My Brother's Wife

"I don't know what has gotten into you. Why has your behavior towards me changed so suddenly? Is it true that you no longer have any feelings towards me? What have I done to become suddenly undesired by you?"

I told her to wait on the line and told the reception to transfer the call to my cabin.

I took the call from my cabin and said, "You see, I was planning to actually spend the entire day with you people, especially you. But as I entered, I saw you so happy doing things for my brother that I felt like an intruder. Who am I to come between you two – after all, you are husband and wife.

And if I remember correctly, you had told me on numerous occasions that you had your duties and responsibilities towards my brother and you intended to fulfill them. So, I'm now removing myself completely from the scene and letting you fulfill them. You might have noticed that I'm not trying to maintain any contact with you and I'd like if you do the same."

I put the phone down.

I had thought that I could finally put Sumita in the past but realized soon after that it was not so. While driving back, I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I completely failed to see the road marked 'Diversion' and just drove through. By the time I realized my mistake, my car was already on loose ground and when I pressed down hard on the brake, it just skidded out of control.

I felt my body floating towards the windscreen and realized that I hadn't put the seatbelt on. I saw myself floating in the air, smashing against the windscreen, falling out and hitting the car bonnet and finally hurtling down into some gorge. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head as it hit something and that's when the entire outside world went black in front of my eyes.

_____

As I opened my eyes, I could see some hazy white sheet and a blinding light. I closed my eyes again and probably fell asleep.

I slowly woke up again to some faint sounds of people talking around me. As I opened my eyes, I could see some blurred faces leaning down near my face. Whatever they were taking about was not clear to me.

After a few moments, the sound stopped and I could feel a soft hand on my face. Then I felt something warm and soft brush against my lips. I opened my eyes to see a girl in a nurse's uniform wiping my face with a warm towel. She gradually moved to wipe my neck, my chest, abdomen and finally, my legs. I tried to turn my head but felt such a sharp pain in the neck that I decided against it.

When I woke up again, I felt somebody trying to feed something to me with a spoon and I kept my lips pressed. Then I heard a female voice, "You have been refusing to eat anything for so many days now. How would you regain your strength if you don't eat?"

I opened my eyes to see a nurse looking down at me. Then I heard a familiar voice, "Leave him to me. Keep the food bowl here and leave. I'd make sure he eats it." I tried to turn my head to look who the familiar voice belonged to but felt a sharp pain again and could not move my head.

I heard the sound of rustling of clothes and knew the nurse was leaving. I felt someone sitting down by my head and felt a warm skin on my lips. Instinctively, I opened my lips and the skin slid into my mouth. I heard the familiar voice say, "Suck on it" and I started sucking. Soon, my mouth began to fill up with some sweet liquid and I swallowed. My mouth filled up and I swallowed again. I kept on doing that till I drifted off to sleep.

I opened my eyes and again saw some blurred white sheets. Then I saw a very familiar face very close to mine but could not recall who it was. I heard a few more voices. Then I felt someone removing my sheet from my chest and a cold metal touching my chest. I shivered and the metal kept on shifting positions all through my chest area. I heard a male voice, 'He's okay now but very weak. He would have to remain here for a few days more. Is there anybody here from his family?'

"I'm here continuously by his side," the same familiar voice said.

"Please see to it that he has his meals properly; he needs to regain his strength."

"Don't worry. I know what he likes as his meal and I know how to make him have it," the familiar voice said.

I heard some footsteps and knew people were leaving.

I felt someone sitting beside my head and the same familiar voice, "Are you hungry?"

I felt a bit hungry and tried to say it but only some feeble sounds came out.

"Sshhh, I understand you are," said the voice. I felt a skin touching my lips and I opened them again and sucked. I kept on sucking and felt that I was getting addicted to whatever I was being fed.

_____

The hospital discharged me in a few days. I was still advised complete rest for another few weeks as I had quite a few broken bones.

My parents were there for the discharge and I was brought in an ambulance and wheeled into my house in a stretcher. I was wheeled into a room which I knew was not mine.

Four people held me, two at my shoulders and two at my feet and dropped me gently on the bed. I could see my father and asked him which room was it. My father told me that I had been put in my brother's room and Sumita has taken full charge of me.

She had volunteered to take complete care of me till I was able to move on my own. I vehemently protested the arrangement but my parents insisted that Sumita was adamant about it and from day one, she was continuously at the hospital to take care of me. My father and mother went out with me lying there. I could hear they closing the door behind them.

After some time, I heard the door open and close again. I could hear someone coming from the door right up to where I lay. I opened my eyes and saw Sumita. I immediately grew bitter. She was responsible for the position I was in today. When I spoke, I was clearly spitting venom.

"Why have you insisted that I stay here in your room? Please shift me elsewhere – I'm not staying here in your bed, with you."

"Really?" she asked and I immediately recalled that this was the familiar voice that I kept on hearing in the hospital. "You did not behave like you wanted to stay away from me while you were in the hospital! In fact, the only meal that you happily took was my milk, that too, directly from my breasts. No amount of pressure from the nurses could make you agree to having your hospital meals.

However, when the nurses went away and I was alone with you, I used to throw the hospital food and feed you exclusively from my breasts and as far as I could see, you were very happy drinking that!

You had quite an appetite and I really struggled keeping my milk supply up for you. Every couple of hours, you would purse your lips and wanted me to feed you. And now that you have fed exclusively from my breasts for the last ten days, you want to sleep away from me?"

I went red in my face when I heard her say that. So, that sweet liquid which I got addicted to was her milk! "I'm sorry that I've given you so much trouble," was all I could say.

Looking at my face, she smiled at me. She sat down beside me and finally, after so many days, kissed me full on the lips. I realized I was dying for it and hungrily started kissing her. She smiled and said, "My baby! Oh, I love you so much."

I smiled back at her and said, "I have a problem now."

"I know you have many problems, not one. But please tell me which one are you referring to?"

I gestured her to come closer to me and when she was very close to my face, I said, "I think I'm now addicted to your milk. I still have memories of that lingering sweetness on my lips. Correction, I think I'm addicted to you now and no amount of pressure can make me agree to stay away from you."

Tears started dropping from her eyes. "Finally," she said. "I'm also not going to leave you ever. You'd sleep here, be with me all the time and by the appetite I've seen at the hospital, I guess I'd be very sore feeding my only baby."

I looked at her in surprise. "Only?"

"Yes, only, you stupid baby. You're my only baby now. Your brother has permanently been shifted out of town – he would now be heading a new office and he might be here just for a day or two every six months.

Also, when I realized that I had to be there with you at the hospital round the clock, I weaned my child, so, he's not taking my milk at all. It's there only for you now."

I pursed my lips. "Can I have some? I'm hungry."

She laughed and immediately undid a few buttons on her blouse. She pulled out a breast and offered me her nipple.

"Take as much as you want. It's all yours."