I'm Always With You: Short Story

I am always with you

"Are we going for a long drive?" She asked looking in my eyes. 
I smiled back and said, "Yep, We are." She wanted to ask where but instead she folded her hands and looked at the sky from window glass.  
It took me a few minutes to clean up her bed and comb her hair. She couldn't stop giggling whenever I did so. I asked her to stay in the room for a while and came out to see the lift, it wasn’t working in morning, but by now they fixed it. I came back and unlocked the breaks of her wheelchair and started moving towards the entrance of lift. Her smile was still on. She really has the most beautiful smile, divine and pure. I have never seen a smile so innocent that you can feel warmth in your heart.
We reached ground floor and moved towards the main gate of the hospital. Girl at reception smiled and waved to her, and I smiled and waved back. It was a pleasant evening, and she saw the old uncle of her neighboring ward sitting on grass with his grandson. He waved to her, and I waved back.
We were at the far end of the hospital garden when she said, "I think you should move on; I am no more the same”. 
“Why you are saying so love? You know I won’t be doing that. You are still same, nothing has changed” I replied. It wasn’t a shocker because she used to say it every day since doctors told she won’t be able to use her legs and hands again. It was when we met an accident which changed her life, and mine too.
It was our third anniversary as couples. Three years we were together, and we told our families about it, and they were so co-operative and understanding that they immediately loved us and announced wedding by next year. By then we would be graduated and will have a good job to fulfill family needs. Everything was so pleasant and beautiful that we were laughing on our decision of keeping it a secret from family. We decided to go for a long drive and celebrate the day at a resort at Varna Hills. Our families were already there, and they secretly planned for an engagement ceremony, though Shouvik, resort owner, told me everything a night before. And I kept it secret from Dia. I just wanted to see that priceless happiness on her face. We left on time, smiling, giggling and deeply and happily in love with each other.
She asked me “Will you ever leave me?"
I looked into her eyes, sensing if anything is wrong, but nothing was there; she just asked. Instead of replying I kept my hand on her shoulder and asked her to roll up my sleeves and my tattoo showed up.
I am always with you Dia
She planted a soft kiss on my hand as she saw her name tattoo. She had tears, but of happiness, immense happiness.
“You know my answer now”, she smiled and rested her head on my shoulder.
We were driving slower than usual, for no reason. Maybe I wanted some time with her and share her happiness. We were on Highway Nine, on its most empty stretch. If I was driving alone, I’d have used it to cross my personal speed records, but not today. She was sticking her hand out of the window to do the waves, she always did that. Her hairs were fluttering, and she didn’t care for it at all. I heard a loud honk from behind and saw a SUV blinking it’s headlights for pass. I gave a pass signal with indicators, and it almost overtook my car from margin of few inches. Dia stared at SUV and murmured something that I couldn’t hear at all.
After a while, we crossed the same SUV, and found them honking for pass again. At first, I considered it as a normal thing but when it repeated for more than five times, I called it a limit and show them what a Civic can do.  I pulled up my seatbelts and asked Dia to do the same, and she did it silently. And lowered from fifth cog to third and massive power blast was enough to make the car roll from 40 to 120kmph in few seconds. Soon we were flying past 180 kmph redline, but that SUV was equally powerful too, they were on, and were really close. I still had one cog left and was waiting for right time. And it arrived soon. My Civic and the SUV were in parallel, racing recklessly and insanely on Highway.
 “Leave it” Dia said in low voice. “I am scared”.
I looked into her brown eyes; she was so scared that her face turned pale.
“They started it” I was in no mood of losing the battle.
“But you can stop it by letting them go” her voice trembled.
“Is that you want? You want me to lose?” I asked scornfully.
“No, I want you to stop scaring me”, tears made her cheeks wet.
I was angry, really angry. And out of the blue I hit the brake pedal so hard that car skidded and slewed across the road. We were in the middle of the road and SUV was still speeding beyond the limits.And then something happened that changed everything. I woke in a hospital, surrounded by doctors and nurses. Lights were hurting my eyes, and I couldn’t feel my left shoulder.
He’s back!” someone shouted and everyone gathered around me.
“You escaped the death from a slight margin young man” a deep husky voice said.
“Where is Dia?” I asked as soon as I came back to senses.
“She is in ICU, we are taking care of her, don’t worry” he replied.
