Adhura Alviida 2

tu hai nahi yahaan, ye na yakeen hua

no brownie points for guessing where the title is from! also keep the tissues (again!)

____

"Sweetheart..." Aditya said as softly as possible while he shook her frail shoulder as her eyes remained closed. His face became stern with concern. His lower lip dropped a little as he felt the knot in his stomach unwind. The hair on his skin arose and stood still and straight as a line. He was unable to comprehend what he was seeing, the vague blur of Zoya holding her hand over her mouth as the tears trickled down her face uncontrollably made him furrow his brows as he was unable to comprehend what was happening. He watched her in confusion as the doctors crowded around Aadhya, making him get pushed to the side. The nurse turned off the monitor as she looked at the doctor in disapproval. The doctor bowed his head as he watched the heartbroken mother.

Aditya felt his feet frozen in. He wanted to move, he wanted to move his hands, he wanted to ask the doctors what was happening but the words got stuck in his throat. He felt paralyzed. His eyes moved back and forth from Zoya hysterically crying and the doctor who removed Aadhya's oxygen mask before covering her face with the white hospital linen.

"No—what are you doing?" He asked the doctor, rushing forth. "How-how can you take it off?" He tried fastening the oxygen mask back on Aadhya's face again. "You can't take it off. She needs it to breathe." He said frantically.

The doctor sighed as he watched the father of the little girl desperately talk as if he was so convinced his daughter was alive. The mother looked at him with pleading eyes as he left the room along with the nurses.

Aditya tried fastening the oxygen mask on her face but his efforts were halted with his wrist being held by her. He looked up at her. The eyes that once shined with love for him now emoted unadulterated anger. The red of the fury seeping through her skin like a wounded animal. The force with which she grabbed his wrist made him quiver as she stood up from the seat next to Aadhya.

"How dare you?!" She seethed. " Wasn't letting my child die enough, Mr. Aditya Hooda? Now you're here to show your fake sympathy?"

Aditya shook his head as he tried to grasp what she was saying. He shook his head as her words registered in his mind. He looked down as if trying to put puzzle pieces together. "Aadhya...dead...." He looked down at the white floor of the hospital as Zoya's taunts went unregistered in his mind. "No!" He gasped as he looked at Zoya. She watched him in aghast.

"Aadhya isn't dead!" He yelled. "Stop saying she's dead!" He screamed.

Zoya looked away from his face as the remainder of tears rolled down her face. "Is your drama over?" She asked with a lack of empathy. She watched him sternly. "I was so wrong, Aditya. I thought you loved Aadhya more than anything. More than me. The way you looked at that child like she was your whole world could've fooled anyone. My..." Zoya's voice cracked as she looked at the lifeless body of her child on the stretcher. "My baby is dead." She held her hand over her mouth trying to control her sobs. "I am the most unfortunate mother. I missed every moment of her life, only for her to come back to me for a few months before brutally being snatched away."

"Why did you do this to me, Aditya? WHY?!" She screamed as she grabbed his collar. "Why?!" Her tears fell down her cheeks as her body slid to the ground while she could not console herself.

**

Aditya sat at his bedside, on the ground clad in his white kurta as his leg were crisscrossed in front of his chest while his arms rested on his knees as he blankly stared at the window. His face was void of any emotion as he felt numb. His trance was interrupted by a parking white puppy. The little animal stopped in front of him and barked twice as if trying to get his attention. Aditya looked at the puppy blankly before the little one jumped on him, petting his lap. It was as if Shadow had understood the pain he kept bottled up in his heart.