“Kaun hai? Bulao na!”

(Who is it? Call them!)

Her father said and her mother gave him a look that made him realise too.

“Mai…mai dekhta hu. Koi aur hoga zarur.”

(I…I will see. Someone else must be there.)

But Taashi had to make a decision now.

“Nhi papa.”

(No papa.)

Her father stopped and looked at her surprised.  Even her mother looked surprised. Taashi looked at Devyanshi and spoke.

“I’m going to call him.”

No one said anything for a minute. Until her father spoke.

“Are you sure, Ashu?”

“Haan papa. I had to tell him. Sooner or later. Usse haq hai apni bachi se milne ka.”

(Yes papa….It’s his right to meet his daughter.)

Her voice broke at the end of the sentence. Her parents knew how difficult it was for her. And they supported her in whatever she would decide.

Taashi left the room. She went to a quiet corner in the hospital. She had to take multiple deep breaths to calm her racing heart down.

She fetched her phone with shaking hands and searched for the number which she had stared at every night but never had the courage to actually dial.

The number she could recite even in her sleep. She kept one hand on her chest, trying to calm herself, while dialing his number, mentally praying he hadn’t changed it in all these years.

He picked up on the fourth ring. Taashi’s breath hitched. There was a 5 second silence before she heard his voice and tears fell down her eyes uncontrollably.

“Hello?”

She bit her lip to control her sobs.

“Hello? Anyone there?”

Gulping the sobs down, she whispered in a broken voice.

“Hello.”

Silence. Neither of them spoke for a complete minute. Then, she heard his cold, detached voice.

“Who is this?”

She cleared her throat and answered.

“Dev…it’s me. Taashi.”

She heard him clear his throat in the distance.

“Kaun Taashi?”

(Who Taashi?)

She closed her eyes shut. That one hurt. But she deserved it. She deserved all his hatred.

“Your…your wife-”

“Wrong number. I don’t have a wife.”

She got tonguetied. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.

“I do have an ex-wife named Taashi. Is that her?”

She didn’t miss how he stressed upon the ex in his sentence. Telling herself to be strong, she continued.

“Yes. That's me.”

She wiped her tears and waited for him to speak. Devyansh, on the other hand, was dealing with his own emotions. His eyes were filled with unshed tears and his palm curled up in a tight fist.

He hated how she still had that power over him. 

“I’m surprised. Aaj mujhe yaad kaise kia?”

(How did you remember me today?)

He pretended to be nonchalant, even though it hurt a lot. Taashi took a deep breath and weighed her words.

“I need your help, Dev.”

“And what makes you think I will help you?”

She shook her head and reframed her sentence.

“Please do me this favour, Dev.”

“Not interested. And it’s not Dev for you anymore. My name is Devyansh. And I would prefer you call me by my full name.”

He started to disconnect the call when he heard her.

“Dev…Devyansh please. It’s about someone’s life.”

He kept the phone back to his ear and spoke.

“What?”

“Someone needs AB- blood, urgently. Please Dev…Devyansh.”

He always loved when she called him Dev. And he had never wanted any of this to happen. But she wanted it. And she would get whatever she wanted.

“Ok. And don’t think I’m doing this for you.”

He said after a moment. She sighed in relief and whispered.

“Thank you. Thank you so much. I’ll…. I’ll text you the address.”

Devyansh reached the hospital within the next two hours. The most slow hours of both of their lives. 

He entered the hospital and started walking towards the reception when he heard her voice.

“Dev.”

He froze. He thought he could pretend to be heartless and unaffected but one word. Just one word from her mouth and he was about to breakdown.

Steeling himself, he turned to face her with a cold look in her eyes. Taashi, on the other hand, couldn’t contain her emotions, and her eyes teared up.

She took a deep breath and did not let the tears flow.

“Thank you. Yaha aane ke liye.”

(For coming here.)

She whispered and he clenched his jaw.

“I don’t have much time. Can we go?”

He asked coldly and she nodded. 

“Doctor! I have the donor.”

Taashi said, pointing towards Devyansh. The doctor nodded and guided them towards the ward.

“Someone will be here shortly.”

Devyansh sat on the bed and Taashi took her place on a stool nearby.

“You don’t have to be here to supervise me.”

Before she could say anything, the nurse came in. She drew his blood and Taashi just sat there, looking at him. After so many years.

She turned her face away when she felt a tear fall from her eye and wiped it quickly. 

“It’s done. I hope you know the procedure sir. You have to wait here for half an hour. And you cannot donate for the next three months.”

Devyansh nodded and got up to go wait in the waiting area. Taashi followed wordlessly.

He took his place and Taashi contemplated what to do. She had to tell him the truth. But how?

She slowly sat beside him and he took a deep breath.

“Leave! I don’t want your company. Just go away!”

He said harshly. She didn’t meet his eyes. She continued looking ahead, not wanting to let him see the tears in her eyes.

“Are you not curious? To see who the patient is?”

She asked in a whisper. Devyansh clicked his tongue.

“Not interested. To know you or anyone related to you anymore.”

She gulped her tears down before framing her next sentence.

“Did you…”

She took a deep breath and continued.

“Did you ever wish things were different? Between us?... That we were still married?”

Devyansh went still. For a complete minute. He didn’t say anything. She was starting to believe that was just going to ignore her when he spoke.

“Yes. I did wish things were different. Back then, I would have done anything…to make you stay. To have a life, a family with you, everything we dreamed of.”

Her eyes filled with tears.