Her Warrior Poet (Pune Diaries Book 1)

by Candy Laine

  Are you mad at me?

  No. I’m not.

  Then why didn’t you answer my first message?

  Because I was driving. I’m just going home. Shweta got into the lift.

  Your shift at the hospital got extended? He remembered her shift timings?

  No. I was out to dinner with a friend. She left it vague on purpose. There was a pause. She walked into the apartment and waved to her brother in front of the television. She gave her mother sitting at the dining table and shelling peas a hug.

  Which friend? Hah! He did care. Rahat was right. Now how did she want to proceed?

  Someone you know and like very much. Seriously she was teasing him? There was a longer pause this time. Was he going to reply? She walked into her room and eased off her shoes.

  You must be tired. Goodnight Shweta. Hey. That’s not how she wanted to end the conversation. Before she could second guess her actions, Shweta hit call. Her heart beat faster as she waited for him to answer.

  “Hello.” His voice was low, like he didn’t want anyone else to hear him talking. He may have people around him. She hadn’t thought of that.

  “Hi Arun.” She started off cheerfully, “I wanted to give you some good news.”

  “I don’t think I want to know” His voice sounded lower and gloomier.

  “Why not? I’m so excited to share the news with you. It’s not everyday that your best friend tells you she’s pregnant. You’re going to be an Uncle.”

  There was a pregnant pause, “You were out to dinner with Rahat?”

  “Yes,” Shweta smothered a laugh at the relief in his voice. “Who did you think I was out with?”

  “Uh, no one. I mean I wasn’t sure… so Gagan is going to be a papa! Wow. Can’t say I imagined that one. He wasn’t too keen on paternity the last I spoke with him. Certainly not so soon.”

  “Ya, she wasn’t too thrilled at being knocked up either, but she’s coming around to it. They haven’t announced it to anyone yet, so please don’t tell your mother yet.”

  “Alright. I’ll keep your secret.” Arun's tone was warm with a hint of teasing.

  “It’s not really my secret,” Shweta stifled a yawn as she lay down on the bed.

  “You’re tired. Go to sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  “Goodnight.”

  “Sweet dreams. Goodnight.”

  o0o

  20

  The Hit

  o0o

  Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice.

  From what I've tasted of desire

  I hold with those who favor fire.

  But if it had to perish twice,

  I think I know enough of hate

  To know that for destruction ice

  Is also great and would suffice.

  Robert Frost

  A single wooden shack in the middle of the mountain. No tree cover and with it’s back to the mountain itself. An isolated trail and no one close by. It was the ideal location to hide after a border infiltration. Arun studied the little shack through his binoculars. He was lying flat on the ground and had angled the lens away from the sun.

  Too bad they forgot that even small fires lead to smoke. Now Arun and his men were positioned all around the area using whatever camouflage they could to hide. It was a waiting game between the soldiers waiting outside and the terrorists who didn’t know they had been found. Total radio silence was maintained by the troops. They had their orders. They knew what to do.

  Roy was a few feet away from Arun, using his binoculars to check out the shack. It wasn’t very large but there could be anything from a couple to a dozen men hidden inside. Their intelligence had not been able to figure out the exact number. Soon the night would fade and with the first light of dawn they would attack. Finding out one way or the other just how many men hid inside.

  Even as Arun shifted soundlessly to catch Roy’s attention a snapping branch had him turning his head behind them. The first muffled shot got the man on his right before Arun realized that it was an ambush. He yelled as he got up and swung his weapon into action.

