Page 39 - Love Story of a Commando

Suddenly, one of the terrorists threw a grenade at us and even before
we could realize it, the loud explosion and smoke engulfed everything
around us. The gunshots stopped and astonishingly I was still not dead but
fell into the swimming pool with the sudden impact. It was a sheer miracle.
My arms and legs refused to move and I was drowning. I lost all hope and
was trying to adjust my mind to the idea of death when suddenly somebody
caught me and started pulling me out.
I turned around and saw that tough guy through the fluttering eyelids
of my closing eyes.
It cannot be. It was Virat!
His face was sparkling in the water and his hair was flowing. I could
see the wrinkles on his forehead and dewy eyes wide in bewilderment.
Perhaps he had not expected to see me too. He looked even more handsome.
But there was something different about him, his familiar demeanour looked
a bit odd, something looked strange and new in him.
I was dying and in pain yet these little thoughts easily crawled into
my mind and I smiled.
It just meant, I was still alive.
Then everything blanked out.
When I opened my eyes, I thought Virat was kissing me. But he
wasn’t. He was giving me mouth-to-mouth CPR. I got up at once, coughing
miserably.
‘Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay. You are fine,’ he said.
The reality hit me again and I panicked. ‘Where are we? There were
people shooting at us. I saw them killing everyone mercilessly. Where are
they?’
‘Taj is under terrorist attack,’ he said nonchalantly.
Terrorists storming the Taj with the sole aim of wrecking it to the
core! How is that even possible? I panicked. Perhaps he noticed.
‘It’s okay. You are safe. Don’t worry. We are still in the hotel but I
will find a way to get you out.’ He looked grim and determined.
I looked around. We were in one of the luxury suites. I looked back
at Virat and heaved a sigh of relief. He had moved towards the balcony
which had a spectacular view of the Arabian Sea with glittering lights and a
dark horizon. I followed his gaze and saw a huge gathering of people outside
the hotel. Reporters, policemen, army personnel and other people who might
be the lucky escapees, the worried relatives of the people trapped inside or
maybe just courageous curious souls. Who knew!
And suddenly I could see hope rising in me! There may be bomb
blasts, and terrorists may siege the city, but no one can ever take away ‘the
spirit of Mumbai’—always resilient and finding a place between hope and
despair.