Sunday morning are usually the lazy ones ; after sloughing for an entire week at my IT firm I loved sleeping in on a Sunday. One would think being the son of the company head ,everything would come easy, as it should but my father had a mind of his own. He wanted me to work more than anyone else there ; the purpose being he wanted his son to learn every aspect of the job before it was time for him to take a backseat. But today was my day ,over which he had no say.

Today was going to be different from my normal Sundays; I had made plans ,the chances of which succeeding was catastrophically low. Vaani and me were slowly and steadily making progress; from not even making eye contact to regularly making small talks , we were surely moving forward ....a step at a time . But the chances of her saying yes to me for anything remotely fun was minimal. I was still in bed , thinking of ways to say it to her when our house help,Minu came looking for me. My parents had decided to make this Sunday special for their daughter-in-law by having a specially made breakfast ,together in the dining hall. Jumping out of the bed , I hurried to get myself ready for breakfast in time.

By the time I reached the 'too big for four people' dining table, everyone else was already there , waiting for me. My mother burst into a wide smile on seeing me ; I side hugged her , wished my father and went ahead to take the chair next to my wife. The breakfast spread looked scrumptious with every family member's favourite breakfast in place. I looked at Vaani , who was silently nibbling at her paratha. Not wanting to make a scene , I waited till everyone was done eating and my parents started leaving their chairs. Seeing my window of opportunity, I called her aside and asked " What are you doing in the evening ? Don't tell me helping mom or cooking ."

" Umm... that's what I will be doing ,but since you don't want me to say that I don't know what I am supposed to say !!!" . The way she was looking at me reminded me of my sixth grade teacher who reacted the same way whenever I pissed her off.

" Oh c'mon. Lets go out today. Any place you want to go." I knew I was asking too much but I had to try , I had promised myself that.

" I don't want to go anywhere ."

" I'm not going to kidnap you !!! we will just go out and get some ice-cream or something. Please. Its not a date or anything and I promise I wont make it awkward ."

" Hmmm.....i don't know...maybe..." before she could complete what she was about to say her phone started ringing and her face fell as soon as she put it to her ears. My mom who was cleaning the table noticed the ghastly look on her face as soon as I did .

" Vaani , what happened ?" we asked in unison.

" Mum has been admitted to a hospital; she couldn't breathe." She fell back on the chair with tears filling up her eyes.

Without wasting another second, the four of us rushed to the hospital as fast as we could.

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At the hospital :

By the time we reached the hospital , Vaani's mom had already been shifted to the Intensive care unit (ICU). Rekha aunty's brother and his wife had brought her to the hospital after she complained of difficulty in breathing. Vaani's dad had passed away when she was a teenager ; it was a cardiac arrest, I vaguely remember mom informing me . Soon after both her girls got married , Rekha aunty was forced to shift to her brother's place by her family for her betterment.

A few hours after she was taken into the ICU , the doctors informed us that she was now stable and out of any immediate danger, but they wanted to keep her under observation for 24 hours before they could discharge her. The piece of information brought relief on every one of those tensed faces in the waiting hall. Vaani who had been pacing in front of the ICU in a restless manner , stopped and settled herself on a waiting chair , on hearing the news. There wasn't a single tear in those ocean blue eyes or a shred of panic on her face. The restlessness of her body and mind wasn't getting reflected in her expressions. In fact she went ahead and consoled her uncle who looked distressed . Then she went on to check on my mom who was being held in place by my dad. I watched as she hugged my mom and made her stop crying by repeatedly assuring her everything was going to be fine. It was difficult to say if herself really believed what she was saying but the conviction in her voice was too strong ; strong enough to make others believe in her.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours , as we all waited on patiently , sometimes pacing the corridors , other times looking down into our phones. It was long past lunch time when we realized that everyone had missed their lunch. I walked up to my parents and urged them to go back home.

" No Dhruv, we are fine. We need to stay here for her, she needs us" my mother replied looking into Vaani's direction.

" I'm here for her mom. You guys need to go home, have food and take rest. Come back in the morning" I suggested.

" But son.."

" No buts mom , you know Dad is a diabetic, he needs to have his medicine on time . This is non negotiable."

My mother wasn't one to listen , she had just opened her argument when she heard Vaani " He is right aunty. You guys please go home. I am fine. I promise I will keep you informed about everything. Now please go home ....both of you. Please."

As if she had flicked her wand , her words worked like magic; my stubborn mother agreed to leave but not before making her husband check in with the doctors one more time.

