‘I have imagined us together so many times that this too sometimes feels like a figment of my imagination. As if I dreamt this up too.’
‘This is real,’ she says with a sense of finality. ‘I’m here tostay.’
She looks up and kisses me. Our kiss is punctuated by the ringing of my phone. It’s Baba. Reluctantly and with a sigh, I pick up the call. It must be another of those calls to tell me about a new running record he set.
‘Where are you? WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO CALL YOU!’ Baba says frantically.
‘I was in . . . no network—’
‘Come to Ahuja Hospital quickly!’ he commands.
‘But what happened?’ I say, my heart pounding in my chest.
‘Just come—’
‘Is it Rabbani—’
I can hear the wailing of an ambulance in the background. ‘Is it Rabbani...?’ I stammer.
The line goes dead.
I try calling Baba again, but there’s no answer. Then I call Rabbani and she answers immediately. Listening to her voice fills me with relief. In the background, I can still hear the sirens of the ambulance.
‘It’s Tejal,’ she says. ‘Come quickly, Dada. Please come quickly. She’s hurt.’
‘What happened to her?’ Aanchal yells into the phone.
‘She’s okay, but come,’ says Rabbani. ‘Please come, now.’
I speed to the address Google gives us.
‘What could have happened?’ asks Aanchal, her voice barely a whisper.
She tries to call Gaurav, but he doesn’t pick up. I can sense what might have happened, but I don’t want to believe it. No, I’m overthinking it. She must have been in an accident. Tripped. Fallen down the stairs. Maybe it’s nothing... maybe it’s nothing... I keep praying it’s nothing. Aanchal and I hop out of the car and sprint towards the reception desk, giving Tejal’s name to the nurse there.
‘Is she okay?’ Aanchal inquires and fires a bunch of questions. ‘What happened to her? Is there a doctor we can talk to? Which floor?’
The nurse sees the panic in our eyes so she says, ‘The doctor would tell you better. But she’s doing okay.’
We’re told to go to the second floor but when the lift doesn’t arrive soon enough, we take the stairs instead.
‘Do you think Gaurav—’
I cut her because I don’t want it to be true. ‘It will be okay,’ I falsely reassure Aanchal.
As we reach the second floor, we spot two men sprinting angrily towards us. I recognize them immediately. I have seen them on Tejal’s Instagram. They are Randhir and Ramit, Tejal’s brothers. They are heaving and panting, their eyes bloodshot, fists clenched when they reach us.
‘How’s she?’ I ask.
Randhir turns to Aanchal, eyes burning with anger. ‘What is she doing here?’ he yells at me. ‘Le jaa ise yaha se!’
Aanchal trembles as she speaks, ‘How is Tejal?’
Ramit and Randhir look at each other with fury and astonishment. ‘Aanchal, how dare you come here?’ Randhir commands. ‘You must leave now.Nikal jaa yaha se.’
My head looks for alternative explanations but the truth is so obvious. We are here because of something Gaurav did. Tejal is here because of Gaurav.
I grab Aanchal’s arm and say, ‘Come on, let’s go.’
