Naina's mom burst out crying, with fresh tears running down her already tear-stained cheeks.
"Naina is a fighter Aunty," said Vihaan in his most reassuring tone. "She'll be just fine."
"I hope so..."
"What about the legal documents?" Asked Mr. Agarwal.
"I signed them. Hope you don't mind. But it was impossible to wait, so I had to..." Vihaan replied.
"Thank you son," said Naina's father. "If you and Kimaya hadn't reached here on time, I don't know if my daughter would even be alive." He cried softly.
I walked away from the group, wanting to be left alone. The shawl I was wearing draped off a little bit, revealing some clothes and skin. I realized that in all the hurry, I hadn't even changed. My clothes were still torn, my arms were still visibly bruised. I suddenly remembered something... Something that those bad men had said.
"Your one word and Naina... Well, I don't really know if she'd even be capable of feeling the pain by the time we're done with her."
As if to confirm my horrifying realization, my phone rang and the voice I heard was of my abuser.
"I told you, not a word to anyone. Now look at Naina, what a sad condition she is in," he spoke, cutting the call before I had a chance to react.
My tears increased as I realized that I was the reason behind Naina's pain. I had almost told Vihaan... And here was Naina, in the worst condition possible. I felt like dying at that moment, I felt so horrid.
"Your arms! What happened to them Kim?"
I suddenly noticed Vihaan standing right in front of me. In all these messed up feelings, I hadn't even seen him come.
"How did they get so scratched Kimaya?" He demanded.
"I... I fell down the stairs..." I lied. I couldn't tell him the truth.
"Why didn't you tell that before! Let me get some medicine!"
"No no I'm fine."
"Shut up. Look at those bruises... It looks like you were beaten up!"
"I'm seriously okay, Vihaan."
"A little ointment won't hurt Kim. Wait a little, I'll get it from the pharmacy," he said, walking off before I could stop him.
Chapter 16
Kimaya
"Here!" Said Vihaan, coming back. “Put some of this ointment on, it should help."
I took the tube from his hand and turned away. He couldn't see my torn clothes at any cost - falling down the stairs wouldn't really cut the cloth that bad. Thank God, Vihaan didn't question why I did that. I quickly put the ointment on, covered myself again, and turned around. I gave it back to Vihaan, who stuffed the tiny tube away in the pocket of his jeans.
Just then, my mom came rushing into the hospital, worried. She went to Naina's mom first, talking to her, trying to make her feel better. Then she came to me and hugged me. My face was heavily stained with tears. Seeing mom, I started crying again.
"Don't cry baby," said mom. "Naina will be just fine!"
"I hope she is."
"Are you okay?" Mom asked, noticing my shawl.
"Yeah, just a bit cold. Out of tension, I guess."
"Oh."
I was thankful that the talk ended there, because I didn't want to answer any more questions. I stared at the operation theatre, wishing I was there instead of Naina.
The light on the top of the surgery hall went off, and the doctor came out in a minute.
"Vihaan?" He asked, since Vihaan had finished all the necessities and procedures.
"How's my daughter, doctor?" Asked Naina's dad.
"She is out of danger. But..."
"But what?"
"If she doesn't wake up in around ten hours, I'm afraid she may go into coma," said the doctor softly.
Naina's mother almost fell to the ground. I felt weak too... All this happening to Naina, and I was the only reason.
"Doctor wake her up somehow! Help my daughter please!" Cried Mr. Agarwal.
"She has to take her own time, sir. Our input will not help her anymore, we've done all we could. Now all we can do is pray."
"Yes doctor..." Said Naina's dad sadly.
The doctor nodded and left. We stayed there in silence... No one wanted to speak at all.
Naina's mom went to the little praying area in the hospital. I followed her.
"Save my daughter, God," she said. "The person who did this to her, may he rot in hell."
I looked down, feeling horrible. You are right, aunty. I ought to rot in hell.
I refused to go home. I stayed there with Vihaan and Naina's father. Vihaan needed to stay because he had filled the documents. If something went wrong, he was required.
"Vihaan, take Kimaya home," said uncle, after half an hour of everyone going.
"No I won't go!" I cried.
"Kim uncle is right. There is no reason you should stay here. I promise I'll pick you up as soon as Naina wakes up." said Vihaan.
