Sameer was driving his car as fast as he could in order to reach the hospital in which Nanu had been admitted. The news had come as a complete shock to him. When Naina had told him about the whole thing, he couldn't believe a word. He was too stunned. The previous day only, he was feeling happy about spending such a great time with Nanu. It was like he had returned back in time when he didn't have any kind of those CEO responsibilities and Nanu too didn't have any sort of an ailment. Those good and carefree times.

In a blink, his life had turned upside down. His mind was filled with all sorts of negative thoughts. The old images of the past were constantly flashing in his mind. He finally reached the hospital and ran in a haste towards the reception.
His condition was miserable, shivering hands, sweaty palms, messy hair, shirt tucked improperly.
"J-j-Jaiprakash M-Maheshwari kounse room mein hai. Jaldi bataye please." He asked hurriedly.
The receptionist took her own time to answer back. It was getting difficult for him to wait for even a second. He just wanted to reach his Nanu.
"He had been taken to the Emergency Department, Room No. 6," she told him.
He immediately ran in the given direction.

Naina was sitting outside the ER chanting the prayers for the improvement of his health. Sameer spotted Naina outside the room. His feet felt heavy now. He didn't have the courage to see his Nanu in that condition. The 6-years-old incident was playing in his mind when he had gotten scared of losing him. With a heavy heart, he walked in front of the Emer room and just stood there. His eyes were full of tears. Naina noticed him but couldn't say anything. She herself was too much afraid about Nanaji. They both were crying.

In the meantime, Munna-Pandit also came since Ramdhari had informed them. They both ran to comfort Sameer and hugged him tightly, all three of them were crying badly in each other's arms.
"M-m-Munna...P-Pandit...A-agar Nanu ko k-k-kuch ho gaya t-toh..." Sameer sobbed.
Munna tried to console him, "Sameer dhyan se sun, kuch nahi hoga Nanaji ko...samjha tu..." and again hugged him tightly. They broke the hug and Munna-Pandit helped Sameer to sit on one of the steel chairs.
They both noticed Naina and were a little surprised.

Sameer was sitting, both of his elbows resting on his knees, fingers interlinked, staring at the ground wordlessly. Munna-Pandit were standing at a distance asking Naina about how all of this had happened. Naina told them about the whole incident. They both thanked her for making the right decision at the right time.
She glanced once at Sameer, concern written all over her face. She had never seen such a tough man being so vulnerable.

All of them waited outside the room for a long time. They saw Dr Gupta coming outside the room and rushed towards him.
He was a well-known and experienced doctor. He knew Sameer from a long time since he had been dealing with Nanaji's case and was a good friend of him.
"Doctor, kya hua Nanu ko? W-woh thik toh ho jayenge na?" His voice broke at the end.
Dr Gupta kept a hand on his shoulder, "Sameer, calm down first. You have to be strong, apne Nanu ke liye. Jo bhi bolne wala hu usey aaram se suno..."
Sameer became worried, "K-K-Kya hua hai Nanu ko?"
Dr Gupta sighed and said calmly, "I'll not beat around the bush. This time, it's a case of a severe cardiac arrest. Agle 48 hours kafi critical hain. Hum unko private ward mein shift kar rahe hai."

Sameer felt the ground slipping under his feet. He began to feel dizzy. His legs gave up. Munna-Pandit got hold of him just in time before he could fell on the ground. They helped him sit on the chair and Naina ran to get some water for him. After a couple of minutes, she came back with a glass of water and handed it to Munna. He made Sameer drink some and said, "Sameer, sambhal khudko. Aise himaat nahi haarni hai tujhe. Tu itna kamzor nahi hai. Sun raha hai meri baat ko? Sameer?"

Sameer was sitting silently staring at the wall across him. Tears were constantly running down his cheeks. All his life he had dreaded this moment to come. He knew Nanaji would not be with him forever but he used to avoid it. He never wanted to confront this bitter reality. But this is what they call 'Life', it keeps giving you reality checks at most unexpected times.

Munna-Pandit were calling his name and shaking him. He silently stood up from his position and said, "Mujhe kuch der akela chhod do." His voice was barely audible but they heard it.