  His men reacted with some confusion before they caught onto what was happening. Then it was just a flurry of gunshots and movement. In the dark it was difficult to tell if the person next to you was friend or foe till they turned their weapon on you and fired. Arun’s heart was galloping like a horse as he rushed about taking out hostile infiltrators while trying his best to keep the men alive. The smell of gunpowder assaulted his nose. The sounds of shots nearly deafening in the dark. With visibility impaired, he turned at the sound of cry behind him. Someone fell to his right and something hit him taking him to the ground. The impact of his head on the rock made him see stars and then darkness took him.

  ~~~

  Arun could hear voices near him but he couldn’t make sense of what they were saying. He tried to open his eyes but could not. It felt as though his eyes were glued shut. The effort to open them tired him and he decided to just keep them shut for the time being.

  The soothing sound of a feminine voice was accompanied by a cool cloth being placed on his head. There was something familiar about it, but he was too tired to care. He fell back into the waiting darkness.

  “How is he doing?” A male voice asked the next time he tried to push through the darkness.

  “Better than yesterday. The fever seems to have broken. The new antibiotics seem to have brought the infection under control.” A gentler female voice answered. “When will he wake up, doctor?”

  “His vital signs have stabilized. I think he should surface soon now. Sometime later today, probably as the sleep inducing medicine works it’s way out of his system.” The male voice replied.

  “How long will it be before I can take him home.” It sounded like his mother. What was she doing here? Where was he anyway? His brain was too exhausted to make sense of what he was hearing. He dropped right back into the darkness.

  The next time he surfaced, he felt stronger. He pushed through and took a deep breath. His eyes no longer seemed to be glued together as he tried to open his eyes.

  “His eyes are flickering.” His mother’s voice was excited. “Call the nurse.” Someone opened and walked out of the door.

  Arun opened his eyes and the bright lights hurt. Instinctively his hand rose to cover them. And it got tugged back. There was an intravenous drip attached to the back of his hand. He seemed puzzled when he looked at it.

  “Arun, can you see me?” He tried to turn his head in the direction of his mother’s voice. Her face came into focus.

  “Ma?” His voice came out all raspy and dry, as though it had not been used for a very long time. She placed a hand on his forehead. The sound of the door caused him to look in that direction. He saw Gagan followed by a nurse in uniform enter the room. “Gagan?” It came out like a whisper. He could barely speak.

  “Welcome back to the land of the living, brother.” He patted his shoulder as the nurse went about recording notes on his chart before turning to look at him.

  “How are you feeling Major Rastogi?” She did a quick reflex test with a torch on his eyes.

  “Not so good.” His body was feeling heavy and leaden. There was a numbness in his shoulders and limbs. The kind that came from being inactive for a very long time.

  “You’re bound to feel some aftereffects of the surgery. It will get better once you move into physiotherapy.” The nurse took his pulse and stared at her watch. “You seem to be doing okay. Let me know if you need anything for the pain.” She gave a slight pat on the shoulder and walked out.

  “Do you need anything?”

  “Water.” His mother instantly had a flask out and was pouring water into a glass. Despite his state he smiled at her efficiency. She was always prepared for everything. He was glad to sip the water. His throat finally managed to get moistened enough for him to speak.

  “I know this is going to sound like a real cliche, but where am I?” His voice was easier to use after drinking the
water. The parched sensation receded.

  “At the Military Hospital in Kirkee.” His mother wiped his lips with a paper napkin.

  “What happened?” Arun rested his head back on the pillow.

  “Well, we’re not sure of the details but that boy from your unit, Roy? He said that you all were ambushed when you were staking out a suspected terrorist hideout. There was a lot of gunfire and you took a hit that knocked you out.” Her smile wavered as she thought about what could have happened.

  “They managed to call in reinforcements and you were airlifted to Srinagar. The doctors in the MH did emergency surgery on you. They contacted me as Next of Kin. The Commanding Officer was kind enough to ask me if I needed any help. I asked to have you transferred to Pune so that I could be around while you recuperate. So he managed to have you airlifted. You are on sick leave for a month ending review.” She sat down in the chair next to the bed.

