BACK TO HOME

It is been a week since I have been admitted here. I am sitting on my hospital bed speaking to Krish about his liking for reading comics. Riya enters the room with my breakfast, she has become my best friend now and Krish is slightly getting jealous of her because I spend time with her more and he constantly keeps complaining about it to me and even fights with Riya asking her to spend little time lesser with me.

"Hello Megha, Good morning", she says brightly

"Good morning Riya", I greet her

"I guess someone is starting to get jealous just because I'm here", she says to the sullen face Krish and we both giggle and continue to tease him a little, "Here I have brought you the breakfast"

"Now that you both have had fun teasing me and the breakfast is here, Riya don't you have to go for rounds", Krish says

"Okay enough of your jealously I am about to leave and give you both some room", she says and exits.

"Krish you look cute, while you try to send Riya away from me, you want me all the time huh," I say staring at him.

"No, not at all you know… like you know… she has to take care… of patients… responsibility", he stammers. I roll my eyes at him and unpack my breakfast and look at him and we both chuckle. He gazes into my eyes, with his face now pleased, and sits down on the armchair. He smiles at me and picks up the Indian Times newspaper.

"Do you want to read", he questions

"I'm eating. Why don't you read it out for me?" I reply.

He smirks and starts reading the article aloud. It was a report about some group of goons who had kidnapped a 7-year-old girl, and police involvement in the girl's rescue. All these kinds of cases are growing more here, no safety for kids nowadays. While Krish reads I cut him by saying, "Please read something else, which is not related to crime."

He agrees and reads me a report about some movie news and the growth of a newly set up restaurant. Krish gives a we-need-to-visit- look as he reads. Listening to his comforting voice I eat, secure in the knowledge that I'm totally fine. I feel happy and enjoy the moment, forgetting all these boring hospital days. I complete eating and we both start to watch some movie. A gentle knock on the door disturbs us I look around it was my dad I feel happy when I see him.

"Krish, Megha am I interrupting?" dad asks

"Yes" Krish snaps

"Glad to see you are awake, sweetie. I need to run some checks on you. Just a routine. You can be discharged today Riya will accompany and stay with you until you become completely stable", he says completely ignoring Krish

"That would be awesome me and Riya can spend much more time together it would be fun", I reply.

"Uncle she should be resting now", Krish mumbles. We ignore him and continue to chat. Krish stands and offers dad his chair and sits beside me and takes my hand in him and gives me a you-disappointed-me look.

After a thorough examination, dad declares that I'm fit to go home. I was delighted. Krish exhales in relief. I was all informed that I need to be careful and give daily health reports to Riya as she would stay with me and in case of worsening headache or blurred vision I should immediately return to the hospital. Riya entered the room with her bags which she would be carrying with her home and she started helping dad to remove the IV connection. She gives a cunning smile to Krish. She was the only one with whom I have got this connection after a long time. I thank dad as he leaves with the IV stand.

Krish packs all my stuff and helps me to the car, and Riya followed us. We stuffed the boot of the black Swift with the bags and began our journey. Krish was driving the car and I was super excited to return back home. The weather was starting to warm up, and with the window panes down, warm wind blew on our faces. I enjoy sightseeing and then I and Riya started to chat as Krish drove smoothly to our house.

He parks the car in front of the house and helps me out of the car.

"Glad to be back home?" he asks

"Yes, very much", I said interlocking my fingers with his.

I walked into the house and directed Riya to the guest room. As she went to her room Krish wraps his hand around me and we walk to my room. It was transformed, the day we left for the club Krish had completely thrown my clothes out and my room looked really messy but now my room looks so organized and neat. I even observe new soft toys on my bed.

"Did you clean all of these?" I asked him

"Yeah do you like it?" he responded

"It is so nice. I can't believe that Mr. Clumsy did something clean"

"When there is something related to you I won't go wrong?"

"Those Pikachu soft toys are cute. Thanks for buying those I love it"

"They were as cute as you are."

"Thank you, if I hadn't asked for a red wine you wouldn't have gone out, I should have avoided Mathew also on that day right, if I had done that then you wouldn't have been expelled like this, because of me you career ended even before it started." I sobbed

"Hey", Krish wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a close embrace as I breathe in his scent and bury my face in the crook of his neck. "See there is no fault of you and it was only because of me overreacting. Stop blaming yourself." He says, kissing my hair.

"But I…" I break down; I don't even know if it was the right place to burst out and start to cry.

"Shh…" Krish whispers, moving his fingers through my hair and holding my head against his chest. But he was too late. I shed tears on his T-shirt making it wet.

I take a step back and Krish picks me up; I wrap my hands around his neck and cling around him. He makes me sit gently on the bed and releases me. I close my face with my hand to control my cry.

"Hey" Krish murmurs, kneeling in front of me, he pulls my hand from my face and cups my face with his delicate hands. I gaze at him, blinking continuously.

"I don't understand why are you so unreasonable?" he says

But I was uncontrollable though I try I don't know why, my eyes were producing tears non-stop.

"Stop now please, I can't tolerate when you cry", he says his voice low and wipes tears off my cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Krish I'm just really sorry for making you worry"

"Stop it now, please. I can't handle it if you cry", he said.

I stop crying and gave a hug to him and we spoke for a while and he went out as he got a call. I walked to Riya's room to check if she is comfortable. I peek into her half-open room she was sitting on the bed; I softly knock on the door. As she looks at me, she signals me to come in. She informed me that she was feeling totally bored and so asked me to say something. Therefore, I narrated to her everything that happen between me and Krish. She gave me a you-wasted-so-much-time look.

"You guys should have revealed your feelings for each other ages ago, you guys totally wasted a lot of time", she says

"I know right. Do you feel comfortable here", I ask her with a broad smile

"Absolutely"

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Anything will go"

"Okay then, let me go, cook"

"Wait what? Where are you going?"

"To cook"

"With this condition"

"What's wrong"

"You can't cook"

"Then what can we do for food"

"I'll cook"

"See you are our guest, I can't allow you to do work"

"We are friends, aren't we?"

"For sure we are"

"So, therefore, let me cook"

"Hmm… I will accompany you"

"That's good", she says and we walk to the kitchen.

Riya starts her work and I help her by chopping the vegetables. This was the first time I felt cooking more entertaining in the company of Riya. I called Krish for dinner as the cooking was finished and all three of us were now ready to eat together. We self-served ourselves, had a good delicious dinner and we went to bed.