Sameer left from there while they watched him going out. Naina was worried about him. Nanaji had told her some bits of his past but never told her what exactly had happened with him. She had always thought highly of him for his immense hard work and dedication. He always used to have his head high and defeat was his biggest enemy. But today, it was the opposite.

Sameer came out in the gardens of the hospital and sat on the bench. He was feeling defeated. He cried his heart out. He reminisced his Nanu's words.

Himmat hi insan ka sabse bada hathiyar hota hai Sameer. Har badi se badi musibat ka hal nikala jaa sakta hai agar hum mein himmat ho. Agar hum haar maan lenge toh kabhi uss pareshani se baahar nahi nikal payenge.

He knew now wasn't the time to be weak. He needed to be strong, for Nanu, for himself. He took deep breaths to calm himself down and wiped his face using his handkerchief before returning back.

When he came back, Dr Gupta was discussing something with the three of them. He noticed Naina standing there and recalled that she was the one to bring Nanu to the hospital. But Ramdhari had told him that he had gone to the temple. Maybe she met him there. He decided to thank her later.
He went near them.
Pandit spotted him coming towards them and immediately asked, "Bhai, tu thik hai na?"
Sameer took a deep breath, "Haan..."
Munna came near him, "Hume abhi tujhe hi dhundne aa rahe the. Nanaji ko shift kar diya hai private ward mein."
Sameer turned towards Dr Gupta and asked him about Nanu's condition.
Dr Gupta answered, "Jaiprakash ji ko kuchh der mein hosh aa jayega. Tum unse mil sakte ho fir."
Sameer nodded silently. He was trying hard not to break down. He was again and again recalling Nanu's words to be strong.

After Dr Gupta left from there, they made their way towards the private ward. Munna-Pandit asked Sameer to have something since he didn't even have his breakfast in the morning. Knowing that he would refuse, they both informed him of going to the cafeteria to bring something for him. They asked Naina to come with them but she quietly declined.

Silence surrounded both of them. They both were sitting on the same bench but with a considerable gap of at least two persons between them.
After a few minutes, Sameer called her, "Naina..."
Naina looked at him.
Sameer softly spoke, "Thank you..."
Naina slightly smiled, "It's okay."
Their eyes met for a few seconds but they immediately averted them since Munna-Pandit came with two cups of tea and a plate of sandwiches. They handed the tea to Naina and her without any argument took it.

It was after an hour when the nurse came outside the room and informed them that Nanu had gained consciousness. Sameer immediately stood up and asked if he could meet him. She told him to go and asked him not to make any sort of noise. Sameer took deep breaths, clenched and unclenched his fists. After gathering much courage, he opened the door of the room.

The sight in front of him was enough to make his heart shatter in pieces. His Nanu lying on the bed with an oxygen mask on his mouth, an IV attached to his arm, a heart rate monitor displaying the details of his pulse and blood pressure.

He took slow steps towards him. Nanu gave him a smile. He sat near the bed on the chair and didn't say anything for a minute. He burst into tears and hugged him tightly. Few tears leaked from Nanu's eyes too. He patted his head and said in a low voice, "Sameer...mere bache...aise himmat nahi haarte beta..."
Sameer parted from him and sniffed, "A-Aapne toh bola tha aap kabhi mujhe chhod kar nahi jaaoge Nanu..."
Nanu's heart swelled with agony seeing his broken state.
With much difficulty, he said, "Kuch nahi hua hai beta. Bilkul nahi rona."
He wiped his tears and tried to calm himself down since he didn't to give stress to Nanu.

A few minutes passed by.
Nanu said, "Sameer, ab tu aisa kaccha dil karega toh kaise chalega? Tu sher hai na mera. Mera bahadur baccha hai tu."
Sameer didn't move his gaze from the ground.
Nanu said a bit jokingly, "Ab aise gaal fulaake mat baith aur jaldi se has de."
Sameer smiled a bit.
Nanu asked him, "Naina bhi hogi na baahar?"
Sameer frowned, "Aap Naina ko jaante hai?"
Nanu smiled, "Woh wahi ladki hai jisse main har hafte mandir mein milta hu. Usey bhi andar bulale."
Sameer was a bit surprised but he didn't ask him the reason for not telling about Naina.
He silently went out and called Naina inside.

