"You know I sometimes wonder, would anyone care at all if I am gone forever?" Bhawani asked softly and Shekhar froze on his way to his bike.

"Sometimes I just want to sleep and never wake up," she said with a cracked voice.

Not knowing how to respond, he stared intently into her eyes which revealed nothing but pain and the only thing he wanted to do was to hold her close to him and whisper that everything will be fine. But instead he stood firm unable to break through the impasse. He wished he could wipe her tears but was unable to move an inch.

She smiled through her tears.

"So you plan on becoming a sleeping beauty and wait for your prince charming to come and wake you up with a kiss?"He said cheerfully trying to make the mood light.

She laughed and was about to fall tripping on a stone as he held her wrist firm and murmured," Careful! It's pretty dark. It's a new moon, with only the stars twinkling."

On her return to the hospital, Bhawani was hugged so tight by Bhargavi that she gasped for breath. She had pity in her eyes for her little sister, who had swollen, puffy red eyes, disheveled hair and her jet black eyes showcased immense agony.

"Maa will be fine Bhawani. Don't blame yourself for everything," She said softly running her fingers in Bhawani's hair.

Shocked and surprised Bhawani couldn't believe that she was being embraced by her sister. Her eyes brimmed with tears. The surge of strong emotions within her was struggling to be let out.

Shekhar dragged Prabir at a distance, away from everyone's earshot and mumbled, "One of my friends had called me up and asked me for some money as he had left his wallet at home by mistake.

I went to meet him, and I didn't inform anyone here because I thought that I would be back in no time.

When I handed him the money and was on my way back, I saw Bhawani walking in between the street. The driver in the loaded truck was honking loudly, he was screaming and yelling at her but nothing he did grabbed her attention.

I somehow managed to save her only because, the truck driver had slowed down the vehicle noticing that she was completely unaware of the truck moving in her direction. 

Prabir. Her mind is filled with depressive thoughts, thoughts of self-hatred and self-harm. I think she's been even having suicidal thoughts."

"Don't worry! She will be fine," was all Prabir could manage to say before waking in the direction of Bhargavi.

He stood still with stark disbelief, observing Bhawani weeping profusely in Bhargavi's arms. Though she looked dejected, she was softly patting her head. He also noted Mayank's eyes were glued at both of the sisters.

Moving forward with a warm smile on his face, Prabir said," Princess."

"She has been crying like this for so long and I don't even understand why," Bhargavi said anxiously.

Prabir gently pulled Bhawani in his arms," I know that you are in immense pain. But trust me baby, things will get better.

You know when I lost Maa in my childhood, I too felt devastated and lonely. I couldn't believe that I will never see her again, that...that I will never be able to listen to her voice again.

Paru was so tiny, a little girl and when ever she cried for Maa, each and every time I felt a heart wrenching pain throb in my chest.

Tough times don't last forever Bhawu, then slowly she grew up with me every day."

Bhawani stopped crying and looked up at him. "I am a bad girl Bhaiya, who smokes, doesn't take her life seriously plus fails in all examinations. I don't deserve this love, concern and affection," she said in a cracked voice.

"Princess. You deserve all of this love, concern and affection.
You know how worried we have been throughout the day as you had gone missing?
You are not a bad girl baby. I am proud of you," Prabir whispered holding her firmly in his arms.

She sprung away from him as if she had seen a snake. " You were so mad at me because I slapped Di. How come now you are proud of me?"

"You were always honest with me. Your Di never told me that you two ended up in a fight. It was you who informed me everything, even though it wasn't necessary. You could have easily omitted that part where you slapped her.

Yes! I am proud of you as my little sister. I am proud of who you are, as an individual. Listen! Look at me," he said lifting her face to meet his own.

"The success metrics of the society isn't everything dear.
Failure in exams doesn't imply failure in life. You will face many challenges or rather have many opportunities in life I must say.

Who you are isn't defined by your beauty, or your scores in exams. The way you treat others defines who you are as a person.

You have forgiven Mayank after what he tried to do to you and I know deep down somewhere in your heart you have forgiven Ishaan Bagchi as well."

Her jaw dropped open as she looked into his shinning gemstone green eyes.

"I love you baby. Your Di loves you a lot. We were driven crazy with the thought of what might have happened, had Shekhar not been there today.

Do not think of doing anything stupid. You hear me?" He asked with a smirk.

