'Rohit!'
Sonakshi's eyes lit up on seeing him, as he entered the room.

'Sona! Mujhe yaad kar rahi thi na..'

'Han, kab se wait kar rahi thi, kitni der laga di na tumne..'

'Ab to agaya hun na..'
He came to sit next to her.

Sonakshi smiled at him, and took his hand in hers.

'Thankyou..I really missed you..I love you..aise mujhe chorr ke mat jaya karo, I get really sad.'

Rohit looked at her. She had not a single speck of makeup on, yet she looked beautiful. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail.
As he watched, she untied her hair, and shook her head.

'Sorry, mujhe pata nahin tha na ke tum ajaoge, warna mein baal khol ke rakhti. I know ke tumhe mujh pe khule baal achay lagtay hain..'

Rohit smiled at her again.

'Tumne khana khaya? Apna khayal nahin rakh rahi thi na?'

'Khaungi na..tum agaye ho to ab khaungi..tumhare saath.'

'Good! Abhi mangwata hun..'

He got up to go. Sonakshi caught his hand.

'Tum kahan ja rahe ho?'
There was fear in her eyes, as if he would go and never come back.

'Khana mangwane..khao gi na?'

'Oh..han, bilkul..okay..'

Rohit got up and left the room. Sonakshi kept looking at the doorway, unable to take her eyes off it.
She got up, and started pacing the floor, panic slowly building up inside her.

What if he doesn't come back? Ever? No, no! He loves me..he would never leave me alone.

She paced some more and then sat on the bed.

The door opened.

She quickly looked there, running a hand through her hair to fix it, but the man who entered was not Rohit.

The man who entered, came and set a tray on a table near her bed. He left as he had come.
Sonakshi tapped her fingers on her thighs, the sound seemingly loud in the otherwise quiet room.

She sat and waited, till the door opened again. A man entered the room again.

'Kon ho tum?'

'Matlab?'

'Yahan kya kar rahe ho?

'Sona! Mein Rohit!

'Rohit? Rohit, kon?'

'Rohit, tumhara husband..' he held her hand.

She jerked his hand off.

'Husband? Meri to shadi bhi nahin hui..husband kaise ho sakte ho?'
Sonakshi looked at him suspiciously.

'Tum abhi to keh rahi thi..'

'Abhi, kabhi? I've never seen you in my entire life!'
Sonakshi looked furious.

'Magar..'

'Get out..'

'Meri baat to suno, Sona..'

She turned on him.

'Tumne mujhe Sona kaise bola? Sirf Papa bolte hain..tum kyun bol rahe ho..' she moved further away from him.

'Acha, sorry..Sonakshi..baat to suno.'

'Tum chale jao yahan se..'

'Theek hai, relax..'

'Kaise relax? I don't know who you are..'

'Mein to..'

'Get out, I said. GET OUT!'
She screamed.

The door opened and two female nurses came running in the hospital room.

'Ma'am, relax please.'

'Yeh..iss aadmi ko nikaalo yahan se..pata nahin kon hai! Aise kaise allow kar sakte hain aap log isse andar..'

'Aap relax karen..'

Rohit looked on in despair, unable to do anything.

'Sir, aap please bahar chale jayen..'

'Get out! Suna nahin tumne! Get out!'
Sonakshi was becoming hysterical by the minute, as the two women held on to her by her arms.

'Chorro mujhe! Tum sab ne mujhe yahan qaid kar rakha hai! Tum sab ganday ho..I don't like you..don't touch me..chorro warna mein maarungi tumhe..let go!'
Sonakshi was hyperventilating by now, as the nurses held on to her, trying to get her in the bed.

Rohit closed his eyes against the sight, his heart dying a little inside.
He moved away, and out the room.

'Doctor Sinha! Doctor Sinha!'
The nurse called out.

The doctor saw Rohit in the doorway, but went hurrying inside. On seeing Sonakshi struggling and her behaviour, he quickly instructed the nurse to get an injection.