The minute she saw Nanu, her eyes were filled with tears.
Her voice wavered, "K-kaise hain aap?"
Nanu joked, "Bilkul hatta-Katta hun. Dekho."
Naina smiled through the tears.

Nanu was having difficulty in talking. But he knew, it was now or never.
He asked both of them to sit.
Sameer sat at the edge of the bed facing Nanu leaving the chair for Naina to sit. They both wondered what it was that Nanaji wanted to tell both of them.

Nanu began after a minute, "Bacchon, main nahi jantaa mera paas kitna waqt bacha hai. Bahut achhi zindagi bitayi hai maine. Par ab lagta hai bhagwan ka mere bina mann nahi lag raha hai." He chuckled a bit.
Sameer instantly said, "Nanu please aisa mat kahiye."
Nanu softly said, "Sach ko koun taal sakta hai beta. Aaj tujhse kuch maangna chahta hu main..."
Sameer said, "Boliye na Nanu."
Naina waited for him to say but his next words shook both of them.

"Sameer, Meri aakhri khwahish yahi hai ki tu Naina se shaadi karle."

Sameer couldn't speak a word for a minute or two. His Nanu's life was at stake. He was taking his last breaths. The whole situation was messed up. He didn't want to lose his Nanu who was his everything. If this was a bad dream, then he wanted to wake up. He had always been there whenever Sameer needed him. Sometimes as a mother, sometimes as a father and sometimes as his friend. He never really asked for anything in return and now, when he asked for something, Sameer found himself in an arduous situation.

It wasn't like he didn't want to comply with his Nanu's wishes but he can't just marry a girl whom he had barely known as an employee in his company.

He stared at Naina who was sitting on the chair beside the bed with teary eyes. He couldn't understand why Nanu wanted him to marry Naina all of a sudden.

Why only her? Why not any other girl? Why not someone who matched his status?

It's not like he had a problem with her being middle-class. He never judged a person on a money basis. His mind was flooding with a million questions.

Naina on the other hand was dumbfounded. She couldn't utter a word. Shock was an understatement to say what she felt at that moment. She had always respected and trusted Nanu despite the fact that she had met him s a stranger at first. But this one statement had left her too much confused.

Why does he want me to get married to. his own grandson when he knows about my past? He could've found any other suitable match for him except for me.

These thoughts were running in her mind.

Hesitating a little Sameer said, "P-par Nanu...m-main k-kaise...".
"Beta, maine tujhse kabhi kuch nahi maanga kyunki tune humesha meri ichha mere bina kahe puri ki. Par yeh ek sapna hai jise main pura hote huye dekhna chahta hu."
Nanu kept his shivering hand on Sameer's and he immediately took his hand between his palms.
He looked at both of them before continuing, "M-main chahtu hu tera bhi ghar base. Tujhe bhi teri jeevansathi mile aur Mujhe yakeen hai ki tum dono Ek dusre ke liye bilkul sahi ho. Bolo, karoge na Mera yeh aakhri Sapna pura?"
Nanu's teary eyes glanced at both of them with hope.

Sameer sighed before glancing once at Naina and said, "Ji Nanu, jaisa aap chahte hai waisa hi hoga. Agar aap chahte hai ki hum dono ki Shaadi ho to hum karenge. Hum aapki yeh ichha zarur puri karenge." His voice cracking a bit in the end.

Naina was still in a daze contemplating whatever that was happening in front of her. Her life was going to take a three-sixty degree turn. Never in a million dreams had she imagined this.

Nanu took Naina's hand and kept it on Sameer's palm. They both looked each at other for a few seconds. Their minds held many questions. They weren't sure if they were right for each other but didn't draw it out.

They knew one thing for sure, their lives were never going to be the same anymore.

__________________________________________
Pheww...the longest update till now.
This one was difficult to write since it was an emotional one. I neither wanted to drag it too much nor wanted to rush it. That's why I have tried to maintain the balance. Hope I came off with it.

Do tell me your views about this one. Your opinions really matter to me.

Also, this story crossed 1K reads and I am really happy about that. Thank you so much, guys.

Lots Of Love, Sim❣