  “It was touch and go there was a while, bro.” Gagan looked tired too. “You’ve been in an induced coma for a few days. We’ve all been waiting for you to wake up.”

  “Who all has been to see me?” Arun’s voice was much clearer now.

  “My Mom and Dad. Rahat, Vishal, the whole gang, actually. Even Shweta came by last evening.” Arun looked away. “They’ll all be back this evening. Everyone’s going to be so relieved you woke up.”

  Over the next week Arun made small wins over his body. His head was not quite as tender at the spot he had got hit and the skull was not throbbing quite as much. The bullet he had taken in his torso had cracked a rib and lodged inside his body. It had been very close to the lung. The operating surgeon had been of the opinion that a couple of inches was all that kept him alive. He’d also managed to sprain a ligament in his right foot.

  The bullet wound was enough to keep him uncomfortable when sitting and uneasy while lying down. He never seemed to be able to find a comfortable posture. It was keeping him awake all night and making him irritable. Specially because he refused to have the painkillers that the nurse wanted him to swallow all the time.

  He was pushing himself to stand without support today. He had managed to stand for a grand total of a minute before he felt his muscles give up on him. He sat down on the bed. Took a couple of deep breaths and stood again, this time taking a couple of shuffling steps along the bed before he collapsed on the bed again. He felt as weak as a newborn baby and he didn’t like it one bit.

  He’d shooed his mother away, limiting her visits to the evening visitor hours had been a good idea to preserve his sanity. His friends had taken to visiting him by rotation so that he’d have a new visitor each day. He was looking forward to Vishal this evening, especially since Vishal had hinted Shweta may be with him. Shweta had only been to see him once so far. The first day when he gained consciousness. They had all come.

  “Arun, you should not be doing that.” The disapproval was evident in her voice. “You’re going to end up ripping the stitches if you are not careful.” Shweta walked up to him and made him sit down. He really didn’t mind sitting down if she placed her hands on his shoulder to make him. He’d do anything if she asked him to.

  He smiled up at her, “You just don’t want me falling at your feet again.”

  She laughed at that, “True! I’d much rather spend the half hour I have taking with you rather than suturing your wounds again.”

  “I swear, Shweta. You are the only one this grump will smile for.” Vishal walked over to the chair by the bed and plonked himself in. “You need to visit more often considering laughter is the best medicine.”

  “I wish I could.” Her tone was regretful, “I just don’t get too much time off from the hospital these days. There is a flu making its rounds through the staff. We are seriously short-handed right now.”

  “I’m happy to see you whenever you can come.” Arun scowled at Vishal and turned back to smile at Shweta, “You’ve got nothing to feel bad about.”

  “When are they going to let you go home?”

  “Hopefully next week. Although I’m going to have to come in for physiotherapy. I wish I didn’t have to. It’s going to be a bother for my mother to drive me here every day.”

  “I can help you with that if you don’t want to come in to the hospital every day.” Shweta couldn’t believe she had volunteered. She barely had time to spare. Why did she say that? Now that she had offered, she realized she would actually love to do this for Arun.

  “I, er, thanks, but I’m sure you are too busy to do that.” Arun was flustered. He would love to spend more time with her with a legitimate excuse. He didn’t think she would come visiting him at home like she did at the hospital.

  “Never too busy to help a friend.” Shweta waved off his objection. “Once you get home we’ll work out a schedule that works for both of us.” He didn’t sound enthusiastic about it, why was she pushing it?

  “Okay, now that you guys have settled that, can we play a game of cards?” Vishal asked dispensing with the awkwardness that had crept in.

  They began playing with the pack of cards that Gagan had left for Arun to play solitaire. Vishal cheated at every game and Shweta whacked his hand each time. They enjoyed the game till the nurse came in to let them know that visiting hours were over. By the time Vishal and Shweta left Arun was in a much better frame of mind.

