THE SURGEON'S SOLITUDE (ON HOLD)

CHAPTER-1 IS IT OVER?

"It's over, Mauli! Why don't you understand? I don't want to live with you anymore..."Kunal couldn't control his emotions this time. The words echoed in Mauli's mind, piercing every inch of her heart. "Kunal," she called, her voice swallowed by the void, "Why?"But he didn't turn back. His footsteps receded, fading into the shadow.

"But, he proposed to me first..." The words her heart echoed. All of a sudden, the surname behind her name "Malhotra" lost all its meaning. The moonlit room now blurred, its walls witnessing the fear that had to come true one day. She, who would perform surgeries standing for hours, felt the excruciating weight on her knees for the first time. The room felt cold, with the wind blowing through the curtains. "You left me... You left me, no, you left me no, you left me no choice but to stay here forever." The lyrics of the song playing in the background slowly permeated the room, leaving their mark.

The flashback of their old conversation came in front of her eyes, like an old chapter she was condemned to read again.

"You would never leave me, Kunal, right?" Mauli asked, expecting to hear the words, "How can I?"

"Why would I not? People change with time, Mauli...I may someday leave you too."

"How... How can you say that?" Her face which was blushing a few minutes before as she thought maybe he liked her too changed into distress. Taking a pause and looking down, she says, "Yeah, people do change, but never mind...You do whatever you want to do, whenever you want. Who can stop you after all?"

"Come on, Mauli! Why do you always get so serious, yaar? I am just doing masti (fun) with you" Kunal shrugs it off in laughter while patting her back and then starts walking with her as they move to the library.

Mauli lost in her own thoughts, couldn't keep her eyes off him as he was still smiling. It was something magical... so peaceful...about his laughter that she would just forget, even if the whole world was turning upside down. He looks towards her and sees the beautiful smile on her face, with her dark brown eyes brightening and staring into his soul through his eyes.

"I know you like my jokes too much, but if you keep smiling like that when no one's talking, people will get the wrong impression of you. Come back from your dreams, Mauli ji!!" He sometimes gets overwhelmed when this happens, and Mr. Charming has  no other solution but to just lighten up the atmosphere— sometimes through his silly jokes... sometimes by glaring into the other person's eyes— and it works, at least for one person: none other than Mauli.

Tick tock... Tick tock... Tick tock, the sound of the clock earlier amplified by the silence of the room, now begins to dim away as the rain starts to fall heavily. Its sprinkles enter from the opened window, falling on her body as she sits on the ground, clenching her fists. Her eyes are wide open, and her body is confined in a small circumference. There's no one to call...no one to comfort her in despair. At least the rain brings her back to the present moment.

"No!!! No!!!" She shouts at the top of her lungs, growling in pain, "No, Kunal! You can't leave me like this! No!!!"
"What's wrong with you Mauli?" A soft yet firm voice came from beside, interrupting her.