Valentine couple -part two

read part 1 here.

Nitika had become Akash's baby, depending on him for every single need. She knew he was always there, nurturing her like a mother does. Apart from the pain of not being able to do anything other than lying down, she did not have any regrets.

I met them again after an year. Her eyes smiled, taking over the job from her lips which could barely move. She tried bringing her thumb and index finger together, looking affectionately at Akash and her kids, signalling, what a wonderful family god had given her!  She rolled her eyes upward and then closed them as if in prayer. I knew she meant that she had so much to thank her master for. She looked at Akash and a tear rolled down her eye, and yet it was so full of love for him. She was thankful for him, for her children, who never thought of her as a burden.

"She does that each day, signalling with her eyes and fingers, trying to tell us how grateful she is to me, to her children and to her god. But I tell her, how grateful I am to her, that she chose not to let go."

A stray strand of hair on her face seemed to annoy her, and I straightened it for her,and pushed it behind her ears.She blinked.

"You see that? She thinks she is being a baby, but she is actually my queen. She is on her "Simhasan" all day long, giving me instructions on how to run her palace.' he laughed. " And we keep running around like her "mantris" . I love the sparkle of her eyes, and the glow on her face, doesn't she look as charming as she was when I married her?"

"You bet she does, Akash" I had got my smile back. I shouldn't being feeling sorry these guys. Atleast not when they were themselves carrying on with life as if nothing had happened. Who was I to spoil their party?

But when your time is up, no love is great enough to bring you back, no prayers are powerful enough to turn back the wheels of time, and no tears are moving enough to melt the heart of your master. When he calls, you must heed his call and leave to meet him.

I had been in the middle of a vacation, when Akash called me. Worry was writ large in his voice.

"Everything ok, Akash?"

"Nitu has had a massive heart attack. We have rushed her to Orange city hospital, can you come over?"

"I'll be there by evening, don't worry everything will be fine", I tried to reassure him without really believing in it myself. Would things be fine?

She struggled for a couple of days before she eventually left to meet her maker. When he brought her home for the funeral, she looked at peace and I thought I could even see a smile on her face. Akash was surprisingly calm and I feared he would go into depression, if he did not come to terms with her loss.

"Akash," I placed a hand on his shoulder, struggling for words," Let her go. She will be safe in his hands too. You looked after her well. She would have been so proud of you and your children. Look at the smile and calm on her face."

"I had to, didn't I? She looked after us tirelessly for the first half of our married life. I am glad I could tell her how much I respected her and her love for us. I am thankful to god he gave me the opportunity to take care of her. If she had left us the day she had a stroke 13 years ago, I would have lost that chance. Anyway we never felt she was any different than us. She didn't have the mobility, but otherwise she was perfect in all other respects. I am happy she left us with a smile."

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(image courtesy: google)