It was still raining outside, he had lost considerable amount of time already. He remembered the days when he considered rainy days as happy days, god showering his love over earth, not any more, not today, it was like what most poets thought, "Sky is Crying with him." Siting there, alone he looked up to the desk, and memory of his own office desk flashed through his mind, it is similar, mine is cleaner but lot bigger. He so much wished this day had not started at all, and wanted to be in his office in Air-Conditioned bliss, which he would have dreaded any other day.
A file reached the desk, Sanjeev looked up from his sitting position, Inspector gave him a glance. It must be his file, thought Sanjeev. And a sharp pain went up his spine through his head, why! What had happened? Thinking was not what he should be doing now. Another image: His wife, so beautiful, no she is not his wife, not yet, and yes they are getting engaged, getting married, his promise to be with her, always. Not today, he should have been with her now, can not remember why but he should have been with her.
Inspector flips the first page of Sanjeev's file. Yes! She was pregnant, with their first child, there was another child. A van? What trick is my head playing with me? Why am I not in office? Was I on a trip? What's going on?
He asked it loud: "What is going on?" A momentary pause with deadening silence & "Where am I?"
Inspector finally broke the silence
Inspector: "You don't know what's going on!" Getting angry, and as he holds Sanjeev by his shirt, realizes that Sanjeev is drenched in his own blood, and not the rain.
Sanjeev: "Blood? Why am I bleeding?" And he faints.
Inspector can't believe his eyes, calls for an Ambulance.
Opens eyes, he is in Ambulance, no I was following one, or was he, it looks as if I am in Ambulance,
Sanjeev: "Why? How come?"
Nurse: "You had an accident, we are taking you to Hospital. Stay still, you need to relax."
Yes! He was driving fast, behind an Ambulance, but why?
Nurse pierced Sanjeev's hand. Sanjeev sees blood running into his arm, yes he was bleeding before. No Neera was. She was in hospital, she gave birth to a beautiful daughter, yes his daughter, their daughter. He was so happy!
Sanjeev: "Where is my daughter?"
Nurse has no answer, so she makes him sleep again.
Neera was going to be fine, she was supposed to come out any moment, his beautiful wife Neera, and something went wrong, Doctor was frantic, moving in and out of the operating room. Something had gone wrong, it had started to rain outside. it is still raining outside, he can see out of the window, he is in Hospital bed now, but he does not recognize the skyline. Where is he?
Sanjeev: "Where am I? Which part of City?" He see's a nurse, vaguely remembers her giving him an injection, half expects her to do the same. Flinches!
Nurse: "You are in Mumbai!"
Mumbai, city of dreams, yes! I was following an Ambulance, Neera's Ambulance, there were complications, a normal delivery and then something about 'vein got cut' and it was being difficult for the Doctor to stop the bleeding. Neera's life was in danger, he had talked with her parents, just few minutes back about both being well, baby and Neera and now he was calling again! Telling them frantically to start for Mumbai instead, she was critical, but why? What had changed?
Sanjeev: "Where is my wife? Is she here?"
Nurse: "Relax! Sleep!" As she changed the bottles for blood drip, flowing into his hand.
Blood, lots of blood on the floor in operating room, Neera was bleeding, he had fainted, outside Doctor had said: "We need to take her to Mumbai!" And he had agreed, and he had followed the Ambulance at high speed, never letting it out of site, in rain, downpour that it was. He did not drive fast, but that day he did not check his speed, he followed Ambulance at whatever speed it was going at. Until!
Where had he woken up? He remembered a uniform, an Inspector, where had Ambulance gone? Inspector? Or was it Nurse, who spoke something about accident. Inspector, he seems to be here! Is he?
Inspector: "How are you feeling now?"
Sanjeev: "What has happened? Why am I here? Where is my daughter? Where is my wife?"
Inspector: "You had an accident! Your bike skid!"
Yes! They had reached Mumbai, and he was following the ambulance, when at a signal, after ambulance had passed a kid had run in, he had seen the kid, and braked, braked hard and skid. then he went blank. Kid was hurt, he saw the bike skid towards the kid, he had fallen off, what happened next? He had woken up in front of Inspector, he did not feel like he was hurt, he did not seemed to be hurt at all. But now he was in Hospital and his head hurt, hurt like hell!
Sanjeev: Holding his head. "How is the kid, is he okay?"
Inspector: "He is out of danger now, but bike had knocked him cold then. We rushed him first and then you to hospital. But we should have rushed you first."
Sanjeev: "That's good! Can you please tell me where my wife is, I was following Ambulance, she needs me, we are from Pune, hope nothing happened to kid at all, and my daughter, she gave birth to her yesterday, she was critical." And he slipped into sleep, due to exhaustion.
Inspector took in all the information, to process it, Sanjeev was not what can be termed conscious, but it was a start. Sanjeev's wallet was missing, but he had found an i-d, but no one was picking up phone at his house, and now he knew why, and company was closed for the weekend, but tomorrow he will be able to make contact, or today if he gets more information about that Ambulance, but something else had to be searched too.
Sanjeev's memory had returned completely, except he still did not remember where his daughter was, now he was not dazed, but he still did not have an answer for where his wife was? How was she?
Inspector walked in, and a calm smile on his face gave Sanjeev some solace.
Inspector: "Your wife is here, in this very hospital, and doing fine, the blood you received was in fact given by your mother in-law." Who just walked in behind the Inspector. "And more good news for you, the kid is absolutely fine, and actually you did not cause the accident, you were pushed from behind by a Van, and we have caught the real culprit."
Sanjeev: "Really! How did you come to know?"
Inspector: "A witness came in yesterday and explained it all, he had taken down the number and gave it to us. He was on his way to give interview in your company, so he delayed the reporting. He also explained how you were the hero who tried to stop bike from going on to hit the boy, but failed in vain."
Sanjeev: The last question. "Where is my daughter?"
Sanjeev was able to walk and so he went to see his wife and there besides his wife slept their daughter. He felt like getting back everything from the brink of having lost everything.
A good deed, even an effort to do good, never goes unpaid for, the witness though did not get job in Sanjeev's company, he did get a strong recommendation in his next interview and made it.
And all lived happily ever after.
