Short Stories - Love

He pulled out the house keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. The door opened in a dark room full of shanti's pictures. But instead of switching on the light, he went inside and threw his bag on the broken sofa. He remembered Shanti always told him to change this sofa and he always but he never showed the interest in it. But he loved shanti in every sense.

The house once glowed with the presence of shanti, was now a barren piece of land starving for rain from ages. Ashok lost the pace of life after shanti left him 2 years back. he took out his shoes and just dropped his body on the sofa. He was thirsty and called shanti, " i am back, please give me some water" he waited for a reply, as usual but this time nothing came and no one came out also. This brought tears in his eyes. He never felt the need of shanti, so much. He woke up from the sofa and went straight to the table, which was partially visible from the near by light pole. He took a glass and poured some water for himself. He took the glass of water and went back to the sofa. He closed his eyes and let his mind go back to those years, when he met shanti.

Ashok was from a middle class family with not much expectations from life neither complaints from the life, being a small family of 4 members with 1 working member,they lived a happy life in a small city of big hopes. Ashok was a bright student and dreamt of becoming a doctor, all his academic realities inclined with his aspirations but with a financial hurdle. But he knew that, he will anyhow make this work to achieve his dreams. Because of his excellent he got scholarship and a study grant to get admitted in one of the most prominent medical college in the city.

Time flew and he was proving his mettle in his studies, when life gave him his first surprise of his life. He was completing his first year and there was a girl in his class, who didn't want to loose any single chance of looking at him. In few cases, their eyes met and then parted away. This went on for days, weeks and months and nothing was hidden from anyone, what is cooking between both of them. But the only problem is, none of them had that courage to speak with other. Time flew like this and the only change happened was they went to the next graduation year but nothing actually moved.

Fed up of all this, their friends decided to take up this on their own hands and so they thought of planning something to make them speak to each other. It was the night before the day of love and they took a card and invited the girl to their party. The card was written from Ashok's name, without letting them know, and it was handed over to the girl, through a common friend, "Priya". Priya had an easy access to their house. 

She rang the bell and a middle aged man open the door, "Namaste Uncle, Is Shanti there in house?" Shanti's father gracefully accepted her question, "jeete raho (keep living)and come in" and Priya went in. He called shanti "shanti, Priya is here. Don't spend the whole night chatting" and he walked back to his room. Quickly Priya took out the card from her bag and gave it to shanti. Shanti was clueless and asked "what is this?" confused, she opened the card and read the entire content in one breath. 

Priya could see the change in the colour and expressions on her face. she was thrilled, Excited but latter tensed. "What happened? aren't you happy? You wanted this from such a long time" She questioned shanti but shanti was in another world calculating the probabilities of worst case scenarios. After a long time, Priya shook shanti to break her silence. Shanti woke up as if she was dreaming and still she was in dreams. "Father...." she paused, a deep line of concern became visible on her forehead.

"Don't worry....Things will be sorted out" she assured her. "just be ready tomorrow" she said and left her house. Shanti was standing holding the card, excitement in her eyes and fear in her heart. She stood there for a long time until her father's call woke her up " Is Priya gone??" "Yes father sometime back and i am also going to sleep?" She answered "OK, check all the locks and switch off the lights" he ended. Darkness of the night was nothing in front of the glow in her eyes. She went to her room, locked the room, read the card once again kissed that and slept.

Love...love...love everywhere, no one in the college was interested to study. Attendance was record low and management was angry, but what to do, the time has gone when one can force kids to sit and study. the entire gang has planned really good on the name of Ashok and without knowing him. They knew, if he knew then he will never agree for this. the entire day went in calculating the speculations. Priya in a way, managed to bring Shanti to the party. Ashok was still unaware of the objective of this all arrangement, he was told that its a general get together meet to celebrate the love.

Ashok came late in the venue and found no one was there, he took a chair and sat down holding a book on his face and suddenly he felt some one sat in front of him. he slowly lowered down his book and was surprised to see Shanti in front of him. She was holding the card and a rose in her hands. A small smile was on her face with a sparkle in her eyes along with a glow on her face. Both sat across each other, with no words on their lips but eyes talking with each other.

Suddenly, Ashok, still spell bounded, said " You look beautiful..." and then there was a long silence, nothing more was spoken by both of them but probably things were understood by this. Silence spoke thousand words than any words. The cupid has played his part but now life has to test their compatibility on the time to come but now this was wonderful as we see an unexpected to turn to expected.

Time flew and both Shanti and Ashok enjoyed their best times of life. They got married after 2 years after completion of their graduation and together completed MD. Ashok completed his Masters in Neuro-Surgery and Shanti completed her masters in general medicine. Things were going good as they made a perfect balance between work and job, no complaints from life and relationship....all fine. They wanted to take their relationship to the next level to become parents.

As all knows, no one knows what time and life has stored for you and soon they have to face the hardest reality of life. Ashok was invited to speak in a conference in a near by city, which is about 2 hrs drive from his work place. Unfortunately this came on their anniversary date and both had planned to celebrate it together. The plan was that shanti would drive to him in the conference center and then they would celebrate their anniversary and go back.

