Life was unpredictable.

One moment, she was eating her breakfast with a sort of quietness in her head that she hadn't been able to achieve for a long time. The next moment, she was running to the hospital with mis-matched flip-flops, a hideous shawl and the ugliest pajamas she owned.

As soon as she reached the reception desk, she leaned on it, panting, "Room 106, where is it?"

The receptionist stared at her in horror, "Er...you are?"

"His girlfriend. The patient's girlfriend." It was a lie but it would have to do, for the moment. Kritika could care less about a little white lie.

"Well, you need to get a visitor slip and an approval from the patient to see-" The receptionist picked up the phone that had been incessantly ringing. Kritika didn't have time to wait around for the receptionist. She bent over the wall of the desk and grabbed the visitor slip book. Quickly scrawling in her details, she tore the page and handed it to the receptionist, demanding her to take it noiselessly.

"Okay, sir. Yes, she's here." The receptionist placed down the phone. She took the slip from her and stamped a seal on it, after signing it. "Ma'am, you can go to the first floor-"

Kritika didn't wait to listen to the rest of the instructions. She dashed up the staircase, ignoring the pointed glares of those who were irritated by her fast movements. As soon as she reached up, she glanced about before noticing the signboards indicating the room numbers.

A nurse stood up from the station, surprised at her sudden arrival. "Ma'am, can you show me your-"

As soon as Kritika caught sight of Room 106, she hurried towards it, not paying any mind to the torrent of 'wait' & 'ma'am, please hold on' pouring behind her. She slammed open the door, her eyes directly falling on Aditya on the hospital bed. One of his legs was slightly elevated.

Hriday took in her appearance and tried his best to limit his smile to the twitching corner of his lips. "Kritika, you're here. Thank you for coming. I need to get to the office-"

"How did this happen?" Kritika panted. "What happened?"

"As I said, it was a minor accident and he fractured his leg. His thigh bone, to be accurate." Hriday glanced at the pale man asleep on his bed. "He's asleep right now. He'll wake up in an hour."

"His parents will be here in the evening." Hriday shot a glance at her as he picked up his satchel. "They're catching a train here. You just need to help him out until then. "

Kritika turned around, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Behind her was a furious nurse. "You need to give your visiting slip and you should not be running around in the corridor! This is a hospital!"

After profuse apologies with regards to her impertinence, she finished the procedures and headed back to the room. Hriday had left after having a good cackle at her, which she had induced a furious blush on her face. Kritika sat down on the visitor bed, texting her roommate that she was at the hospital with Aditya.

The smell of medicines attacked her senses, making her grimace. Her eyes fell on Aditya's unguarded sleeping face. He looked quite pitiful, lying there with a needle slipped onto his vein and his leg in its pitiable condition.

She had come here running at the mention of an accident. She hadn't even cared to listen to the rest of Hriday's words. Through the journey to the hospital, all her efforts at dispelling negative thoughts were half-assed. What if he was in a serious accident? What if he was on the verge of losing his life? What if she was too late?

Kritika blinked. The question made her contemplate further. Too late for what? What was she going to be late for? She naturally arrived at the answer, as if it was destined for her.

She still loved him very much.

It was weird how love works even after years of separation. It never died or trickled out. It was merely ignored or looked over. But it was there. Other things came in the way sometimes but she couldn't deny she wasn't still in love with him.

It was over the cheapest of misunderstandings and deliberate designs of others that years of heartbreak had occurred. She thought of the countless men she had met for marriage proposals. She couldn't remember any of their faces. But she always remembered his face crystal clear. It had been that way for ten years.

All of it was a sign from the universe, perhaps. Kritika liked to think of it that way when she was younger. Perhaps the hopeless romantic in her hadn't died and had somehow struggled on within her. She liked to think it was all destiny; that he was her destiny.

It had only been a week or two since she had received that message. They could never be strangers. Aditya was right. She could never regard him purely as a stranger. She knew him too well for that. He was someone she'd recognize anywhere.

The practicality that had settled in Kritika after her break-up with Aditya agreed with her. They were each other's best companions. They were always best friends first in their relationship, lovers a close second. If their previous relationship had been made of glass, she was glad it broke into pieces.

Maybe they could paste it all back together and come back stronger.

The sound of a groan had her blinking out of her thoughts. She turned to Aditya, who seemed to be facing immense difficulty in picking himself up. He had woken up sooner than that was informed to her.

She hastened to fix his bed and adjust it upwards, so he didn't need to do any moving.

"What are you doing here?" He managed to croak out. She offered him the water bottle. "Thanks. Did Hriday call you here?"

"Yeah. He said he needed to head to his office. I'm on leave anyway so I thought I'd come over and help you out."

He peered at her mismatched flip-flops. She tried to push her feet as far under the chair as physically possible. Then, his eyes took in her pajamas and finally arrived at her face.

"You came here in your pajamas?"

"I was in a hurry." She admitted. "I heard you were in an accident and came here quickly."

"She was running through the corridors." The nurse entered the room and shot her a glance. She attended to the IV needle and bag. "She created a whole ruckus by running around in the morning."

Aditya viewed her in amusement.

"I was worried." Kritika admitted.

"You came here running like this because you were worried? It's only a leg fracture, Kritika. Nothing all that serious. I've had a fracture before too."

An elbow fracture. Kritika remembered faintly. It was when he was playing his last high school basketball game.

"Hriday made it sound like it was a life-threatening accident. Could you blame me?" She whined, in return.

Aditya tilted his head. "So you hurried over because you thought I was going to die?"

Kritika inspected his stubble, shaped lips and his straight nose. There was difficulty in getting the words but she needed to do it.

"I came here," She punctuated the words with a little pause and hesitance, "because I thought I was going to lose you."

A moment. "I can't lose you. Not now."

"And why not?"

"What do you mean 'why not'?"

"Why does it matter, sunshine? Why does it matter to you if I got into an accident?" He prodded, with a knowing smile.

"Because..." Kritika wondered why looking into his eyes seemed so easy now. "We could never be strangers to each other. You are the love of my life and that could never change, Aditya."

Aditya let his lips ease into a soft smile. "You are my soul, Kritika and I would never let go of that again. So you and I are going to try and touch the sun again?"

His lover blinked in surprise. "How...- Have you read the book?"

"I have. I did after...our break up. I was looking for things that reminded me of us and happened upon that book at a store."

Kritika let a smile escape on her face.

Aditya murmured. "We can take it slow. Let's start all over again, yeah?"

"Yeah. Let's start over."

The nurse, whose presence had been forgotten, performed a slow clap. "No wonder you looked like you were the lone survivor of a tsunami today. I wish I had popcorn with me. What's the whole story, lovebirds?"

Kritika's cheeks turned a shade of crimson. She jumped out of the chair, "I-I'll get us some water." And then she hastened out of the room.

The nurse chortled, turning back to preparing her injection. "Now I'm curious to know what's the story with you two."

"It's nothing much." Aditya watched as the door closed. "We just touched the sun."

☀︎

a/n : with that, the story concludes. thank you for reading.