ZACK’S POV
“She had already told you the whole story of hers, Caroline and Jake’s intervened fate but what she never told you about was how her life was for the past 2 years until you came into her life” he sighed and began to pour his heart out in a sentimental tone.
“She is a girl who had witnessed Jake’s accident in front of her eyes and that scene had a huge impact on her life. The shock which it gave her was so immense that my poor girl had slipped into depression and above all that, she was psychologically paralyzed for almost a year” he broke the truth to me in a shattered tone and it hit me like a fork. This girl had faced the worst times of her life and had been through all that just to be back in a life-threatening stage only to save my life. Seriously, did I deserve that???
“Paralyzed?? She was bed ridden for so long?? Was that the reason why she stopped being back on tracks” for a moment, I thought that it was the reason but what I failed to think was that it was just the beginning!!!
“No, there’s more to it. During that one year, me and my family had been through a lot to being our baby girl back into her normal life. And yes, we were somehow successful in doing that and she had come out from the shells of depression pretty well. But the incident had left a huge hole in her heart that was never filled up. Loneliness had drowned her away from the world and it was by god’s grace that dad was somehow able to convince her to get back to tracks” gradually, his tone lightened up into a nostalgic one and a dead smile curved on his lips.
“After her treatments, she had returned back to her training and it was done in the university itself. During last year's mid-winter championships in the university, Zoe was warming up for a race. Winning the championship would had helped her in finding her lost soul back. She was confident of her win and that hope was what had kept her lit. She had practiced like crazy for the championship because it was not only for herself but she wanted to do it for Jake” he chuckled a bit and the flash of pain masked his eyes and voice.
“That was the day she had lost her everything forever or so was what we thought. The race started and she was leading. That’s when it happened. She suddenly collapsed in between the race and spat out blood. It was a terrible scene for us to witness. She was rushed to the hospital and on the way, she had lost her consciousness. I still remember how she was cold as ice and shivering badly. She was immediately shifted to the ICU. After stabilizing her and receiving the scan reports we were asked to meet the neurologist” he paused with a freaking suspense tone and made me freeze.
“What was it, Mike?? What did the doctor diagnose??” I nervously asked him. An eerie kind of worry crept throughout my veins that made my body shiver.
“Her depression had given her insomnia and that left her deprived of sleep during the nights. And for long hours she used to keep us away from her because she didn’t want anyone’s presence near her. That led to her being immobile for a continuous period of time even when we had tried our best to avoid it. At last, what the doctors feared the most came true” with a guilt-stricken tone, he came to the point and I sighed in shock. Oh, I hell knew where this was going!!!!
“DVT???” I muttered to him skeptically and he nodded to it. Holy grace, this was the worst nightmare of any athlete and my poor Zoe had been through it!!!!
“The doctor explained to us that Zoe suffered from DVT (deep vein thrombosis). She had the clot in the nerves of her leg. It had turned the area affected with clot into purple colour. during the championship, one of her clot had burst and that led her into a very dangerous state. The only thing Zoe cared in this world was her sports, her dreams and after growing out of her depression, the next strike she got back from her fate was a new challenge” tears rolled down his eyes when he expressed the pain of the situation.
“I know. DVT is the worst nightmare of an athlete and facing it is far worse that what kind of situation I have drowned myself in. To be honest, neither can I nor any athlete can ever imagine how it feels when you are cursed with a condition of DVT” I told Mike as my heart burdened with grief for Zoe.
After hearing till now, I couldn’t imagine how Zoe had never for once tried to share her pains with me when it was her who pulled me back to life. I couldn’t think why had she hidden all from the very beginning. She had always kept a smile on her face when she was with me but this was the moment, I understood that the prettiest smiles hid the worst pains!!!
“How did she live through it, Mike?” in wonder, I asked him and he scoffed weirdly!!!
“Her condition made the doctors suggest dad to stop her training until she was cured. But what they couldn’t give us was an assurance of the cure. DVT was as such right. Once it comes, no one can predict when it leaves. She was terrified when dad asked her to stop her athletics training for a period of time. She had just started living her dream. She was growing up and we knew that taking away her dreams at that tender age could have led to her breaking down and it happened. She broke down. She became a rebel. Her depression grew into such a level that it became uncontrollable” the growing level of pain echoed through his voice and it was so powerful that every words of his hit on my heart. When it was so fucking impossible for me to bear when hearing it, how could have the girl lived through it???
“Please don’t tell me that she went crazy” I begged him to not go that way and he gave me that look.
“I hope it hadn’t. But it did” he replied in a dead tone and I was numb. Okay then, take me down the road till the end because now, I wanted to know every tiny bit of my Zoe.
“In the craziness, she used to hurt herself. She had become mad. On the verge of it, she even tried to commit suicide by cutting her wrist on top of the lighthouse. That was one of the only places she found peace in. But as we knew the seriousness of her condition so we always looked out for her and when we came to know about it, we were together shell shocked. How could she think of doing such an act? We had understood that she loved athletics that much that depriving her of it would lead to such disasters. She was under medical treatment. We shifted her back to the town. But her treatments were continued in the university. Due to her medical treatment, she missed her year. Her treatment consisted of clot busters, ultrasound scanning etc. Ever since she started her treatments she hadn’t been anywhere” Mike paused for breath and all I could see was how every time it made him harder to get some breath.
