79• Getting My Life Back

Manik was sitting next to Nandini, holding her hand while petting her ring finger, on which she had engraved his name with a heart.

"Love, enough is enough! Just talk to me; I'm dying to hear your sweet voice. I'm sorry if I caused you pain, but I can't look at you like this any longer. I beg you to please wake up for me." He begged, holding her arms and moving closer to her lips. His tears were falling on her face, revealing his anguish. He felt an emptiness inside without her.

After a long month, his eyes shone with delight and his lips drew up into a genuine smile as he felt the movement of her fingers against his skin; he had been dying to feel this for ages because this one month was not less than a hundred years that he had spent without his kiddo.

His glistening eyes were drawn to her hands, and he leaned down and pressed his lips against her hand.

"You listened to my request, kiddo! Your fingers moved. Oh god! Please, love, open your eyes now." He exclaimed with pure joy, holding her face and moving closer to her. Every line of his face reflected his joy.

When he felt her finger move again, he grinned and immediately picked up his phone to call the doctor and nurse who were available in the adjacent room for her 24 hours.

"Doc, she moved her fingers. She responded to me." As the Doctor entered with the nurse, he told them in an excited tone, his sparkling eyes and a constant smile on his face expressing his profound delight. When he looked at Nandini, tears of joy streamed down his cheeks. He'd never felt overwhelmed with happiness in his life before.

"This is a good sign. The patient usually responds like this before completely coming out of the coma. Congratulations, God has finally listened to your prayers, Mr Malhotra." As the Doctor informed him, his smile grew wider and his happiness had no limit; he had been yearning for this day for a month.

"Thank you, Doc, thank you." Manik hugged him, grinning broadly.

"Thank you so much, Kiddo." After that, he hugged his kiddo and kissed her forehead, going insane with happiness. He felt as if he had got his breath back after ages.

He dashed to Ethan's room to tell him the good news. He opened the door and went inside, smiling. Ella and Ethan looked at him, and Manik's sparkling eyes and wide grin were enough to tell them that the day they had all been waiting for a month had finally arrived.

Their eyes too glinted with happiness after a whole month, and they rushed towards him with a smile on their faces.

"Did-Did, she-" Ethan was unable to form a sentence because of his overjoy.

Manik nodded, smiling widely. "Yes, she responded. She moved her finger, and the Doctor said that it is a good sign, and she'll come out of the coma soon." As Manik told him, tears of delight trickled down Ethan's eyes, and he embraced Manik with glee.

"Finally, we'll get back our lost joy, Manik. I'm so overwhelmed with happiness for the first time in my life. Thank God!" He squealed after breaking the hug. Manik just beamed at him. Their true joy was clearly evident in their eyes.

"Ella, I'm going to get my sister. You know I feel like flying." He expressed his happiness to Ella, holding her hands, going crazy with rapture.

She blithely nodded. "I know, I know, Ethan."

Ella was overjoyed for two reasons: first, her best friend was back, and second, she finally saw her boyfriend's smile after a long time—a smile she had been longing to see for a whole month.

"Guys, let's go to her. I want to be with her when she opens her eyes after a long sleep." As Manik spoke, they nodded at him with delight.

Then they all hurried to her room.

The doctor was checking her, and they rushed towards her bed excitedly. Ethan and Ella sat beside her on the bed, and Manik stood on the other side of her beside the Doctor.

They were staring at her with exhilaration. Although her eyes were closed, they noticed her eyeballs moving.

Manik sat beside her and held her hand, shedding tears of joy. He couldn't express in words how he was feeling.

"Doctor, when-when will she get out of Coma?" Ethan enquired while his curious gaze was fixed on his sister.

"Any moment." Their smile broadened and shone in their eyes brightened after listening to the Doctor's words.

"Please Kiddo, now don't make us wait any longer. Please open your eyes. Your Manik is dying-" he paused and the world stopped around him when she opened her eyes sluggishly. Finally, he got his kiddo back. Tears of overwhelming joy streamed down his cheeks like a drain. For the first time in his life, he was crying with happiness.

As she slowly lumbered her eyes towards Manik, a faint smile flashed on her face, seeing the love of her life after a long sleep, and when Manik saw her smile after one long month, he felt as if he had got his life back after dying. Her smile gave profound peace to his inner soul, and he squeezed her hand, beaming at her.

"Ma-Manik..." His heart skipped a beat when her soothing voice reached his ears. Despite the fact that she only murmured his name, his heart leapt with ecstasy after hearing it from her mouth because his ears had been yearning for this.

Her brows narrowed in confusion, and she murmured sluggishly, staring at his long hair and beard. "You-you look different, Manik."

"Kiddo." He just took her name, stroking her hair, and couldn't be able to form a sentence because he was swamped with overjoy, and his eyes were wet due to immense happiness.

