Kabir Kapoor paced back and forth in his room as he tried to clear his mind. He stopped to stare at his reflection in the mirror and realized of how unkempt he had become. His hair was messy, the bags under his eyes were terrible, and his shirt wasn’t even properly buttoned. A regular Kabir Kapoor would fix all of these things in a split second, but today Kabir felt surprisingly different. His mind and chest felt a lot more light, a lot more relieved. He plopped down on to his bed, and remembered all that the past week had thrown at him. ‘I wonder how Sanchi is feeling now’ Kabir thought. It had been a week since Sanchi’s accident. She had to spend a few days in the hospital, but once she received her blood transfusion, she was allowed to go home. She was strictly on bed rest for a month, and couldn’t come to work at the hospital. ‘I miss her’ Kabir thought as he stared at the floor. ‘Perhaps I should go visit her, to check how she is.’
Kabir rang the doorbell to Sanchi’s house, extremely nervous because he had no idea of whom would answer. A middle-aged man opened the door, which he presumed to be Sanchi’s father
“Hello… Namaste” Kabir said anxiously. “Uhm.. I’m here to meet Sanchi- Dr.Sanchi.”
“Namaste!” Sanchi’s father said cheerfully as he put his hand out to shake. Kabir awkwardly shook it and smiled along.
“Come on in,” Sanchi’s father motioned Kabir to come inside.
The two sat down, as Kabir curiously looked around their house. Their house wasn’t particularly big, but there were a whole lot of framed photographs on the walls. One that caught his eye especially was a picture of a young girl. It looked a lot like Sanchi. ‘That’s a cute picture’ Kabir thought.
“Would you like anything to drink?” Sanchi’s father interrupted Kabir’s thoughts.
“Uh.. No thank you.”
Sanchi’s father smiled once again at him, “I really have to thank you for saving my daughter’s life. Even with the rally going on, you managed to get her to the hospital safe and sound. Thank you so much. I appreciate it a lot, Mr. Kapoor.”
“Mr. Mishra, please don’t embarass me. I did what any other person would have done.”
“Oh no, Mr. Kapoor. You’ve done a lot for us. We really are indebted to you.”
An awkward silence followed along, until Kabir couldn’t handle the the tension anymore.
“So, how is Sanchi now?”
“She’s doing well. She’s been taking her medications and her pain is slowly getting better. She’s asleep right now.”
“Oh ok then, I’m so sorry to disturb you. I didn’t know she was asleep. I’ll come back to visit Sanchi later” Kabir quickly gathered his belongings and proceeded towards the door.
“Wait Mr. Kapoor!” Sanchi’s father yelled from behind. “If you would like to see Sanchi now, please do. It’s the least I can do for someone that has done so much for us.”
Kabir turned back and nodded.
“I have to go get Sanchi’s medications anyway, I would appreciate it if you could stay here and look after her while I’m gone.”
“Sure, no problem Mr. Mishra.”
With that Sanchi’s father left the house, leaving Kabir lost in his thoughts.
Kabir slowly walked into Sanchi’s room. The window was slightly open, causing a slight breeze to flow across the room. Kabir almost couldn’t recognize Sanchi as he approached her. Her usual pink and rosy cheeks were pale. She didn’t look half as much as the lively Dr.Sanchi looked. Kabir quietly sat down next to Sanchi on her bed. He reached his hand out to smooth over her forehead. Kabir picked up her hand and held it in his hand, softly caressing it. “I’m so glad you’re ok Sanchi. I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to you.” A tear dropped from his eye and onto her hand. He suddenly felt her hand tighten its grasp. He looked up to see that Sanchi was extremely restless. She was shivering and shaking her head back and forth. “Please… don’t hit me… I don’t wanna die” she cried as she continued to fidget around.
She’s having a nightmare’ he thought. “It’s ok, Sanchi. I’m here” he whispered. “They’re going to kill me! Save me please! Dr. Kabir !” she began to scream hysterically. “Sanchi, please. I’m here. Nothing will happen.” He took his hand and placed it on top of her head. “It’s alright.” Before Kabir knew it, Sanchi launched herself into his arms. “They’re going to kill me! Can’t you see!” she tightened her embrace with him, grabbing fistfuls of his hair.
Kabir sat there in shock, unaware of how to respond. He was never hugged like this, not ever by someone who wasn’t family. Yet he felt like he needed to do something. Some part of Kabir told him that Sanchi was his responsibility now. He slowly and cautiously wrapped his arms around her. She fit perfectly into his arms, and their breathing slowly came into sync. Kabir felt his own heartbeat and thoughts calm down as they continued their long embrace. Sanchi soon enough fell asleep in his arms as her hands played around with his hair. Kabir slowly rocked Sanchi back and forth, caressing her hair and back. Her soft hair against his face, her light flower like fragrance, and her quiet whispers made him shiver. Something about her was so intoxicating. Kabir slowly lowered Sanchi onto the bed, and tucked her in. He held her hand once again, this time interlocking his fingers with hers.
“I’ll always be here for you, Sanchi. Always.