My Heart with You

Part I
My body lay still besides Sameer. His one hand tightly holding my fingers, not to leave them. His other hand lay on my body, just over one of my beating heart…no his beating heart. Each rhyme of that beating heart says he is with me.
I turn towards, facing his face. He is in deep sleep, lost like an innocent child.
I slightly brush my fingers on his hair. He tightened his embrace over me and went back to his sleep.
Why could not I understand him?
Born with two hearts I always preferred myself special and over the edge. Why not? I am one in billions, 7.125 billions to be precise. Whenever scientists researched my body, I felt myself privileged having two hearts. After all, God gave me these two hearts to love more, receive more and understand more. Though they were amazed with my condition, I knew that I was a giver, a born lover, passionate, carefree and soulful, living my life to the maximum.
I grew mature in an early age. After my so-called biological father left my mother for another woman when I was barely 7, my prideful mother refused any assistance and brought me up all alone. She started her own small boutique with her limited skills, which gradually grew into a modest garment house with the help of Sameer.
Sameer is the son of her best friend, Madhuri Aunty. He lost her parents in a road accident when he was in his teens. On her death bed, Madhuri aunty asked my mother to promise to take care of her son, as no one from their family wanted to see their faces after their love marriage.
Sameer got alone after the death of his parents and my mother raised him as her own son. Very soon, he excelled himself in studies and got various scholarships, so that he should not be a burden to us. After he completed his management studies, he joined my mother’s shop and within years he had turned our small shop to a renowned garment house.
I have been with Sameer since then. He has witnessed my trials and experiments in name of medical research. He is the one who accompanied me to hospitals and institutes, when the doctors used to puncture me with needles and syringes to complete their medical study.
There had been many efforts to force me to donate one of my hearts. My disagreement was termed heartless and merciless by so-called pillars of humanity.
Once my mother raised the topic about my decision.
“Uhhh, why can’t you understand me? I won’t give away my heart? Its heart after all....” “Are you sure, Rhea?” asked my mother. “Of course, I am. Survival of the fittest, mother. I'm not going against Darwin. Also, I don't want unnecessary scars on my body. It's a known fact that we are all born to die. And frankly, I don't understand why it has to be made into such a big deal.” If it were not for my mother I would have said that to the bunch of people outside my house, some of them with young kids, shouting slogans, waving placards, literally wanting me to cut one of my beating hearts out. "Save A Life. Donate!" they shout. For someone who is one in billions, 7.125 billion to be exact, I expect to be treated better. Scientists are still befuddled regarding my condition that gave me two hearts in my mother's womb. But years of research and sticking needles into me have led them nowhere, and they have labeled me as a freak mutation. It's so rare - literally one in all humankind - that they didn't even name the anomaly (as they call it, I will call it awesomeness). I wanted to name the condition myself, something on the lines of Rhea's Heartsawesome, but the doctors weren’t thrilled with the suggestion. Instead they want to cut one of them out and save a life. Huh? An IQ of 180, increased concentration, exceptional athleticism and a phenomenal metabolism rate - are just the few boring benefits of an increased blood circulation. Why would I ever give that up?
I used to often complain to Sameer.
“Why do they want to take my heart away? It is a part of my body. I have grown up with it and now they want me to just give it away. I won’t be able to live with a void in my body.”

He would calm me placidly, “Rhea it’s your heart and I want you to preserve your uniqueness of being rare among all of us.”
He truly understands me inside out. Being with this person and accompanying him has made me somewhat dependent on him. Though the bad taste of my father’s deeds still remain penetrated in my memories and my subconscious, I still trust Sameer more than I do myself and I didn’t know when and how this Rhea’s ‘heartawesome’ started feeling so much attracted to Sameer.
“Why the hell do these two hearts start beating louder when I am with Sameer. Medically Complex situation naa.” I would laugh at myself.
For the first time in my life, I desired something and that is Sameer.
One day, while we were returning from our routine medical research session, and stopped for a cup of coffee, I shared my feelings to him.
‘Sameer, I think I have started having feelings for you. Rhea ‘Heartawesome’ has fallen for a stupid monkey Sameer.” She declared with a tweak of naughtiness in her voice.
But contrary to her expectation, Sameer’s face hardened. He was speechless for a while.
Then he said, “Rhea, it is not possible. Though I will like to give you every happiness, but still…it can’t be....’
“But, why Sameer? Tell me the reason. Don’t you like me?”
“Yes Rhea, I like you, but I can’t go further. I am...please understand. I need to tell you something.”
“Understand what?” The heart rate quadrupled and the sudden turn of events has made me little errant.
“What do you want to tell me. Do you have any other person in your life? Or…oh wait a minute, now I understand perfectly fine Sameer. You don’t want to be with a medically special person like me. You can have pity or sympathy for me or maybe you might be amazed by my medical condition, but you won’t carry on with a special person. Perfectly fine. I understand....”
“That’s not true Rhea. Please stop.” Sameer said calmly. He was sweating and started looking uncomfortable.
The years-long preserved hatred for male species came forth and I started seeing Sameer in the same light. “You are no more different than my father, all males are same, Bull shit’
She picked her bag, catch auto and left the coffee shop.

