"Forever means losing count of years."

~ Toba Beta~

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When Aabha woke the next morning, she found herself alone in the bed, with Shaurya nowhere in sight. The room was bright with daylight and she saw Reyansh and Ishaani sitting in the narrow settee opposite her. When she learnt that Shaurya had already been taken to the operation theatre, she was slightly hysterical at the fact that she had missed seeing him just before he was taken for the surgery, till Reyansh held her by her shoulders and gave her a hard shake, "Bhabhi, control yourself, Bhai did not want you to be woken up, he said that you must have slept so peacefully after a very long time and he wanted to let you sleep as long as you could. He said he would be back even before he was missed so there was no point in waking you up. Come now, we can wait for him in the other room."

The Aabha, who sat in the room waiting for Shaurya, was a shaken and troubled one. She had all the medical facts, had done a statistical study of the odds along with Shaurya, but his absence was gnawing at her and the long days of being strong for everyone appeared to be taking its toll. She knew that she was on the verge of breaking down and as she searched for a tissue in her handbag she felt the cover and remembered the letter Shaurya had given her. Moving to a corner, where she could read undisturbed, she took out the cover. It was heavy, made out of very fine handmade paper, in a delicate shade of pale ivory. She smiled, in spite of her growing worry, musing that Shaurya never missed a chance to show off the romantic side of him. She carefully slit the envelope open and pulled out a few sheets of paper of the same quality as the cover and completely covered with his beautiful firm handwriting.

My dear princess,

There is so much I want to say to you but somehow I seem to be running short of words. I will simply write what comes to my mind knowing that you will understand.

"Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty- a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture, without appeal to any part of our weaker nature, without the gorgeous trappings of paintings or music, yet sublimely pure and capable of a stern perfection such as only the greatest art can show."

Those lines are by Bertrand Russell and I am sure you agree with them. But I being the walking example of clichés beg to differ. I believe the quote by Sofia Kovalevskaya that "it is impossible to be a mathematician without being a poet in soul" is far more appropriate for you.

For that, my princess, is who you are, a mathematician with a poet's soul. You pride yourself on being a strong woman and a cold mathematician but I know your heart and recognise your soul. You are a beautiful young woman with all the normal hopes and dreams which life has cruelly shrouded in bitter experiences. You have been so scarred by what you perceive to be your 'family curse' that you had failed to see the love in your own family, your Maa and Baba are testimony to the fact that life does give second chances. Ishaani and Reyansh are proof that love exists.

And if you need further evidence, look into the mirror. You will see the woman who took a chance because I wanted to prove my beliefs. I love you for that. You will see a woman who is strong and full of life and who is able to see the good in every person she meets, despite being treated unfairly by circumstances. That is the woman I love. Aabha, you are like the Edelweiss flower, subtle and fair, found in the rough mountainous terrain where only a few can be given the honour to seek. I am indeed blessed to have found your love.

We never planned to fall in love, heck, we never even decided to be friends, it was a whim on my part and curiosity from your end that today we are here, soul mates, bound inextricably by what I would call as the red string of fate.

I do not know when exactly I fell in love with you, I do not even know when I realised it; there were no frozen moments in time for that realisation, no fiery recognition framing that instant. It was like I just woke up one morning and knew that I loved you, knew that there would never ever be anyone in my life but you.

I had always accepted the idea of love but loving you has made me realise the true beauty of that emotion. Ever since you have come into my life, I have understood what exactly it means.

There is not a minute when I do not think of you.
You are with me during the darkest nights,
And I find you during the brightest days,
In my hours of joy and my moments of sadness,
You are there, as always, by my side.

I can see you as you read the above lines, (they must be the sappiest lines ever written in history), shaking your head at my over-romanticisation and yet smiling with a joy that you would never admit. For you can read into those lines as well as you read my eyes. You can understand what I am saying and what I am unable to write. It is hard, Aabha, to put into words the love I have for you, the love you have filled my life with.

And one final cliché from me – whom you have christened as the King of Clichés, my all-time favourite sonnet (I think you would love it too, it talks about counting, which now reminds me of numbers and you):

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death."

Aabha, to tell the truth, there have been times when I despaired of ever finding anyone worthy of these lines, now I am unsure if the lines are worthy of you.

I love you, Aabha, from now to infinity. Always remember that; I will always be your soul mate and will forever remain

Yours and only yours,

Shaurya

P.S. I love you.

Aabha read the letter a hundred times while waiting for news about the operation, she was aware of the facts but that did not stop her from worrying. She would read the letter, fold it back to the neat rectangle that Shaurya had originally folded it into and gently inhale the paper. It smelt of him, of the woodsy spicy cologne he so favoured; the one that sent tingles of heat and ice through her. She suspected that he must have actually sprayed the paper with the cologne and she loved him all the more for it. She sat with the letter clutched in her hands, the weight of his engagement ring heavy against her heart, allowing the warmth to seep through her, and when the tears threatened to fall, she would read it again.

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

The room where they waited was a misnomer; the building adjoining the hospital housed the private rooms where the patients were kept for the post-operative recovery and were built somewhat on the lines of a luxury hotel. The Rathores had booked a room which would be the equivalent of the most luxurious suite of any five-star hotel. Both the families had shifted to the room for the waiting period with the actual surgery slated to last for about four hours. The waiting period, even though it extended to a couple of hours beyond the schedule, passed quite quickly, with everybody taking turns to support the member who seemed to be wilting. In fact, based on the Doctor's prognosis, all felt that the success of the operation was a foregone conclusion.

Seven hours later the Doctor came with the expected news, the operation was a success and Shaurya was currently in the ICU where his vital signs would be monitored for the next twenty-four hours. If all went correctly, he would be shifted to this room for further observation for a couple of days and could then be discharged. Anticipating what the next request would be, he strictly forbade any visitors for Shaurya, stating fear of infections and asked everyone to wait till Shaurya was shifted to this room. He then almost ordered everyone to go home and get some much-needed rest; free from all worries, so that they could be at 'brightest best' when they met Shaurya.

Though most were agreeable to the suggestion, Aabha was reluctant to leave before having at least a glimpse of Shaurya. She was a trifle anxious about the extended time taken for the surgery, and Supriya, Shaurya' s mother, in a bid to assuage her worry quipped, "Shaurya is quite thick-skulled that is why the doctors had a tough time cutting it open, everything is fine now. Go home and rest, if Shaurya sees you in this exhausted state he will never forgive me." 

Then when Aabha found herself pulled into Supriya's arms for a tight hug; she felt relief and joy, and she thought, 'Mom is right, the doctors have said that he is fine, and he will be upset seeing me all distraught.'  

She nodded and left for her home, willing to wait for the few more hours required to see Shaurya all hale and healthy. She had full faith in him and his love for her.

However, destiny did not seem so inclined to see her happy. This time, the fates allowed her less than twenty four-hours of joy and relief.

And done, with the twist in the next update - it is a little long, so updated it as two parts. In the meantime, do let me know how this chapter was.

love,
Nyna