Part 8 – Her Heart Therapist

“Is Dr. Karan around?”
The receptionist received a call in the early morning, and she called for him.
He raised his brows to her to enquire who was on the line. She gestured that it was his mother. He was already tensed before taking the call.
“I love you, Ma. You know that.”
“Don’t try to blackmail me early morning. Where are you? Have you forgotten that apart from your dear patients, you have a mother and an old grandma to look after?”
“Ma, please. You know I exist because of you two.”
“Cut the emotional part and tell me when are you coming home?”

Karan’s mom had

vowed not to succumb to his blackmail tricks under any circumstances.
“Karan, you haven’t come home for three days. Are you the only doctor there?”
“Am sorry. I love you.”
Finally, his mom, Mrs. Sheela Jaiswal, gave in to his soft-talking and forgave him too soon.
“I love you too. Now tell me what should I cook for lunch?”
“Anything. Mom, can you come here with my tiffin? Before you burst out, let me inform you there is an emergency operation at 9 today. After lunch, I will take a round, and then we can go home together. What say?”
“Alright. I will come around 12 pm”
“Where is my baby?”
Karan used to address his grandma as ‘Baby. ‘

“She is fine.

And equally upset with you. You have to pacify her too after we come home.”
“That is not a big deal. I have expertise in pacifying people; you know that very well.”
As Karan looked sideways, a nurse was taking Samiksha in a wheelchair for a round. He was suddenly at a loss for words. The memory of their talk last night, Samiksha’s mention of her boyfriend, was making a merry-go-round in Karan’s head.

He observed Samiksha chatting with the nurse. Her bubbly laughter and naive behaviour slowly mesmerised his mind. Her hair was like a fresh sea wave falling on her gorgeous body. He kept looking at her deep yet innocent eyes. At that moment, she appeared like a fairy to him.

Suddenly, he noticed the phone’s beep sound and realised it was disconnected. He quickly called back, as Sheela was already upset.
“Ma?”
“Thankfully, you are back from your dream. I was talking, and you were lost somewhere, so I kept the phone.”
“I’m sorry. Actually, I saw her… nothing. Shall I keep the phone, ma? See you at lunch.”
“Who is this ‘her’? Karan? Are you hiding something?”
“Nothing like that. I have to rush now. Bye.”

Why did Samiksha appear so different today?

Karan tried to brush off these thoughts and visited Sakhi Kishore, the famous tarot card reader.
The checkup was done, and Sakhi directed a bomb towards Karan,
“Isn’t she beautiful?”
“Yes, she is, just like a fairy.”
And Karan grasped the hint in all of a sudden query of Sakhi. He tried to look away and continued checking her file. But she continued,
“Is everything alright?”
“Yes. No, actually. She revealed yesterday about her boyfriend to me. I didn’t know how to react. Maybe some things are not meant to be.”
“Hmm. The question was regarding my recovery report, ” Sakhi said with a sweet smile.

Not to mention Karan was at a loss for words.

He looked at Sakhi to find her smiling.
“Your reports are fine, ma’am. You can expect a discharge from our prison by tomorrow,” Karan awkwardly replied.
“Definitely, your hospital is not a prison, Doc. I have never seen such humility on a professional level. The staff and the atmosphere here are so welcoming. Patients might not want to leave from here, I guess.”
“Na. Please don’t say that. We pray for the speedy recovery of all patients here. I would like to be in touch with everyone, but only with normal people. Certainly NOT as patients.”
“That is so sweet of you, Karan. Do you mind if I call you by your first name?”
“Absolutely not, ma’am.”
“We shall talk later. I guess your other patients are waiting for your attention, too, not to mention the sports department.”

Apparently, the sweet taunt

in her tone was not hidden from Karan.
“Well, see you later. Take rest and get prepared to return to your sweet home.”
“Yes, you too will call your house a ‘sweet home’ when a special person is waiting just for you. That person will swipe you off your feet, no matter how high the walls around you are. Even if you hide behind the excuses of not committing or promising, that one person will break down all the walls around you, forever.” Sakhi had caught Karan’s fear of commitments in a relationship, and her words were directed towards the same.

Karan did not say much. He smiled and was about to leave when he heard Sakhi whispering,
Whatever you hear is not always true; the heart and soul never lie. They are bare and visible even to the blind.

Indirectly, Sakhi had somehow erased his ‘fear’ of the relationship Samiksha claimed to be in.

It was around 12.15 p.m.

When Karan’s mother arrived with his lunch. He greeted her and took her to his cabin.
“You know it’s perfect how to win people, right? The way these all look up to you makes me the proudest mother. Eat now.”
There is no need to mention that Karan was a bit flattered at the praise his mom showered on him, and he ate wholeheartedly.

“Ma, you have come after a long time. I would appreciate it if you take a round of the hospital.”
Sheela Jaiswal happily agreed, and the two went for a tour of his hospital. The staff greeted her, and she responded with equal warmth.

When Samiksha’s ward approached, Karan’s heartbeat skipped a beat before opening the door.
Samiksha was talking to Jolly when they entered. She wondered who the lady next to Karan was.
“Ma, meet Samiksha. She is a footballer, and she is an expert at it. She got injured during her semi-final match at her college. Her foot is fractured, as you can see,” Karan signalled towards the plastered foot.
“She is recovering, though,” he continued with a smile. She looks tough, Ma, but she is very delicate.”
The awkward silence in the ward, along with Jolly, Samiksha, and his mom’s stares, interrupted Karan’s flow of words.

With folded hands

Sheela was eyeing her son,
“Continue.”
“Um, that’s all. Yes, that’s it.” Karan tried to hide his excitement but failed miserably.
“Hello, Aunty. Nice meeting you,” Samiksha said, extending her hand to Sheela, who held it carefully.
“Hello, child. How is your foot?”
“I’m much better, thank you. I’m sure I’ll be going home in a few days, right, Dr. Karan?”

Undoubtedly, the fact that Samiksha left in a few days disturbed him.

“Yes, absolutely. She is an amazing person, Ma. She insisted on meeting you, so I brought you here. Shall we leave now?”
“Yes. Take care, Samiksha. I am glad you play football. Karan wanted to learn it for a long time, but somehow, he never got this chance. Do teach him when you are recovered.”

Samiksha was taken aback by how honestly Karan had asked her to teach football. There was no need to mention that she had taken it as a casual statement at that time. She felt a bit ashamed for misunderstanding him.

“Of course, aunty.

I will. Take care. How is grandma?”
It was surprising for Sheela to see how well Samiksha knew Karan.
“Yes, she is fit and fine. Do visit our home once, child. It felt very nice meeting you. God bless you.”
Sheela left later, along with Karan, to go home.

Karan was flooded with sweet teasing from his mother and grandma.
“You should have been there to see how Karan was all praises about this sweet, doe-eyed girl.”
“Ma, please, she is just a patient.”
“Oh really. Obviously, you didn’t introduce all your other patients in the same way as you did for her. As a matter of fact, she is the only girl about whom you have noticed so much.”
“Who is this angel, Karan?” Grandma was now eager to know.

“Baby, relax.

Now you don’t start like ma. She is sweet, lovely, beautiful, gorgeous, confident.”
“Wait, wait. Let me jot down. I have never heard so many adjectives together in my lifetime. Bring my diary, Sheela.”

At once, the room was filled with happy laughs of Karan and the two lovely ladies in his life.

https://blogbyhema.com/2022/04/18/we-humans-love-challenges/