Introductions of new important characters end with this chapter. The rest of the chapters will deal with them whom you already know. :)
Happy reading!

~~

Dr. Dharmendra Bakshi didn't realise, exactly when he had dosed off. The harsh sounds of his ringtone sprang him up.

Shoving through the desk, he wore his spectacles on finding them. He next pressed the green button on his phone, taking up an unknown number.

" Hello! "

" Good morning uncle. Subhadra Hegde here. "

A weird smile slowly crossed his face.
" I was waiting for your call. Somehow, I felt you'll call today. "

" Don't lie. You were sleeping. "

" Haha! Yes, I dozed off waiting. Old bones. "

" Bless me. I've got extern presentations today. "

" I've always blessed you Subhadra. "

" I hope I get this scholarship. Asap. "

" I know dear.
' India chokes you. ' "

Silent smiles on the other side.

" How's Reshmi? " , she asked.

" Quite good. She too was talking of you yesterday. "

" I wish I could meet her. "

" Why don't you? Choose a place. "

" I'm afraid. "

" ....it's okay. "

" Work calls. Bye! Take care!! "

" Bye darling. What number is this though? "

" A booth.

As I said,
I am afraid. More with every passing day.

Sins have this bane.
They frighten you... till the last breath. " , she dropped the call.

Dharmendra Bakshi placed the phone aside.

Three years since a voluntary retirement, he lived quite a peaceful life these days. With his only daughter, Reshmi. Reshmi ran an NGO, a counceilling society for clinical depression. She was once a patient. Now she helped others not to be one.

Reshmi wasn't his only child. He had a son too. Kabir. Who died with Non Hodgkin's lymphoma, when he was twenty four. Eight years back.

Kabir Bakshi. A gold medalist in medicine. Like father, like son.

Being one of India's topmost forensic surgeons, Dharmendra had only one glitch. He spent his life talking to deads. Hence when Kabir chose the same career, he had sighed a relief. At least his son would deal with life, being highly uninterested in deaths.

But fate had something else in store.

On his death bed, Kabir had requested only one thing. His soul shouldn't be disturbed by unnecessary rituals.

Dharmendra had kept his words.

Kabir and Reshmi held the topmost bracket of his heart.

But, unfortunately, his wife......could never share a space in that.

Because, that space was permanently occupied by someone else, someone whom he could not make his wife...

Dharmendra Bakshi got nothing in life, except for a successful career.

Keeping aside the misfortunes of an emotionless wife, a deadly disease struck son and a depression ridden daughter, he still had one hope, even with greying hairs...

His one and only childhood love, Sandhya.. would someday love him back.

Someday, even if it were his last on earth.

Dharmendra Bakshi could do anything, for just three humans in life, anything!!

His daughter, his son, and his one true love, Sandhya.

Even when Sandhya chose Jatin Hegde over him, the scoundrel who gave her nothing while alive, and ended himself, as if putting all blames of an unsuccessful life on his wife....

Yet she never loved Dharmendra over him..

But that didn't stop Dharmendra from doing things for the ones he loved.
He did, till his last drop. Forgetting everything, even, every line between right and wrong.....

And yet, did Sandhya ever love him back? Despite his years and years long wait and a 'once upon a time' huge struggle to make her happy, did she?????

Dharmendra Bakshi hated himself when he thought deeply about everything. A huge lot.

Love itself was a peculiar, terrible,  fatal disease.

Maybe that's why, Subhadra Hegde still stayed on in his life.

A demonic epitome of love.

But where did such love finally lead her to? 

------

Subhadra Hegde slowly drove his car down the streets.

Today was an important day.
And she needed blessings. Their blessings.

Dumping a carton on the backseat of her car, Subhadra kept an eye on each and every signal, every bending, every corner of the streets.

And just as she found one of them, she stopped, pulled out a packet. And got down with a smile.

