Lights glitter everywhere just like stars dropping to the earth, huge and small buildings collided in a mixture of shadow and geometry, vehicles rushing along with tangled lines of streets creating twisting threads of light - they all intertwined together in a magnificent mess of dream. It's almost midnight yet the city is still alive.

I glance at Agni beside me on the passenger seat. Her face is twisted in pain and she's taking deep breathes while I move the steering, hurrying to the hospital through the crowd of vehicles. A few honks blare from behind as if they are in a hurry to meet the president. I look at my speedometer and I'm at my highest limit. Thus, I motion them to go fourth as I don't want to engage in an accident and of course don't want myself paying the fine.

I glance at her again as she bites her lips. I can feel her pain sipping out of her body and reaching my skin yet, not a single drop of tears have left her eyes. She's enduring it for one hour as we are again stuck in the traffic and I curse mentally. I should have taken the long route as we could have reached faster than this.

"Is it hurting that much?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"It will hurt more when they'll do the plaster."

She looks at me with wide eyes, "How'd you know?"

"This happened to me a few months back on my right ankle."

"It's exactly the same ankle I think, I broke." She adds, "How'd you broke you ankle?"

I look at her, suppressing the grin as it's not a great experience. "I was drunk and jumped."

She chuckles, "From where?"

I bite my lips, "From bed."

A wide gape forms on her mouth then it turn to a shock, "What?"

I chuckle while my eyes are on the roads, "I jumped from my bed and landed on a trey that had cups."

She laughs and I accompany her as it's surely one of the best embarrassing moments of my guinness-book-of-embarrassing-moments and I didn't want to disclose this to anyone, however, she is laughing hard and for just a few minutes, she has forgotten about her pain.

Finally, taking the hospital route and leaving behind the jams of Kolkata, we arrive at the hospital gate. I park my car across the ambulances which are lined up beside the wide entrance. Quickly, I open door for her while supporting her with my shoulder, "Should I carry you?"

"No! I can walk!" she says breathlessly.

"Of course you do."

After she confirms that she broke her ankle which is unfortunately by me, the whole family was in a compromising situation. As she's our guest and we were supposed to take care of her, we failed. I failed.

She has told everyone that it was her fault as she didn't see the stairs and fell. She didn't mention anything about colliding with me and it made my guilty hundred times worse.

"I'm the reason your whole celebration is messed up," I mumble as we cross the hospital entrance, her small body leaning against me as I support her. The hallway has as much personality as the rest of the hospital. The floor is slate grey and the walls dove and the air has an undertone of bleach. Above the ceiling is made from those polystyrene squares laid on a grid-like frame. The light is too bright for my eyes after the darkening gloom outside.

"No! Accident happens, Aditya. It's not your fault. However, I still have to go to New York and," she looks at me, "I have to give back the bike to my friend, tomorrow."

I nod, "Don't worry about that. I'll give it to your friend."

"That's reassuring." She releases a breathe however limping with the other foot as we head to the nurses.

One of them shows us the x-ray unit and we head to there.

Silent dominates us as we enter the room with large fans. The walls are as white as chalk. For a few seconds I have thought this is a gas chamber for killing the untreatable patient while we wait for the medical staff to arrive.

"So, you'll be going back to New York?" I ask hoping for a positive answer that starts with a 'no' however, she nods and confirms my suspicion, "Yeah."

A medical staff wearing blue uniform of the hospital enters and ask, "Agnishikha Mukherjee?"

I had already called one of my friends to write her name on the list of patients as we might come late and it would take us more than a few hours given the names in list.

"Yes, that's me," she answers.

"Please, sit here," he motions her to sit on the big white slab and tells her to put her legs on it, "straight your ankle. It'll be a bit painful but we have to get the picture."

She does what he asks for, still wincing in pain as she straightens her ankle on the white slab and chews her lips as if she is having a delicious dessert. He moves the big machinery and adjusts it according to her broken foot which looks exactly like it will shoot lasers that can cut both of them in half.

The man hit the button while I imagine that will shoot a dart into her and we will be inducted into the military, intelligence work or a secret cult who believe bananas are gods in yellow clothing. I really need to stop watching the horror and thriller movies and concentrate on her.

It has taken only ten minutes and half an hour extra to get the x-ray result. All the while we haven't talked to each other. My chest feels heavy with the x ray plate as it shows two hairline cracks of her ankle. If only I could grab her hands...

"It'll take only one month to recover," he says with a tight lipped smile which is probably his experience after saying the quote to all of his patients over and over again. "Kindly talk to Doctor Ashish Gupta, he'll instruct everything else," he informs and I shake my hand with him, "Thank you."

