"Dad Ice cream please" demanded Rishi.
"Fruit salad for me" said the Granny Gowri.
"Ok, for you Appa??" asked Varun.
"Badam milk will do... for me and my daughter in law" said the Grandpa. Narmada smiled.
"Darling you??" asked Varun. Punya didn't respond, she was deeply lost in her thoughts. Whole family was out for Sunday night dinner.
Varun observed her silence but he decided to check that later and ordered her favorite chocolate fudge.
"Punya" Varun touched her hand and she gasped "Yes Appa" she replied.
"Your favorite fudge"
"Oh" was her response, again she returned to her silence and started eating it.
Varun wondered if Punya was sick or something went wrong in the weekend trip... He decided to ignore it for a while and concentrated on others at the table.
Later that night, Punya woke up from bed to the same nightmare she had before....but this time Prakruth didn't marry Roshni, he screamed at her and walked towards Punya and held her hand.... Punya was shocked so woke up breathing heavily.
She searched for water bottle, it wasn't in the room, so she decided to go down to kitchen..
"Weird dreams....Che....!!!
I think I shouldn't have screamed and insulted Prakruth so much. We were pretty close friends... I could've asked whether he used such word against me... I have seen admiration in his eyes for me... I felt so comfortable with him, nothing else counts in his presence... Many girls love him and I was lucky enough to get close to him... I spoiled everything hearing to Roshni. She could've done so because of jealousy..., I shouldn't have moved back.... AMMA...."
She slipped from the stairs and hurt her forehead and her right arm. She was lost so much in her thoughts that she didn't see the steps properly...
...
"Hey you're Jyoti right??.." asked Prakruth to Jyoti who was coming out of her classroom with Siri.
"Yes senior" she answered.
"Had your lunch Jyoti??"
"No we're going to cafeteria now"
"By the way where's Punya, is she absent??"
"Yes, she didn't come today" she shrugged.
"What happened to her? Anything wrong?" Prakruth asked in a panicked voice.
Thrishul who was walking behind these girls heard this conversation and said "She fell from the cliff in the trip and is serious in the hospital... Will you go and treat her???" in a chaffing tone.
Prakruth knew he was being sarcastic, so he calmly said... "Kindly provide the address... I'll go see her"
"Look at you...." he started laughing.
Prakruth controlled his anger and said "Thrishul, we have our badminton tournaments coming up so I'm asking where is she, so please let me know" in a composed voice.
"She's hurt, you told you'll kill me if I don't bring her safely right? Come kill me" Thrishul went over him.
"Thrishul relax, don't pick up a fight now" Jyoti tried to control him. He ignored and continued irritating Prakruth.
Prakruth lifted his hand to slap him, but his phone started ringing...
"Hello... Oh ok.. .. Tell me...." he answered... "Oh is it.... Thanks for the information, I'll be there in few minutes" he hung up on the call.
"Thrishul you're saved for the day... Go have lunch" he said and ran in excitement to the parking area.
"Why do you pick up fights with him, you should've told him where's Punya instead...." Siri scowled at him.
"You don't understand, come let's go" said Thrishul.
........
Previous night Punya was brought unconscious to Life Line hospital after first aid done by a doctor near their house. They had admitted her to the emergency ward, Dr. Sarala treated her.... Punya hurt her head badly and fractured her right hand when she fell from stairs. Later in the afternoon when nurse came for routine check up, she heard Punya murmuring Prakruth's name and had informed Dr. Sarala about it. Doctor told her to call her son and inform him that Punya is admitted here.
When Prakruth rushed to the hospital, he was guided by the staff to Punya's ward. He checked the people inside and asked nurse to call them out.
He went inside after few seconds, his heart sank seeing a big bandage around her head and her hand in cast. He went close to her and brushed her hair past her forehead.
"Why do you hurt yourself often? It hurts me a lot.... You'll never understand Punya.... How special you are to me.... Never" he muttered. Punya whined in pain.... "Prakruth"
He was delighted to hear his name.... He waited to confirm so he uttered her name and waited for her response... again she whined "Prakruth". He held her left hand and pressed his lips on it.... "I love you so much, get well soon" he rushed out as he couldn't hold back his tears. He directly went into his mother's room and sat holding his head in both his hands.
"Hi, Prakruth how are you??" Dr. Sarala walked in the door.
"Look, I'm fine..". He said standing up..."how are you and Dad??" he asked
"All good... But we miss you" she sighed.
He chuckled and said "So I came to see you once"
His mom held his ears and told "I know why you're here. Did you see her??" she asked.
"Yes, such a pitiful situation, what happened mom??" he asked.
"She fell from stairs at home, she was brought here unconscious, now she's out of danger...."
Prakruth rubbed his forehead.. Sarala could easily make out the pain, she said "Don't worry"
He smiled.
"How come she utters your name while whining?? Luckily her family haven't caught her words.... But you need to tell me everything now...." she winked.
"Doctor emergency...." a nurse called her and she went to treat the patient.
Prakruth chuckled softly and walked up to the Punya's family and introduced himself.
Only Varun recognized him as he had heard his name from Punya.... He greeted him warmly. A nurse walked up to him and said "Sir, if you would like to have lunch, I'll bring it to you" politely.
"No formalities please, I'll help myself at the canteen" he responded.
"Ok Sir, Thank you". She walked ahead to follow her duty.
"So you're the son of Dr. Murthy...?" asked the Grandpa Eshwar.
"Yes Sir, I'm Prakruth" he held his hand forward for a hand shake.
"Nice to meet you young man" Grandpa patted on his back after a hand shake.
"Uncle how did this happen to Punya?" Prakruth asked turning to Varun.
"Night we were all asleep, we heard her scream and we rushed but by the time we approached her, she was on the floor bleeding from head.... May be she fell from the steps while coming down..." Varun explained while his eyes welled up. He took his handkerchief and wiped his eyes turning to the other side. "She hasn't gained consciousness till now" he added.
Silence prevailed in the waiting area.