17th of May 2018

In the large metropolitan city of Delhi, the capital of India, there was an area called Greater Kailash.

In that area, there was an hospital named 24/7 Hospital.

Currently, an 18 years old handsome young man was frantically running toward the hospital in his college uniform.

His name was Ashok. And this is his story.

—————

I looked at the address once again just to make sure that I was running in the right direction.

The address was right and I soon arrived at the front of a tall building which had a plus sign on top of it below which were two numbers written in bold words. 24/7.

'Please be alright.' I prayed in my heart once again and entered the hospital.

'I should have known that something went wrong when he didn't pick up my call for two days straight. Normally, he would never do such a thing. Unless he was in a business meeting. But even so, he would definitely call back after the meeting.' I thought as I climbed the stairs leading to the front door of the hospital.

'Not picking my call for so many times. I should have noticed something was wrong.' I berated myself strongly in my heart. But it was not going to change anything so I stopped myself from thinking any further and went to the receptionist with wide steps.

"Good Afternoon Sir. How may I help…"

"Rahul Singh Rana." I asked in a nervous tone. "I'm his brother. May I know where he is."

"Rahul Singh Rana." The nurse looked at the computer and checked the records for a while before she raised her head and replied. "He's in Room Number 305. Please take a left from the front and…"

I only heard the room number and took off in that direction.

I wondered one again whether my decision of not telling Neha about Rahul's accident was correct or not.

'Maybe I should tell her. After all, she has as much right to know about this as me.'

But after some deliberation, I decided to not mention anything to her. The doctor had mentioned that nothing serious had happened to Rahul in the call earlier. I would give her a call after I check his condition myself..

'It would be best to not make her worry about unnecessary things in case Rahul is alright.' I thought.

It was just that, this was the first time something like this has happened to Rahul, who was the pillar of support for both me and little sis so I was much more anxious than I would normally be.

I took the stairs instead of waiting for the lift to come down and soon reached to floor where Rahul was admitted.

I arrived in front of Room Number 305 but before I could enter, I heard the conversation of two women from inside the room and stopped to listen.

One of them was exceptionally tall. Even a bit taller than me. The other one was short but chubby.

They were both wearing nurses' attire.

"This guy's condition is a bit weird isn't it." The tall nurse said.

"How so?" the chubby nurse asked in a voice filled with curiosity.

Watching their smooth exchange gave me the feeling that they were used to such talks. Or maybe I should say gossip.

"Doctor Patel said that he'd just gotten in a light accident and hurt his head a bit. That baldy told me that he should get up soon enough and to check on his condition after every few minutes. But it's been two days and he's fast asleep."

"Two days. Then wouldn't it be categorised as a Coma already?"

"I don't know. It should under normal conditions but…"

"But what?"

"Take a closer look at his eyelids. They keep fluttering up and down and his eyes keep moving." The nurse pointed at the patient lying in the bed. "At first I thought that he'd woken up and was acting like this because he didn't wanted to face the hospital bills. But after this kept going on for a few hours, I felt that such was not the case."

"After all. I don't think anyone can do so for two days continuously."

"Yeah. Now that you mention it. His eyes are moving quite a bit. This is indeed a bit weird. Have he ever heard about such a condition ever before?"

"Not really but it somehow gives me the creeps."

"Why so?" the plump nurse asked in curiosity.

"Because looking at him like that makes me feel like he's in a never ending Nightmare." She said with a bit of fear in her tone.

They continued to gossip like this for a while but when they stopped talking about Rahul, I lost interest in the subject. I knocked for a second but when I noticed that they were still busy with their gossiping, I pushed aside the door and entered the room.

I took a few deep breaths and acted a bit tired so that they would assume that I have been running before I entered this room and not feel that I was eavesdropping on the. As that would create a really awkward situation.

"My brother. How's he?" I looked at Rahul lying on the hospital bed and asked the nurses in a hurried voice.

I noticed that there were no wounds in his body and it seemed to be in perfect condition. Except for his head which was covered with white bandage. I was a bit relieved as I realized that it was truly not a serious accident.

The tall gossiping nurse was a bit startled and flustered when I first entered but soon returned to her calm demeanour when she noticed that I wasn't paying any attention to her.

"You cannot barge in other patient's room like that Sir. May I know your name."

"Ashok Singh Rana. I'm his younger brother. Can you please tell me about his condition."

