CHAPTER 48: I care for you
(Day Daksh kidnapped Ishana)
Ishana was sleeping peacefully on her bed…. She was tired and exhausted and due to the effects of the medicine she was in deep slumber…. Om was sitting beside her looking at her face…. He caressed her hair softly…. He remembered the incidents of the past few hours….
How Ishana came running and collided with him…. How she fell unconscious in his arms…. The moment he saw her not opening her eyes and not looking at him, his heart stopped beating and breathing became difficult…. How he along with Abir and Mishti took her to the hospital…. The doctor told that she was weak because of some drug injected in her body…. Thankfully the drug dosage was mild and her body had some weakness nothing to worry about…. She was still unconscious when Om asked Abir the matter…. Why had Daksh kidnapped Ishana…. What was happening…. That is when Abir revealed everything to Om and shock would have been an understatement for what Om felt…. Earth slipped beneath his feet…. Friend…. Daksh had always been a friend whom Om trusted a lot….
“Yakeen kis par kare jab apne hi dhokha de jaate hai”
Betrayal….
Broken trust….
Unfaithful relationships….
Lies….
Deception….
Om hated all these and yet time and again he had to face these…. Abir and Mishti wanted to stay with Ishana but they had to go to the police station…. Om assured the two that he would take care of Ishana…. He brought her back to her house when she gained consciousness…. She did not want to take his help but she had little choice…. They did not speak a word since they had left the hospital…. Once back home Om gave Ishana her medicines and she slept in no time….
*****
Riddhima was sitting in the waiting room of the police station…. She had received a call from the police station informing her about Daksh’s arrest…. She was shocked knowing about it and rushed to the police station…. She was worried for her brother and lost in her thoughts when Mishti came there….
Mishti: Excuse me, are you Riddhima Khurana?
Riddhima: Yes, I got a call about my brother, Daksh Khurana’s arrest. Where is Bhai?
Mishti: Come with me.
Riddhima followed Mishti as they walked towards the cell where Daksh was…. Seeing her brother behind bars brought tears in her eyes…. She was ten years old when their parents died in a plane crash…. Daksh was only thirteen but took up the responsibility of his sister…. He became both her father and mother…. Daksh would cook food for her, make her sleep, help her in her studies, and tell her bed time stories…. He did what parents do for their children…. More than a sister he had raised her as his daughter….
She walked up to the cell and held the metallic rods….
Riddhima: Bhai….
Daksh: Ridz….
Riddhima: Bhai, what has happened? Why have they put you here?
Daksh: This is all because of my mistakes.
Riddhima: Bhai, what are you saying?
Daksh: You won’t be able to hold yourself when you’ll know what I have done.
Riddhima looked at him scared seeing his condition…. He told her everything and Riddhima stumbled back listening to his deeds…. Mishti held her and saved her from getting hurt…. Riddhima could believe that her brother could do all this…. She did not say anything and walked away from there…. Daksh looked at her walking away…. He knew that he had done what was to be done…. And also that the rest would also be done…. He sat back on the floor leaning against the wall…. His part of the work was done…. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes….
Daksh: Sorry Ishana, you had to go through a lot.
*****
“Hello beautiful”
“I am going now but remember, you’ll pay for this. I will not let you live in peace.”
“Bhaag kar kaha jaa rahi ho beautiful”
The voice echoed in the room and Ishana woke up with a jerk….
“No, please leave me”
She shouted and tears flowed from her eyes…. She was breathing heavily…. Om who was outside talking on a call rushed inside hearing her shouts…. He was worried seeing her condition and ran to her…. He sat beside her on the bed and placed his hand on her shoulder…. With the sudden touch Ishana looked to her side…. Seeing Om and being scared she hugged him tightly as tears flowed from her eyes…. She hugged him tighter…. He was stunned for a moment but realizing her condition, he hugged her back and caressed her hair and back…. After a few minutes Ishana realized what she was doing and moved back breaking the hug…. She faced the other side and wiped her tears…. Om looked at her surprised by her behavior….
Omkara: Ishana….
Ishana: You can go now, I am fine and I don’t need your help. Thank you for whatever you did, but now you can go.
He was shocked by her words but composed himself….
Omkara: No, I am not going anywhere. You stay here; I’ll get the soup for you.
Ishana: Dekhiye….
Ishana could not complete her sentence as Om had already walked out of the room…. She sat there not knowing what she was supposed to do…. Om was already messing her mind and now this gestures of his were only increasing the mess…. She was thankful that he helped her at the hospital and brought her to her house but still she could not let him stay around her for a longer time…. She did not know what would happen if he stayed near her…. Her feelings for him were something she was not ready to handle at this point of time….
