Love is a spontaneous emotion

Chapter 9 Give Me A Reason To Live

So Naav did what she saw fit and called her Papa and told him everything and he would surely know how to handle the situation.

Neerav was awake and was reading news on his phone. When he saw Naav's name flashing on the phone, he immediately answered, "Heyy Bachi, how are you? "

Naav said," Papa, I am good. How are you and when are you and Bhaiya coming back?"

Neerav," I will be discharged tomorrow, and I don't know yet when we will be flying back. I should talk to Raghu about it. "

Naav told her Papa everything from the time Maithili fell down from the stairs to her doubts about lodging a police complaint.

Neerav became delirious listening to everything. He had never anticipated that Shalini would stoop this low. He felt crestfallen thinking of how much that innocent girl had been suffering right from her childhood all because of this malicious woman. Shalini had crossed all the limits by attempting murder. Neerav was seething with rage. It was time to take bull by its horn, he thought.

Neerav told Naav that it is police case now and he will take care of everything from here on and told her not to let her parents anywhere near Maithili. Now he could'nt even trust that pathetic excuse of a father,Varun, too, for he had failed so miserably in protecting his daughter. He never hurt his daughter, but he did'nt stop his wife from doing that, which was equally deplorable.

Neerav, being an influential man, had all the connections with the police department, and it was a piece of cake for him to put Shalini in her place. He called his friend, Pratap Singh, and told him everything. It was a delicate matter as he had to deal with the situation, taking Maithili 's sentiments into consideration. No matter what he couldn't hurt Maithili.But he would not let Shalini go scott free, redemption is too far fetched now.Pratap knew what to do ,he very well understood the situation here and he didn't need Neerav to tell him what his next move should be.

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Raghunandan

I went for lunch with Dr Lee. He wanted to talk to me about Papa's test reports. I knew he was going to reveal some unpleasant news for which I was not prepared,I waited with my fingers crossed. He said that during the CT scan of the chest, they found calcium deposits in the coronary blood vessels. He filled me in on further details about the other routine investigations done before his surgery.I felt despondent to know about it.I had seen the patients and their families breaking down when I had revealed the bad news about the diagnosis and test results .Now I am on the loose end. Papa had already gone through so much in the past few days, and now this? Well, I know It is not the time to sulk but to rise to the occasion and do what's ought to be done.

I called Dr. Srivatsa Joshi, a top cardiologist in Delhi, or probably in the country itself. He is a big name in the field .I explained him everything to him and said that I would be emailing him his medical history along with the most recent records. He said he would go through them, and once we were back in Delhi, we could take it from there.

I went to Papa's room , and he had just finished having his lunch and was resting.I plopped on the chair next to his bed and closed my eyes. The events of the day kept playing and replaying before my eyes. The only thing on my mind right now is Papa's health. I couldn't catch a Reprieve even if I wanted to, as I couldn't put my thoughts to rest. It was torture to keep my eyes shut as it only intensified my inner disquiet. I snapped, open my eyes to find Papa awake.

Papa spoke," Raghu, when did you come? You look very tired. You should stop worrying and get some sleep."

I smiled and said ,"I am just fine.....Papa. I came just a while ago. How are you feeling ?How is the pain ? You will be discharged tomorrow."

Papa said," Naav called to know when we are scheduled to return."

I said, " You are good to travel, but I want to know if you are ok with it. I will book the ticket only if you think you are comfortable travelling."

Papa said,"Raghu, when travelling under the care of an accomplished surgeon like you, there is absolutely no room for doubts.You can book the tickets for tomorrow itself,"

I just nodded my head in affirmation.

Papa wanted to say something more. He looked uncomfortable. He was struggling to broach the subject. Taking a deep breath and he spoke, " Raghu, I ... I am ..."

He was groping for words. The anxiety was palpable.

I was now distraught, wondering what had got Papa stuttering.What was the matter?

Sighing in resignation, he continued. " Raghu, I want you to get married. " He said it one breath.

I was stunned. I was not prepared for this. He spoke again ,snapping me out of my stupor," I want to see you settle down,Beta?" He implored. He looked vulnerable for some reason, which was very uncharacteristic of him.

I cleared my throat and spoke,"Papa, I am not in the mindset to get married as of now. Why are you bringing up this topic all of a sudden?

Papa said, " You are 28 Raghu,old enough to get married . I have been thinking about it for a long time but I didn't know how to broach the subject knowing well about your opinion about marriage and.... your defiance regarding the matter. I want to see you married and want to hold my grandchildren. I am growing old and also weak.I haven't told you, but I am not a healthy man,Raghu. Since your mother left us, I have just been pulling on with life because of your children. Give me a reason to live ,Raghu?"