"I said I'm not going."
"But Kimaya, you really don't have any work here," said uncle.
"Please uncle. Naina is one of my best friends. I won't leave her in this condition and go," I said firmly. No one tried to argue after that.
***
Eleven Hours Later
"Doctor, so much time has passed! When will Naina wake up?" Asked Naina's father frantically.
"I'm just going to check her, sir. Please be calm," said the doctor, entering Naina's room.
Ten minutes later, the doctor came out with a sober look on his face.
"Doctor? What happened?" Uncle asked.
"I'm afraid... Your daughter has gone into coma."
Uncle collapsed on a nearby chair, all fragments of hope slipping away. Vihaan sat down with uncle, trying to calm him down. I walked away... I wanted to be alone. I found a desolate spot in the hospital and sat down. The tears wouldn't come. I felt numb - I had never felt this destroyed before.
It's all your fault, Kimaya. It's your fault. Now Naina may never wake up! Scolded my brain.
I stared at the ground, finding it more interesting that anything else around me. I wished it would open up and swallow me. I wanted to die, to disappear. I felt helpless; hopeless. I knew that Naina was lying there because of me. My phone buzzed and I let it ring. I was in no mood to talk to anyone. But the caller seemed desperate; my phone kept ringing until I finally picked it up.
"So, Kimaya? I told you. A word from your mouth, and we'll leave Naina in a condition where she can't even feel the pain she is in."
It was my kidnapper... My abuser.
"Who are you? Why did you do this?!"
"I'm your ill-wisher sweetheart," came the reply.
"Then why did you hurt Naina?! You want my pain, then hurt me!"
"Well, I'm sure you're more hurt right now than you would have been if I hurt you. Now you better be careful. Another word and we'll kill Naina."
"No no! I won't tell anyone! Please!"
"Good girl. Bye, Kimaya."
"Kim?" Asked Vihaan coming into the room. "Who were you talking to?"
"N... No one!" I said, slightly panicky.
Vihaan raised an eyebrow, staring at the phone in my hand.
"Oh, just a wrong number," I replied.
He nodded and sat down next to me. He stared at my emotionless face.
"Naina will be okay, Kim."
"I hope so," I said.
He stroked my head. Normally, such a gesture would have made me cry. But today, I couldn't even feel the pain, let alone crying. That man had surely left Naina in a condition where she couldn't feel. But along with her, he had made me numb too. I didn't know if I could get justice for Naina and myself. Maybe I could - at the cost of Naina's life.
It was morning already. Mom and aunty came back. Uncle hadn't told anyone about Naina till then. When Naina's mother realized what had happened to her daughter, the pain on her face was more than I could even imagine. She fainted, falling back into her husband's arms. They've all been crying non-stop. I even saw Vihaan cry - the person who I've never seen with a single drop o
f tears in his eyes. And me? I didn't even know what to feel; what I was feeling.
"Let's go home, Kim," said Vihaan, coming up to me.
I nodded. I wanted to sleep... Only if this nightmare would let me.
We reached home in sometime, and Vihaan took me to his house instead of mine.
"Drop me home Vihaan!" I protested. "Anyway, I can go from here."
"No Kimaya," he replied. "You'll only make yourself worse if you stay alone. Come to my house; you'll feel better with Tashanna."
I had forgotten that Tashanna's holidays started that day.
"Okay," I gave in.
"Good."
He opened the door and let me in. It was pretty early in the morning and Tashanna was still asleep. Vihaan wanted to wake her up but I stopped him.
"Let her sleep. We need to get some sleep too. What will she do staying awake? Stare at our snoring faces?"
Vihaan smiled, perhaps only to cheer me up. "Okay wildcat," he said.
Not in the mood for jokes, I shot him a glare, before turning away to the guest room to sleep.
Chapter 17
July 26th, 2013 (One Month Later)
A lot of things happened in that one month. Kimaya slipped into depression, unable to carry the burden on her shoulders any more. Mr. Arora tried hard to make Kimaya tell them why, but she would not speak. When he'd think of hypnotizing her, she would simply run away. She did not want the truth out - she did not want Naina dead. Most of the time, Kimaya would just sit in her room and stare at a random object, doing nothing that made sense. They all knew it was related to Naina's coma; but no one knew why it had such an extreme effect on Kimaya. Mr. Arora prescribed some anti-depressants when the situation started going out of hand, but Kimaya would only flush them down. She anyway couldn't feel much; she didn't want to become totally numb. Kimaya had not cried since the incident. She knew that crying might actually help her, but the tears just wouldn't come.
