Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7
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Loved ones
People fail to appriciate the importance of relationships precisely when it is needed the most. Convincing themselves that leaving their loved one and following the road to misery, going on a "so called mission", is their calling....is their destiny. And when those cold nights become too hard to bear....when lonliness and isolation gives one the much needed time to think things through, one begins to wallow in their self pity and grieve over how much they loved that cherished person....How they had wronged them and broke their heart......and did much much worser still.
"David!" Ray cried, exhasparated. "How many times!!! I told you not to put the food in the refrigerator just cuz you don't feel like eating it now!"
David looked at his wife sheepishly and mumbled,
"I hate lettuce salad."
"What was that?" Ray snapped and he winced and coward.
The silence that followed was uncomfortable and seemed to demand David to Appologize. Ray was sorting things that lay on the table.
"Na Ray," David started.
'We're not having Pizza for dinner." Ray replied without looking at him.
"you didn't know I was gonna say that!" David said, outraged.
"Oh?" Ray said, turning to look at him, folding her arms infront of her as he stared at him without blinking, an eyebrow raised. "Then what was it you were gonna say?"
"That....that was...." David mumbled again. He Hated how much she resembled his mther when she stood like that.
"hmm?"
"I wasn't gonna say pizza specifically." He said atlast.
Ray sighed. David was a simpleton through and through.
"Look, lets go out and eat something fancy okay?" David said, his face all red.
A pink patch appeared on Ray's cheek. She had not expected this of all the things that David would say.
"Oh."She said after a while. "Okay."
"Good then." David said, matter of factly. "I'll come home early and we'll go to a resturant of your choice."
"Ray, Ray wake up!"
Chie was calling her for a while. She sat up and looked at her.
"wassamatter?" She asked, groggily.She was still sleepy. But even then she could see Chie's look of panic and concern.
"You tell me!" She said."Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine...Just tired." Ray managed to say that before heaving a huge yawn. She brought her knuckles to rub her eyes when she found that her face was wet with tears. She was crying.
"wha....what's this..." She said, astonished. She couldnot stop her tears. Chie just gave her an understanding smile and left her to herself. She went by the window and stared outside without saying a word for a very long time. The she spoke, mostly to herself.
"It must be a beautiful feeling," She said, "Being in love."
"Have you never...."
Chie shook her head in answer. Then she turned and smiled. Ray returned it and saw Chie's face change into a look of concern.
"you musn't go there every day." She warned her. "David might be your husband, but we are wanted criminals there now. You can't just walk into the hospital like that and leave him flowers. It would look suspicious."
"I don't Barge in!" Ray retorted hotly. "I go in disguises. Sometimes I leave it by the staff reception for them to take it to him. No one has noticed me."
"As of yet." Chie corrected her.
"I wish this whole thing gets over already!" Ray said, pumelling her pillow."Any news from Zena?"
Chie shook her head and the two women sank back in there thoughts.
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"So what does that mean?" Lisa asked, staring at Kite.
The two of them were by the river bank, supposedly watching the sunset. But in reality, they were having the heavy discussion Kite had wanted to prop up a million times before.
Kite said nothing and pretended to be staring at a waffer floating on the water for as long as he could. He could feel Lisa's gaze. It was piercing his face, wanting to get inside his head and heart to find out what it was that he wanted to do.
"It means what I said Lisa," He said finally, when he could no longer pretend to be interested in the waffer. "What I am about to do is dangerous and I don't want to get you involved."
"You think I'd get in your way?" Lisa asked. "Is that why? But Kite, I never try to stop you from doing what you do! So why now? I told you before! I don't mind you chasing after your sister if that's what gives you a meaning to what you do!"
"Its not that simple!"
"Well then uncomplicate it for me!" Lisa cried. "Please....Please....let me in. On your pain, sorrow.....worries....let me in!"
Kite turned away.
"You got it wrong Lisa." He said quietly. "I don't need you is all."
Another pause and then,
"Thats a lie!" Lisa shouted, staring at the back of Kite's head. She did not cry.not yet. She was hoping it was one of those cliche moments Kite had which was so closely associated with him thinking he needs to do everything alone.........but it was only a matter of time before the wall broke.The wall of her courage.
Kite turned to look at her, his eyes glazed and dead, his face stoney.
"You're such a pain Lisa." He said,sneering at her.
Lisa stared at him.
"Just because we dated, just because we spend some time....honestly, are all women as stupid as you?"
"What are you talking about?!"
"Get off my back!" He told her coldly. "Get a life and stop being so pathetic!"
"What are you talking about?!" Lisa asked again.
"Don't make me repeat myself." Kite told her. "This is the end for us."
Then he turned and walked up the bank, like always, leaving her in his wake. The sun hadn't fully sunk yet. The last of its rays were were touching the water gently and casting a crimson shade all over it.
"I'll wait." Lisa called after his reatreating back. He didnot turn around. Tears had started to fall from her eyes, but this time, it was okay. She could cry. He would not see her undignified self. She could be fragile and emotional, he wouldnot notice. He never did notice. If she had sense to spare, she would've felt Kite's tormented soul that was hurting more than her's as he walked away from her. But she was only human........She needed to console herself.