"Oh." She pretended to be surprised for a moment and the said. "The accident was nothing serious and the doctor said that he would regain consciousness soon enough. Please do not worry as your elder brother is in very good condition."

'Liar. If he's in such a good condition then why have he not woken up yet.' I cursed in my mind but maintained a calm expression on the outside.

"I understand." I said "Thank you. I'll take care of him now."

"Very well then. You can wait here if you want. If you see any changes in his condition then please push that red button over there and we'll be informed." The nurse said as she pointed at a remote attached to the bed before she quickly left with her colleague.

After they had left, I closed the curtains on the door and then went ahead to take a closer look at Rahul's condition.

Similar to what I had heard earlier, his eye lashes were indeed fluttering violently and his eyes were moving left and right without any particular rhythm.

'Is leaving him just like that really alright.' I unlocked my smartphone and started a search in the Google for some similar cases.

I wanted to know what happened to my elder brother. But couldn't trust the words of the hospital staff so I had to find the information online.

But I was dismayed when I didn't find anything substantial even after searching intensively for twenty minutes.

Feeling a bit anxious, I looked back at Rahul once again and realized that his eyes were fluttering at an even faster speed now.

I didn't like what the gossiping nurse said earlier but I had to admit that such a thing scared me a bit as well.

Looking at Rahul in such a condition was truly freaking me out and I considered whether I should inform the doctor about this or not.

After some deliberate thinking I decided that I should get someone to check on Rahul's condition and went ahead to press the button but before I could do that, my hands were suddenly caught by another hand in a firm manner.

I was surprised and looked at Rahul's face and was scared by the blood shot eyes looking back at me. But I was even more surprised by the intensity with which my hand was caught. My hand was clutched so tightly that I was afraid that it would dislocate any moment as I grimaced from the pain.

I looked at him with pleading eyes to stop this joke but what met me were not the kind and gentle eyes of Rahul but cold and deep eyes of a stranger.

"Who are you?" He asked in a grave manner and I came to the realization that he's probably lost his memories.

'Damn it! I didn't knew whether I should feel sad for his memory loss or for my poor hand.'

If I'd lost my memories and found a stranger fiddling around me when I gained consciousness then I would be freaked out as well. It's just that… isn't his grip a bit too strong. I never knew that he was so powerful.

Before this, I always felt that I was stronger than him. Such a revelation really hurt my pride.

I was about to reply when I noticed that his attention was not at me anymore. In fact, he was looking around the hospital room with eyes full of vigilance. But in those eyes, I could see a hint of shock and surprise as well.

"Oi big bro, would you stop gripping my hand so strongly. I feel like my hand is going to break any moment now." My voice brought his attention back to me.

He squinted his eyes with a frown and scrutinized my face closely for a while before saying.

"What did you said earlier?"

"Would you stop gripping my hand so tightly. If feel like it's going to break. My words still count brother. Please let go of my hand." I pleaded with teary eyes but it felt like none of my words entered his ears and he asked once again.

"No before that. What did you call me?"

"Big bro??" I looked at him in confusion and fear. I felt that after this trip to the hospital, I won't be able to use my hand for a few months. Or so I thought.

But when he heard the two words, there was a drastic change in his expression after which he bent down and held his head tightly and shrieked in muffled voice as if he was suffering an immense pain which freaked the hell out of me.

"Rahul are you alright?" I asked in worry as I bent down to look at his face. I wondered if I should press the red button after all. He'd left my hand by now but looking at his condition, I didn't felt good at all.

But before I could do that, he stopped clutching his head and slowly stood up on his feet once again.

The way he stood up left me with an unusual feeling. It was as if I was looking at the rise of a tall mountain instead of some common person even though he was a bit shorter than me.

I looked at his eyes and found that his eyes had regained their calmness and were looking me with deep love and care.

The expression was similar to how Rahul usually looked at me and little Neha but this time I felt that those eyes were exceptionally deep. As if I was looking at the eyes of a hundred year old sage instead.

"You are… Ashok? Right." He asked in an uncertain manner. He seemed to be a bit uncertain and afraid when he asked the question. As if my answer might break all of his hopes.

"Yes. It's me, your little brother. Do you remember me? Have you lost your memories? Can you clearly recall what happened?" I fired a string of question when I realized that some of his memories might be coming back to him.

His face lit up when delight when he heard my answer and he warm smile became even warmer.

He brought his hand forward and gently caressed my face as a tear rolled down his cheeks.

