KRISHA

"Have you decided which one you are buying?" Mom asks me.

"I like this one, but this one will just suit me better. What do you think?" I ask her, layering the whole dress on me in front of the mirror.

"You said a while ago that you liked the first one better. Didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I think this one's for me." I pout at her because I want this green ombre dress so bad.

"Oohhh, y'all youngsters' minds are too fickle. Can't stay static!"

"It's just a dress mom, what is it got to do with minds?"

Karan's mom interrupts our conversation, "Ah! Wow, it's such a beautiful dress, Krisha! You will look gorgeous in it. You should buy this one." She comments.

"See Mom, I told you this is far better. You don't listen." I told the shopkeeper to pack it.

We are at a shopping mall and later we would go to the local market for some grocery shopping. Two mothers are gossiping about things here and there, while Karan's cousin sister, Shruti, and I walk in the background talking about daily life.

"Kri, I heard from my brother that someone fiddled with your dress and there was a high mess after that, as the culprit was found in your institute itself."

"Your brother is right. I thought he did it first!"

"Ahhh! How could you?!"

"I know, I wasn't sure though, but somehow he was the one who found out about the people who did this."

"Great! You know he was with Kritika the whole day yesterday. I heard before that he was with you!"

"He was, we went to a carnival."

"Oh my god! You went together?" She covered her enthusiastic face with her hands and exclaimed.

"Take it easy, it was just for our fans. Hehe ....your brother and I would never be on good terms with each other again." I gave a pat on her shoulder and walked past her. She is such a baby!

Today's shopping day is exciting. I'm here with Karan's family and my family. Every once a month, we ladies from both families spend a day completely with each other. Dining out, shopping, and gossiping, are mainly what we do. Shruti evoked my memory about drunken Karan by bringing his topic in. I was thinking about the day before yesterday a little too much. It felt so cheerful after such a long time. I don't remember the last time I was this happy. I spoke to Karan in a playful banter that day and it was unforgettable. It was the first time in all these years that I had talked to him this way. Inever thought that I would laugh with him ever after.

"Cross the road properly!" My mom pulled me aside as I saw I was walking on the road, blindly, deep in my thoughts. "Where is your mind?"

"Sorry, Mom." I flinched with the sudden shift in my senses.

I adjusted my hair and was laughing with the families. Such a peaceful day! That same peace, the same moment was broken when Karan's mom announced that Karan would be here any minute to pick us up.

"What? Why y'all didn't tell me before?" I screamed.

"Don't be alarmed about him, dear. You don't talk with him, okay?" Karan's mom said.

"I do that every damn time, Aunty!" I sighed.

"He insisted on picking us up because, like you, he was also free today!" said Shruti.

"That means, even he doesn't know that I'm here?! Ahh huh, what a life, it's a mess. He is an eyesore!"

Our families giggle not giving a damn. What for them? It's easy. As usual, I'll try my best to ignore him.

KARAN

"Yes, Kritika, I'll meet you later. I'm on my way to pick my family up. Talk to you later, bye! Love you!" I hung up.

The market was huge on the side of the plain highway, but I got a clear vision of my family from here. I crossed the glass door which was through a huge building as it was the only entrance to the market. What a weird entrance indeed. As I reached the front pocket of my jeans to keep my phone there, I noticed Krisha with them.

"Oh my goodness, not her again!" I mumble to myself. They could have at least informed me. Anyways, whatever! I took a deep breath and was about to cross the road when I saw that they saw me coming towards them. It appears to me that Krisha must have still not noticed me. They wave at me and I wave back happily, gesturing to them to wait, for I'm coming. Come across, they can't hear me or see my gestures properly.

There are a lot of huge vehicles passing by the highway, it's so dangerous! Why is the market at such a risky place, I wonder.
I noticed that a huge truck was coming at a high speed in the direction of the market, and it was scratching the safety barricades of the place and there were sudden loud noises, like those of guns. What was happening, I couldn't fathom, not my family on either side. The truck was approaching nearer and the sounds of guns became more definitive.

To my capture, I saw that people were hanging from the windows at the sides, holding guns in their hands, trying to shoot someone near the market. It was all happening within ten seconds. I tried to run faster to save my family from it. Some people saw that, and there was chaos. As the truck approached a few meters away from my family, the people tried to shoot someone behind my mom. I was sweating with anxiety! My feet felt heavier and my brain lost! Krisha saw the truck hovering and guns blazing.