She nodded slightly and felt warm and cozy embracing him once again. "I love you too Bhaiya," she whispered in his chest.

"Ah! My kiddo," he said ruffling her hair.

Bhargavi pulled her away and made her sit on a bench. "Bhawani. I will speak with Ishaan. I'll see what I can do," she said sadly.

"Di. You don't have to speak to anyone. I am perfectly fine!"

"Stop lying to me. I know what he means to you," she snapped.

"Di. You should probably stop worrying so much about me. See your hair has started to turn grey," she said cheerfully pointing out at a grey hair on Bhargavi's head.

Bhargavi pulled her in a warm embrace, bestowing on her motherly affection. With moist eyes and trembling lips, she spoke with a shivering voice," Bhawani. Please tell me what you're feeling right now. Don't keep things from me."

Bhawani was shaken with this response. The way Prabir reacted was expected from him. However, she never imagined her Di to shed tears for something so trivial.

What she rather expected from her was two tight slaps across her cheeks and "Why the hell are you so damn irresponsible? Going out to look for more trouble when you are already drowning with a myriad of problems has become your hobby now."

She clasped Bhargavi's arms and shook her tremendously," Is this really you Di?" She asked anxious.

"What do you mean?" Bhargavi snapped.

"Why are you not yelling at me for being so irresponsible? Why aren't you slapping me?" She quizzed concerned.

Without replying, Bhargavi placed Bhawani's head on her bosom and softly stroked her hair. Tears gushed down her cheeks, as she gently whispered,"It's alright Bhawu. I understand. He meant the world to you. I know it won't be easy to move on.
You don't have to display a facade of being happy.

If it is difficult for you to share your feelings with me at least tell Prabir. You know very well that that he will acknowledge your pain."

Sitting up straight Bhawani wiped her sister's tears and exclaimed," Di. Are you okay? I have never seen you cry before. Don't worry about me. I am fine."

Bhargavi's eyes searched for Prabir and when their eyes locked with each other, Bhargavi pleaded with her eyes, urging him to come closer. He rapidly strode towards them excusing himself from his friends.

Bhargavi harshly wiped off her tears, not wanting anyone else to notice them. As if their eyes were talking, without a word they understood each other in silence. Prabir gently nodded and began to speak in a very clear and calm voice," There are times when each one of us feels worthless Princess. But just remember that you are not alone. We have all been there."

Bhawani first looked to her left at Bhargavi and then to her right at Prabir. "Di. Bhaiya I am fine. Don't worry about me. Please. I am sorry for not being a good girl but I promise I will..." And she trailed off.

"Okay! Now tell me what do you think about Shekhar," Prabir finally shot the question.

With wide eyes, she looked at him, with her jaws dropping down wide open. She didn't realize that her cheeks had turned rosy pink. She had her gaze fixed to the floor and she fidgeted with her scarf.

"What did you do Princess to make him that happy? He has been almost dancing with joy," Prabir pointed out Shekhar who was beaming with joy.

"I...I... Bhaiya. I did nothing," She responded quickly blushing even harder. Instead of pestering her with more questions, Prabir dropped a light kiss on her forehead and stood up from the bench.

"Tell me if you need his number if you haven't exchanged your numbers yet," he said softly.

Bhargavi carefully noted the little smile that showed up on Bhawani's face and disappeared in an instant. She held Prabir's arm and dragged him to a corner.

"Does he not see her as his sister?" She inquired surprised.

"Nope! He never did Bhargu. He could have never confessed what he felt for her had he not been dismantled with the fear of losing her forever," Prabir sighed.

"You knew this all along? Yes! It's pretty obvious, she called him Bhaiya and treated him like an elder brother. No one in his right senses would..." Bhargavi trailed off.

"I knew but could do nothing for Shekhar, Bhawani was in love with Ishaan," Prabir clarified. "I however, did not know that he had been cursing himself for loving a girl who treated him as her elder brother."

"Nonsense! Prabir. We Bengali's add the word 'Da' which means 'Bhaiya' for every man on this Earth, be it the milkman or the person who does the laundry. Then most probably the Bengali girls should never get married to anyone at all," she said with great disgust.

"Well, I am thankful that you never called me Prabir Da or Bhaiya," he replied smiling.