They clapped and smiled back and blessed her, taking the packet. It had cakes, a box of meal, a saree and a sealed hundred rupee note. Subhadra took their blessings, wholeheartedly.

What would have Maanav done? Hugged each one of them.

His dangerously beautiful.... friends.

Subhadra felt a pain down her throat.

Even, after eight long years....

----

The externals went quite well.

The entire oncology department had gathered at the lecture theatre. Subhadra sat with fingers crossed.

Pooja Behl slithered in like a snake, with a devilish grin on her face, along with a professor and two external examiners.

Subhadra counted. Bad news.

The snake began with a cough,

" So, taking into consideration--- internals, today's externals, and also humanitarians, I, my beloved colleague Sushma, and our respected externals... together have chosen the most suitable one to be granted a scholarship to the prestigious Imperial College London.

According to the guidelines, we have to keep at hand--two bests of the batch.

Henceforth, calculating every aspect,
Ravi Sharma and Subhadra Hegde herein have been chosen to be the two bests.

Ravi Sharma however leads by two things.

3 marks in the last internal papers, and humanitarians.

He's got a pacemaker beeping inside his chest, for eight long years now, yet has never given up on the hope of becoming a top notch doctor.

Imperial College considers extra points for such determinations.

Thus, Ravi Sharma is granted the scholarship to Imperial College London.

Just in case he doesn't make up, on grounds of personal disinterest, or worsening health conditions, he will be replaced by Subhadra Hegde. "

Subhadra Hegde suddenly realised, she had bored the pen into her thumb, and it was bleeding now.

----

Ravi Sharma couldn't celebrate the night.

He was quite late returning from the passport office.
Plus eating out wasn't a part of his daily life.
Yet, he had decided he'd go out with some friends to have fun.

A sudden rainstorm just when he whooshed through the main gate to his apartment, flushed all plans.

Stepping out of the lift, Ravi's feet stopped.

Subhadra Hegde stood before his locked door, completely drenched.

She seemed extremely relieved, having him back.

Ravi slowly walked upto, and keyed open the door, glancing her from time to time.

He then gestured her to follow him in.

Subhadra Hegde now sat on a sofa, drying herself with a towel Ravi gave her.

"I didn't know you are a cardiac patient. " , Subhadra stared.

Ravi kept standing, quite stern.

" May I know your purpose of arrival? "

" Ohh. Do you too hate prologues to stories? I do, totally!

I want you to give up the scholarship, Dr Sharma!

That's all. "

Ravi now slowly settled on a chair.

" And why on earth will I do that? "

" Because, I desperately need the scholarship. "

" Who doesn't? "

" Priorities.
I'm a woman and India is unsafe for me these days. "

" Cool! Something more solid? "

" Ohkay!! 
You very well know I'm much more an able student than you. That snakish woman hates me, hence spoilt my internals. "

" I see. Anything else? "

Subhadra took a deep breath.

" The truth maybe.

Someone will soon make my life a living hell if I keep staying in India. I can be murdered too, by his hungry,  angry spirit. "

Ravi narrowed his eyes.

" Really??
But how does that concern me?
Why will I give away my scholarship for anything that might happen to you, Madam Hegde?? "

Subhadra Hegde bored through him now. For a million seconds.

Then whispered,

" I bet, you will.

Once you listen to my story. "

Ravi, was not an easy goer as well. Stubborn as hell, his weak heart, a witness.

He whispered back,

" I am all ears, Subhadra Hegde! "

" If I told you, you were dying, would you listen to my tales a bit more carefully?

Well darling, we all are...! "

---

'Eight years' seems to be a theme song of my story. Lol!! Everyone keeps singing that!

A funny thing about mystery tales is, you need to be thorough with each and every sentence. Otherwise, you won't untie the knots ever.

Let me test, how many of my readers are not cheating on me. :)

'A thing of Dr Dharmendra Bakshi was indirectly mentioned by someone in a previous chapter. What? And by whom? '

DM me the answer. Don't type here.

Good night!!