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"It was my bad, I'm sorry." Fai appoloised to the harried nurse. He was helping her pick up all the case files he ade her drop as he walked into her in his hurry. Rain had sounded strange when she had called him over.
"I'm sorry." Fai said again.
"Just watch where you're going detective!" She said sternly, got up and took off. Something about her looked fimiliar, but he put that topic out of his mind for the time being. Seeing Rain was priority now.
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"I thought I had told you never to bring anyone in this apartment Ri." Julie said sharply to her sister Adriane.
"It was late at night, he had nowhere else to go." Adriane apologised.
It was morning and Julie and Adriane were having a talk about Zaran.
Julie raised an eyebrow.
"What about the hotels in town?!Are they doing buisness that good?!" She said sarcastically.
"He didnt have any money." Adriane explained.
"I wont tolerate any outsiders in my house Ri, espcially penniless tramps. could be a damn thief for all we know." She said scathingly and went inside the room to tend to Zena's wounds.
The other night, Julie had turned up at the doorstep of her apartment in a different town with a bleeding Zena. She had walked in to face Zaran, who was wiping the floor. He had looked unsurprised and let Julie walk in and go about her buisness without making a single comment. Something didn't seem right about that fellow. She let matters slide for the time being, in the face of healing Zena. Now however, she thought she needed to give Adriane a peice of her mind.
"Don't mind her," Adriane mumbled an appology to Zaran. "She's just worried about me."
Zaran only smiled.
"Its okay." He said wisely. "I'd have done the same if I were your sister."
"Hear that Ri," came Julie's voice from the next room. "Even he agrees. So maybe he'll leave and stop being a freeloader. I'll keep my hopes up."
The two of them outside sweatdroped.
"Cu'mon." Adriane whispered. "It's best we leave her till her mood gets better."
Zaran nodded and the two of them stepped outside of the building and walked towards the tavern Adriane worked in.
"Julie's not a bad person." Adriane said abruptly.
"I know." Zaran replied, smiling.
"Do you?!" She heaved a sigh of relief.
"Offcourse I do." He said, grinning. "Sure, I could do with her temper calming down a notch, but she only does what she does to protect you. I hope." he added, laughing.
Adriane seemed happier and went inside to change. When she came out, The tables were already set upright and Zaran was cleaning the chairs before the crowd came in to have breakfast.
"I'm sorry I'm having you do all these for me without pay." Adriane applogized again.
Zaran shook his head.
"I'm grateful you gave me a roof to sleep under." He said.
"Do you plan on leaving soon?" She asked, in what she hoped was an offhand manner.
"Yes." Zaran replied. "A friend of mine asked me to lend him a hand regarding some work. He is very dear to me."
"Oh." was all Adriane could manage to say. Her face fell. In the last two weeks, she had gotten used to having him around.
***********************************************************************
The sunlight flitted brightly through the slits of the thick curtains. The clock chimmed two o'clock and Julie heard a stirring in the bed.
"You're awake." She said lowly.
"Don't sound so depressed." Zena replied.
"Who's the male?" She asked, trying to prop herself up.
"You shouldn't do that." Julie warned her. She was smoking her pipe and was lost in thoughts.
"tch..You sound just like her," Zena scowled.
"Naah," Julie said, grinning. "She was worse."
The two of the had a moment of laughter as as they had their brief relapse of memory.
"We gotta move." Zena said.
Julie nodded and said,
"and fast."
"Any news?"
"Soon."
And silence fell between them. There was no need for talk. Atleast not at the moment.
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Fai burst inside the ward uncerimoniously. The nurse screamed at him for making such a rukus. Fai didn't care. His eyes saught the sight of his best friend. Finally, they met eye to eye and his face split into a wide grin.
"How're you holding up in there?" He asked, taking a seat beside his bed.
"Not so good, your wife's planning to murder me." David replied, grinning back.
"And I will too!" Rain's stern voice came from the doorway.
Fai looked quizzically at his wife.
"Pass me a cig." David inturrupted.
"You know I can't do that." Fai grinned.
David scowled and mumbled something about "supposed to be my friend."
"Now now." Said Rain, who was stooping over David to fix his saline wires. "Lets not get grumpy."
David scowled some more and the other two laughed. David had never been a happy patient. He had had three major accidents in life so far and several small scale injuries and noone has ever seen him change his attitude about staying in bed.
"You know, you being grumpy wont heal you any quicker." Fai told him exhasparetedly.
"You should cheer up". Rain told him. "Look at all the flowers your well whisers are sending you."
She pointed her finger to the shelf. There were around six or seven pots of them. David's eye got stuck on the white lilies.
"Who sent those?" David asked tonelessly.
"I dunno." Rain replied. "But it has come for you every single day since you were here. They're so pretty, don't you think?"
She hummed as she fixed the flowers in the shelf.
A brief and hazy memory....or was it a dream...passed through David's mind.
"Happy birthday Ray!"
"Lilies?"
"The most beautiful flowers for the most beautiful wife in the world."
"ahahahaha.....David!"
and the two of them had kissed.....
"David?"
David started and stared at Fai, who looked at him with concern.





To be contd................