The plan was right but probably the time was wrong, Ashok, as usually, left in the morning to attend the conference and left the car keys for shanti to drive to the venue. Everything was perfect, as seems, it was 4 PM, shanti, excited, winded up her meetings well in time, took the car keys and drove to meet ashok. She took the fastest route to the venue through the highway. Suprisingly, the sky was blank and rain drops dropping on the car. It was sudden, when the drops changed into a pour.

Shanti looked at her watch, it was still half an hour, for the conference to get over. He thought, why to waste time in stopping, when she can drive slowly and she can reach him before time and wait there. So she kept her car in a constant, the visibility dropped less than 1%, she switched on her parking lights and was moving on a steady pace. Suddenly her phone ranged, it was Ashok's call, his conference was over and was waiting for her. She thought twice to pick up the call but at the end emotions took over the thinking ability and she took up the call.

"Happy anniversary... my love.." a serious but romantic voice came from the other end. She recognised the voice, but thought to play a little. "Reply to this, will get in person..." she gave a naughty smile and pressed the accelerator. she could see a trailer carrying a bunch of iron pipes and banged the trailer. In this crash, 2 pillers went through her forehead and crashed the back glass. Phone was ringing with ashok's name flashing but she couldn't take that. Suddenly crowd started gathering around her car but no one was really coming ahead to help her. She was not dead and still to react to the reflexes.

Suddenly a hand came and opened the door. The door war locked as it was badly damaged, but after lot of pain, the door actually opened and the hands unlocked the seat belts but how to take the her out as the slabs were still in her head. The crowd called a iron cutter and he cut the larger portions of the slabs and kept a small section inside. The person took out shanti from the car and made her sit in the side of the road. He quickly called the emergency service of the nearby hospital and the hospital in turn gave a call to ashok, who was the only neuro surgeon in the town. 

She was able to relate what was happening, she was also able to hear her phone ringing but she couldn't take up the call, after trying multiple times, ashok left the venue and rushed to the hospital. he kept trying shanti's number but all in vein. He the moment he entered to the main gate of the hospital, he saw the ambulance entering the gates. He rushed to ambulance to have a look to the patient. the wardens were in the process of taking the patient out and as he reached near, he was shocked.

He saw 2 iron pillars, wet in rain water, was still in her head, the blood was clotted around the wound and her face was turning blue, as if some kind of poison was getting mixed in her blood. Without the any delay he told the wardens to go to the Operation theater, he ran to his strength, to the changing room, got changed and sanitized himself and ran to the OT.

"Thank god.. her heart was beating..." he assured himself by checking the nerves and the heart beat. He told his team to give anesthesia to her and started operating. It took more than 6 hrs of gruelling and finally it was over. He checked the vital statistics, all OK, kissed her forehead and went out. She was shifted to the ICU, where she will be kept for next 48 hrs. 

Ashok made sure that he was with her all day and night. It was 3 AM in the night, when the pain raised. Ashok ran to to her checked and found that her heart was sinking. He called the nurse, she came running with the antibiotics. He pressed the needles straight to her ribs and gave CPR to her. Situation went in control, Shanti opened her eyes and saw ashok near her.."Sorry ...." tears came out of her eyes, he came near and wiped her tears and told her to take rest.

She told the nurse to leave them alone, she took his hand on her hand, ashok, though understood, what was going to happen , was still waiting for any miracle to happen. she pulled him close to herself and whispered in his ears "Happy Marriage Anniversary...love you" She kissed and collapsed on the hands of ashok. All went silent, the constant beeping sounds of the monitors were so prominent in that room that is almost made him deaf. Ashok couldn't believe that, shanti is no more, his love is no more... his everything is lost, which cannot be brought back... He wanted to shout on this but refrained himself. He knew this, would happen, if not now then within a week's time.

He sat down looking to the innocent face of shanti, who had a smile on her lips and solace on her face. He smiled looking to her that now there will be no pain.. all pain gone... or given to him. He couldnt control the tears dropping from his eyes and started crying in pain... with a shock he came back to reality..the same dark room.. with a glass of water in his hand not drunk.

He took the nearby lying photograph of himself and shanti in happy times and just was about to cry, a sudden knock on the door..shook him from inside. He checked his watch .. it was past 9 PM. "who came at this time of night ? then he remembered that it was the time when shanti used to return from her hospital. He went to the door...bounced badly on the table and the glass dropped on the carpet. He opened the door, but found no one. He thought that some kids in the building might be playing with him, as he was about to close the door, he say an envelope sticked on the name plate just on Shanti's name. He took the envelope and checked every corner of it.

Nothing was written on it, he opened the same and found a letter and a key chain. He remembered that it was of the same car keys, which shanti took that day. He opened the letter and start reading that ...

"Don't insult love by repenting, why it happened..

Love brings people together... People don't..

So smile to the last breath you take..

So that you can start the journey with a smile....

Love is not question but it is an answer..

Love is not a puzzle but it is a picture..

Love is an emotion not an impulse..

love is a smile not a tear...

Since you smile, i also smile .. 

This is my house and i don't like it dark ..

Its not important, whether i am there or not ...

Love should remain as we brought in there...."

He folded the letter and kissed it.. and kept close to his heart. before entering the house, he switched on the light. Darkness was no where and an optimistic glow was all around..................................................................