I'm Dying

25

With his heads pounding hard, what felt like hitting stones- Shravan opened his eyes in a dark and dingy room. With his senses accelerating, he could feel a desperate pain rising in the back of his skull. It was was exhilarating to his senses and the black room added to his agony. With a small movement, he rushed his palms over his head. It stung badly. After a few flutters, he could picture a blurred memory.

He had fallen.No.He passed out.Why?Because Suman was on a hospital bed.Suman?

Shravan pressed harder. He squinted his eyes and suddenly something passed over him.Captain Suman Tiwari was pronounced dead.

Was it a nightmare? An ugly, very ugly dream.

But then why his head stung so badly? Why was his forehead plastered with cloth and cotton?'Suman?' he called out, in a shallow voice. He felt his throat go sore on the address as if he had screamed the same name a thousand times a few hours before.

A bathtub. Filled with water.No, with scarlet water.Suman was lying in it. Limp and unconscious.

'Oh god...' his voice unleashed the ineffable labor he felt heaving his chest. His senses felt going blurry again. His eyes filled with water, a lot of water.

But he had to get out of there. He couldn't just sit and wait. Wait and let things happen. So moving his hands a bit, he touched a night lamp. He violently punched a few switches and pulled the wires. Finally, he had some light. It was a small room. And it smelled of betadine and alcoholic sanitizers.

Was he in the hospital?He indeed was. It was his friend's spare room. He could read his name on the entrance. DR. RAVI GUJRALMBBS, MD(Psychiatry)

Shravan reached out for his mobile. There were a few missed calls. Not much. Maybe Bunty was calling him.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in his head he swiped right to Bunty's contact.

'Where the hell are you!' Bunty was already speaking over, much before Shravan could contemplate a hey!'I don't know, in the hospital.' Shravan closed his eyes shut. 'Ravi isn't picking up the call.' Bunty's voice softened naturally. 'I have no clue of anything right now. Kanchan and Mom, and Dad, everybody is crying. Veer is still sleeping. What happened Shravan?' Bunty's voice was cracking at its base.'Sumo?' Shravan dodged his questions. 'Is she there?' he asked in a pricking desperateness.There were muffled sighs on the other end of the receiver. Maybe, Bunty was biting his lips or holding a cry. 'Come to the Tiwari house.' he said and explained how he had loads of works to complete. Still, he couldn't use words like- a funeral, priest, and casket. It saved them from a horrible reality for a few spare moments.

Shravan stayed quiet. He detached the phone from his head, not knowing what to say and what to do. A faint question of Ravi's absence lingered in his head. But then he saw something more, his phone needed him to know.

-----You have an audio message------

He barely got any audio messages. It was really peculiar. There was a small notice of - listen when alone- attached to them. He felt his blood rushing and heart beating like crazy.

Was it Suman?

He punched the play button with shivering hands. If he had used any more force, the mobile must have fallen out of his grip.

Hey! Shravan!

He paused the audio. It was Suman. He knew it. The way his name sounded from her mouth. Like it was some beating rythum. It was beautiful.

What was he supposed to do of it? Listen to an audio message from the woman who he loved, who had just killed herself a few hours ago?What did she think of him?