It doesn't just require physical and mental fitness to be part of armed forces, but also a strong heart and willingness to survive sans one's family and comforts, with only danger and terror surrounding them 24/7.

The Indomitable Courage

"It's me, Dad, Sidharth. I'm fine." he said, sounding slightly hoarse.

From the other side, he could easily hear his father sigh and exhale loudly, guessing well what his father was expecting. That could've become true, but his luck played well and he survived.

"Where are you, beta, and why was your cellphone switched off for last one week? Were you part of the operation which was going on in the two villages? Are you alright? Speak up!" His mother cried from the other side.

A part of him wondered what would've been his parents' reaction if instead of him, his seniors would've been on line to inform his parents and family about his tragic fate that was deflected from him because of one Jawan, who had saved his life.

"Maa, I'll tell you everything when I'll get home for my leaves. Right now, what matters is that I'm fine and alive." he said, gulping a lump in his throat as he couldn't imagine how broken his mother would've been if he had died yesterday, like one his soldiers.

"Okay, beta. Thank God, your fine. Acha lo, Khushali se baat kro (here, talk to Khushali)." He heard his mother say this, making his heart skip a beat as the vision of a crying Khushali came infront of his eyes, that he had seen while he was in combat. He wasn't really prepared to talk to Khushali now, as he wasn't his composed self.

"S-Sidharth? You okay? A-Are you f-fine?" she asked in a shaky voice, piercing his heart with the relief in her voice which was mingled with dubiety.

"Y-Yes, y-yeah, I'm fine. I'm okay. You're okay?" he asked, trying keep his voice from cracking.

"Y-Yes, I-I am."
Her reply brought a soothing calmness to him, but it couldn't help him more as the silence became awkward, which was quite for the first time when neither of them knew what to talk about.

"I'll talk to you later. Tell Maa and Dad, that I'll call them up soon. Bye and ... relax." he said, trying to end the call before he broke into tears.

"Okay. Bye. Take care." she replied and he immediately ended the call.

A tear rolled down his cheek as his heart couldn't take it anymore and he left for his quarter, wanting to be alone for some time.

"Sa'ab, aap thik haina (Sa'ab, you're okay)?"
His buddy asked, while he was at the door of his quarter.

"Main thik hun. Bas akele rehna hai thodi der. (I'm fine. Just want to stay alone for some time.)" he answered and went inside his quarter. His buddy didn't probe him, understanding Captain Sa'ab's emotional state.

Sidharth locked the door of his quarter, and settled on his bed. He was still in his combat uniform, hadn't gotten the chance to change his clothes, neither did he wish to change them, the horrifying sight still shaking his being.

Just a few yards away from him, his coursemate, his closest friend in the unit, Captain Rehaan Shah was shot by one of the militants and he couldn't do anything to help him. It seemed surreal to him that the guy who was joking with him about how his mother was behaving when he was boarding the train for the base, became quiet, bleeding profusely, awaiting his death which fortunately couldn't approach Sidharth's best friend.

Though, Sidharth wasn't emotionally stable to go through it again, he still bravely recalled all the events that took place in past two days, before his troop was deployed for this mission.

Two days back, they had been informed by their 2IC about the intrusion in the village at whose outskirts they were stationed at, which Army Intelligence had informed them about earlier. It was decided by their commanding officer that they first needed to know where the intruders had taken hiding at and then send a troop for eliminating them.

It took a few hours for the search team to find the intruders and their location as well as their identities, which concluded them being militants. The same was happening in the other village as well, where a bank was being used a hiding place.

Once this information reached the base, a meeting was called and Sidharth's platoon was selected for this mission. There were two Captains, one Subedar, and 20 Jawans in the team for this mission. One Lieutenant and one Subedar along with 10 Jawans were sent off to another location where 2 militants were doubted to be hiding.

The mission was going fine in the beginning as they had successfully entered the school building, but it got uglier when they learnt that they militants had occupied the top floors and were firing bullets at them. The firing didn't seem to stop as well, so the team quickly split up and took covers.

Sidharth's and Rehaan's team were just at a close distance of one another, and slowly walking upto the area where they spotted the militants to be hiding.

The firing was just as heavy as earlier and while giving cover fire to their soldiers, Rehaan and Sidharth both hid behind the same wall.

"Abe yaar, itne aashun toh posting ke liye aate waqt meri Maa ne bhi nai bahaye the, jitni goliyan ye barsa rahe hai (Buddy, when I was leaving for base, my mother hadn't shed as many tears during my departure as these militants are firing bullets). Kya kha ke aye hai ye (what did they have for food), that their energy instead of draining, is charging their batteries more." Rehaan said, passing Sidharth a goofy smile.

"Puchle jaake fir konsi chakki ka aata khaya hai inhone ne (then go and ask them of which flour mill they ate flour)." Sidharth replied, firing and ducking bullets.

"Haha, sure, I'll just do that when I'll cau ... " Rehaan's words trailed off as a piercing sound of bullet reached Sidharth's ears and he turned, only to see Rehaan lifelessly falling to the ground, hit by two bullets, one on his right shoulder and other on his abdomen, which Sidharth knew was a missed aim as whoever the shooter was, was aiming for the heart.

