RECAP Zunaid find himself thinking too much about Anushka. He tries to stop the feeling, but fails, again and again. Anushka is finally discharged from hospital. Zunaid continues to spend his nights by Kunal’s side in the hospital. And one night, he finally wakes up. CHAPTER 13 But by now Kunal had gone back to that deep pit of sleep. Still, Zunaid knew that the recovery had started. Kunal had defied death. The flood of joy almost drowned him. Yes, his best friend was going to make it.. after all. With this happiness, he tried to ignore the horror that had gripped his heart. He had always been very close to Anushka. Still there was not a single moment when he had felt this overwhelming need to hear her voice, to see her face. Finishing the required medical procedures almost mechanically, he went up to the window in the room that overlook the hospital garden and the road. It was 4 am. The road was deserted and the birds had just started chirping. For last one month, he had been spending his nights in this room, to keep an eye on Kunal’s condition. And Anushka had been there. Battered, sewn up, still smiling and putting up a brave front in front of the world. He realised that she used to stand on the same spot every morning, looking out of the same window, just the way he was standing now. Her tiny frame wrapped in the plain white hospital gown. She used to look like a child. It was her favourite time of the day. So was his. They had so much in common. Too much in common. Guilt cut his heart like a hot knife. But he could not stop it. He just could not stop thinking about the woman who was his best friend’s wife. He hung his head in shame. He had no right to feel what he was feeling at that moment. He had no right to even dream about it. But at the same time, there was nothing that he could do to stop it. Yes, he would never let her know, he would never let Kunal know, but how was he going to hide it from himself? How was he going to hide his guilt from his own soul? She always read his mind. Always. Now how was he going to stop her from reading the thoughts that will surely push her out of his life. Forever. He knew, he always liked Anushka. He always used to tease her saying that she was so much like him that he would have won her if they had met before she met Kunal in that business meeting. Was it all a joke? Did he always have these feelings for her and never dared to see it? The sun had finally come out and the first rays of the morning were tiptoeing in. Still, Zunaid’s world was dark. And it will remain so. It was a sin to wish for her. She was forbidden. She loved his best friend. And his best friend was married to her. They had a child. They had a family. A very happy family that needed no outsider to ruin it. “Oh what the .....” Zunaid muttered those profane words that he had always hated. But then he had never found himself in a position where only they could do justice to his condition. Taking a deep breath, he took out his cell phone to call Anushka. He had to tell her that Kunal had woken up from his coma. It was time to get him home. She picked the phone at second ring. Yes, she was awake too. “Anu, Kunal has come out of the coma.” He said in a genuinely happy voice. He may be falling for Anushka, but he was not jealous of Kunal. There was silence on the other end. “Anu” Now he could hear it. She was sobbing. Brave Anushka, who fought the battle with death. Who saw her husband fading away for more than a month without letting her guard down was crying? “don’t cry please! We can bring him home in 2-3 days.” “Zen!” She had never called him anything other than a proper Zunaid. “yes Anu.” “Thank you. For everything. I hope Kunal will be well enough soon, to realise how lucky he is to have you as a friend.” “Hushh! He would have done the same for me. May be more. Now I am leaving for home, the day shift doctors will take charge. I will see you in the evening at the hospital” *** It took more than 15 days for Kunal to be declared fit enough to be allowed to go home. Anushka had converted the bedroom in a mini intensive care room. Every machine required was put there to make sure that Kunal’s vitals were constantly monitored. Zunaid had supervised every thing, taking care of Kunal’s every little need. Kunal was waking up for few minutes, only to slip back in unconsciousness. And this was the only improvement in his condition. His brain had suffered massive damage and he was still unable to move any part of his body other than his fingers. In the minutes that he woke up, he would try to mutter few words to Anushka and Shivani. Most of them were incoherent, but they hung on to them. Days started passing on. Anushka would sit by his side almost all the time. She would keep looking at his sunken face and wait for the moment when he would wake up to look at her. He would smile and after few minutes, go back to sleep. Zunaid had reduced the frequency of his visits. He had his own battle to fight, and the constant frowning face of Anushka’s grand father didn’t help either. “The crooked old man was right. I was not to be trusted” the thoughts ripped his heart apart. It had been more than 2 months since he had last seen Anushka. He knew that the only time Anushka left home was to drop and pick Shivani from school. He always went to see Kunal during that time. He never called her again. Sitting on the terrace of this 14th floor apartment he was trying to finish a write up when his phone rang. It was the landline number of Kunal’s home. “Anu?” he picked. “No. Zunaid beta, this is Sumitra. Anushka’s mother”                                    To be continued….