Chaits was elated at the thought that Anjali loved him to such an extent that she was willing to break off any communication with Sunny – a friend she was obsessed with…
They carried on as if nothing had happened and enjoyed the rest of the day normally. They returned to the hotel to meet Dr. Pallavi.
“Good going, Chaits and all of you. You didn’t lose out on the control and everything went as we had planned” Pallavi said appreciating their efforts and turned to Chaits, “You are a lucky guy. She loves you to no limit. She is ready to throw away anything and anyone from her life to meet up to your expectation. This is a good sign – she is ready to forget Sunny to keep your love and that’s exactly what’s going to help us treat her.”
Chaits felt relieved, a ray of hope and happiness surfacing on the dark horizon of his life. He smiled at the sudden surge of hope and looked at Pallavi as an obedient student would – awaiting her next instruction…
“Tanvi – I need few inputs. I understand that the accident Anjali met with was traumatic for her. The first look at it suggests that it was the point when she started imagining Sunny to be around her. I want you to find out from her parents if she had behaved in such manner before her accident. Secondly, if Sunny did exist at all…”
“He did exist…” Guru said, “He was a real person. He was her classmate. We both have seen him. We also have seen him to be her shadow even before they met with that accident.”
“Oh! I see…” Pallavi reflected, “Then I guess the poor boy is either dead or rendered immovable and Anjali must have taken that remorse – Tanvi, please find more details about his current status as well…”
Tanvi nodded in concern, “I’ll be able to get the information about Anjali’s behaviour from her parents. I have never met Sunny and I don’t know where he stays or anything about him. Finding information about him is going to be tough… but, I’ll try my best.”
“Good girl.” Pallavi smiled at her, “Now – let’s have our dinner before they close the dining area for the day.” They all agreed and rushed toward the dining area.
Next day, they checked out of the hotel early. Chaits drove them to Tanvi’s house where Tanvi made arrangements for Pallavi to stay at her room with her parents. From there, they visited Anjali before driving back to Mumbai.
Chaits looked at the pile of work that had accumulated during his weeklong leave. His heart sank. It would take him almost two to three weeks to cover it up. He longed to be with Anjali when Pallavi treated her.
Tanvi assured him that Pallavi wouldn’t be starting her treatment right away. She was busy with the conference. It would be more than two weeks before she would be free to concentrate on Anjali.
Chiats started to attack his work with ferocity so that he can get the free time when Anjali needed it the most. He kept praying that Anjali would get cured of this abnormal illness. He met Guru and Tanvi on Saturday and had a conference call with Pallavi. Tanvi informed her that Anjali’s parents confirmed that she started to behave weird only after the accident. She was an absolutely normal girl before the accident. They also confirmed that Sunny wasn’t able to make it alive. He was crushed by the weight of the bus and had died instantaneously on that spot. Anjali was his pillion rider and she got thrown away into the nearby fields – about 30 feet away from the accident site, landing head first. She was in coma for about a week.
Chaits started getting a feeling of remorse. Had he dared – just one time – when he was in college and proposed his love to her – Anjali would have been his love angel and Sunny – he would be alive. His death and Anjali’s ailment hung heavy over him and his heart.
Anjali paid a surprise visit to Mumbai one afternoon. Chaits enjoyed an exquisite date with her before dropping her off at Guru and Tanvi’s flat. Sunny wasn’t on her mind at that time at all… She was who she was – his fiancée…
The week passed easily as he attacked the pile of work with renewed enthusiasm and completed his pending tasks amid the dreams of – happily married with Anjali…
They drove to Pune that Saturday morning and met Pallavi. The huge question in their mind was to convince Anjali to cooperate. They were not sure of what reaction they would get from her. Especially once she knows that Pallavi is a psychiatrist…
Pallavi had insisted that Anjali should be made aware of that fact that she was a psychiatrist and for what reason she would meet her. Anjali had to be ready to meet a psychiatrist of her own will. They thought a lot and finally decided that Chaits had to bell the cat. He had to convince Anjali for treatment. They all had this feeling that if Anjali would listen – she would listen only if Chaits insisted on this treatment. Her love for him was too much for her to ignore him…
He thought a lot and drove through various lanes to her home. He was still thinking of words that would convince her when he rang the doorbell to her home. It was quite a while before she opened the door. He was lost in her expression of a welcome shock of his uninformed arrival. She was still in her night dress. It seemed as if she had woken up about an hour earlier.
