Realizations...

BETWEEN THEM
Part 38

She looked around that cream papered room.....

And down at the bed...

She was in a hospital....

A nurse entered just then... She smiled a formal well-practiced smile at Shriya....

"What am I doing here? What happened...."

"You had fainted... Someone brought you here.... We had to give you blood transfusion..."

Shriya looked at her left hand... The butterfly injection was still there.... The nurse removed it and plastered up the skin...

"Who? Who brought me here?"

"Some friend I think.... He is down paying up..."


Just then Krish entered... He was beaming down at her....

It was all she could do to hold down her shame....

"Krish... Not fair... Stupid of me... Fainting and...," She stopped as she looked at the plaster on his hand....

"You donated blood?"

"Well... They found that you and me are the same group..."

"What the hell"

"Yae... hell...," he laughed...."But then it wasn't that bad after all "

"No...," she could not get the words out...

Krish saw the tears in her eyes... "Lets get out of this place.... "

"I..."


He helped her out of the bed...

He held her close until they were in the car... Maybe that was why she was shivering badly....

She was too weak to protest...Somehow, it all looked wrong....

"Where is your place?"

"No... See I can take an auto or..."

"Where?"

"Benson town.... 3rd main..."


They were soon on the way...

She closed her eyes as she leaned back on the seat....

It all came flooding back...

Being scared of him... moving away... walking up near his class and suddenly turning back half way....

Blushing when she heard his voice....

And all those days spent thinking about him afterwards....

And when he was here.... She could not respond in any decent way.... And he had done so much.... Spent half his day tagging along with her... Driving her around.... Paying for her...

And donating blood.... Just for her.....

For her....

She hoped that it would stop at this... Already she owed him too much.. Taken so much from him...

It made her feel ashamed... The tears were forming again... Tears of shame and awkwardness.....


"Which apartment?"

"That one..."

He parked in the alloted space...

"Come up..."

She wasn't going to have him help her again.. She walked up to the lift...

Up 20 floors...


He was standing right behind her... She struggled with the door...

She walked in... She had been right...

The house was in a total mess....

He was going to think that she was as unorganized as anyone could possibly get...

"Please sit down..."

"Nice place you got in here...."

"Oh.. yes.... The point is that I don't overwork myself trying to keep it mess-free"

"I can see that... "

"Bad... I hoped you would not..."

He smiled... but it was a strange smile..."It looks like a home.... "

"Er... What else could it be?"

"It could have been a well maintained house... But it is a home"

"You have a way of dishing out the good with the bad"

"And you have a way of being extremely naive..."

She looked at him... That was when she noticed that he was closer... No more seated.... And had an absolutely strange expression...

"Coffee?"

He nodded....

"You like it with sugar?"

"I don't like coffee much... it doesn't matter..."

"Oh.. tea then?"

"No coffee..."

"Sure? I will make tea if you want..."

"No..."

She busied herself with making it... He stood by the kitchen door staring at her.....

She wished he would not... It was sending tingles up her spine....


"Shriya..."

"Yes?"

"You alright?"

"Of course...."

"Don't donate again if you can't handle it..."

"Handle it?," she was angry..."I have always been fine..."

"No... I don't know... But take someone along if you want a share of martyrdom"

"So are you.... a "martyr" in your words...."

"Me donating was not out of service... They had to call up the blood bank and I couldn't have them give you someone else's blood when I was there,,,,"

"Don't be silly .... And here is your coffee"

"Thanks..."

"Like it?"

"No...."

"What?.. Sorry...... I will make you tea..."

He laughed.... "Was joking... It is great"

She looked doubtful.....


They finished the drink standing in the kitchen... She washed up the cups and cleaned the place...

"You live all alone?"

"Yes...."

"So? Law?"

"Yes... And loving it.... What do you do?"

"Animation industry.... I work a street away from here"

"What!... great!"

"Maybe..."


She stood there looking at a spot beyond his shoulder... He turned away to walk back into the living room...

And stopped in his tracks.... Shriya walked up to see what he was looking at...

She could have almost cried out....

Her room was next to the kitchen and her worktable was visible from where they stood....

And she had forgotten all about that framed photo of his that she always had had... A photo that she had asked her friend to sneak up... Some school function.... And they had clicked when he wasn't looking....

He was smiling unassumingly from the photo....



Slowly Krish turned around.... And looked at her....

She could not face him... The whole act of I-just-know-you-as-a-schoolmate was over....

"I got to leave now.... Tare care...."

There was nothing she could say now that could sound sensible....

She nodded.... He moved into the hall and opened the door.... He hesitated.... but did not turn back...

He went up to the lift and pressed the button....


Shriya was standing by her door.... Sometimes, shame and fear give courage...

"Kri...Krish...."

He turned...

"Am sorry...., " The lift opened..."For ... for everything"

He nodded and got in.... The solid steel doors shut behind him.....

He was gone into the night.....

She moved slowly into her living room and shut the front door close.... There were no tears in her eyes....

She was numb.... And frozen... With his blood warm within her....

She was still wondering why he did not smile before he left....