'Nahin! Mein injection nahin lagwaungi! Mujhe mat sulao..please..'
Sonakshi changed tactics.
'I promise..I will be good! Mein shor bhi nahin machaungi..khana bhi khaungi..dawai bhi le lungi..please mujhe mat sulao..injection nahin..please..'

Sonakshi turned her head to the doorway, and stopped at seeing the man there.

'Rohit! Rohit! Mujhe bacha lo..tum wahan kyun kharay ho? Aap log chorain mujhe. Mera husband hai woh..mujhe uss ke saath ghar jaana hai..chorro..Rohit..' she pleaded.

But the nurse had come in with the injection, and Rohit watched helplessly, his fists clenched, as the doctor gave it to her, tears streaming down his face.
As he watched, Sonakshi became flaccid in the nurses' arms and became totally quiet. They put her on the bed.

The doctor turned towards the door, asking Rohit to follow him.
Rohit's feet felt like lead, as he moved away from his life, his wife, Sona.
The nurse shut the door, separating him from her.

He followed the doctor, his very being dejected by all that he had seen.
Every hope that he had had, was fast dwindling.

'Mr. Sippy?'

The doctor had to call on him twice to get his attention.

'Ji, ji..'

'Aap to dekh hi rahe hain apni wife ki condition. I had told you jab unke sab symptoms start hue thay ke in ko admit kara den. But you were adamant that you will care for her at home. Her condition has deteriorated in the past week, since she came here.'

Rohit cleared his throat.

'Mujhe laga tha ke mein handle kar lunga usse. She loves me, I love her..woh meri baat maanti hai..matlab thi..'

'But you waited till she hurt someone. Jis din aap laaye thay, she had slit your hand with a knife..jis ke nishaan abhi bhi hain aap ke..'
The doctor indicated Rohit's forearm, which still had raw stitches.

'Mujhe apni parwah nahin hai..meri Sona..uss ko..'

'Kal physical therapy room se aate hue, she had tried strangling a staff, who had only been helping her to her room.'

Rohit ran a hand through his hair, tears falling from his eyes.

'She was never like this..always so confident, so full of life..yeh kaise..kya hogaya..'

'Mr. Sippy! Schizophrenia ek mental disorder hai, or iss ka ilaaj hota to hai..magar fully symptoms khatam nahin hotay. You have to be strong.'

'Kaise strong rahun? Iss haal mein dekh ke..aisa lagta hai jaise meri bhi jaan nikal jayegi. Uss ki takleef..meri takleef hai!'

'I understand what you are saying, and it is indeed difficult to see your loved ones like this..but yeh bhi mohabbat nahin, ke aise insaan ka aap treatment na karayen ke it will be painful. It will be cruel to not!'

Rohit was hearing all that the doctor was saying, but his heart was just unable to believe that his Sona would never be normal again.

Aisa kaise ho sakta hai? Sona kabhi mujhe uss nazar se nahin dekhegi? Jis mein sirf pyaar tha? Kya woh mujhe kabhi uss tarha nahin chuay gi, jis mein izhaar tha? How will I see you in this much pain? My heart feels like someone has taken it out and smashed it into a thousand fragments!
Sona! Sona! Sona!
Jahan se zindagi shuru hui..jahan meri saansen khatam..meri Sona, meri zindagi..

As the doctor finished instructing him on the next plan, Rohit walked out of his room.
His feet carried him again to Sonakshi's room, room number 209.
That's how the staff referred to her as. Room 209.
Was that all that was left of her identity? A room number?

He opened the door quietly. She was lying on the bed, curled up, like she used to when she felt cold. Like how, when she used to snuggle into him for warmth. Like how, they spent the nights in each others' arms.

Would he ever get to feel that again? Would he ever hear her call his name lovingly, naughtily, angrily..any way? Would she remember him at all?

He closed the door and turned around. He walked out of the hospital, feeling as if he had only left his life behind.

*********