"I remember you. Although I don't recall everything, I 'do' remember you. How can I ever forget you. It's just that, it's been so many years, so I had a hard time recalling your face. Forgive your big bro for his bad memory, alright."

'What? What's he talking about?' I was certain that he had lost some of his memories after the accident. And that the accident might have affected him in other ways as well. But what did he meant when he said 'so many years.'

'Does he thinks that he's been in coma for a long time?'

Rahul didn't pay any attention to what I might be thinking. Instead, he looked around the bright room and a calm expression and said. "So this is where you arrive after your death. It's a bit… different than what I had imagined but it's not bad. Not bad at all."

'Oi Rahul. It seems like the car hit your head a bit too hard ah.' I wanted to explain that to him that he was not dead but before I could say anything he continued talking.

"How many years has it been. 28. 29." He then turned to look at me and said. "Have you been waiting here for me for all these years. Or does time pass at different speed in here?" His eyes still exuded that wise and deep feeling but now my impression of him had changed from a hundred year old sage to a hundred year old senile sage.

Suddenly his expression changed a bit as if he remembered something important.

He grabbed my shoulders and asked with eyes full of hope "If you're here then does that mean little Neha is here as well. How about Vinod, Kailash or Asha. And… what about Shreya. Is there a woman here named Shreya."

His hopeful gaze and his random questions really irked me to no end.

'Who the hell are the people. I've never heard you mention any of them.'

'What the hell. I really should have brought little Neha with me as well. I really don't want to deal with Rahul all alone when he's acting in such a strange manner.'

I slapped his hands away in annoyance and said "What Asha. What Shreya. There's only me here. And what death are you talking about. You're still alive and well." I held his hands and pinched hard at his arm. It was also my revenge at him for making me feel so agitated.

I thought that he would scream in pain from the pinch but that expected scream never came. I looked at him and realized that his eyes had a hint of confusion in them now.

Then, he took his hand and pinched them hard a few more times and his expression turned more confused with each pinch. Finally, in a fit of confusion, he brought his arm to his mouth and bit hard on it.

I screamed in panic and tried to stop him but he bit even harder. A trickle of blood flowed out from the bitten part and I was finally able to stop him.

"What are you doing brother. Have you gone crazy after the accident or something."

"Accident?" he asked with eyes full of confusion. "You mean to say that, this is not heaven?"

'Heaven!?' I didn't knew whether I should laugh or cry. Did he felt that he had died and went to heaven. Did this hospital room really looked like heaven to him?

'Forget about heaven. Just the crime of making your younger brother worry for your safety is enough to send you to hell.' I cursed in my mind.

And from how he accepted my presence in this 'heaven' of his, did he expected me to die as well. Isn't he cursing to die in a way. I felt very irritated and amused at the same time.

I suddenly realized that I should have recorded this whole scene and then showed it to little Neha. If I'd done that, we could have laughed at him for months on end.

I felt that this video could have even be shown to Rahul's future wife and children. Provided he don't beat me to death before that.

'Sigh! what a waste ah.' I lamented over the fact that I had missed such a great recording but Rahul's expression turned even more serious by the second and I felt that something was wrong.

Suddenly he held my shoulders once again. "Accident? Was I hit by a car in this accident?"

"Yes… A blue Sedan. The driver took off after the accident though, and haven't been found so far." I told him all that I learned from the doctor. Although I was a bit confused, the serious look in his eyes compelled me to answer every question of his.

"What date is it today?" he suddenly asked.

"17th. Don't worry you've only been unconscious for two days. I don't think your business partners would mind your absence, considering how…"

"The full date."

"Huh!" What's gotten into him.

"Tell me the full date. The month and year as well."

"It's 17th of May 2018." Just as I answered, I felt the grip on my shoulders tighten for a moment before he loosed his grip and went to sit on the bed with a pale face and started murmuring to himself.

"So that's how it is. I understand now. I've sent back. It all makes sense now. So that's how it is." Although he said it in a soft murmur I was still able to hear most of it. His mumblings gave me the impression that calling the doctor right now still might not be too late.

He suddenly raised his eyes to look at my worried face and all of the confusion in his eyes went away.

He stood up and hugged me tightly, which only creeped me out even more.

'Oi Rahul. I could really do without your affectionate hugs you know. I would rather be hugged by a woman than by you.'

'Sigh! I really should have brought little Neha here as well.' I lamented when I suddenly heard him saying something softly.

"I'll will protect you all this time."