Page 134 - Love Story of a Commando

He was sleeping with IVs attached to his hand and his left leg was
bandaged. And that made me happy. I heaved a sigh of relief. Thank God!
He was alive!
I opened the door and stood beside his bed, staring at his face like I
was seeing it for the first time. I could not stop myself from ruffling his hair
and suddenly he opened his eyes.
He smiled and said, ‘I was just dreaming about you.’
‘What was it about?’ I asked.
‘We were having coffee at Starbucks in Mumbai,’ he said earnestly.
‘What low standards! I would’ve much preferred if we had met on a
Goan beach, if not an exotic European location.’ I raised my eyebrows, held
my head high and said it like a queen.
‘Considering how we meet every time, I would still rate it better.’ His
smile broadened. We looked at our tattered appearances, stared into each
other’s eyes and then laughed like crazy people for a long time. I sat beside
him, then leaned against him, closed my eyes and held him firmly in my
arms. He closed his eyes too and rested his head on my shoulders.
An eternal satisfaction, an unspoken promise, quiet reassurance
lingered in the air like perfume.
‘I don’t think a hospital is the right place to say it but, Virat, I love
you and don’t you dare think about leaving me again or I will shoot you
myself,’ I said firmly.
He laughed. ‘Now you are talking like a commando’s girlfriend.’ He
sat back up and hugged me with whatever strength he had.
‘Riya, I am not good with words, but I was seventeen when I was
selected for the Indian Army. I have done nothing except train my mind and
body to defend my nation in every manner possible. It did not leave me
much scope for romance or even heartbreak. You are the first one who has
taken residence in my heart and that too from the very first moment I saw
you.’ He paused for a second.
‘I really don’t know what love is but I do know one thing—that I
worship you. Even a scratch on your body, a tear in your eyes, a speck of
sadness on your face makes me mad and I pick up my gun instantly. I am
sorry but this is what I know. I want to go to my office, do my job and come
back to you every single day just to have that tea that I imagine you will
make for me.
‘I want to cook breakfast and serve it to you in bed every single day.
I want to carry your bags when you go shopping and then I want to come
back home, cook food with you and then sleep beside you in your arms
every night. I don’t have any alternate version of my life if I don’t see
myself fighting. I am a very simple man and you are the best thing that has