He felt as if he were dreaming because seeing her with open eyes, smiling at him, and talking to him was something he had envisioned many times before, so he couldn't believe she had truly awoken.

Staring at Manik, she slowly closed her eyes and became unconscious, making them concerned about her.

Manik's brows furrowed in anxiousness. "Doctor, what happened to her? Why did she again become unconscious?" He asked the Doctor, almost freaking out while the nurse checked her. Ethan and Ella also looked at the Doctor worriedly.

"Mr Malhotra, don't worry, she'll be alright. It is common for coma patients to faint in this manner. It will take some time for her to fully awaken." They all sighed with profound relief after listening to the Doctor's words.

"Get well soon, sweetie." Ethan leaned down and kissed her forehead. Manik was gazing at his kiddo with immense love and his tears of joy didn't stop trickling down his cheeks. He couldn't even describe how he was feeling after getting back his lifeline.

"Ethan, I'm going to get ready because I don't want her to see me so screwed up when she properly wakes up. I want her to smile rather than cry after seeing my condition. Oh God, I'm so happy. Thank you, God." He joined his hands and thanked God for giving his happiness back to him.

Ethan stood up from the bed, walked towards Manik and embraced him, smiling with glee. Manik hugged him back, smiling with equal happiness while Ella beamed at them.

***

Manik entered the bathroom, cut his nails, and trimmed his hair and beard. A smile wasn't leaving his face, and his sparkling eyes were clearly telling how happy he was. He was feeling alive after a long time.

He returned to the room with a smile on his face, and it broadened as they fell on his kiddo. Ethan and Ella were still sitting beside her.

"Guys, now you both also go and get ready. Today is a special day." He squealed merrily, approaching them.

"I'm just not feeling like leaving her side, Manik. My sister is finally alright. I just can't believe it." He cried in joy, holding her hand.

"Ethan, no more tears, baby. We got her back." Ella uttered, wiping Ethan's tears.

"It's just that this happiness is so overwhelming. I can't control it." Ethan smiled, looking at her with his moist eyes. Ella hugged him, and they both smiled contentedly.

Then they stepped down from the bed.

"We'll be back soon, Sweetie. Take care." Ethan left with Ella after kissing Nandini's forehead.

Manik lay beside her, facing her, and played with her hair, gazing at her with profound affection. He could stare at her like that for the rest of his life.

After a few minutes, she slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him faintly while his intense gaze was fixed on her.

"Hey, love." He greeted her, caressing her cheek with his thumb.

As she closed her eyes, the memories of Manik shouting at her and their accident flashed in her mind, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Manik's brows creased.

"I'm sorry, Manik. Please don't get angry with me. I just," she apologised, breathing heavily.

"Don't be sorry, Love. I have already forgiven my mother." Manik's words startled her, and she just stared at him in utter disbelief.

"What? Are you saying this just for the sake of my happiness?" She asked, because the truth was indigestible to her.

'Till yesterday he despised his mother and today he accepted her. How could this be possible?' She was perplexed, since she had no idea she had been in a coma for a month and her love had been suffering without her for the entire month.

"No, I have forgiven her with my whole heart, Kiddo." He answered her, placing his hand on her face.

"How? Till yesterday you hated her." She asked him in a disbelief, giving a pause after every word because of the after-effects of the coma.

Manik closed her eyes and took a deep breath before telling her the truth. "Kiddo, you're waking up after a month." Her eyes widened in shock after knowing this.

"What? I can't believe this." She shook her head.

"Relax, now everything is fine. You're fine now." He whispered, caressing her cheek and gazing at her intensely.

"Manik." As she took his name, he closed his eyes and a contented smile appeared on his face. Every time she took his name, it brought enormous peace to his soul. He only knew how much he was yearning to hear his name from her mouth.

"How did-did you spend one month when I was in-in a... coma?" As she questioned him, he opened his eyes. The first thing that came to her mind was how he spent his days without her, and just thinking about it made her anxious.

"It was quite hard, but now I don't want to think about those days. What matters to me now is that I got you back. I want to live in this moment with you, kiddo." He beamed at her and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

So many thoughts were rushing through her mind, and she was distressed, thinking about how the condition of her Manik would be when she was in a coma.

Manik noticed her sadness, and he understood what she was going through in her head, because he knew how much she loved him.

"Hey, love. Everything is fine now. I'm so happy to see you all fine, smiling and talking to me. Just don't bother about how I was when you were in a coma. The bad phase of life has passed now." He tried to make her understand, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"Hmm... I'm feeling so tired." She murmured, her eyes getting closed again.

"Just go back to sleep, Love. I'm with you." He spoke while stroking her hair and holding her hand. He kissed her forehead as she dozed off again.

"Thank you, God. Thank you so much for listening to my prayers and giving my life back." He looked upward and thanked God from the core of his heart, smiling with utter contentment.