It was a cold winter evening. The days were small and the darkness prevailed on the skies as the sun set early. Ashutosh had still not reached home though he had left his workplace early today. He had started the day early and had still not finished his work. But he was unable to focus any more and asked his boss for an early off. He walked out, got into his car and headed for a pub which was some 5 kilometers away. After spending good three hours in the pub and 5 drinks later, he came out and again installed himself on the car seat. It was 7th of January today. As he drove, his mind wandered in the by-lanes of some dark memories of events that happened some 5 years back on this very day of the month.
"Please get these injections from the nearby medical store. Sister, I am going to Nirmal Hospital for the night shift. Administer the injections to the patient the moment the injections arrive and keep her under vigil. Give me call the moment you notice any deterioration in condition. She is critical but the injections will keep the symptoms under control. They are so far working well for her" Doctor Prashant said. But the worry was clearly seen in his eyes. Vishakha, Ashutosh's fiancee, was brought to the hospital with a head injury that she sustained after slipping on the road from her two wheeler. Some critical areas of her brain were injured and she was being given the treatment till the time she could be shifted to Apollo Indraprasth hospital in Delhi. This was the last time, Dr. Prashant saw his patient alive. He got a call from the nurse, Sister Jisha, at half past one that the patient was critical and Vishakha had taken her last breath by the time he reached his nursing home. Five years had passed yet Ashutosh had every memory fresh in his mind of that life changing incident of his life."
"Miss you Vishakha", he said to himself when the train of his thoughts was interrupted by a scooty which overtook his car from the wrong side out of nowhere. He forced the brake and brought the car to a sudden halt. The scooty halted too and the rider looked back. " Sorry and thanks !" a female voice came. And the scooty vanished in a lane. Ashutosh was in a shock. More than the sudden appearance of a scooty from nowhere, it was the voice which had shocked him. It was the voice. Yes the voice. It was Vishakha. Yes it was Vishakha. That voice could not have been of anyone else. Ashutosh tried to make an attempt to get into the lane. But seemed too narrow to get his car in. He took a deep breath and took the direction of his home. He was now feeling stupid. "Dead people do not come back. I am too obsessed with her thoughts and the drinks also went beyond limits today,"He dismissed the experience of hearing Vishakha's voice.
Parking his car on the desolated street, he entered the house. It was pitch dark and he struggled to reach the switch board. When even after trying couple of switches, his attempt to put on the lights failed, he realized that there was some problem. Perhaps the fuse of the mains was gone and needed to be replaced. He tried walking to other corner of the room guided by the light from his smartphone. And he almost lost his balance when his foot got stuck in a stool which he had careless left on the carpet. Again he had reason to be surprised. "Careful !! You may fall" These words fell on his ear. Again the voice was familiar. He became nervous. It was Vishakha's voice yet again. "How can that be?" His hands were cold yet there were some drops of sweat on his palm.
His eyes turned towards the old rocking chair in one corner of the room which for some reason appeared brighter than the other parts. And now he could see the silhouette of a girl sitting on the chair. Now he knew exactly where the voice came from.
"Ashutosh, thanks for today."
"Th .. thanks? For what?"
"Thanks for not letting me be run over by your car"
"Oh that. You suddenly appeared out of nowhere. But I was lucky. The brakes worked well."
" The guys whose car hit me also had his car brakes working fine."
"So ... so ... what happend then? How you got hit and fell down?"
"The car was fine. The driver was drunk. He pressed the accelerator thinking it was a brake."
"Ohh ... I did not know that. You went in a coma soon after your accident. You never came out of it." Now tears were rolling down his eyes.
"True. I would be there with you had he not drunk."
"Yeah ... umm" Ashutosh could barely speak now. With five drinks down his throat, he was unable to face Vishakha today.
"But I am happy. You can keep your control even after five pegs."
"I am ... sorry. Vishu. I promise. Never again." Ashutosh completely choked. The alcohol was fast losing its grip.
"I know Ashutosh. I am sorry I was not in my senses before I died. I should have told this earlier. But today I am sure. You will not let any other Ashutosh lose his Vishakha" This time Vishakha's voice also seemed to be choking.
"I promise. Never again. Come back Vishu. I love you a lot."
"Love you too Ashu. But I have to go."
"Please ... I beg"
"Some other time Ashu"
The girl disappeared.
