never forgive me.” he said, chuckling, Nisha nodded yes and signaled him towards her purse which had fallen in the hall. He went there and came with a purse.

“Is this one?” He said, Nisha blinked her eyes.

Abhinav first knelt down and took a pump from her purse. He gave it. She took it silently. When her condition became better, Abhinav made her sit at the bed and gave a photo from his pocket.

For a few minutes, silence prevailed there, which got disturbed by Nisha’s plead “tell me.”

“Saira’s latest photo,” he emotionally said, showing, she took and looked at it, in that photo Saira was sitting near the window, her face was shining because of sunlight but closely looking she could see marks over her face also some scratches over her hand but the thing which gave her panic was deep cut overhead.

That was her granddaughter’s photo, but the condition was worse. She can’t even imagine the reasons.

“This is fake, right? You are trying to fool me,” Nisha screaming said, not believing her eyes as well as she wanted to refute Saira’s condition.

“You are some impostor who is taking advantage of our condition,” Nisha’s next words pinched his heart, but he can well understand this state.

“I know it’s hard to believe me, but for once give me a chance if after that too you find me, impostor, then I’ll go,” he said. Hopefully, Nisha wasn’t getting what to do? One side a hope was building in her heart and another side that Saira’s dead body was fresh in her eyes.

She decided for once to give him a chance of explanation. If he is telling the truth, then surely her prayers got positive answers.

“I am sure Sneha must tell you about me as I know she hides nothing from you as for her you were best friends,” Abhinav said, smiling a little.

“I don’t remember you,” saying that Nisha made him frown, but soon his face glittered.

“Saira is my closest friend who not only saved my life. 8 years ago when my family; friends left me, she came into my life. I would have done suicide, but she stopped me,” he said, as he recalled Sneha telling him about her granny’s reaction.

“Suicide boy?” Nisha amusingly asked, recalling how a day Sneha was angrily muttering about a guy who would do suicide.

His eyes filled with tears, recalling most of the times she used to call him that only.

“I hope now you’ll trust me,” he said.

“Granny you know Suicide boy became my best friend, I misunderstood him as a coward but he’s not. He was alone. His family, as well as friends, left his hand, so it’s normal for anyone to take a drastic step but I’m happy I saved him. I got such a friend who never judges me on past or appearance or work,” that was Sneha’s words, and Nisha can blindly trust on her choice as Sneha not used to make everyone as her friend that too she called him a best friend.

“I am giving a chance to Sneha’s friend, not you, if ever I’ll get to know you’re not that person I’ll reveal your secret,” Nisha said. He smiled a brief nodding yes.

Abhinav’s throat dried up remembering that incident. It wasn’t less than a nightmare for him, but for the first time, he felt to throw whatever he hid inside him.

“Saira has a mental issue, but don’t worry, her condition isn’t that worse. She hallucinates sometimes,” Abhinav managed himself from breaking.

Nisha felt her lip got sealed. The mental issue isn’t a small thing, as per her proficiency.

“It started that day,” he said, next.

“2 years ago, when she called me for help, she was so horrified that she wasn't able to tell me what exactly was going on but only murmuring to save her and mentioned stuck in college but when I reached there, I saw her laying on ground hissing in pain. Her stomach was stabbed, and the head was bleeding. Someone pushed her from the building,” choking he said. It was still fresh before his eyes.

Blood oozed from the head, her blinking eyes, scarred face, but when she saw him a smile was there on her lip but it faded soon once her pain increased.

“I panicked, not understanding what I needed to do. She was in my arms muttering something, but I was blank,” he palmed, sighing.

Nisha held the bed, holding herself from falling, mumbling, “my Saira.”

“I am sorry, but I wasn’t able to help her on time till I took her to hospital. She was excessively bleeding because of my carelessness, and she went into a coma.” He tearfully said, Nisha tried to say he’s not one to blame but interrupted “she woke up after a month, but it changed her.”

“Change? What do you mean? Take me to her, I want to see her.” Nisha asked.

“At first I didn’t know the whereabouts of you as Sneha didn’t clearly tell me the address, but later when I got it was late,” he answered; it astounded Nisha as well as confused her.

“She needs her family, but at the same time, she is dangerous for them,” Abhinav said, closing his eyes.

A room showed where a girl was sitting on the bed and staring at the ceiling. Her face was blank for a second, but recalling something that radiated.

“I have to go home, don’t know where my bike is? Also, today uncle did not come here. I guess he and his son reconcile,” she thoughtfully spoke standing, but the next moment she horrifyingly sat at the bed as her head hurt and started getting blur flashes.

“Don’t kill me,” she muttered, and sobbed on the bed.

“I won’t tell you anything whatever happened here, but please don’t kill me. My family is waiting for me,” she muttered that next moment she threw a bed-sheet to try to save herself.

“Abhi, please save me. They will kill me,” she yelled shrieking in fear and covered herself with a bed-sheet for a few minutes.

Finding no one coming to her, she stopped sobbing and came out, but next second she got some other flashes coming in her brain.

“Sneha, why the hell you break this vase?” 

“Me? First of this vase fell itself and call me Saira, Sneha is such a boring name. Sneha is for a stranger, but as you are my cute grandmother, you need to call me Saira even when you are in a nasty mood. Well, most of the time you remain in a grim mood,” Saira laughingly said.

Unlike previous flashes it wasn’t blurred, it was vivid and made her smile. She started looking there.

“Where is my grandmother?” She asked herself.

“Mishu, where are you? I asked, where are you? You’ll not tell me, you wait,” she angrily said, seeing here and there but didn’t get what she was searching for.

“I got it, that b***h Payal must have done something, she threatened me saying she will harm my family if I will not agree with her,” Saira blood gushed recalling how Payal’s behavior was with her.

“Where is my knife? I want to kill Payal; she kidn*pped my family, and will kill them. She isn’t innocent like what she shows in front of her grandmother and father. And her father is also bad. He terrifies me. All are bad, please give me something to kill them as even police refuse to help us,” Saira recalled an incident in which police took her mother as Gayatri complained saying Siyali tried to kill her when it was a mere accident.

Even when Saira showed the incident video to them, they did not believe her as Gayatri gave them money.

After tiring of yelling, Sneha sat on the floor smiling within herself.

“Mishu, see I’m on the floor,” she happily mumbled but became silent, not getting a response.

She stared at the ceiling again and closed her eyes tiredly.

A ward boy came there with a tray. As soon as she heard the sound, she alerted and angrily turned.

“Your medicines,” he stammered. She stood and tiptoed towards him.

“I am fine,” she tried to push him out of the room, but before it, two people came and held her.

“Give her injection otherwise she’ll be sick and along with Doctors, Abhinav sir will scold us,” ward boy said, she protested, muttering “granny, Mamma, Abhinav, save me, he’s hurting me.”

“Sneha calm down,” the ward boy said, but she changed her expression and glared at him.

“Sneha? Who Sneha? I’m? Who I am? Where is Abhinav? Call him and ask him who I’m? Also, tell him, I need my knife and scissors,” she retorted, pushing them.

“He only told us your name,” ward boy said, composing himself.

“I recalled I’m Sneha? But what am I doing here? Where’s my Nisha? My mother?” She asked smiling, but the next moment she moved backwards.

“You’re sent by them? You’ll kill me, right? But you can’t, I’ll kill you before you even try to touch me,” she laughingly said, moving towards them with an injection.

They became afraid, recalling how in two years she harmed herself and whoever comes in this room. All looked at each other and caught her sighing.

To be continued.