So far:
To see Shakthi, a large group of his friends, their cloth shop workers, and Bharathi's friends came to his house.
At that time, Bharathi showed them the paper Shakthi had drawn.
"See, this is the girl who came in his dream and saved him," he said, showing Shivani's picture.
All of them already knew about Shakthi's strange dream.
Just then, Shivani arrived to return Shakthi's chain. Raji asked her a few questions about herself. Then Shivani crushed the tablet that had to be given to Shakthi, mixed it with honey, and poured it into the juice she had prepared for him. She then handed the chain to Raji.
Now:
Taking the chain, Raji said with emotion,
"This chain has a deep sentiment. His father bought matching ones for both Shakthi and Bharathi. He wears this as a memory of his father. If he had known it was missing, he would've been shattered. Thank you so much, dear. No matter how many times this chain gets lost, it somehow finds its way back. That's the bond between this chain and Shakthi."
"So much sentiment in this chain?" Shivani said with surprise.
"Alright, Aunty. I'll go ahead to see him — you can come after a while," said Shivani, walking toward Shakthi's room.
When she entered, she saw a large group of friends sitting around Shakthi. She paused for a second.
"Excuse me… may I come in?" she asked politely.
Everyone turned to look at her — stunned, they couldn't take their eyes off her.
"What's this? Why are they all staring at me like that?" Shivani wondered to herself, feeling a little awkward.
Bharathi broke the silence with a smile.
"Come in, Shivani! Why these formalities?"
He introduced her, saying, "Shakthi, this is Dr. Shivani — she's the one who saved you and brought you home safely. She works at GH and also runs her own clinic in her house."
Before Shakthi could say anything, Shivani teased,
"Enough, Bharathi. Then Shakthi will stop talking to me because I'm a doctor?"
Bharathi laughed and said, "Our Shakthi isn't someone who gets scared that easily."
Everyone joined in with laughter.
Shakthi looked at her and said softly,
"When I got hit by the car, I only remember you coming and moving me to the side of the road. After that, everything went blank. I only learned what happened from Raji this morning. Thank you so much. If not for you, both Raji and I would've suffered a lot yesterday."
"How's the pain now?" asked Shivani.
"It's okay … only my leg hurts badly. I can't move it much," Shakthi replied.
"Who asked you to move it? Don't try to for two more days, got it?" she said firmly.
Then she looked around and said, "Wow, you've got quite a crowd here. Are all these people your friends?"
"Yes, they came to check on me," said Shakthi with a smile.
Shivani turned to them and said,
"Don't worry about your Shakthi. He just needs rest. His leg has a minor injury; otherwise, he's fine."
Just then, Raji entered the room, carrying the juice. "Rest? Look at him! He's surrounded by friends and joking around instead of lying down. You tell him yourself," she said, pretending to be strict.
She placed the juice on the table and looked at everyone. "Alright everyone, you've seen Shakthi now. Go home and come back in the evening."
Reluctantly, the friends left one by one.
"Shakthi, where's your chain?" Raji suddenly asked.
Startled, he touched his neck and realized it was missing.
"Don't worry. Here it is," Raji said, handing it to him.
He quickly took it and asked, "Where did you find it, Raji?"
"It was stuck to this girl's dress — she came here just to return it," said Raji.
"Thank you so much. You don't know how much this chain means to me," Shakthi said sincerely.
"Your mother already told me," replied Shivani with a smile.
"Alright, now drink this juice. You haven't eaten anything since morning," Raji said, handing it to him.
Shakthi took it and slowly drank. Both Raji and Shivani watched him silently until he finished it.
Bharathi noticed the silent exchange between the two women but didn't ask anything. He decided to talk to his mother about it later.
"Okay, Shakthi, get some rest. If you need anything, call me. Bharathi, Shivani — come, let's have breakfast," said Raji.
"It's okay, Aunty. I'll eat at the hospital," Shivani replied politely.
"Why, dear? Won't you eat at our house?" asked Raji warmly.
"Why do you say that, Aunty? Of course, I'll eat. Let's go," said Shivani with a smile.
The three of them went downstairs to the dining hall.
"Kamala, bring the tiffin," Raji called out.
"Yes, ma', I'm bringing it," Kamala replied, placing the dishes on the table.
"Aunty, you also come and eat," said Shivani.
"No, dear. You both eat together. I'll eat with Kamala later," said Raji kindly.
After finishing their meal, Raji said,
"Shivani, your idea worked perfectly! From now on, I'll follow this trick. If I had given him the crushed tablet directly, he would've refused. But he drank the juice completely without a doubt."
Shivani smiled. "That's what we do with little kids when they refuse to take medicine, Aunty."
"Oh, so that's why you two were exchanging signals when he was drinking the juice!" said Bharathi, laughing.
"You saw that? Good thing you didn't ask anything," Raji replied playfully.
"Alright, Aunty, I'll leave now," said Shivani, getting ready to go.
"Wait, dear. Kamala, bring some kumkum for her," said Raji.
Kamala handed it to Shivani, who took a little and applied it to her forehead respectfully.
"Okay, Aunty, I'll take my leave," said Shivani.
"Wait, Mom. I'm getting late too. I'll go with Shivani," said Bharathi, joining her.
"Come often, dear," said Raji warmly.
"Sure, Aunty. I will," said Shivani with a smile.
As they drove their scooters together, Shivani said,
"Bharathi, I have not one, not two — but three questions for you."
Bharathi laughed. "And I have one thing to ask you too."
"Really? Then you go first," said Shivani.
"Before that, let's drop this 'formal talk'. From now on, we'll talk casually, okay?" he said.
"No problem. From now on, we're good friends," said Shivani cheerfully.
"Alright, then start with your first question," said Bharathi.
"Your mother's name is Raji, right? But why does Shakthi call her by her name?" asked Shivani curiously.
"Yes," said Bharathi, smiling softly. "Shakthi was born five years after my parents got married. That's why my mother's love for him is extra special. To him, his whole world is just me and our mother. Since childhood, he's been calling her 'Raji' instead of 'Amma'. He says it reminds him of how her father used to call her. So, she never stopped him — she feels it's like hearing her father's voice again."
"What about your father?" Shivani asked gently.
"I've only seen him in photos," said Bharathi. "He died in a road accident when he was taking Shakthi to school. A lorry hit their bike. Shakthi survived with injuries, but ever since then, he's been terrified of accidents, ambulances, hospitals, doctors, and even medicines. Whenever he sees our father's photo, his hands and legs start shaking uncontrollably. He loses consciousness and becomes weak. That's why we keep the photo where he can't see it."
"Didn't you try any treatment for it?" Shivani asked softly.
"We tried once. When we took him to a clinic, he panicked the moment he stepped inside — trembling all over, then fainted. The doctor tried everything, but the shaking wouldn't stop. Only after bringing him home did he slowly recover. Since then, we never brought it up again," said Bharathi sadly.
"I know a psychiatrist who can help him. I'll talk to them about it," said Shivani thoughtfully. Then she added with a smile,
"But tell me one thing — why did everyone at your house stare at me so strangely when I entered?"
Bharathi laughed. "Add me to that list too — even I couldn't take my eyes off you!"
To be continued...