"Quick, take him out of the building now!" he instructed two soldiers who quickly followed his order.

He took one glance at Rehaan, who was crying in agony, and turned to aim at the militant who had fired at Rehaan. Forgetting completely that this would be his first killing, he fired at the man, who was hiding just across him behind a wide pillar. It took him two attempts to finally hit the man, which first satiated Sidharth as he avenged for his best friend, but soon the sense of guilt, weakened him. He was so awfully overwhelmed, that he couldn't see another militant aiming at his forehead from the corridor above.

But before the bullet could pierce his body, he was pushed by a subordinate of his. Already empowered by his emotions, Sidharth angrily glared at his soldier, ready to give him a good hearing for pushing him while he was aiming the other militant. But when he saw a bullet hit the ground where he was just a second back, he realised that his life was just saved by the Jawan who pushed him away.

"Thank you, Rajat." he said gratefully.

"Koi nai, Sa'ab, farz hai mera aapki madad krna. (It's okay, Sa'ab, it's my duty to help you)." the Jawan replied.

Sidharth nodded, and then resumed his work. But the fact that he could've been finished a while back, made his mind imagine a white salwar suit clad Khushali, crying hysterically on receiving news of his martyrdom, which because of Rajat, was dodged this time. The images of his happy moments with his family, blurred his vision for a moment, but he soon pushed them aside and focussed on his mission.

It took them six hours to finally kill the remaining two militants, both who were hiding in the top two floors of the school building, continually firing at the Armymen, delaying them to reach upstairs. Two of the militants had tried escaping the building, but were killed by team waiting out. Sidharth ordered his men to check the building once more, before giving the final report to the CO.

Unfortunately, one Jawan couldn't survive and succumbed to his bullet injuries, while Rehaan and the young Lieutenant Arhaan, (who was assumed to be death) were severely injured and were rushed to Military Hospital along with the three other soldiers who were wounded as well. Since Arhaan survived, the correct news was given to the news channels as well who had earlier declared him dead.

A shiver ran down his spine as the realisation of the cruel reality of his profession hit him. As a fauji brat, Sidharth had always admired his serviceman father and had dreamt of becoming one himself. But that time, he wasn't aware of this dark truth of the profession which once seemed most noble and patriotic to him.

Looking down at his hands, he felt only hatred and despise toward himself as he was no less than a bloody murderer, who slayed another man in cold blood. The man who he killed could've been someone's son, father, brother, husband and he killed him mercilessly. His hands were covered in someone's blood and the guilt was consuming him awfully.

Covering his face with palms, he cried. He knew this was part and parcel of his profession, but it felt nice to cry his heart out. Hence, he continued to cry for some time, feeling lighter and the heaviness and burden on his heart, lessened.

Some minutes later, he heard a knock on his door. He wiped his tears off and went to answer the door. Instantly, he was in attention position as it was his CO, Colonel Jaideep Khurana, who was standing infront of him.

"Sir!" he said, saluting his senior.

"Good afternoon, Captain Mehra."

"Good afternoon, Sir."

"Well, would you mind if I enter your quarter, Captain Mehra?" Colonel Khurana asked, still standing at door.

"Sure, Sir." Sidharth replied, moving aside to give space to Jaideep to walk inside.

Jaideep walked inside and stood near the only chair, with Sidharth standing a few steps behind him.

"I didn't find you in the mess during the lunch, Sidharth. Any specific reason for missing the lunch and your red swollen eyes?" Jaideep asked, raising his eyebrows. "And please don't try to give me silly reasons, like 'I was missing my girlfriend' or 'was listening to sad songs' etc."

Sidharth didn't reply, not knowing what say for response. He hung his head low and fought back his tears again, not wanting to project himself as fragile infront of his senior. But it didn't seem like a good idea as his CO was quite firm on his place and patiently waited for Sidharth to speak up.

"I-I killed for the first time. I feel like a cold-hearted murderer. It's not right." he answered, his head still hung low.

Jaideep didn't speak, rather he took a step closer to Sidharth and them broke his silence.
"I understand your situation and it's perfectly fine to feel this way. Killing is killing, even if it's done as a self defense tactic. And it's okay to feel guilty for it, since there's nothing else you can do about it. It's part and parcel of our profession. But, see, though I agree it's gruesomely sinful, but we are doing it for saving millions of innocent lives and safeguarding our nation. We don't enjoy killing people, but what other option do we have? Either we kill them and eliminate the negativity from this world or let them kill us and spread only despair and inhumanity everywhere. Which seems better to you, eliminating evil or letting it make a strong hold and watch it destroy the beautiful world we all want to live in with our families?"

His CO's words, finally, helped Sidharth to get over his guilt and looked up. Feeling much better, he answered his senior.
"The latter is definitely what we all want. And now I don't feel as culpable as I felt before. Thank you, Sir."

"You're welcome, Sidharth. Good night. Have some food before going to sleep, it'll relax you since empty stomach isn't very helpful while trying to forget dismally maligned thoughts." Jaideep said, before exiting the quarter.

