Love Haunted - Part 9

That night, Doctor set him off the saline drips and advised to start clear liquid diet. Priya still continued to observe him and updated the records.

“Where can I find your attender?”, asked Priya to Raj.

“Sorry my father is still stuck. He didn't reach yet”

“Anyone else around?”

“Nobody”, said Raj in a low voice.

“We need to start your diet. Alright, I'll take care”, replied Priya and walked away.

After few minutes, she came back with a bowl of rice porridge. She sat next to him and tucked a paper napkin around the neckline of his pyjamas. She fed him the first spoon of the diet. Raj didn't offend or say anything. He clearly understood his physical condition and was finding it hard to move a muscle. IVs on the back of his hands, made them sore and he was certain that he can't even feed himself.

He silently tasted the porridge, which had zero flavours. Priya also stayed calm and did not utter a word.

Dinner routine came to an end and as a finishing touch, she gave him the prescribed pills and off she went home.

He was lying there all alone, slowly drifting into sleep as the sleeping pills get into action. But, Priya was finding it a bit hard to fall asleep. Even though every bit of her was dead tired, her mind was very fresh and was restless.

It was something about him, that kept her awake. She wasn't sure. She doesn't know much about him. But, something unknown kept disturbing her. She slept off without realising.

Next morning, she reached the hospital much earlier than her usual time. She went to Raj's room. He was awake, lying in the bed and staring at the panels on the ceiling. “Good morning”, said Priya.

“Morning”

“Had a good night sleep?”

“Yeah”

“Good. You need lot of rest. By the way, I will get your breakfast in a couple of minutes”, said Priya and left him alone, to stare the panels again.

She came back, prepared him for his diet and started to feed him. He looked at her face. She was totally focussing on the spoon’s journey from bowl to his lips and vice versa. His eyes slowly started to wander around her face. He looked at her eyes, cheeks, lips and the pretty little smile. She was ravishingly beautiful. He was so mesmerised, that at one point he forget to open up his mouth when she fed and eventually the porridge got spilled. He came back to his realisation and smiled at her bluntly. He was looking silly and Priya's pretty little smile grew a bit bigger. She did not complain, but carried on cleaning and feeding him.

It was closer to noon. Priya visited him to change his clothes and give him a warm wipe. He already started to feel shy. She took off his pyjamas and wiped the warm towel across his chest. The same weird feeling crept in him and he couldn't take his eyes off her. Her tender fingers gently stroked his chest and he felt an instant relief from all pain in his body. It seduced him into a sedation without a sedative.