“Mike, take your time. Please don’t hurry. I don’t want to hear it all now itself. It will only end you scratching your own pains. Please, take your own time” I couldn’t be so selfish to make him go through this pain so mercilessly hence I begged him to stop.
“No, not today, Zack. I want you to know everything about her today itself” he looked me into my eyes and showed his adamancy.
“Is it necessary to dig it all out at once?” I asked him furiously not knowing why he wanted it to happen today itself.
“At least I don’t have to go through it twice” he gave a valid reason and having no choice, I let him continue!!!
“While she was on treatment, doctors shared a fear of her DVT growing into PE (pulmonary embolism), if she continued her training. It was a condition in which the clot in her body affects the lungs and the whole body which was life threatening. And, as her one clot had already burst, risk was at peak for her and also the resurrection of the clots. When this fear was disclosed to her, she was broken and devastated but somehow, she hung on for us. My brave little girl finished her treatment and came back home that year itself. But after treatment, she was in wheelchair for some time” after a long gap, a smile dead smile bloomed back on his lips, giving me a relief. Ha, this was going way out of hands because both of us were already fragile with the affect Zoe’s past had on us.
“She was a numb creature after the treatment. She had lost her hope and she might not have had a reason to live upon” I scoffed blankly as it was an obvious thing for her to do.
“Exactly. She simply lived in her room without even coming out for like months continuing her exercises. However, one day, dad went to her room and took her for a long walk. After returning home from the walk for the first time after the treatment we saw her face brightened and happy. Dad was also happy. What happened between the two is still unknown. One thing we had to make sure was that she never had the urge to run. She assured us that. The next day she hid her scar by wearing the sports band that mom had gifted her and from that day onwards she started coming out of her room. When she was able to start walking both of us used to take walk in the streets. She had started taking yoga classes and physiotherapy sessions for her body” a wave of relief flashed on Mike’s face from the dead smile and it boosted my spirits profusely. What kind of sorcery was Zoe and her story having on me????
“And she became the Zoe she is now. But what about high school?? How didn’t any single soul in the whole town not know about her and her struggles??” I skeptically asked him for answers.
“It began when once I took her to the beach to meet my friends but the girls ridiculed her saying that she was a weirdo because she used to wear an IPC (intermittent pneumatic compression) device after the treatment. Everyone was ignorant about her especially after what Caroline had left the rumors in the town. Yet, she wanted to face life alone and the only one she was left with in her life was me” Mike told me in a happy tone. Aah, this pleasant tone gave me a reality check on how best Mike was as a brother. It was pure luck that Zoe had such an amazing and awesome brother in whom she found her best friend!!!
I was proud of him in all senses after hearing the story and patted him back to show my gratitude for having a friend like him. But, little did I know that it was not the end but the real shocker was yet to come for me!!!!
“I always loved her more than I could and she returned the same. Years had passed and everything was normal in our lives until you arrived. Remember the day when she told you the half story of her past?? When I was about to tell you the truth, it was she who stopped me. She didn’t want anyone’s sympathy, especially yours. You were the first outsider she had acquainted with after so long” he slowly came into a topic about which I had no idea upon but hearing those lifted me up. Tell me more buddy!!!
“Zack, to be honest, she had started to change when she was with you. Her life had brightened up with your presence. She had started laughing, talking and dreaming since you came into her life.Especially after you had given responsibility of Bruce lee to her. Dude, you have no idea how she was possessed by the spirits of the old Zoe whom me and my family thought was dead a long time ago!!!” he expressed that joy in a jolly tone and a profound smile rushed to my lips. Had I really made a difference in her life?? But, WHY???
“How did I give her that Mike?? I was more of a bad boy than a dead being” I dumbfoundedly asked him and he scoffed. Weird!!
“The pain you felt in your past was completely understood by her because she had experienced it herself Zack. She saw herself in you. She didn’t want you to go through what she had lived through. She wanted you to live happily. You had given her the care and support which no one other than me and Jake had given her. Getting such an untainted love though it was of a friendship sense from you made her feel that deep connection with you” Mike looked at me with a thankful eyes and it made me confused much more.
I had never given her anything he said I had given her. In fact, it was her who gave me everything I needed. But the way Mike was talking about this chapter of her life started giving my heart some sorts of hints to a particular suspicion. Was it true or was it just my misunderstanding????
“Don’t think too much Zack. It was only sided for her. Never for once had did she want to come in between you and Caroline so she kept it all to herself. Yes Zack, she loved you. She loved you way more than you can imagine. That’s the only reason why she broke her promise. She had promised us in that she wouldn’t do anything that makes us suffer anymore. But she loved you so much that she wanted you to live the life she wanted to live” Mike broke the shocker and I was struck with a heavy wave of realizations.
Oh God, this was not going the way it should have because, I felt like my heart had just opened its gates to the forbidden chamber of a myriad of emotions. But in between all this chaos, was my heart ready to accept it or was I going to break many more hearts??????