Page 80 - Till the Last Breath . . .
P. 80
‘So, did they do an MRI?’ the irritating girl on the next bed asked him as
soon as he was in his bed.
Give me a break, he thought. ‘Do you just have to talk?’ he asked as the
niggling pain came back. It started in the stomach, then travelled to the
limbs, the tips of the fingers and slowly, his entire body started to throb
with pain. ‘Do you have to play the nice girl? It’s just irritating! Don’t you
have a boyfriend to call? Or anyone?’
‘Excuse me?’
Pihu’s face shrivelled. The upturned lips didn’t melt Dushyant, for he
hadn’t asked for her company. She, her parents and her effervescent happy,
optimistic face made him nauseated.
‘I don’t want you to ask me how I am doing or what they did to me. I
have no interest in talking to you or anyone around you. Just keep to your
business and don’t bother me!’
‘But—’
‘You’re irritating me. So are your parents. Go, choose another room.
Your mother will like it. She thinks I am scum and a bastard. Do her and
yourself a favour and just fucking stop talking to me,’ he grumbled. Pihu
cowered. He smirked. The girl scrambled for words, made a face, and
pulled the curtain between them. Dushyant felt good venting it out. Little
did he know that the cute ball of energy on the next bed was more persistent
than he would have ever imagined.
The outburst reminded him of the times he had shouted at Kajal. Kajal
used to shout back and eventually break down into uncontrollable sobs. He
thought he could hear little sobs from the other side of the curtain. Or were
they in his head? What had Kajal wanted when she called?
He didn’t feel pity for Pihu or sorry for what he had just done. Instead, he
loved the silence. Of the medical equipment. Of the drips of medicine.
Beep. Drip. Beep. Drip. His own uncertain heartbeat. Lub. Dub.
It was late at night. Dushyant was writhing on his bed with pain. It felt as if
his stomach was being ripped apart and hung to dry. He was sweating and
the bed was wet with his perspiration. He had to adjust the temperature of
