The once erect stalks of the deep maroon roses had stooped, maybe they were tired of waiting for her. The tips of the petals had started browning, yet the softness and richness of the petal blades was retained, perhaps the aspirin did work it's magic afterall. She let out a sigh of relief as she touched them, then pulled them out of the jug one by one, wiped their stalks dry, brought out the heaviest book from the shelf, put as many of the roses as she could between the pages of the book. These need to be preserved.
"Still standing? Sit here, have the tea, then.." the daughter in law stopped mid sentence when she came nearer the table to keep the tray that she carried and realised what this young lady was doing. "You can not keep these flowers for good! Let them be in the jug for now. Throw them away when they are dry. You have survived a nasty accident."
"I survived... The accidents.. That's important. Am I not right, Bhabhi?"
"We'll solve this later. Let us have some tea first. Come, sit comfortably." She adjusted the pillow and a cushion for her to rest her back. It still pained at the smallest of efforts.
"I would join college from tomorrow."
"You have not even lied down on your bed and talk of tomorrow!"
"Planning in advance! That's the core of my specialization", she laughed and pulled her feet up on the bed.
"Close your eyes, rest your mind. I will bring dinner shortly."
Season had begun to change. She had seen the blazing orange flowers blooming on the trees on her way back from the hospital. They reminded her of the festival of Holi, and her heart brimmed with fun memories of the festival, from her school days. It was her most favourite festival of all. They would roam around the streets of her parent's place, a big group of all the childhood friends, carrying dry colours and binged on the delicious festive spread in each other's houses. But since her father didn't like to celebrate Holi, only her house used to wear a deserted look on the festival. She never asked any questions from her father as to why, she didn't share the vibe. She would be jovial about being back from her boarding school and meeting her childhood friends. Life at the boarding was fun too, but sadly, nobody stayed during festivals, so she had made up a habit of getting excited about her own set of plans about meeting her childhood friends and enjoying the stay at home, if that can be called a home.
"Why do you want to keep those roses safe? Don't you think they actually brought you bad luck?"
"They are the best thing to happen to me this week. They are the messengers of better times, an indication of what bad might have happened.. they were the protectors, Bhabhi. They are one of the many saviours that I have so far been fortunate enough to have found in the difficult times."
"Finish your dinner and have a great sleep". The daughter-in-law placed her soft palms on the girl's dry cheeks and smiled reassuringly. She knew she was already in the groove, and didn't require any pep talk from her.
She put on her headphones and played some random song on loop on the music app. She didn't want to focus. She didn't want to talk to herself. All she needed was some way to kill the quiet that her mind had begun to relish. She wanted to be back in the game, back to the nastiness that sparkled in her demeanor.
"How can a composer create an absolute rubbish in the name of music? Even the listeners are to be blamed for these 'hit numbers'?" This was the thought that her brain cradled before her heavy eyelids refused to resonate with any more of her opinions tonight.
She coughed. Her throat was dry. She half sat on her bed and her hands automatically brought the water bottle to her. Sipping on the water bottle, she opened her eyes and immediately felt irritated when she found out that it was not even midnight yet. The dreamless sleep that her dry throat woke her up from, has been a dream since long. She suddenly remembered that she had not set the morning alarm for tomorrow; so doing the same, she went back to sleep, and was again welcomed into a deep slumber, a dreamless one.
A familiar musical tune jingled in her ears.
"A happy morning!", She exclaimed without even opening her eyes.