Om’s situation was not different than hers…. He was already living with the guilt of hurting her unnecessarily and now after whatever Daksh had done, he was feeling more guilty…. Only if he had not let her work alone…. Only if he had not asked her to leave that day…. She would have been with him and none of this would have happened…. The least he could do was take care of her and repent for his mistakes…. But the only hurdle in all this was his feelings for her…. Why were feelings always so messed up…. Being around with her was making him feel in ways he was not supposed to feel…. She was raising those feelings inside him that he could not handle at this point in time…. Putting aside all his thought he walked in to the bedroom with the soup and her medicines…. He knew that she was all ready to oppose his actions but even he was prepared…. He kept the tray on the side table…. Ishana was looking at his actions….
Ishana: I am not going to eat….
The sentence was left unfinished as Om put the spoon full of soup in her mouth…. She was surprised by his actions and looked at him bewildered…. Her expressions made Om chuckle but he maintained a straight face….
Ishana: Look….
And again the spoon was in her mouth and she had no other option than to drink the soup…. Om looked at her with a straight face hiding all his emotions under the mask…. She understood that she was not going to get away with this and quietly drank the soup…. Sensing that she had given up Om also did not say anything and fed her the soup…. She drank the soup and Om kept the empty bowl on the tray…. He took the medicines and glass of water and forwarded it to her…. And to his surprise she ate the medicines without any protests…. He kept the empty glass back on the tray…. They did not look at each other and were thinking about what to do next…. Ishana was not even feeling sleepy anymore…. Om was also quiet…. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes…. He was looking at his phone….
Ishana: Actually….
Omkara: Kuch chahiye tumhe?
Ishana: Sorry….
Omkara: For what?
Ishana: I was rude to you earlier. You were only trying to help….
Omkara: It is okay and moreover I deserved some of it.
Ishana looked at him smiling at her…. She could not stop herself from smiling…. Why things were so complicated they thought at the same time…. Wish there was a way they could sort it out without hurting one another and also others….
Ishana: May I ask you something?
Omkara: Of course, you don’t have to take my permission.
Ishana: Why are you doing all this?
Omkara: Doing what?
Ishana: Yehi, taking care of me, this soup, the medicines…. Are you doing this because you feel sorry for whatever your friend did?
Omkara: I am doing all this because I care for you.
Ishana looked at him surprised by his answer…. She could see in his eyes that it was genuine concern and tha he really cared about her…. But then if he cared why did he ask her to leave that day…. Why did he ask her to stay away…. Why did he say that they cannot work together…. Why was he being so confusing…. Why was he behaving in two different ways….
Ishana: If you care, why did you ask me to leave that day? Why did you say that we cannot work together anymore?
Omkara: Ishana….
Ishana: You only said to me that you value truth over everything and that you will fight the world for the truth, then what changed suddenly that you did not wish to fight anymore.
Omkara: Some things are complicated Ishana, I cannot explain them to you.
Ishana: Why Om, why you cannot explain?
Omkara: Har kyu ka jawaab nahi hota Ishana.
She could see it in his eyes that he had an answer…. It was just that he did not want to answer…. Why was he not wishing to answer…. What was so complicated that he was willing to go against his own principles…. Ishana could understand that Om was definitely trying to hide something….
Ishana: Om, har sawaal ka jawaab hota hai, baat bas itni hai ki hum jawaab dena chahte hai ya nahi.
Omkara: Toh aisa hi samajh lo ki main jawaab dena nahi chahta.
He got up from his place and was about to go when she held his hand…. He turned and looked at her surprised…. He could see it in her eyes that she did not want to let go of it…. But he knew he had to let go…. If he stopped today than going away again would never be possible…. He took out his hand from her hold…. She looked at him….
Omkara: Take care Ishana.
And he walked out of the room without turning back even once…. He knew if he looked at her he would not be able to go…. She looked at his retreating figure and tears flowed from her eyes…. She wished if she could stop him….
Ishana: I love you Om…. I wish I could ever say this to you.
She closed her eyes…. Wish things were simpler….
*****
Om stood near his car in the parking…. Ishana’s face was the only thing that revolved in his mind…. Her words echoed in his ears…. She wanted answers from him and he could not give them to her no matter how much he wanted…. He hit his hand on the nearby wall…. It hurt him but not more than the fact that he was hurting Ishana more….
Omkara: I am sorry Ishana…. I wish I could answer your questions….
He sat in his cars wiping the tears in his eyes and drove away…. He did not have the right to hurt her….
*****
Hello everyone, I hope you all are doing well.
Here is the next chapter of the story, do read and share your views.
Has Daksh’s chapter ended from Ishana’s life or is there more to it? What turn will Ishana and Om’s life take now?
Keep reading and smiling!!!
Take care and stay safe!!!