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Once he was next to them, Atharv sank to the floor and sat cross-legged next to Koyal’s feet. He rested his forehead against the soft edge of the bed.
He breathed deeply, forcing the tension to leave his body.
A few minutes later, a hand tapped him gently on the shoulder.
Koyal.
Do you want to hold your daughter? her eyes asked him.
He shook his head, a tad helplessly.
No, you do it, you are going to be better at it anyway, his eyes replied to hers.
Mansha, fast asleep, stirred for a bit, gave a satisfied little grunt and went back to sleep, unaware of the torment her father was going through.
The three of them stayed like that, in the semi-darkness – Koyal on the bed with Mansha asleep in her arms and Atharv on the floor next to them – for a long time.
Not a single word was uttered between Koyal and Atharv during this time. Yet a hundred were spoken, heard and understood.
25
‘Slight concussion and a broken wrist that should be fine in three to four weeks,’ the doctor said and Atharv nodded. In the last couple of hours, they had managed to shift Mansha from the school infirmary to Atharv’s hospital.
‘Thank you, Mark,’ Atharv said to the doctor and turned around to walk towards Mansha’s bed. He was about to comment on Mark’s diagnosis when his eyes fell on Koyal.
It was close to midnight and Mansha was fast asleep on her bed. Koyal, still in her formals, was sitting by her side, gently caressing the girl’s forehead.
Feeling eyes on her, Koyal looked up and saw Atharv staring at her, an unreadable expression on his face.
She saw him shake his head and heard him clear his throat. Throughout the evening he had been polite, but perhaps th
at was because he was shaken up by Mansha’s injury. Now that things were looking a lot calmer, Koyal wondered if he would go back to being rude.
‘I need to talk to you,’ Atharv said, his voice devoid of emotion.
He is going to ask me to leave, Koyal thought to herself, surprised at the panic she felt begin to swell inside her. To have someone who loves you is great but it is equally important to have someone to love. After years spent alone, Koyal had finally let her guard down for little Mansha. And the last thing she wanted was to leave the little one when she needed her Koyal Aunty more than ever.
‘Go ahead,’ she said, pursing her lips and crossing her hands across her chest. She gulped. When people treat you like they don’t care, believe them, Koyal told herself ruefully. And don’t go looking for excuses to stay around them.
‘That day at the Mansha’s party I told you…’ Atharv began.
Something in Koyal’s stomach gave way and she looked around helplessly, hating how she had yet again become a prisoner of her emotions. ‘It’s okay, it’s okay,’ she said hurriedly, cutting him off. ‘I understand. When they couldn’t reach you or Surya Aunty, Mansha gave them my number. That is the only reason I came here. I haven’t…’ Koyal bit her lip now. ‘I have not spoken to Mansha even once since you asked me to stop. You can check my phone if you want to … I…’
And Koyal bit her lip again to stop them from quivering. She felt angry with herself for allowing herself to love again.
‘I… ’ she said, wildly gesticulating as tears sprang to her eyes, ‘I … will get going. I’m sorry … she is your daughter and I have no right to…’
Without finishing her sentence, Koyal bent forward to snatch her bag, got up and ran for the door before she burst into sobs in front of Atharv.
Koyal ran as fast as her legs could carry her, desperate to get as far from Atharv and Mansha as possible. She had spent ten years hating Atharv and had fallen so madly in love with his little daughter. What a pathetic little story hers was. She deserved this.
‘Koyal!’
She stopped dead in her tracks. It was a voice that she would know anywhere. And it was calling her name for the first time in ten years.
I hate him, she said desperately to herself, feeling helplessness of a curious sort overcome her. Then why couldn’t she just walk away?
‘Koyal, stop! Please!’ Atharv shouted again and Koyal could hear him running towards her.