Ultimately, Mr. Arora declared that Kimaya needed a holiday. Anything to lift her thoughts and spirit. So, after some discussion - excluding Kimaya - Mr. Verma decided that they were going to go to Gangtok. Gangtok is the capital of Sikkim, a north-eastern Indian state. Since the weather was already very hot, it was decided that a hill station would be best.
Kimaya refused to go, so finally, her mother packed her bag, pushed her into the car, and off they were. Gangtok was not accessible by air, so they took a flight to the nearest airport, from where Gangtok was a six-hour drive by car. It was late evening by the time they reached, and it was very cold.
There was not much to do that day. They would be doing sight-seeing from the next day onward, so after they reached that night, they simply had dinner and slept in their respective rooms.
"Wow, this is so awesome!" Cried Tashanna as she stared out of the window, early in the morning. Fog covered everything around the hotel and there was a little beam of sunshine, cutting through the mist. Slowly, the mountains became visible, and there were light patches on them where the sun reflected off. It didn't snow in Gangtok - but it did snow a lot at places near Gangtok.
"What's wrong Tasha?" Asked Kimaya sleepily.
"Wake up! Look at this view - it's beautiful!"
But Kimaya simply shook her head, turned over, and slept again. Tashanna and Kimaya were sharing a room. Kimaya's parents had a separate room, and so did Tashanna's parents. Vihaan was sleeping in his parents' room on an extra mattress.
Around twenty minutes later, Tashanna was already ready. Suddenly, there came a knock on the door. Tashanna opened it, and found Kimaya's mom.
"Hi aunty."
"Hi Tashanna."
Mrs. Verma made her way into the room and found her daughter sleeping. She stared at her sadly, hoping that the trip would cheer her child up.
"Wake up, Kim," she said gently.
"No mom I want to sleep..."
"We have to go sight-seeing today. Look at the place, it's so beautiful! Wake up!"
"I'm not going sight-seeing, mom."
"What? Why?"
"You brought me here by force. Now will you stuff me up in the car to take me sight-seeing?"
"But Kim, Gangtok is a lovely place! And I know you love mountains."
"I don't care, mom."
"I don't care either. You are coming and that's it," said Mrs. Verma, taking a little water and sprinkling it on Kimaya.
"That's so cold!" Shrieked Kimaya, waking up.
"Sorry. Now you better be ready soon, or I'm going to have to soak you with this cold water."
Kimaya groaned and got up. That water was icy cold - given the low temperatures - and Kimaya had no intention of get sprayed with more of it.
Half an hour later, everyone met at the dining hall, totally covered with woollens.
"Kimaya what are you doing? Wear something more warm, you'll catch a cold!" Cried Mrs. Arora, seeing Kimaya wear just a t-shirt, no way sufficient for Gangtok's cold temperatures.
"Oh, I'll be just fine, aunty," replied Kim.
"Shut up Kimaya. I know I packed warmer clothes - go wear them right now," ordered her mother.
"No."
Mrs. Verma grabbed a water bottle threateningly. That was enough to make Kimaya scurry away.
"What was that?" Asked Mr. Verma, amused.
"Want a demo?"
"Huh?"
Kimaya's mother took a little water in her hand and sprinkled it on her husband, who almost jumped with the coldness of the liquid.
"She has every right to be scared!" He cried, and Mrs. Verma laughed.
Kimaya came back in a few minutes, with the warmest of her jackets on.
"Good," said Mrs. Verma, as they all proceeded to have breakfast. Kimaya didn't have much to eat. This time, her mother didn't threaten her. Kimaya had eaten enough to keep her full for some time. Plus, if she threatened too much, it would lose the effect and Kimaya may not heed to her at all.
After the breakfast, the families got into hired taxis to take them sight-seeing. Vihaan, Tashanna, Kimaya and Mrs. Verma in one car, Mr. Verma, and Tashanna's parents in the other. The city was immensely beautiful. There were little natural waterfalls almost every twenty metres or so, and the view of the mountains was captivating.
