28. THE LOST BABY!

In DIXIT’S HOUSE, everyone is planning to go out except Asha and Avantika. They have to attend a very important family function. But Asha is not feeling well that’s why she chooses to stay at home and everyone too agreed keeping her pregnancy in mind. 

Avantika offers to stay with Asha in case she would need anything or for the safe side. But in reality, she had a motive behind accompanying Asha. Everyone agrees and instructs Asha to be careful. 

Arjun:- ( cups Asha’s cheeks ) Be careful, baby. Don’t run here and there and eat your meal on time. ( sternly ) And the most important thing is don’t….you dare to climb the stairs alone. 

Avantika:- you don’t worry, Arjun. I am here na…. I will make sure that she will have her meals properly and I won’t let her go alone anywhere. Keep faith in me. 

Arjun:- I trust you, bua ji ( aunt ). I know you will take good care of her, that’s why I am relaxed. 

Asha:- Arjun, you go. You are getting late and don’t worry I will take care of myself as well as our baby. ( cutely ) Take a chill pill. 

Everyone smiles at her antics and moves out after telling her what to do and what not. 

Avantika:- Asha, you just sit here and I will bring fruits for you. 

Asha:- ( cutely ) I don’t want to have fruits. 

Avantika:- should i call, Arjun? 

Asha:- ( got scared with Arjun’s name ) ok,……. I will have fruits. 

Avantika walks inside the kitchen while a smirk lingers on her lips. She cuts the fruits nicely and plates them and pours the hot milk into a glass.

While conscious about her whereabouts, she pulls out some tablets from her bag and dissolves two such tablets in the milk.  

Avantika:- ( while stirring the milk ) bye….bye… baby and Mumma, your papa ( father ) will miss you both. 

Then, she plastered a fake smile and walked out of the kitchen. She placed the dish in front of Asha and made sure that she would complete her meal. 

Avantika:- Now, go and rest for a while. 

Asha:- ya…. I should sleep because I am feeling tired. 

Avantika:- don’t worry, tiredness is normal in pregnancy. Come……. I will take you to your room. 

Asha:- no, it’s ok I will manage. 

Avantika nods and Asha climbs the stairs while gripping the railing in her tight grip. 

After taking a small nap she wakes up because of hunger and decides to have something. The small nap relaxes her muscles because she is feeling less tired but her head is bursting with pain. 

She is walking with slow steps keeping in mind her baby while humming a sweet melody unknown to the fact that Avantika is following her with wrong intentions. 

She comes in front of the stairs and grips the railing in a tight hold. Slowly with baby steps, she starts descending the stairs but Avantika comes forward and pushes her with strength. 

The force is so much that it becomes impossible for Asha to keep herself stable. She tries her best to keep her balance but her left foot got twisted which results in imbalance. She rolls down the stairs but still, she wraps both arms around her tummy to save her baby. 

She clutches her tummy in immense pain and shouts for help. She is not that hurt but her tummy surely pained her. The thought of losing her baby is above all. 

On the other hand, Avantika hides behind a pillar and hears her shouts. Asha‘s painful winces are soothing for her ears. She smiles in victory. 

Here, Asha becomes a crying mess and begs for help. But her cries never melt Avantika’s heart. 

Asha:- please,……. Somebody help me…… it’s paining…….so much…..ahhhh…….. Arjun………… please come back…………..

After almost 10 minutes, Avantika decided to come forward to help her with a heavy heart. 

Avantika:- ahh…. Asha, what happened? 

Asha:- it’s paining………….., bua Ji ( aunt )…….. Please call Arjun. 

Avantika:- No….. you need immediate medical help. I am calling the ambulance first then I will dial Arjun’s number. You just keep breathing. 

She calls the ambulance first which comes within 10 minutes. Then she dialed Arjun’s number and told him everything. 

Otherside, as soon as they put Asha on the stretcher she widened her eyes seeing the blood. Her eyes teared up seeing the blood. She prays to her god to keep her baby safe and send her husband as soon as possible. 

The doctors provide her with immediate medical help but it’s too late because she fainted on the way to the hospital. 

Arjun walks inside the hospital like a mad person and asks for his wife, who is being operated on by doctors in the operation theater. He is devastated as well as the whole family. 