" Do you guys need anything from home ?" she asked before leaving.

" Yeah actually , send the car back with the driver and please send my phone charger." I looked at Vaani who wasn't saying anything " send hers too and some clothes " I told my mom.

Soon after my parents left , Vaani went on to do the same for her family. Against her uncle's wishes she told everyone to go home .

" But what if you need anything ?" her aunt asked with concern.

" My friend will here after she is done with her office work ."

" Kaya ? Did you call her yet ?" her uncle questioned with suspicious eyes.

" I will" she replied feebly.

" Then we will leave only after she is here ." Her uncle sat back down adamantly ; he knew her too well.

" I am staying with her " I intervened making them all stand up in surprise . " Please go home , rest and come back tomorrow. I am here with her. Don't worry" I tried to convince them the best I could. My words might not have been as impactful as hers but I could sense that all her family wanted was their daughter to not be alone .

They didn't seem sure at first but after a few more minutes of convincing , they agreed to leave as well. As soon as the lift closed shut , she turned towards me and said " you should go home too."

" I don't want to ." I replied the same way she had, earlier in the day.

" You don't have to stay. I don't need any help" she spoke with a straight face.

" I am not here to help. I just want to be there .......as a friend........ I am sure you could use one right now ." My words seems to have struck a chord . Though she didn't let it be evident , I thought I spotted a moment of vulnerability behind that tough exterior.

" Fine . Suit yourself." She walked back to her seat and continued with her silent streak. I took the seat next to her and we waited , waited for time to pass.

I don't recall how much time we sat there in complete silence ; not that it was a place to play chatty cathy but the silence made the hours more unbearable . Once in a while , she would get up and peep through the window into the ICU to see her mother sleeping. She would stand there for sometime ,looking longingly through the glass . There must be myriad of emotions flooding her heart right now , but she wouldn't let them surface .

" Where is your sister ?" I asked when she returned back . I knew she had an elder sister , but she was neither present for our marriage nor now.

" Varsha will be reaching day after tomorrow . She is taking mom back with her to get her operated there."

" Right ! She lives in the states with her husband , I completely forgot ."

" and her cute little kid ."

" Oh ! So you like kids !" I have no idea why I said that , probably just to get the conversation going.

"You don't ?" she looked a bit shocked .

" No ...no , that's not what I meant !" . That was it....our conversation came to an abrupt end .....as always. Again the ever lingering silence dawned upon us.

She hadn't put a morsel in her mouth since we arrived at the hospital, not even a drop of water . It was late evening now and yet every time I asked her if she needed anything , she would just answer in negative. Still I asked again , as I got up to get some coffee for myself .

" Do you want a coffee ? I am going to get myself one ."

" No ,thank you . I am fine." This was the fourth or fifth time I heard that today.

" You must be tired . At least let me get you something."

" I am fine really."

Seeing that it was no use asking her , I went to the cafeteria alone and came back with two cups of coffee. I held one hand in front of the stubborn girl without saying anything and to my surprise she took it , after giving a long stare. I sat down besides her with my cup in hand .

" You know you don't have to be so brave all the time." She looked up immediately , like someone had peaked into her personal diary but didn't say a word . " Its okay to let the shield break sometimes . Its okay to break down."

In that moment I saw her eyes glisten , the tears she had been holding back for so long started to fight their way in. Before I could say a word , she looked away . A minute later , she looked back with her shield back up.

" My mum was diagnosed with cancer a year after I lost.....lost... a year after the accident. Doctors tried every possible treatment , except surgery because she wouldn't consent for one. Then one day they told us that she had lost the will to fight back . Everyone knew why. Seeing her daughter go through pain , every single day was more than she could take. My pain was affecting her more fatally than the cancer itself. She lost her will to live because of me .....because she felt helpless seeing me. We tried a lot to force her into surgery ; her only chance at survival. But she wouldn't budge and then one day she placed this condition in front of me ; she gets operated if I get married." A single tear fell out of that hidden ocean as she spoke in a broken voice " and here we are. Breaking down is not an option anymore ."

A sudden pang of pain clutched at my heart. She had kept so much inside her ; I wished I could take away some of it , if not all. How i wished to take the bludgeoning burden off her shoulders. But for now all I could do was just be with her. Slowly and skeptically I placed my hand on hers to let her know that I was with her now and always. She stayed there for a minute, without reacting before heading to the washroom to wash her visible pain and vulnerability away.

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