Part II
It’s been two months that I have seen Sameer. I stopped taking his calls and avoided meeting him whenever he came home to meet my mother.
My heart has never been in such pain before. The more I try to forget Sameer, the more I remember him. I have lost my special friend and I feel like saying, ‘Common world, take on me, this girl with two hearts is now left with so much pain of a heartbreak. Come and do whatsoever you want, take both the hearts out and save me from this pain.’ This speciality has caused me so much pain and my prized uniqueness of two hearts has now kept me away from being a normal gal, who anybody can accept.
Life was going on, until one day, I came face to face with biggest shock of my life, a shock that was even bigger than acceptance of my medical condition. While on my routine check-up, I was waiting for my appointment, when I saw Vaibhav in the medical shop buying medicines. Vaibhav is roommate of Sameer in his 2 bhk apartment.
Out of surprise and trying to sneak some news about Sameer, I called out his name.
Hi, Vaibhav, long time no see. How are you? What are you doing here?”
“Hi, Rhea.” He seemed a bit disturbed. Then he opened up. “Rhea... I need to tell you something about Sameer.”
“About Sameer, is he fine? I haven’t heard of him in past two months.”
“Rhea, Sameer is in ICU. He has a heart disorder....”
“What? Vaibhav, are you in your senses?”
“Rhea. Sameer hasn’t told you. Your mother also knew that Sameer is suffering from Congenital Heart Disorder. He has been under continuous treatment for the past many years, but in the last two months his condition has worsened, and he had to get admitted. Only a donor heart will help, but he refused to take any other heart.”
My heart skipped a beat. The person who accompanied this girl having two hearts all this while, himself has an irreparable heart disorder.
“It’s not fair Vaibhav. It is indeed not. Take me to Sameer without further loss of time.” I could only murmur, trying hard to control my overwhelming emotions.

Part III
He lay still in the hospital bed. Though I have been subjected to medical procedure so many times that hospital seems to be like my second home, but seeing someone close to you in that condition takes the hell out of you. I shivered. For the first time, I hated myself for being in that hospital room.
He smiled.
“What is this Sameer?”
“Oh this? Nothing. Docs say this is some congenital heart disorder some atrial septal defect in which oxygenated blood coming from the lungs gets mixed with deoxygenated blood returning from the body, mixing of blood causes the blood supply leaving the heart to contain less oxygen than normal, then my heart works excessively.... Since the valves of the heart do not receive any dedicated blood supply, defensive immune mechanisms cannot directly reach the valves via the bloodstream... and so much more, so I have to stick to this ugly bed and listen to these Doctors.”
He tried to explain everything casually in a single sentence and smiled faintly. He seemed to be tired and worked out. He re-gained after a deep breath.
“This is what the doctors here used to describe about my condition but they don’t know this disordered heart also beat for a girl... you Rhea. See How this ECG lines run up and down when u r in front of me.” He winked and smiled faintly.
“But why Sameer? Why didn’t you tell me all these years?”
“You know rhea I always felt that my heart is with you. Log kehte hai maine tumhe apna dil de diya but rhea maine such mein tumhe apna dil diya hai, ise sambhaal kar rakhna, jab yeh dhadkega to samajhna mein hare ek dhadkan mein tumhare saath hoon.”
Then he looked beyond the open window of his room. “Tomorrow, maybe I will not be there with you, but these two hearts and their ringing beats should always remain with you.”
I felt like freezing this moment. “What I will do with these hearts without you. I always thought of myself as exceptional, having God’s blessings of two hearts in a body, but not without you Sameer, I don’t want this. I am going to the Doctor; you will be fine after a heart transplant.”
“No Rhea. Don’t ever do that. Life is uncertain. If not this way, then by some other way, death is inevitable. Who knows, even if I get well, you could lose me in a road accident or a bomb blast. Anything can happen. It’s not necessary to live longer, it’s necessary to love longer. I want you to live exceptionally with your high spirits and with your rare double hearts that are made to live and love. Don’t ever give up with your uniqueness. I will always remain beating in your heart.”
Rhea was speechless, all she could was to hug Sameer tightly and never let anything come between them. Her hearts started beating much faster.

Part IV
Sameer is still in deep sleep. I could hear the soft murmuring sound of his heart, with a heavy breathing. There was a discomfort in his breathing, yet his face remained calm, his hands holding me in his tight embrace and a solace on his face despite discomfort going through his body.
We have decided to live our life together whatever time we have in our hand. His treatment may go long. Docs say till the time, Catheter techniques can be used to repair small septal defects and some defective valves. We both go through medical procedures for our respective treatments and fight through to gain more time from this life. Whatever conditions we are facing, good or bad, we know we are together and each and every moment of this life of togetherness is worth a million lives.
I just managed to wipe a drop of tear coming from my eye to reach the shoulder of sleeping Sameer. I have to be strong, at least for him. Sameer won’t let me donate one of my hearts to him, at any cost. He has always stood beside me, whenever I, oblivious of Sameer’s condition, kept on saying, “I won’t give away a part of me, after all it’s Rhea Heartawesome.” No I was wrong; it is Sameer ‘amazingheart’ beating inside me along with Rhea’s ‘Heartawesome’ and they will keep on beating.
I planted a kiss on Sameer’s forehead and hold him tightly. Never in my life, had I found so much joy and peace other than being in Sameer’s arms.
Life and Death will go on. It’s my twin heart or Sameer diseased heart, emotions never die, medical treatment, research, medicines, surgery, cure, therapy will go on but beyond this science, a unknown science which cannot be contemplated, beyond the cosmos and all the rationality of human mind, remains this moment in which our bodies lay here beneath the stars and the universe being the witness of union of two souls, two hearts declaring, ‘we are inseparable’, that though the heart remains a main part of body pumping oxygen but it is soul that will remain when heart die, that with my two hearts and all my emotions running ablaze through these two hearts, no one can separate my soul with that of Sameer, Rhea’ Heartawesome’ and Sameer’s ‘amazingheart’ shall remain inseparable, even death can’t do us apart.
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