She sits on a wheelchair while I push her forward to the Dr. Gupta's chamber and see there's two patients are already in queue.

"Guess, we'll have to wait," I say.

While the next patient enters she asks, "Can't I have a pain killer?"

"No. Not without doctor's prescription."

"It's killing me."

"I'm sorry."

She chuckles while I raise a brow. She isn't becoming crazy with the pain, is she?

"Stop that, will you?" she says.

"Stop what?"

"Apologizing. You know very well, it's not your fault."

"Yeah, I know," I exhale.

"I was distracted..." she begins, "Suresh had called me."

My head snaps at her from Dr. Gupta's blue door, "What?"

"That's why I was hurrying to leave the garage but I met you. Then I didn't pick up, nor replied his messages."

My heart thumps and my grip on the wheelchair tightens, "Why did you want to talk with him?"

She opens her mouth and closes again as if her mind is unable to form any words and she doesn't know what to answer.

'If he wants you back, will you go back to him?' I want to ask even if I don't want to hear the answer. I know she still has some feelings for him and it's breaking something in me. However, the question never leaves from my mouth as if it's stuck somewhere in my vocals.

The doctor calls for Agni and we enter without finishing our conversation.

*****

"Can we have tea?" She asks after we leave the hospital and now her leg has a plaster.

"Why not." I stop the car near a roadside dhaba* while leave the car to get us some snacks with tea.

"What happened?" she asks as I hand her the tea cup.

"Nothing." I inhale cigarette and sip my tea from vaar*.

Her phone vibrates and she brings out it from her purse. The number isn't saved and she informs, "It's Suresh."

Now my belly twists in various knots and I nod, "Talk. I'll just go over there." I go to the shop owner to pay while the song plays, 'Kya jaanu sajan, hoti hi kya gaam ke shaam...'¹

A sigh leaves my throat. I take a deep drag and exhale the smoke into the air, watching it disappear in the darkness of the night.

Not even a minute has gone, a series of words follow in a strangely melodic voice. They are sweet but venomous, like cupcakes sprinkled with poison.

I turn toward Agni. Her eyes are filled with utter rage, cursing not-so-quietly in public.

"(Beep), (beep), (beep), kire pare tere muh me, you (beep's) aulad. (Beep), tui giye mor, tor gota gusti (beep)..." and it continues while I slowly turn my head to the other poor customers who are the witnesses of Agni's wrath. They have the same wide gaps in their mouths that I have. Slowly my gaze follows the shop owner who turns his head to me. Our eyes meet.

I smile awkwardly, "She's rehearsing her dialogues for a play."

He nods, "The play must be PG-18."

The cursing continues for another five minutes then she disconnects the call, her face is red and she's huffing vigorously.

I go to her, "Do you want to check your blood pressure?"

"I'm feeling much better now," she answers.

I nod.

"So, you were hurrying to find a corner, so you can give a peace of your mind to him?"

"Of course! What else?"

"I thought you wanted to go back to him," I mutter my thoughts.

"Are you insane! I would never ever go back to that (beep)."

"You've got quite a long list there." I shrug.

"I've learned from the best." She throws the cup and presses her temples while her face gets back its colour.

"Who was you teacher?"

"Bratati."

I raise a brow, "Then I'll be sure to take tuitions from her, next."

She nods and we both burst out in laughing.

"C'mom, let's go. We have to buy your medicines then back to home." I stretch out my hands.

"Let's go!"

I take her waist and support her while she leans on me and our eyes meet. My eyes follow her beautiful piercing that hangs from her left brow and then to her lips. Her hot breathe falls on my jaws and she bites her lower lip and the radio blares the next song, 'Suno, Kaho... Kaha, Suna... Kuch hua kya? Abhi to nehi... Are kuch vi nehi...'²

She says, "Aditya..."

"Yes?"

"It's 3a.m."

"What?" And I divert my gaze away from her to my watch. It's indeed 3:05 a. m.

"Let's head to home, shall we?" She asks and I nod while both of our lips are curve into smiles.

___________

- Glossary -

Dhaba- Roadside small inns

Vaar- tea cups that's made with soil.

- Songs -

1- Kya jaanu sajan, Hoti hai kya, Gaam ke shaam(1967)- sung by Lata Mangeshkar & composed by R. D. Burman

2- Kaho, Suno... Kaha, Suna... Kuch huya kya(1974)- sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar & composed by R. D. Burman

___________

20th October, 2020