"Come to Apolo Hosptal within an hour.I'll give u the present "
He read the message..'Present??NOW? That too at her Dad's office??'And he was very excited of seeing a message from her after almost 3 long months
'I've to reach there in an hour??,on a weekday, at 6 PM?'
This is a time that even a person new to the city can predict the presence of a junction atleast 5 kms before even reaching it.Because the traffic will not be moving from that point.The prediction may not always be right though.Sometimes it may be silly/serious fights/debates happening in the middle of the road at the expense of the common man's time and with their viewership as well, Chief Guest being the Traffic Police!
Cursing the traffic, he started his bike and started off to Apolo Hospital.'In normal traffic it'll take 40 minutes...I'll have to go fast'
'But why is she calling me now at such short notice?That too after ignoring me for this long..DId she understand that I was un-avoidable, and tell her dad about our relationship?'he thought while driving.....The traffic was intense and to add to all this, the clouds started darkening...He lowered the visor of his helmet, and is memories took him back to his college days.
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'You know what are the positives and negatives about the whole college knowing about our relationship??',he once asked her
'Tell me'
'Positive thing is that, I will have no problems of others proposing to you.Negative thing is that I can't propose to other girls.'
She stared her with a 'how dare you even think like this?' kind of look.
He smiled and continued,'So, what are you going to present me for my birthday?'
'What do you want'
'Give me a kiss.Anyway your dad wont give you pocket money.So this present helps to save your pocket money as well',he smiled as he said
'Get lost.Is this a present you ask..I'll tell dad'
'No ,no..cheee..I don't wan't a kiss from your Dad', and he laughed aloud
As usually seen in films, she started hitting him with things she got in her hand, namely book, pen, mobile..and finally of course hand!
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He was stuck in traffic..Rain had started pouring down.There were vehicles all around him.In between all this mess, an Auto rickshaw came from nowhere and parked the Auto horizontally in front of him.
'Hei..Is this how you drive??',he shouted at the driver in anger and frustration
'I am also paying Road Tax...If u have any difficulty, don't drive.',replied the Auto driver and turned away.
He understood that it's better to go back to past college days than to live in the present.
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'Happy Birthday!',she said as she handed over a small box of gift to him.
'Kisses now come is boxes??'he questioned as he opened the box.'Wow cool..a really cool watch..'
He wore the watch and happily exhibited the beauty of the combination of his hand and the watch to her and asked,'What about the other present..which I asked?'
'Come on...you are still at it?', she ignored the request.
'You give it to the proffesors only?'
'Profesor??What do you mean?'
'When the sir called your name while taking attendance, you told him 'PRESENT SIR'..Come on, when I asked for one you are not giving.. very unfair'
'eeeee'she expressed her frustration and continued, 'that presence you have with you..my presence ..always with you...', she said as she smiled.
He held her hand and told,'Ya, that is the biggest present..but sometimes i want smaller presents too', and winked his eyes.
'Sometime later', she said and they continued their conversation....
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He looked at his watch.Already 1 hour was over after he got the message.1 hour and 5 minutes to be exact.He had tried calling her before he started, but she never picked up the phone.He wondered what was the reason that she had called him for.If it was to meet her father, her father is a very punctual man.He will have a bad impression if he reaches there late.
He would reach the hospital in another 10-15 minutes.
He thought about their relationship.It was going all well when they were in college.But like any other girl she too started being possessive. He never expected her to be so. He always gave her her space and demanded the same from her.But somehow things started getting worse.He thought about how he used to apologize each and every time even after knowing that he had not done any mistake. 'Relationships are like this.After the initial spark, you get to know the reality about each other.You don't need to apologize any further.If this is a relationship that has to work, she'll call you', one of his friends had adviced him, and he too thought that enough is enough.He too remained stubborn and never called her.Whenever he felt like speaking to her, he opened his mail and jotted down whatever he wanted to tell her, and saved it as a draft.Somewhere in his mind, he knew that she would call him.And they would be together again..Then he would send her all these mails, and she would then understand how much he loved her, how much he missed her....
He was extremely happy that a message had come at last.The ice is broken and things are getting better.He smiled as tears filled his eyes.
After crossing the heavy traffic, 1 hour 35 minutes had passed.He entered the hospital gate.
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He knew he was 35 minutes late.He parked his bike and ran into the hospital.He knew her dad's cabin, and presumed that he has to go there.
A nurse was standing in front of her dad's cabin who said,'He is in room 101, and his daughter is also there..You can go there to meet him'
'Oh, ok', he said with a confused look, thinking what are they doing in that room and went towards that room.He saw that almost all of her family members were standing outside the room.
'Well, what happened, what is such a big event over here?',he thought as he walked through the crowd.He looked at his watch.1 hour 42 minutes gone.'42 minutes late.What will her dad say?What will she say?', But excitement overcame his tension when he thought about the message she sent him.."Come to Apolo Hosptal within an hour.I'll give u the present ", 'the present he had been waiting for so long..
He quietly walked towards the room..
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1 hour and 40 minutes back.
Apolo hospital.
The doctor spoke to her dad,'Sir, As you too are a doctor and I cannot hide the facts..I am very sorry.As we detected this only in the final stage...Last 3 months of treatment did not help much..Now, It's just a matter of some hours..or may be even minutes...Your daughter....', he continued with some medical terms, which proved that the inevitable would happen any time.
'You may inform your family members...Anyone who want to see her may come here within an hour.That's the max we can promise.Sorry', And the doctor walked out of the room.
So did her father, not knowing that she was in her senses at that point of time, and had overheard the conversation., and known her destiny.
She was unable to move, but she some how picked her mobile and typed the text message,'Come to Apolo Hosptal within an hour.I'll give u the present '.
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Excitement overcame his tension when he thought about the message she sent him..He quietly walked towards the room..,'Will I get my big present inside this room?...My first kiss.....', and he eagerly, slowly and quietly opened the door and entered inside the room.......
