He entered inside the hospital and went towards the reception asking of the patient Maya Mehrotra. As he got her ward number, he went to find the room. His eyes carried sadness, his lips had a frown, his eyebrows were creased though he was eager to see her. His hand carried an ice cream box. As he found the ward, he was about to knock but stopped. What if she gets scared of him too? This thought took no time to occupy his brain. He gathered courage and knocked on the door. ‘Just a m-minute,’ said a voice and the next second,she opened the door opened before him to let him in.
‘How’s you?’, he asked as she had her eyes lowered. ‘I am fine and you?’, she asked. ‘Fine and how’s she?’, he asked looking at Maya who was sleeping peacefully. ‘No progress is coming Arjun, even if it comes, that Kabir comes to scare her,’ she said with moist eyes. ‘Don’t worry, now she will be in my mother’s hospital now,’ he assured. ‘Wow, finally aunty became a doctor, congratulations,’ she said and smiled finally getting a hope. ‘Yes, and she treated many patients like her,’ he told her and she smiled looking at Maya.
‘Finally chhoti will become fine, no one will scare her, she will show progress. Thank you Arjun, thank you so much,’ she said and Maya moved in her sleep. She opened her eyes and Durga sat by her side. ‘Chhoti, I have good news for you, now Kabir won’t ever come here to scare you because I m finally shifting you from here today itself,’ she said and Maya smiled. ‘Thank you di, I love you,’ she said and Durga kissed her forehead. ‘Love you too, look who came to meet you,’ she said and Maya looked at Arjun.
‘Hi Maya, yaad hai? Main Arjun,’ he said and knelt down beside her bed. ‘Vo bandar?’, she asked and Durga giggled along with Arjun. ‘Han wohi, mujhe dekh kar khush nahi ho? Cheeto?’, Arjun asked and tickled her and she laughed. ‘Han Han main bohat khush hoon, bandar, thanks to these drips, if they weren’t here, I would’ve ran after you, shukar manao,’ she said smilingly. ‘Han I know you’re really fast, thats why I thought to have ice cream race,’ he said and stood up to bring ice cream in a bowl for both of them and Durga as well.
‘Let’s start,’ Arjun said and they all ate and while Durga was busy eating, Arjun extended his hand that had spoon of ice cream. They had a cute eyelock as she ate by his hand. A smile got plastered on her face automatically in his presence. She didn’t realize when she too did the same. He ate from her hand and they shared a smile and cute eyelock.
Kehte hain:
Khuda ne iss jahaan mein
Sabhi ke liye kisi na kisi ko hai banaaya
har kisi ke liye
Tera milna hai uss rab ka ishaara
Maano mujhko banaya tere jaise hi kisi ke liye
Kuch toh hai tujh se raabta
Kuch toh hai tujh se raabta
Kaise hum jaane, hume kya pata
Kuch toh hai tujh se raabta
Tu humsafar hai
Phir kya fikar hai
Jeene ki wajah hi yehi hai
Marna issi ke liye
Durga lifted her face as she finished eating and saw Maya smiling cutely as Arjun fed her and she too fed him at the same time. She decided not to disturb them and stood up from the floor and sat on the small table in the room. She switched on the screen of the phone and took their photo to capture her smile and the beautiful moment as well.
She received a message, it was of Dev, her husband. ‘Hey wifey, what’s up?’, it said. ‘I m with Maya and she smiled for the first time in these two years ,’ she replied. ‘How?’, he asked. ‘I called Arjun to come and meet her and so she smiled in his presence,’ she replied and sent Arjun and Maya’s photo. ‘Happy couple, waiting for a moment like this to come between you and me as well,’ he replied to which she blushed. ‘Soon ,’ she replied and smiled to herself.
‘Durga di, you finished eating and didn’t even declare yourself as winner like you used to do in childhood, very bad,’ Maya said. ‘You were having such a good time, how could I disturb you?’, she replied teasingly. ‘Di sach to yeh k aapko jeeju se baat karni thi, he he,’ she said and giggled. ‘Or tujhe tere bandar se,’ she teased back. ‘Aray di, kya aap bhi? Was this the surprise that he has come back?’, Maya asked. ‘Yes, how was it?’, she asked. ‘Very good, di aapne humari jo pic kheechi vo to dikhao.’
‘Konsi pic?’, Durga asked. ‘Ice cream wali, I know you captured it, di please dikhao na,’ Maya said and she showed them. ‘Kaisi hai?’, she asked. ‘We still look the same as in childhood, haina bandar?’, Maya asked. ‘Haan, humne ek doosre ko waise greet hi nahi kiya, antar?’, Arjun said.’Mantar,’ Maya said. ‘Agaya bandar,’ Arjun and Maya said in unison and pressed each other’s nose lightly while tickling with the other hand and laughed. ‘I thought to bring a gift for you, I hope you like it,’ he said and handed her a shopper. She pulled out a box and opened it. It had a silver bracelet with the letters MDJ. ‘What does this stands for?’, Maya asked. ‘M for Maya, D for Durga and J for your mother, Janvi,’ he said and Maya smiled with tears in her eyes