Alright guys, this is gonna be the first and last time I do a pre-chapter note (I feel like it ruins the mood for the chapter ahead), but this was important:
Since, I took such a long break between chapter 13 and chapter 14, you guys might have missed chapters 14 or 15, so please make sure to check if you’ve read those chapters or not (even if you think you already have), cause they were important chapters in terms of plot ; here are the links below ->
Chapter 14: Chapter 14
Chapter 15: Chapter 15
To visit all previous chapters: All Parts here
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Sayyam stepped into the nurses’ room cautiously, wondering why the woman had told him that Anjali was here. He knew very well that the woman had recognized him, but had not acknowledged it, and he was relieved she hadn’t. He scanned the tiny room, spotting a girl laying on the bed at the end of the room and rushed toward her. “Anjali” he tentatively called out. The girl slowly turned around, her eyes shining with happiness as she spotted Sayyam.
“Sayyam bhaiya!” she reached out for him and he pulled her close to him, unconsciously smoothing her hair.
“What happened Anjali?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.
“Nothing bhaiya,” she smiled weakly “I just caught a fever, but now that you’re here, I feel better…where had you gone for so long?” Sayyam felt guilty and hugged her once more.
“I had some work Anjali…I know it took one whole year, but I’m sorry,” he held his ears and cocked one eyebrow, “Please forgive me na, princess,” he grinned. She giggled at Sayyam’s antics.
“Bhaiya, I’m not a little kid anymore; I’m ten years old now!” she held up all ten of her fingers proudly.
“Oh yeah! I forgot!” Sayyam teased her. “You’re a big girl now right…but that doesn’t mean I can’t tickle you!” He started to tickle her and she rolled over on the bed laughing gleefully. Suddenly, she started to cough, and Sayyam got worried. He touched the back of his hand to her forehead.
“Anjali? What happened? Are you ok?” Sayyam heard a soft, but anxious voice near the entrance of the room. He turned around, his hand still on Anjali’s forehead.
“Girnewali?” he whispered, shocked, “What are you doing here?”
—–
Krishna walked towards the nurses’ room after the woman had told her Anjali was there. The woman had also started muttering something about how ‘that boy too had come to meet her’. Krishna walked swiftly towards the room, before stopping in her tracks on hearing two voices inside the room.
“Please forgive me na, princess” a deep voice playfully said.
She peeked inside the room and saw Sayyam. Her mouth falling open. ‘What was he doing here?’ she racked her brain for an answer, before realizing that he too used to stay in an orphanage…most likely the one they were in right now. She quietly peered into the room again. Sayyam and Anjali were sitting very close and laughing about something. Krishna felt her heart warm up seeing Sayyam and Anjali this way. She had always seen the secluded, rather serious side of Sayyam, but the way he’d opened up to the young girl made her realize that there were so many different shades to this man she had yet to discover. Sayyam began to tickle Anjali, both of them laughing; when suddenly, Anjali started coughing.
“Anjali? What happened? Are you ok?” Krishna dashed in fretfully. As she made her way towards Anjali, her foot got tangled in some wiring and she tripped. She waited for herself to hit the floor, but the impact never came. She cracked an eye open, feeling Sayyam’s arms around her. His hands were on her waist and she had instinctively wrapped her arm around his neck. She looked up into Sayyam’s eyes, but this time, he was expressionless; his eyes were guarded, and she wasn’t able to read them. Something about his eyes seemed familiar though…she just didn’t know what. She racked her brain to remember where she’d seen those eyes, but nothing came to her.
Anjali’s voice brought them back to reality, and they both stepped away from each other.
“Krishna didi!” she exclaimed happily, Krishna went towards Anjali.
“Anjali,” Krishna went closer to her, “Look at you, you’re such a big girl now!” she felt tears well up in her eyes. “I missed you so much”.
“Me too di,” Anjali hugged Krishna, “promise me that you and bhaiya will always come to visit me”.
Sayyam appeared next to Krishna, “Of course Anjali, we’ll always be here for you,” he spoke for both him and Krishna. Anjali held both their hands and was about to say something, when a volunteer entered the room.
“Have you both come here to adopt?” she looked at both of them. Krishna’s was shocked, while Sayyam smacked his forehead.
“No, no” he came to Krishna’s rescue, “We just came to visit her,” he pinched Anjali’s cheek fondly. The nurse, looked at Anjali, and her expression became solemn.
“Can I talk to you both outside?” she gave them a look of sympathy. Krishna and Sayyam exchanged a look and followed the volunteer outside.
“Just by looking at you both, I can tell that you love Anjali a lot,” the girl stated once they were in the hallway. “I’m not supposed to share any confidential information, but for you two, I’ll make an exception”. She hesitated, looking at them seriously.
“Anjali has stage two lung cancer”.
*****
Woah!! Plot twist!! Am I right! You guys must have already known that Anjali was a kid (Again, chapter 2), and you must have guessed from the last chapter that both Sayyam and Krishna know her…but this was definitely a shocker…the next chapter will come out soon 🙂
Btw, I love protective Sayyam…too cute, don’t you agree 😉
Until next time,
-Shreya <3