The dawn broke. Birds woke up. But not Ashu. Just an empty bottle of sleeping pills to his side. And small white paper on his bedside with something scribbled on it which was hardly legible.It said - " Vishu. I never realized that the two wheeler I had bumped in the darkness of the night 5 years back driving drunk was yours. I fell asleep after that and forgot everything that had happened. When I woke up, you were in the hospital struggling for life. And I lost you. But today I know I lost you to alcohol. I know this is not the way to come close to you yet again. But I can't spend a lifetime missing you. So coming to be close with you. Just want my friends to know. If you want to have your Vishu for keeps, keep the alcohol away. Love you till eternity. Yours Ashu"
"Please get these injections from the nearby medical store. Sister, I am going to Nirmal Hospital for the night shift. Administer the injections to the patient the moment the injections arrive and keep her under vigil. Give me call the moment you notice any deterioration in condition. She is critical but the injections will keep the symptoms under control. They are so far working well for her" Doctor Prashant said. But the worry was clearly seen in his eyes. Vishakha, Ashutosh's fiancee, was brought to the hospital with a head injury that she sustained after slipping on the road from her two wheeler. Some critical areas of her brain were injured and she was being given the treatment till the time she could be shifted to Apollo Indraprasth hospital in Delhi. This was the last time, Dr. Prashant saw his patient alive. He got a call from the nurse, Sister Jisha, at half past one that the patient was critical and Vishakha had taken her last breath by the time he reached his nursing home. Five years had passed yet Ashutosh had every memory fresh in his mind of that life changing incident of his life."
"Miss you Vishakha", he said to himself when the train of his thoughts was interrupted by a scooty which overtook his car from the wrong side out of nowhere. He forced the brake and brought the car to a sudden halt. The scooty halted too and the rider looked back. " Sorry and thanks !" a female voice came. And the scooty vanished in a lane. Ashutosh was in a shock. More than the sudden appearance of a scooty from nowhere, it was the voice which had shocked him. It was the voice. Yes the voice. It was Vishakha. Yes it was Vishakha. That voice could not have been of anyone else. Ashutosh tried to make an attempt to get into the lane. But seemed too narrow to get his car in. He took a deep breath and took the direction of his home. He was now feeling stupid. "Dead people do not come back. I am too obsessed with her thoughts and the drinks also went beyond limits today,"He dismissed the experience of hearing Vishakha's voice.
Parking his car on the desolated street, he entered the house. It was pitch dark and he struggled to reach the switch board. When even after trying couple of switches, his attempt to put on the lights failed, he realized that there was some problem. Perhaps the fuse of the mains was gone and needed to be replaced. He tried walking to other corner of the room guided by the light from his smartphone. And he almost lost his balance when his foot got stuck in a stool which he had careless left on the carpet. Again he had reason to be surprised. "Careful !! You may fall" These words fell on his ear. Again the voice was familiar. He became nervous. It was Vishakha's voice yet again. "How can that be?" His hands were cold yet there were some drops of sweat on his palm.
His eyes turned towards the old rocking chair in one corner of the room which for some reason appeared brighter than the other parts. And now he could see the silhouette of a girl sitting on the chair. Now he knew exactly where the voice came from.
"Ashutosh, thanks for today."
"Th .. thanks? For what?"
"Thanks for not letting me be run over by your car"
"Oh that. You suddenly appeared out of nowhere. But I was lucky. The brakes worked well."
" The guys whose car hit me also had his car brakes working fine."
"So ... so ... what happend then? How you got hit and fell down?"
"The car was fine. The driver was drunk. He pressed the accelerator thinking it was a brake."
"Ohh ... I did not know that. You went in a coma soon after your accident. You never came out of it." Now tears were rolling down his eyes.
"True. I would be there with you had he not drunk."
"Yeah ... umm" Ashutosh could barely speak now. With five drinks down his throat, he was unable to face Vishakha today.
"But I am happy. You can keep your control even after five pegs."
"I am ... sorry. Vishu. I promise. Never again." Ashutosh completely choked. The alcohol was fast losing its grip.
"I know Ashutosh. I am sorry I was not in my senses before I died. I should have told this earlier. But today I am sure. You will not let any other Ashutosh lose his Vishakha" This time Vishakha's voice also seemed to be choking.
"I promise. Never again. Come back Vishu. I love you a lot."
"Love you too Ashu. But I have to go."
"Please ... I beg"
"Some other time Ashu"
The girl disappeared.
The dawn broke. Birds woke up. But not Ashu. Just an empty bottle of sleeping pills to his side. And small white paper on his bedside with something scribbled on it which was hardly legible.It said - " Vishu. I never realized that the two wheeler I had bumped in the darkness of the night 5 years back driving drunk was yours. I fell asleep after that and forgot everything that had happened. When I woke up, you were in the hospital struggling for life. And I lost you. But today I know I lost you to alcohol. I know this is not the way to come close to you yet again. But I can't spend a lifetime missing you. So coming to be close with you. Just want my friends to know. If you want to have your Vishu for keeps, keep the alcohol away. Love you till eternity. Yours Ashu"
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