  ~~~

  “That’s enough repetitions, Arun. You did very well today.” Shweta cheered him on as he did the exercises that the physiotherapist had recommended.

  “I can do five more.” Arun puffed out his breath. They had cleared up space in Arun's hall by placing the centre table flush against the wall. It gave them enough place to put down a yoga mat and allow Arun to do his floor exercises.

  “I’m sure you can,” Shweta rolled her eyes. Why wouldn’t Arun just listen to her. “But you will end up doing more harm than good if you strain the muscles. Come on now, you’re done for today. Begin cooling off.”

  “Okay.” Arun grimaced just a little bit. He grabbed the hand towel off the sofa and wiped off the sweat on his face. Throwing the hand towel back on the sofa he began the deep breathing and stretches to cool off. He looked at the clock. He still had fifteen minutes with Shweta before she needed to leave for the hospital.

  “Are you staying for dinner, Shweta?” Mrs. Rastogi came in with two glasses of lemonade.

  “I can’t tonight. I have the night shift at the hospital today.” Shweta couldn’t help but be charmed by the loving lady who had opened her home and heart to her. She took the glass offered to her.

  “Would you like me to pack you some dinner.” Mrs. Rastogi persisted as she offered Arun the second glass. “It’s bound to be better than the cafeteria food.”

  “I don’t want to bother you...” Shweta would love to have the home cooked meal but it was embarrassing to ask for it outright.

  “It’s no bother. I’ll even pack it in disposable plastic boxes. That way you don’t have to remember to bring them back.”

  “That would be great, Geeta Auty. Thank you.” Shweta smiled sheepishly as she looked at Arun. He just grinned back at her.

  “Mom, save some food for me too.” Arun got swatted on his arm as Mrs. Rastogi walked out of the room towards the kitchen muttering something that sounded suspiciously like “bottomless pit.” They both sat down and finished their lemonade. Mrs. Rastogi had a nice food hamper ready for Shweta by the time they had finished.

  “Thank you so much, Geeta Aunty.” Shweta placed the glass on the table next to her chair. “Your food is much better than the cafeteria food.”

  “I’ll see you to your car.” Arun took the food from his mother as Shweta got up. They walked out in silence.

  “Thank you for coming by and helping me with the physiotherapy sessions.” Arun opened her car door and placed the food on the passenger seat.

  “I’m happy to help. You seem to be doing much better now.” Shweta eased herself into the driver’s seat and lowered the window. “There shouldn’t b
e any problem with your clearing the physical exam.”

  “I couldn’t have done it without you.” Arun closed her door and leaned in through the window of the car as she fixed her seatbelt. He waited for her to look at him before he said “Thank you.” Then he surprised both of them by kissing her on the cheek. “Goodnight.”

  He straightened out not sure how she would react. She looked stunned just for a second, before she gave him a shy smile, “Good night.” She started the car and drove away.

  “That was progress.” Arun muttered to himself. At least she hadn’t slapped him or run off screaming. His plan to woo her gently and become an integral part of her life seemed to be working. After all he was seeing her everyday without fail.

  Yes, she said she was there as a doctor who could help a friend, but at times he caught her looking at him. Not how a platonic friend would look at him. She tried to hide her feelings for him, and he was not going to push her. She had to be comfortable with them before he made a move.

  o0o

  21

  In Love and War

  o0o

  Where had I heard this wind before

  Change like this to a deeper roar?

  What would it take my standing there for,

  Holding open a restive door,

  Looking down hill to a frothy shore?

  Robert Frost

  “How long are you going to wait before you tell him you care about him?” Rahat folded the paper she was writing on.

  “Excuse me?” Shweta couldn’t figure out what Rahat was talking about. They had been making a list of all the things Rahat wanted to be gifted on her baby shower. Shweta was supposed to pass out the list amongst their friends so that she didn’t end up with duplicate stuff.

  “Arun. When are you going to tell him?” Rahat nonchalantly started stacking the magazines on the table into a pile in front of her.

  “I’m not going to tell him anything! There’s nothing to say.” Shweta took the list paper from Rahat and pretended to read it.

  “Why not? It’s obvious you like him. More than like him.” Rahat abandoned the magazine and raised her eyebrow at Shweta daring her to contradict her, “You spend time with him every evening.”