Homecoming

There weren’t any calls from the hospital but multiple missed calls and messages from Rahul. He tapped the latest message which read "Gaurav arrested by Police on Borivali Highway. Many have been hurt. Come ASAP. I am rushing to the spot.” Prashant’s heart skipped a beat. How could that happen. His mind started spinning.Here, on one hand his wife was in labour and on the other hand his childhood friend had been arrested. He rushed to the ward. She was now awake and smiled at him. He went close to her and she held his hands. "Thank you for being by my side shona. I don’t think I can do this without you." Prashant didn’t know what to say or do. He gave a dry smile. He imagined Gaurav behind bars and his pictures flashing across all news channels. Within seconds, multiple images of their school and college days in Nainital flashed across his mind. The very next moment there were multiple images of the struggles that Sugandha had encountered for him. For a moment, he felt his brain would split. He came out of the ward and closed his eyes. It was a very difficult situation to be in. He couldn’t tell Sugandha what had happened to Gaurav. He feared she’d get anxious. He couldn’t ignore his childhood friend in trouble either. He sat on the bench and weighed the situation and the probable moves…