Avantika:- ( Crying hard while hugging Kiran ) I am sorry, Maa. I let you down. I failed in keeping her safe……. I failed to take care of her. 

Arjun:- ( in a daze ) how…? How did she land up here?…….

Avantika:- ( in a cracking voice ) I don’t know…… she was feeling tired then I told her to take a rest. I don’t know when she wakes up and………… ( cries harder ) 

Kiran:- And? 

Avantika:- and I found her wincing in pain on the floor……….. Maybe,…… she falls from the stairs. 

Everyone closes their eyes imagining her pain and suffering but Arjun is emotionless. He is on the verge of losing his baby or his wife both. Before anyone could console him, the doctor walks out from the OT. 

Arjun:- doctor, how….. How is my wife ….? And baby? 

Doctor:- see Mr. Dixit, I won’t lie but the condition of your wife is worse than we thought. Her breathing rate is going down. We need to operate on her immediately. You just call her gynecologist because we may need some details about her which only she provides. ( after taking a short pause ) You need to fill out a form regarding whom you want to save. 

The Doctor’s last words snatched the floor from Arjun’s feet. Whereas everyone gasped. 

Arjun:- wh….what …. Ar…e you saying……. Doctor? 

Doctor:- you have to choose between your wife and your baby. 

Saying this he pats his shoulder and walks out. 

With shivering hands, Arjun did all the formalities of being the husband of the patient. 

The doctors come out after conducting a small surgery. 

Doctor:- Mr. Dixit, your wife is safe but we are sorry because we are not able to save your child. ( after taking a long pause ) Your wife consumed some drug that affects her baby negatively. It’s a god’s grace that your wife is safe because that drug was so dangerous that it would kill both mother and the baby. I would rather say the baby took away all his/her mother’s pain and gave her a new life.

Listening to this, Arjun slumped down on the nearby bench and cried hard. All the member’s conditions were the same but soon they composed themselves because they had to support Asha. They all are so much into the grief of losing an unborn child that they didn’t focus on the drug thing. 

Asha:- Arjun, wh..ere….. Is…… my…… baby? 

Arjun:- ( avoiding looking into her eyes )  BABY IS NO MORE……… 

Asha palmed her mouth while tears trail down uncontrollably from her eyes and shouted. 

“No…….” 

She sits on the bed immediately while huffing because of her shout and her moment wakes up Arjun too. 

Arjun:- what happened, baby? Are you alright? 

Asha hugs him tightly and buried her face in his chest while crying hard at her fate. 

Asha:- ( hiccupping because of continuous cries ) I….. I again saw that dream. I am not able to forget about that dreadful day in my life. What should I do, Arjun? 

Arjun closes his eyes in pain when she mentions that day. That day was the most dreadful day of their life when they lost their first child. He has no words to console her. He just wipes her sweat and rubs her back to give her strength. 

Asha:- I killed my child, Arjun…………… I killed my child! 

Hearing such words from her mouth, Arjun cups her face and places his lips on her forehead before saying. 

Arjun:- It’s my fault, Asha. I left you here and went to that stupid function. All that happened is because of my carelessness. So, please stop blaming yourself. You are nowhere at fault. ( plastering a smile ) But now, we should be happy that we are going to welcome our baby soon. So, for the baby’s happiness, forget the past and welcome the baby with a bright smile. 

Saying this, he bends down a little and faces her tummy which is slightly big because she is in her third trimester. 

Arjun:- don’t worry, my little baby. This time papa ( father ) will not let anything happen to you. He will protect you and your mother from every evil eye. 

He kisses her tummy showing his love for the baby and lies down beside her. She comes closer to him and snuggles in his arms. 

Asha:- ( cutely ) Baby is saying that papa is nowhere at fault whatever happened was our faith…………. The baby is safe because his/her papa is there with the baby’s mother to protect them. Baby is also saying that he/she loves her papa a lot. 

Arjun chuckles. 

Arjun:- then, say to them that their father loves them too but he loves their mother the most. 

Asha:- and the mother too loves the baby’s papa. 

She chuckles and closes her eyes to sleep while hoping for a better future. 

She was so traumatized at that time that she forgot that she didn’t slip down the stairs. In fact, someone pushed her. 

To be continued…