𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴

• 5 •

Sameer was driving his car as fast as he could in order to reach the hospital in which Nanu had been admitted. The news had come as a complete shock to him. When Naina had told him about the whole thing, he couldn't believe a word. He was too stunned. The previous day only, he was feeling happy about spending such a great time with Nanu. It was like he had returned back in time when he didn't have any kind of those CEO responsibilities and Nanu too didn't have any sort of an ailment. Those good and carefree times.

In a blink, his life had turned upside down. His mind was filled with all sorts of negative thoughts. The old images of the past were constantly flashing in his mind. He finally reached the hospital and ran in a haste towards the reception.
His condition was miserable, shivering hands, sweaty palms, messy hair, shirt tucked improperly.
"J-j-Jaiprakash M-Maheshwari kounse room mein hai. Jaldi bataye please." He asked hurriedly.
The receptionist took her own time to answer back. It was getting difficult for him to wait for even a second. He just wanted to reach his Nanu.
"He had been taken to the Emergency Department, Room No. 6," she told him.
He immediately ran in the given direction.

Naina was sitting outside the ER chanting the prayers for the improvement of his health. Sameer spotted Naina outside the room. His feet felt heavy now. He didn't have the courage to see his Nanu in that condition. The 6-years-old incident was playing in his mind when he had gotten scared of losing him. With a heavy heart, he walked in front of the Emer room and just stood there. His eyes were full of tears. Naina noticed him but couldn't say anything. She herself was too much afraid about Nanaji. They both were crying.

In the meantime, Munna-Pandit also came since Ramdhari had informed them. They both ran to comfort Sameer and hugged him tightly, all three of them were crying badly in each other's arms.
"M-m-Munna...P-Pandit...A-agar Nanu ko k-k-kuch ho gaya t-toh..." Sameer sobbed.
Munna tried to console him, "Sameer dhyan se sun, kuch nahi hoga Nanaji ko...samjha tu..." and again hugged him tightly. They broke the hug and Munna-Pandit helped Sameer to sit on one of the steel chairs.
They both noticed Naina and were a little surprised.

Sameer was sitting, both of his elbows resting on his knees, fingers interlinked, staring at the ground wordlessly. Munna-Pandit were standing at a distance asking Naina about how all of this had happened. Naina told them about the whole incident. They both thanked her for making the right decision at the right time.
She glanced once at Sameer, concern written all over her face. She had never seen such a tough man being so vulnerable.

All of them waited outside the room for a long time. They saw Dr Gupta coming outside the room and rushed towards him.
He was a well-known and experienced doctor. He knew Sameer from a long time since he had been dealing with Nanaji's case and was a good friend of him.
"Doctor, kya hua Nanu ko? W-woh thik toh ho jayenge na?" His voice broke at the end.
Dr Gupta kept a hand on his shoulder, "Sameer, calm down first. You have to be strong, apne Nanu ke liye. Jo bhi bolne wala hu usey aaram se suno..."
Sameer became worried, "K-K-Kya hua hai Nanu ko?"
Dr Gupta sighed and said calmly, "I'll not beat around the bush. This time, it's a case of a severe cardiac arrest. Agle 48 hours kafi critical hain. Hum unko private ward mein shift kar rahe hai."

Sameer felt the ground slipping under his feet. He began to feel dizzy. His legs gave up. Munna-Pandit got hold of him just in time before he could fell on the ground. They helped him sit on the chair and Naina ran to get some water for him. After a couple of minutes, she came back with a glass of water and handed it to Munna. He made Sameer drink some and said, "Sameer, sambhal khudko. Aise himaat nahi haarni hai tujhe. Tu itna kamzor nahi hai. Sun raha hai meri baat ko? Sameer?"

Sameer was sitting silently staring at the wall across him. Tears were constantly running down his cheeks. All his life he had dreaded this moment to come. He knew Nanaji would not be with him forever but he used to avoid it. He never wanted to confront this bitter reality. But this is what they call 'Life', it keeps giving you reality checks at most unexpected times.