Little Girl’s Wild Side - Chapter 59

And as promised he went down and brought with him a cotton towel dipped in warm water. Sindhu immediately extended her face towards him. She had a big goody grin when Gautham wiped her face so gently.

Seeing her smile at last, something eased in his heart. Her nightmares were one thing but seeing her sleep so restlessly had been completely another level of torture for Gautham. She kept tossing and turning on her sleep due to fever which just intensified his guilt and worry. She must have been like this the whole night and in spite of sleeping right beside her, he did not notice it. This thought alone ate him alive.

Once he was done wiping her face, he reached for the medicinal drink or whatever you want to call it. Sindhu of course instantly cringed away.

“I don’t want that.” Sindhu said crunching her nose at the pungent smell coming from it.

“Sindhu, be good and drink it okay. It will help you with the fever.” He tried to convince her.

“Please Gautham. It looks so bitter. I will just sleep. I will get better in no time. I promise.” Sindhu pleaded with puppy dog eyes. This was the main reason why the fever would always get so severe. She absolutely hated having medicines or tablets. And of course everyone knows how stubborn she can be. So she will just shut herself in her room and sleep it off.

Gautham saw that this was going to take long. So he kept the cup with the medicine on the night stand. He then scooped her and sat her on his laps comfortably.

He then softly tried to convince her. But of course everything he said went through one ear and came out of the other. After that he changed tactics and asked, “Baby, you wanted that see that one picture from my childhood remember???”

Sindhu bobbed her head thinking he had at last given up on feeding her the bitter medicine.

“I will show it to you if you obediently drink the medicine and get better.” He said with a sly smile. He was actually making a huge sacrifice. He was particularly very embarrassed of that picture. He will be butt naked. But then he could not think of any other way to convince her right now so he begrudged and accepted his fate.

Sindhu looked up at him surprised. She accidentally had a glimpse of a picture on his cupboard hidden on the corner but before she could see it, Gautham snatched it away. No matter how much she begged, he wouldn’t show it to her. That is why the temptation to accept the deal was very high.

Gautham quickly took the chance and fed her the medicine.

Sindhu made a horrified face as the liquid went through her throat. Of course Gautham came prepared. He quickly gave her a candy right after she was done.

Seeing that he had successfully passed one step of the hurdle, he sighed in relief. Then he tucked her in and let her sleep all over again. He quietly exited the room after making sure she had enough blanket over her.

“Did she drink it??? How is she now???” Aruna asked concerned seeing him coming out of the room.

“Yes, at last she drank. She fell asleep again. My jaws are aching from trying to convince her.” Gautham said complaining.

“Really, well done young man.” Aruna said appreciating him.

“Why are you praising me???” Gautham asked with a frown. He just found it odd that just an hour or so back she was actually glaring at him and all of sudden she was praising him.

“Renuka called and warned me about the fever. Apparently she gets sick every year at this weather. She also told me that Sindhu never ever takes any medicine no matter how many people try to convince her.” Aruna explained.

“Well, I actually made a huge sacrifice. Now suddenly it seems worth it.” Gautham said and went ahead to have his own breakfast.

In spite of the medicine, Sindhu’s fever persisted to two full day before it broke. All this time, the whole family took turns in taking care of her. Even when Aruna and Govind were attending to her, Gautham stubbornly refused to get away from her and stuck to her like glue.

When at last he was sure that she was okay, he fell asleep exhausted. He did not really sleep the before night afraid she will get cold or hot in the middle of the night and wake up. So he kept himself wide awake the whole night. So his eyes dropped shut in spite of his efforts to keep himself awake.

Sindhu stared at his sleeping figure. She could see the fatigue in his face. For two days now, he had tended to all her needs without complain. He had even put up with her unreasonable and irrational tantrums without really even flinching. That was actually a pretty difficult feet to achieve. She knows how difficult she gets when she was sick. That is why looking at him now, she could feel her heart ache and swell for him simultaneously.

She stood guard for him that night as he slept just like the way he did for her yesterday. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek and snuggled closer to him.

And of course, she got to see the picture. And obviously Sindhu broke out into a laughing fit for straight five minutes exclaiming how cute he was to Gautham’s utter embarrassment.