Dia and my parents entered the room to see me, and told me about the accident I wanted to see Dia, talk to her, but they told me to take the rest first. I lost a lot of blood; right shoulder was dislocated, and a fracture on right hand was making my life hell, but there was no other option.
After three days Niharika, Dia’s elder sister, came to see me, and she told something that no one told before.
“She won’t be able to stand on her own feet again, her body, below her shoulders is lifeless as stone. She can’t even move her hands. She lost everything, Everything. And reason is You! You’d move on, but she will suffer it through her life. You made her life hell.” she wanted to slap me, but she didn’t. But her words gave me thousand slaps. I felt my heart wrenching and blood oozing out from my whole body. I wanted to punish me; I wanted to kill me; I wanted to see her…
I started hitting my fractured hand on wall and on equipments around me, banging harder to let the pain reach its limits. Doctors rushed, Parents came, and they stopped my raging attempts. No one knew what happened.
“Why you didn’t told me? I want to die, I can’t live without her” I shouted with all my might.
“You can’t do anything about it, its destiny” someone said realizing the issue.
“She is my destiny, She is my life. If it’s not her, then I won’t live anymore”
“I want to see her” I pleaded.  
“You won’t be able to bear the pain” Niharika said.
“I want to see her” I raised my voice.
“She is sleeping now, we will tell you when she wakes” Doctor said.
“I will see her from distance, Please for God’s sake, let me see her. Please.” and tears made my face completely wet.
“Okay come with me” Dia’s dad said.
He put me in a wheelchair, and he wheeled slowly towards the ICU ward. He stopped at ward no. 7 and gave me a hand to stand. I still remember what I saw from that glass wall. She was sleeping calmly; her heartbeat count was 72 on a monitor placed next to her; a green sheet has covered her body above the waist, and she wore a white gown, like every other patient of that hospital. All of a sudden, her left hand hangs down from the bed, and she opened her eyes and cried in pain. A nurse came and took her hand and placed it on her chest slowly. I wanted to rush inside and hug her, kiss her, wipe her tears, and tell her I am here now; she doesn’t need to worry. But Dia’s dad stopped me. It wasn’t a right time. She might break and go in a trauma. He looked as helpless as Dia, and looked into my eyes. I failed to meet his questioning eyes. We went back to my ward silently. My parents and they discussed something while I was still thinking of Dia and about everything we ever did.
It took me a week to recover and get back to life. Dia was still in hospital, and I visited her every day. Sat with her from morning until late in the night, we talked about things, mostly irrelevant things, about weather, about food, about our friends, about SRK’s new movie. Sometimes I took her to hospital’s garden on wheelchair. She never replied in any of these conversations. It was always me who used to talk, sometimes I felt as if she lost her voice, but she didn’t because I heard her talking to nurse sometimes.
Then one day, when we were sitting on garden, she looked into my eyes and said “Will you ever leave me?”
Her eyes pierced through my heart, and I felt immense pain, that she was feeling right then. I controlled my tears and smiled looking at her. I sat down, locked her wheelchair, rolled my sleeves and took her in my embrace said, “Never love, even if I die, I will always be around you”
Her tears made their way down and dropped on my tattoo that said “I am always with you Dia
She smiled and said, "Can you help me to hold that rose?"
I took her hand and moved it slowly on rose petals; I know she can't feel its softness anymore, but still I wanted her to feel something. If nothing, then at least warmth of my love.

***
A month after the accident we got married, I got a job in TCS. After intensive therapy for six years Dia can now use her left hand and left leg. We are hoping that soon she will be cured completely. I never drove a car ever again.  
***

Disclaimer: All characters and incidents are work of fiction and has no resemblance with any person living or dead. Names may resemble but should be consider as a Coincident. 
Image Source: Google Search
Hope you enjoyed Reading. :)

AnSh :)

Comments

  1. Sad and beautiful but with hope at the end...

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  2. Thanks for reading Lucile :)

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  3. awesome narration anjit good one <3

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  4. Loved d story.....was moved by d accident part....everythng seemed so lively good job :-)

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  5. beautiful story of true love........grt bhai......:)

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  6. Very nice n truth in the love.......pain pierced my skin nerves went deep in my heart......n touched by loyalty.

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  7. a heartfelt story and a deep feeling difficult to express after reading it !!!

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  8. Hello, I read your new stuff daily. Your story-telling style is witty, keep
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