She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside shutting the door behind them. She happily put her arms around him and kissed him in her feelings of love. He pushed her away – a bit embarrassed.
“What are you doing? Your parents could see us kissing like this. What will they think?”
“Nobody home – Just you – Just me.” she winked happily at him and started to laugh coming closer to him and put her arms around him again. She kissed him long and sweet and he couldn’t help dreaming about their happily married life. His heart thumped at the feeling that she would keep kissing him softly, gently in her love and he would want to drown in the current of her love that gushed at him through her kisses like these. He put his arms around her and responded with equal gush of romantic feelings…
“Did you have your lunch?’ she asked
“Yes, I did.”
“Good.” she said sheepishly, “I’ve just started to learn to cook… Hey! Tell me what your favourite dishes are and I will learn them to perfection before our wedding day.”
“Hmm,” he reflected, “In that case I will have to present you with a long list.” and he smiled at her.
“No problems.” she said instantly, “I’ll go to any level of hard work to please you. Your smile in your happiness is the only thing that I want. I don’t fancy expensive gifts or clothes – Your smile is priceless…”
He put his arms around her fondly. He was happy that his happiness meant everything to her. He slowly led her to the sofa on the in the living room. He sat on it and waived her to sit in the sofa chair opposite to him. She tried to obey and then smiled in mischief – she sat next to him resting her head on his shoulder. He started to caress her hair and her shoulder affectionately. He came out of his sweet dream as he realized that he was there to convince her to forget Sunny and get treated by Pallavi. He thought hard but wasn’t able to think of words that will lead the conversation to the point he wanted to make. He definitely didn’t want to mention Sunny… Finally – he decided to act crazy.
“Anjali,” he started casually, “would you mind passing that apple to me? It looks ripe and juicy. The one that is right on the teapoy, next to your feet.”
She got off her comfy position of his arms and bent forward to reach the apple he wanted. She stopped short of bending over when she looked at the empty teapoy. She started to giggle – she had fallen for a fast one he had pulled.
“What are you sniggering at?” he asked feigning innocence, “go on – give me that apple…”
She looked at his innocent expression and at the empty teapoy a bit confused, “I swear there’s nothing on that teapoy.”
“You don’t want me to eat that apple?” he asked making a dejected face. She was now almost in panic. She could see that the teapoy was empty, yet he wanted an apple which was not there. She looked at him again – to make sure that there wasn’t a glint of any mischief in his eyes. He looked at her blankly and then at the imaginary apple on the empty teapoy. She couldn’t understand his strange behaviour.
She sat there, confused at his earnest but queer request. She knew that the teapoy was empty. There was nothing kept on it. She could see the floor below through its transparent glass top. She looked at him again and found his expression to be genuine. She looked around in the living room searchingly and said in a stern voice, “Sunny! – If you are trying to pull a fast one on him – Stop It Right Now. Don’t you dare pull any fast one on him…”
She looked back at him. He looked into her eyes and said, “I don’t see Sunny around.”
“That’s what…” she said baffled, “even I don’t see him anywhere around in this room.”
“But, sweetheart, I do see that apple and it looks juicy and sweet.”
“How can you see an apple when it’s not there?” she asked him almost in tears now. The guy asking for an imaginary apple wasn’t the same person she had fallen in love with. She could sense all her dreams shattering and splintering into pieces…
“Darling” she begged, a drop of tear hanging from the edge of her eyelid, “if you are pulling a fast one – please stop it.” She said moving a bit away from him and looking away to hide wiping away that drop of tear from him.
“What happened?” he said in an insisting tone, “Can’t you see that apple?”
“NO!” she said in an exasperated tone, “That Teapoy Is Empty … why are you behaving such? Do you like to see me cry?”
“Hey – It’s just a question of you giving me that apple. What’s all this about making you cry? – It is okay if you don’t want me to eat that apple…”
She could bear it no longer. She got up and sat on that teapoy, “See – there’s nothing here – I would have felt it if it was here…”
“That’s crazy.” he feigned frustration, “You pick up that apple – then you sit on that teapoy – keep the apple on your lap – and you say that the teapoy is empty … it’s okay if you don’t want me to eat it – why behave weird?”