"Because I never saw you as my brother, you imbecile," she spat. He couldn't stop laughing out loud and every one around glared at him. He pinched himself hard to stop the urge of laughing, as it seemed inappropriate to laugh out loud like a crazy person in a hospital.

"I never gave it a serious thought  once before. Why Paru calls me Prabir Bhaiya instead of Prabir Da? I assumed that some of her non Bengali friends used to call their brothers Bhaiya, so she also started to..." He was cut in between. "Please. Stop overthinking now will you."

When the doctors allowed them to visit Ms. Nalini, they were repeatedly told that only two people could visit her. Prabir urged his father and Bhargavi to visit Ms. Nalini.

"I think you should meet her instead Prabir. She will be tensed about tomorrow's surgery. And only you have that special ability of convincing people with your sweet talk," Bhargavi argued.

"It's not working Bhargu. Maa has wept,cried and begged for so long to bring you back home. I don't have a heart of stone. And ...and Baba will ensure that she isn't stressed about tomorrow's surgery," Prabir said politely.

Once again, Bhargavi realized that there was no point in arguing with him. She knew that Prabir wanted to avoid a visit to Ms. Nalini in the hospital, as it would definitely bring back the painful memories of his mother.

Though she disliked the presence of so many people in the hospital, she was happy to see that Mr. Banerjee wasn't as heartbroken as he was sometime ago. The mere presence of his own friends as well as Prabir's friends heled uplift his spirits.

He was gladly accepting the jokes on him, about his heart having been stolen once again by a beautiful lady. Each and every one present there wanted them both to be United as a couple and were ready to help in convincing Ms. Nalini to get married to him.

******

"Maa," Bhargavi called her as she slowly walked in. Laying on the bed, she looked old and fragile. Her skin was pale.

"Bharg...Bhargavi," she whispered her name. "I...I am sorry," she said with tears rolling down her cheeks. "I wanted to prepare you for your wedding but now I don't think I will be able to do it."

"Maa the wedding is postponed. You will prepare me for my wedding when the time comes," Bhargavi said softly wiping Ms. Nalini's tears.

"The cards are already distributed and people have been invited already. How can we postpone your wedding now?" She asked alarmed.

"Maa. Don't worry about all this. Everything will be taken care of," She said smoothly.

"I ruined everything," Ms. Nalini cursed herself.

"Maa. Nothing is ruined. Why do you want me to get married so early?" She asked smiling.

"It's because you told Prabir that you will never return home and if he kept nagging, you would stop receiving his calls again.

You never care for yourself. At least you listen to him and I know he will give you a much better life than I did. He is a gentleman Bhargavi and he truly loves you," Ms. Nalini stated.

Instead of blushing, Bhargavi was shamelessly staring at her mother.

"Am I so difficult to handle and so bothersome Maa that you want to throw my responsibilities on his shoulders when he isn't even employed?" She asked with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Yes! Trust me Bhargavi, only Prabir has the ability to...umm..."

"Umm...what? Go on"

"Only he knows to administer the right amount of sedatives to calm down your temper."

"So is my temper the only issue?"

"There's no issue Bhargavi. What I am trying to say is, he is perfect for you," she said smiling warmly. "The way he treats you dear, is how every mother will want her daughter to be treated, like a Queen.

He will move Heaven and Earth to ensure your happiness."

Bhargavi felt boundless joy in her heart hearing praises for Prabir. She knew what her mother said was true. Whenever she was angry or upset, his whispers always comforted and soothed her soul helping her calm down. Without fail, he cared for her little joys in life.

However, she did not wish to share her extreme fears about Prabir with her mother yet, certainly not now when she was hospitalized.

She wanted to tell her mother that Prabir would certainly move Heaven and Earth to ruin her career as a journalist.

Author's note:

Was Bhawani's response awkward? Too fast? Or was it how anyone would behave in a situation like hers?

Please let me know your thoughts and opinions.

If you are wondering how and why would Prabir ruin Bhargavi's career then stay tuned for the next update.

Ah! And yes! A small reminder and a request, please do vote for me if you enjoyed reading.

I promise, I'll end this story soon before I turn into a skeleton typing chapters after chapters🤣🤣😂😂

Thank you for reading and sparing your valuable time.

Another humble request, if you feel like reading short stories please check out ' The Flints of my memory lane' ,it is a new short stories collection I have started. I will be glad if you could leave comments.