"Good afternoon, Sir."

"I wish I could tell you everything, Khushali. But I can't. I don't want to make you anxious, atleast till I'm not beside you. Once I'll get back to you, I'll tell you all the things I desperately want to share with you. Because I know, you'll understand me."
Caressing the picture of Khushali, that he had kept in his wallet, Sidharth stared at the sky, missing her and remembering all the beautiful memories he had made with her.

Kitni baatein yaad aati hai,
Tasverein se ban jati hai.
Main kaise inhe bhulun,
Dil ko kya samjhaun...

Khushali couldn't explain how alive she felt when she heard Sidharth's voice on the phone. Even though the conversation lasted for a minute and he sounded exhausted and dejected, it was more than enough for her to hear his voice. Though, she wanted to speak some more to him, still it was fine. At least he was breathing and on his legs, that allayed much of her worries and alleviated her pain. And anyway, all the conversations can wait for some more time, she could survive the distance well now with him being okay.

Kitni baatein kehni ki hai,
Hontho pe jo thehri si hai,
Ek roz inhe sunlo,
Kyun aise ghumshum ho...

Two month later, Sidharth's relieving orders came and he was to leave for his one-month long holiday, before reporting at the peace station he was transfered to.

Before leaving for his home, he decided to pay a visit to Rehaan, who was still in Military Hospital, recovering from his wounds. Sidharth, himself had sustained some injuries, but there were manageable and he wasn't needed to get admitted in the hospital.

"Aur, Bhai, bach gya tu. Bada dheet hai be tu, do goli khane k baad bhi zinda hai. (And brother, you survived. You're quite stubborn, even after being hit by two bullets you're alive.)" Sidharth teasingly said, sitting on the visitor's stool beside Rehaan's bed.

"Ja be harami, mere liye 2 nai, 100 goli chahiye. Aur apni baat bhi to puri krni thi ki kya kha ke aye the wo log. By the way, tujhe bada afsos ho raha haina mere zinda bachne ka? (Not 2 but 100 bullets are needed to finish me. And then I had to complete our conversation on what those militants had for meals. By the way, you seem quite disappointed with me surviving, right?)" Rehaan asked in the same tone as Sidharth.

"Haan, hain toh afsos, tere chaute pe mast party jo krni thi mujhe. (Yes, I'm disappointed because I had to do a cool party on your funeral.)" Sidharth teased.

"Ja be tu, ghar ja. Warna tera chauta ho jana hai abhi. (You go home. Otherwise I'd kill you now only.)" Rehaan chortled.

"Pehle thik ho ja, fir chaute krne ke bare me bolna. (You recover first, then speak about killing me.) And jokes apart, I'm happy that you didn't die, because I can't imagine a world without my best friend."
Sidharth hung his head down, teary eyed.

"Oye, shok sabha wala mahol na bana ab. Zinda hun main, aur jaldi marne ka mood bhi nai hai mera. (Hey, now don't create a last vigil like environment here. I'm still alive and don't have any mood to die so young.) Chillax! And anyway, I have to live long enough to tell your kids about our NDA and IMA days where we were star cadets and GCs in all the punishment areas."
Rehaan chortled again.

"Haan sure. Tu bas jaldi se thik ho ja. (You just recover soon.)" Sidharth softly said, patting his best friend's hand.

"Sure, I will. Now go or else you'll miss your flight and Khushali won't be very happy about it." Rehaan smiled.

"Bye then. Take care." Sidharth said before leaving.

Happy, he left for the airport and some hours later reached his home, where his return was no less than a grand celebration after Indian team win the cricket world cup. It amazed him how just his mere existent mattered to so much to his family and his fiancé, who continued to admire him from a corner, solaced to have his presence around herself.

"I'm so grateful to Rajat for saving your life. I'll always owe him this." Khushali said softly, her head on Sidharth's shoulder.
Couple of days after he reached home, he narrated all the things to Khushali, who very calmly listened to everything without showing even a little sign of distraught.

"Yes, me too." he replied, staring at the stars and the enchanting sky. "You still want to marry me, after this experience as well?"

"You know what? This experience has only strengthen my resolve to marry you. Are you ready to marry me?" she asked intriguingly.

"Well, ab sagai kri hai, to shaadi bhi krni hi padegi. (Well, since I have gotten engaged to you, I'll have to marry you as well.)" he chortled, receiving a slap on his arm by Khushali. "Acha okay, I always have wanted to marry you and will also do. And our parents are making sure it happens soon, before I leave for my peace station posting."

"What?"

"Well, our parents are gonna finalise a date for our marriage and get us married before I report for my peace station posting. Tujhe to ab mere saath hi rehna hai zindagi bhar (now you have to live with me for the rest of your life)." he said, smiling.

"Manzoor hai. (I accept it.)" she replied confidently.

"Pakka?"

"Pakka!"

In media section: Kitni Baatein from Lakshya.

A/N: Hey, guys! So here's the final part for this short story. Hope you all enjoy it! :)

Do leave your lovely comments and votes! :)

And hey, I'm gonna write a third part for The Remembrance of Love, and it'll be up by Tuesday! Please do check it out!! :)