She loved him……
Nidhi did not want to leave Ashay in this condition and go. She was stuck between the duties of a daughter and a wife. Her dad passed away. She had to go visit her family. On the other hand, Ashay had sprained his ankle. Ashay assured Nidhi that he will be fine. He can limp and get his things done, but, Nidhi was worried. She lost her father last night and today she had to go for his final rituals. Her father died due to old age. Ashay wanted to accompany Nidhi but Ashay was unable to walk. Although he told Nidhi that he can limp, Nidhi saw that Ashay’s pain was bad. It would take 6 hours to drive from Nidhi’s town to her parents’ town. Nidhi did not know how to drive, Ashay could not drive and travelling in bus for 6 hours was not feasible for Ashay with his sprained leg.
Nidhi was upset with her dad’s death. However, since her dad was 90 when he passed away and he was in pink of health till his last breath, Nidhi and her family were able to accept the fate. Nidhi had never left Ashay alone from the time they got married till date. Nidhi and Ashay’s kids were in hostel. Their daughter was in 3rd year of engineering and son was in grade 11. There was no one to take care of Ashay. The tragedy struck so suddenly that none of the children could come home.
Nidhi finally packed her bags and got ready to leave for her parents’ home. She kept everything ready for Ashay. She called up her part time househelp and instructed her to take care of Ashay while she was not there. Nidhi informed the neighbours as well.
Nidhi left home at around 11:00 a.m. She should reach her parents’ home by 7 pm. After Nidhi left, Ashay moved his wheelchair and started reading the newspaper. At around 1:00 pm, Ashay felt hungry. He moved his wheelchair and went to the kitchen. He saw food was ready. Nidhi had cooked the afternoon meal. When he was about to serve himself food, the spoon in his hand fell. He tried to get it but it was a huge struggle. Suddenly someone came and picked up the spoon. Ashay was alarmed. He looked at the person. It was Nidhi. She said, ‘I knew it. I knew you will not be able to manage stuff, so I had to come back.’ Ashay was surprised. He said, ‘Oh come on Nidhi. I could have managed things. You actually came back???? Now, how is your family going to manage things without you. They need you there.’ Nidhi pushed Ashay’s wheelchair and said, ‘ They will manage. I was not there with them for a long time, but, you have never stayed away from me. I cannot leave you like this. I will get you food. You sit here.’ Nidhi went to the kitchen. Ashay took the newspaper again and started to read. However, he could not focus. He shouted out to Nidhi who was busy in the kitchen, ‘ Oh come on Nidhi. I repeat. What you did was not right. I am fine. Tomorrow you will go for the rituals no matter what.’ Nidhi yelled back from the kitchen, ‘I will. Now call Ruhi and Rihaan and ask them to come home immediately. I can’t leave you alone.’ Ashay frowned and said, ‘Why are you disturbing them? Let them be.’ Nidhi came back from the kitchen and said sternly, ‘Call them now. It’s an order.’ Ashay grumpily picked up the phone, called up his kids Ruhi and Rihaan and asked them to come home immediately. ‘There’, said Ashay. ‘Our children will be home tomorrow. Happy Now?’, continued Ashay. Nidhi came near Ashay, hugged him and said, ‘ I love you Ashay. You need to learn to take care of yourself. Okay?’, saying that Nidhi went back to the kitchen.
Just then Ashay’s phone rang. It was an unknown number. Ashay knew it had to be from Nidhi’s family. They were expecting her and she did not go. Ashay picked up the phone. The voice at the other end said, ‘ Are you a relative or friend of Nidhi Malhotra?’ Ashay said, ‘Yes, I am her husband.’ The voice at the other end said, ‘ I am calling from RB Hospital. The bus in which your wife was travelling had met with an accident. Everyone was brought to the hospital. I am sorry to say, nobody survived. If you could come and identify your wife’s body we can hand it over to you.’ Ashay’s phone dropped. He moved his wheelchair to the kitchen, he shouted ‘Nidhi, nidhi, nidhi…’. Well, there was no one in the house.