Not even thinking what's next, she thought the person was aiming at my mom but I knew it wasn't meant for her, and maybe it would have been to her that way because of the other angle. I tried to scream but my voice didn't come out from the shock. She steadily pushed my mom aside and came in front of the aim, confusing the shooter. He fired the shot wrongly and Krisha got hit instead. The moment she got hit, I realized that I was just a meter away from the truck and her. She dropped down on the floor with a bang. No one understood what happened and got into a shock. I was numb from my head to toe, watching her!

Everything around me was buzzing. It was all silence. I was in a dumb state. My mother saw me and looked at me with pitiful eyes as to what happened to Krishna. Krisha's mom dramatically falls on the floor, watching her daughter lying on the floor, unconscious. When her mom screeched Krisha's name, I finally got my senses back and my ears started to fill with sounds of my surroundings again.

I rushed to them falling on my knees, watching her hopelessly. Her mother looked at me and started wailing. Shruti was dumbfounded and she stayed in her place as she was, like an immovable stone. With my shivering hands and body, I still managed to see where she was hit. I gasped way too loud as if I got my breath back which was lost for a few seconds. She wasn't hit at any crucial parts but on her right shoulder. I pointed my finger at the wound to show her mother so that she could calm down because I was unable to speak, my tongue was feeling iron-like. My mother held me from the back and I revived. I took a glance at the truck which was far gone now. Who were they? And why did they want to hit someone? These are questions for another time, and first I should be caring for Krisha.

I picked her up and ran across the highway, steadily crossing it. Her blood was lost so much. It was dripping! It must have hit hard, I should rush her to the hospital soon. I yelled at Shruti so that she could come to her senses and call the ambulance.

We all got seated and there was a lot of crying in the ambulance. Krisha's mom's crying was uncontrollable and I was drenched in blood. I didn't know how to console them all because I was not here myself. The feeling I was getting was like I lost my soul!

We reached the hospital and two ward boys came along with stretchers. I picked her up gently and placed her on one of them. The wheels of the stretchers were making scratching sounds and that was the only sound I could hear now.

The doctor came in and took her in, immediately realising she was an actress, and told us to call the police as this was a police case. When they took her in, I saw Kritika running towards me with a crying face. She hugged me straight and tight as soon as she reached me. Shruti told me that she informed her about the incident.

We all were so tense. I was glad Kritika was by my side. She never let my hand go as we were all in tears of fear. The doctor opened the doors of the ward and came out informing us that they had taken out the bullet but she had lost a lot of blood volume.

Her mom was terrified. She asked, "Will she be okay? Has she regained consciousness?"

"Not yet. Because of the blood she has lost, we need to transfer her new blood. Otherwise, she is fine."

"I can give her my blood," I suggest.

"You can, but she requires a lot of it. It is problematic because she has this condition where she has fewer blood-producing cells. It means that for now if you give her blood she would be fine, but she can never produce blood healthily, the number which is sufficient for the human body."

"What do you mean, doctor?" Her mom asked.

"It means that from birth itself she has fewer cells. It's a genetic condition and can't be solved for life. But don't worry, she will be fine after the blood transfer, but her body will be forever in a weaker state. This won't raise any other complications, but only that she will have bad headaches, frequent non-harmful heartaches, and dizziness. Don't worry, it isn't life-threatening!"

"We didn't know about this condition." Her mother cried.

"So the reason for her headaches was this condition?!" Said Kritika, thoughtfully.

I was not ready to listen to this. I thought she was only having some mental stress that was causing this even though I knew there must have been something more to it.

"She lost more of her precious blood only for me. Why is she so giving, why does she have to be so nice all the time!" My mom sat down upon hearing this and broke down. I took her in my embrace.

"I don't know about all the other times that I hated her, Kritika, but I am going to give my all to her," I said to her.

She nodded.

"She unselfishly sacrificed her blood for my mother and my family, she can have all my blood if she requires, doctor!" I say, determined. Hey, heart, it's difficult to understand the games you are playing with me. Am I going to phase one again?

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