That day of Valentine's

“Hey!” Ahan called his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day evening.

“Heyya!” Poorvi replied, her voice showing her frustration.

“What’s up!” he asked, knowing she will cut the call with an excuse, still trying hard to hide his pain.

“Nothing, just fucked up from the office work, why would they want me to work that hard?”

“You are a fresher, you need to work hard baby to get the top position,” he tried to motivate her and lift up her mood.

“Ok. I will call you in a while, I have reached the station, let me reach home first then we will talk. Bye,” she cut the call abruptly with an excuse.

He had gone mad again on her but still said nothing to anyone. Thinking, perhaps she is really too busy and he should give her space.

He waited for her call. An hour passed but no sign of her call, he called her again, and she didn’t pick up. He stopped trying.

One more hour passed. He was irritated now. Even on the Valentine’s Day. The special day which was also their anniversary, she was behaving irrationally as always. He called her again and again his calls remain unpicked. He tried again, announcing in his mind that this is the last try. He was about to cut the call hearing too long the ringing tone on his phone, she picked up that time.

“Reached home?” he asked, hiding his anger and irritation.

 “Yeah! Umm, listen! My phone’s battery is almost nil. Will call you up in some while,” she cut the call and the toll of abruptly ending the call counted one more. He again went hopeless. He was completely restless to talk to her.

They had planned to have video chat in the night but somewhere he had a fear that it won’t get successful. He was not worrywart but the recent happenings had turned him into a paranoid. The fights in which they were involved in, which were very tiny issues but she had turned them into a very big one, never owing to her mistakes.

His calls were getting no response. Sometimes the unresponsive calls counted 30-35. And she left only with an excuse which was completely seen as no relation with the truth. In the last one month, she has never replied of his ‘Love You’, many of times she doesn't even reply to his texts. His calls get unanswered, their long talks cut shorted to 10-15 minutes a day from 3-4 hours.

These things were breaking him somewhere from inside, making him a very weak person, scratching her soul and giving some irremediable wounds to his soul.

How life changes in some flips of time. How the person who always wanted to be with him turned into the one who always ignores his calls. The renege promises and the slowly fading love.

She was possibly busy with her career, her new friends and with the new city she relocated but everyone is busy in this world and it’s totally about the priorities. If he would have her priority she would surely have tried to manage the things but she did not. She forgot about their 3-year long relationship in just 2 months in Mumbai. She forgot the time when he was in the same phase and still talked to her for long hours whenever she needed. He let go his sleep to talk to her. Relationships always need efforts, from both end but the long distance relationship needs some extra efforts.

She always blamed him as his expectation were too high. But people only expects from them, for whom they had done a lot. When there is love, expectations comes itself.

He was feeling unsound, restless and shaken. He was seeing everything falling in front of his eyes. He wanted to escape from the discomfort. He ran down the stairs, wearing only a t-shirt in the cold weather of Delhi. He was wounded, he was disheartened and he was distressed. He had no hopes. He always knew that his biggest fear will go true someday. And it was just beginning of that.

He started running on the road barefoot like someone was chasing him. There was someone who was chasing him. It was the time he spent with her, it was the memory of their 3-year long relationship. It was the fear of seeing everything falling apart. It was the irresistibility which he was facing.

He ran and ran and suddenly stopped. He had reached a wine shop. Perhaps he found his way to get escape from everything. He was advised to prohibit alcohol because of his weak gall bladder. But still took a full bottle of some cheap liquor which tastes like shit. He wanted to replace the pain of heart with the pain in his bladder.

He opened the cap of the bottle while standing in the shop and drunk almost half of it till he felt the abnormal burning sensation starting from his food pipe till the bladder. He stopped. Trying to hold that alcohol in her body and not to puke it out. He went insane reminding the last one month. The alcohol took his body in its control now. He again started drinking still standing at the shop. The shop owner was staring at him till he emptied the bottle. His food pipe was burning like he gulped down the fire but that was the only way to escape the reality for him.

He took a full packet of cigarette and a lighter. Gave him a ₹ 500 note and started walking. The cigarette seller called him to return his money but he left unturned. He light up the cigarette. And moved toward his flat. Reached somehow, his feet’s were unsteady, shivering, the mind was in control of the alcohol and body too. Alcohol gripped his body. He entered his flat and locked himself in his room.

Four hours later…

Arpit, his flatmate came from office, knocked the door of his bedroom but there was no response. He tried to ring his phone confirming where he is. He heard his phone ringing inside his bedroom. He knocked again. He sensed that something is wrong. He knows everything about their relationship and that he is going through a really bad phase. He searched for the keys.

“Oh fuck! The keys are inside his room.” He said to himself and kicked the door so hard. In just two kicks the door opened. The room filled with smoke. Almost 20 butts were on the floor. Every window was locked and even the AC and fan both were off.

He turned on the fan to remove the smoke and searched for him. He was lying on a corner of bed. Blood was flooding from his mouth. Hands were numb and the pulse was slow. He picked him up and without thinking for even a second rushed towards the hospital. On the way, he called the nearby hospital and asked for her doctor friend to be on the gate as he sensed an emergency. The doctor was ready with some ward boys and a stretcher as he knew the circumstances. He picked him up from the seat and let him laid on the stretcher without taking any help from the boys.

The Doctor checked his pulse. It was too much slow that he could not give any hope to his friend. They rushed towards the ICU and called the best Doctor who treats these type of cases.

The doctor reached the ICU in hurry and quickly injected the medicated injection to release the hold of the alcohol from his body and started giving him saline through veins. His pulse was still at the same rate. He injected one more injection and prayed for the good. Slowly his nerve count increased by 5. They felt some hopes. They sit there till the saline bottle emptied and they gave one more bottle. His pulse started being normal slowly. They sat in the unit till he went out of the danger and his pulse gets normal. And asked a nurse for especially take care of him.

Next day morning…

He came to his senses now. Arpit and his doctor friend were standing beside him.

“Why I am here?” He asked, surprised. He did not remember anything happened last night.

“Actually, you were drunk and met with an accident, that’s it. Not a major thing dude.” Arpit said to calm him down.

“Do you want some beer now?” Arpit asked.

“No dude, my head is still spinning. But why I don’t have any scratches?” he questioned, confused.

“Oh! So, you want some accidental cuts and scratches?” The doctor asked holding an operational blade and giving him a scary look.

They all laughed while Arpit secretly deleted his last message and cleared Poorvi's calls from call log.