Page 86 of Love after Marriage

Sheetal was nervous and continued without waiting for Akash to complete his sentence. “Akash ji, Roshni has had an accident.”

Akash was stunned. “What?” Very loudly he yelled, “What do you mean Roshni had an accident? What happened? Is she okay? Where is she now? Who is with her?”

“She’s in the hospital. It was a major accident,” Sheetal replied.

Akash was nervous and scared to hear more. He started to choke while Sheetal continued, “Akash ji, are you all right?”

“Yes, please give me the details.”

“It is unclear how this accident happened, but…but…it was a serious one. Roshni fractured her leg and arm and has multiple injuries all over her body. She also had stitches on her forehead and left thigh.”

Akash was concerned for Roshni, but he thanked Sheetal for letting him know and taking Roshni to a hospital. “Sheetal ji, where is she now? How is she feeling? When did this accident happen?”

“It happened about three hours ago. I brought her to the hospital, and fortunately doct

ors on duty attended to her immediately. She lost a lot of blood too! She’s sleeping now because of the medications. I am here with her in the hospital.”

“Thank you, Sheetal ji, for taking care of her. I will plan on coming tomorrow. It’s late now, and there are no flights to Bangalore at this time,” he said.

“Don’t worry, Akash ji, I’m here with her. You can come tomorrow. Please inform Sashank bhaiya and bhabhi as well.”

“Yes, I think Sashank bhaiya and bhabhi are sleeping. There’s no point in waking them up. I will tell them tomorrow morning. In the meantime if the situation changes, please do not hesitate to call me. I am very worried for Roshni.” He paused and then asked, “Anyway, how did this happen? Where did she go? Was she alone?”

Sheetal gave the details to Akash and told him that she would call once Roshni regained consciousness. She also asked Akash to call her if he was coming the next day so she could make arrangements to pick him up. Akash agreed, and both of them hung up.

Akash was in a dilemma whether to wake up Sashank and Kusum, and after giving this some thought, he decided to tell them. He knocked at the door. Silence. He knocked again.

He heard Sashank bhaiya. “Yes, who is it?”

“Sashank bhaiya, it’s me, Akash.”

Sashank opened the door. “What is it, Akash? Is everything all right? You look a little tense.”

“Sorry, bhaiya, for waking you up. I received a call from Sheetal in Bangalore.”

“Roshni’s roommate?”

“Yes, bhaiya.”

Kusum sensed a nervous tone in Akash’s voice and invited him to come inside the room.

Akash sighed heavily. “Bhaiya and bhabhi, it seems Roshni was in an accident.”

Sashank and Kusum shouted, “What? When did this happen? How is she? Where is she?” Both of them pounded Akash with several questions one after another.

“Bhaiya and Bhabhi, please calm down. I did the same with Sheetal, flooded her with questions.” He paused and continued, “She’s in the hospital. I guess she’s badly injured and has a couple of fractures too. She lost a lot of blood, and they’d just brought her out of the operation theatre. I understand she is still unconscious. Sheetal is with her.”

As Akash talked, Sashank looked at the clock. It was 11 p.m. He paced the room. It was very apparent both bhabhi and bhaiya were really upset and worried for Roshni.

Kusum looked at Sashank and Akash. “What do we do now?”

“It’s already 11 p.m. There is no flight now to Bangalore. I think we should go tomorrow.”

“Sashank bhaiya, I already told Sheetal that I will leave tomorrow morning…first flight available. I will go check the flight times and also ticket availability. Don’t worry; I will be there tomorrow.”

“I’ll go with you. She must be in a lot of pain, and with no family around for any moral support, I’m sure Sheetal is also feeling lonely,” said Sashank.

“I’m going with you too!” said Kusum.

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