Rishton Ki Dor

14. Bhaiya

"Ayaan?"

Ayaan couldn't breathe. He stumbled back, colliding with a wall. It couldn't be true...Mihir couldn't be...

"Ayaan!"

Panic rose in him like a tsunami. Terror overwhelmed all his senses. There was a strange tightness in his chest, suffocating him. He couldn't get that board with the name on it out of his eyes.

"Ayaan!"

And then suddenly someone was shaking him hard. Ayaan blinked, and found himself face to face with Ahil.

"Breathe, Ayaan," Ahil commanded. "Saans le. Mihir is fine, it's okay. Just take a breath."

Ayaan stared at him, then grasped his arms. "Bhaiya...?"

"He's fine," Ahil repeated. "He's here and he's okay. Saans le tu."

Ayaan shook his head, still panicking. "Lekin wo list-usmai-"

"Wo hamara Mihir nahi hai," Ahil said gently. "That's someone else. Tere bhaiya theek hai. Relax, okay?"

Someone else? So his bhaiya was really okay??

Relief hit Ayaan like a truck. He slumped down, almost gasping for air. Ahil caught him and pulled him into his embrace. "It's okay, kiddo," he murmured to Ayaan. "You're okay."

Ayaan held onto him. He was shaking like a leaf. Mihir was okay. He was alive. He repeated these words to himself like a mantra, tears blurring his vision.

"Chal," Ahil said. "He's on the fifth floor."

Ayaan needed no more telling. He took off, Ahil following him. Once he'd reached the 5th floor, he was about to ask a nurse when he heard a familiar voice.

"-fine to go, Doctor, really. If there's nothing else-"

Ayaan's heart soared. That was Mihir's voice. He ran towards the room it was coming from and barged in.

And there was his bhaiya, alive and whole. Seeing him, Ayaan felt he could breathe freely for the first time since he'd seen that news headline.

"Bhaiya!" he exclaimed, rushing in.

Mihir turned, suprise coloring his features. "Ayaan? Tu yaha kya-uff!"

He was cut off as Ayaan almost slammed into him, wrapping his arms tightly around him. Mihir stumbled but managed to catch himself and steady Ayaan.

"I'll talk to you later, Mr. Sehgal," the doctor Mihir had been speaking to said, leaving him to reunite with his family.

Mihir nodded, barely paying attention to her. He was focused on Ayaan, who had started crying.

"Ayaan? Baccha mai theek ho, I'm okay. Dekh meri taraf."

But Ayaan continued to cry as he held on to Mihir. All the fear and anxiety of the last few hours poured out of him. His mind flashed back to the few moments when he'd thought Mihir was dead, which made him cry harder.

Mihir gently guided them to sit on a sofa nearby. Ayaan wasn't calming down at all. It was starting to worry Mihir. He forcibly removed his arms from around him and made him sit back. He grasped Ayaan's face and looked him in the eye.

"Mai theek hu, kiddo," he said softly, "Stop crying. Mujhe kuch bhi nahi hua hai, dekh mai yahi hu."

Ayaan nodded, finally beginning to relax a little. He looked at Mihir. "Aap sachmei theek ho na bhaiya?" he asked, sounding like a scared child. "Aapko pata hai kitna dar gaya tha mai! Aap kyu aye yahan Bangalore? Aur flight mai kyu aye? Hamare jet nahi le ja sakte the aap? Aur aap ki koi khabar bhi nahi aa rahi thi, mai-"