“Not me – it’s you who is acting weird… I’m now scared of you. Please Stop It…”
“Frustrated? – Already?” he asked her – switching back to his normal tone. She looked at him and saw a twinkle of mischief in his eyes even as he smiled at her.
She felt relieved that he was indeed pulling a fast one. For a moment – she sat there – blank – not knowing how to react – smile back – laugh it off – look sad – show mock anger… finally she managed a mixed reaction including a look of complaint and in her mock anger rushed at him. She tripped and fell on him making him lose his balance even as he extended his arms to arrest her fall.
They rolled down the sofa onto the thick soft carpet, engulfed in each other’s arms, laughing themselves crazy. They realized in what an arm tangling situation they lay on the floor with him on top of her, looking at her – his eyes full of love – both, breathing heavily and experiencing a surge of physical feelings of love for each other even as they kissed themselves silly.
They finally managed to detach themselves before the situation could get any sillier and curled up close to each other on the sofa. It was a while before they could breathe regular again.
“Darling…” she said in a pleading tone, “promise me that you will never ever pull a fast one like this again – I almost died of fright.”
He laughed uncontrolled for about a minute and then looked at her – his expression serious…
“I’ll promise you that – only on one condition…”
“And what is that?” she giggled in romantic anticipation, “if you want to ask me to love you – I already love you and will always be in love with you…”
“I know that”, he said “what I want from you is to stop thinking about Sunny. He is as imaginary as the apple I wanted to eat.”
“He is not imaginary.” she said with conviction, “he is real. He does everything that makes me smile. Why, he even protects me from bad people who have bad intentions for me whenever we go out. He never lets me go out alone – except when he knows that I’m going out on a date with you.”
“Listen Sweetheart”, he said in a bit of frustration now, “To me – Sunny is as imaginary as the apple you couldn’t see.”
“Do you also think that I’m off my chump?” she asked with watery eyes ready to burst into tears.
“No, Sweetheart – it’s not that. I know you love me. You don’t have to prove it to me. Do you have any doubts about my love for you?” she shook her head – negative, “What I want to prove the world is my fiancée is not off her chump – Sunny really exists – even if, they feel he is your imagination. Wouldn’t you like to prove to them that it is they who are wrong and incapable of noticing his presence?” she nodded affirmative… “Then, let them test their wisdom against your truth and you know – truth always wins…”
She hugged him in joy – he was on her side – he loved her – he believed in her unlike others.
“What do I have to do for this test?” she asked him – her innocent eyes trusting him complete. For a moment, he felt remorse that he had misled her into thinking that he believed Sunny existed.
“Do you remember the day when you told me, Guru and Tanvi about Sunny?” she nodded, “Then you’ll also remember meeting your friend Tina’s elder sister Pallavi.” she nodded again as she remembered meeting her at the restaurant.
“After we dropped you home, we proceeded to check out of the hotel. She was there. She is in the town for couple of months. So, Tanvi offered her to stay in her room with her parents.”
“Why? Doesn’t she have her own home here? – The one we used to visit…”
“No. Her entire family has now shifted abroad.”
“Oh! I see… that’s why she must have agreed to stay at Tanvi’s home.”
“Exactly…” He said – a bit nervous now, “When we chatted with her we came to know that she’s a psychiatrist and has a well set practice abroad. She was here in this town to attend a conference. She thinks she can cure you of this problem of imagining Sunny.”
“So – she’s already decided that I’m mad and need to be put up at a mental hospital.” she retorted immediately.
“No … You don’t understand.”
“So – people do think that I’m off my chump and I imagine things and I imagine people. I’m dangerous for this world.”
“Hey! Calm down… let me finish what I want to say…” he looked pleadingly at her. She consented after a minute long angry stare at him.
“Good girl…” he smiled, “You want to prove that Sunny exists and you are not off your chump – for once and for all – right?”
“Yes – I do…”
“Don’t you see…” he said emphatically, “This is your chance. Once she certifies that you are not off your chump – the whole world has to believe you. The world will then never point at you – you, my love…”
She thought for a moment and realized what he said made sense. She just had to meet her and convince her that Sunny exists.
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