They visited many places. Huge waterfalls, temples, monasteries, gardens, viewpoints - you name it. Gangtok would be the perfect haven for stressed people - but perhaps, only if they could bear the long travel hours. The views were breath-taking. There was greenery all around, and the city was clean and beautiful. A river ran through the outskirts of the city. But the best part were the mountains. From any point, you could easily view the tree-covered mountains. The view-points made at higher parts of the city gave a picture perfect view of the scenery. Rain was unpredictable in Gangtok - it may start raining any moment of the day. You had to be armed with umbrellas at all times.
There was a well maintained mall road in the heart of the city. No vehicles were allowed beyond the starting point of the mall road. The road was a stone one, and it was very even, compared to the up-and-down roads of the city. It was divided into two halves by evenly spaced antique-looking benches for visitors, and on each side of the road, there were rows of shops. There were all sorts of shops - general stores, travel and tourism offices, photography centres, and stores selling clothes, souvenirs and food. Tashanna, a shopping fanatic, was overjoyed. However, Kimaya remained with a fathomless expression on her face. She had been quiet the whole day, and had not shown any interest in the beautiful places they had visited.
"Look, that store seems to have nice stuff! Let's check it out," said Tashanna.
"You go," replied Kimaya.
"Oh come on. I'm not going alone. Even if you're not going to buy anything, just come along."
Kimaya let out a frustrated sigh and went with her friend.
The store did have some good stuff. It was a souvenir shop, and had wonderful products. But nothing managed to spark interest in Kimaya.
"How's this o
ne, Kim?" Said Tashanna, dangling a wind-chime in front of Kimaya.
Kimaya just shrugged.
"You can give a better reply, you know."
"It's okay. Buy it if you like it."
Tashanna shook her head and bought the piece. She paid the bill and went up to Kimaya.
"You done?" Asked Kim.
"Yeah."
"Good."
The two girls walked to the shop where their parents were waiting for them.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" Asked Tashanna, showing her newly purchased item to her parents.
"Yes sweetie." Mrs. Arora replied.
They did some more shopping. Mrs. Verma forced her daughter to buy a pretty dress and a couple of souvenirs. Kimaya refused at first, but Mrs. Verma insisted.
"Come on Kimaya! It's so pretty! And you'll never find anything like it in the normal city shops!"
After five minutes of Mrs. Verma insisting, Kimaya finally gave in. They purchased the stuff and went away.
***
The days they had spent in Gangtok were extremely memorable and fun. They visited the India-China border, called the Nathula Pass, which was a three-hour drive from Gangtok. It was a stunning place. Covered with pure white snow, with a staircase leading towards the border. They had to stop on the way for jackets and boots, because snowfall here was as unpredictable as rain in Gangtok.
It started snowing as soon as they reached there. The view was mesmerizing. For a change, a wondrous expression occupied Kimaya's face as she saw the beautiful place, instead of her usual enigmatic look. But the snowfall resulted in them having to leave earlier than what they planned, because if the roads got blocked, they'd be stuck over there.
They visited south Sikkim too, which too was an immensely incredible place. This was considered to be the most industrialized part of the state, because the land was flat, not mountainous. There were tea farms and gardens, and a lot of monasteries too.
Their last stop was Zero Point, in north Sikkim - the highest place in the state. It would take seven hours to reach a place called Lachung, where they would make a night halt. They reached Lachung late at night, with a plan to go to Zero Point the next day.
July 31st, 2013
They reached Zero Point. Here too, they had to stop in the middle for coats and boots.
There was a beautiful rhododendron sanctuary on the way, and even though it was not the full-bloom time, many blossoms were visible. They were in all sorts of colours - red, pink, yellow, white, violet. It was simply fantastic.
By the time they reached Zero Point, Kimaya's spirits seemed to have been strangely uplifted. Maybe it was because of the flowers, maybe just the thought about the high altitude. But the best part was that it was Kimaya's birthday. Mrs. Verma was glad that Kimaya was fine on her birthday. Kimaya was generally excited about her birthdays, and everyone was afraid that she would be sulking this time. But after a whole month, Mrs. Verma saw her daughter smile. Everyone was very happy. They all felt that the trip was finally having a little positive effect on the depressed Kimaya. They just didn't know that it was all part of a plan - Kimaya's plan.