WHEN I OPEN MY EYES, I IMMEDIATELY HAVE TO CLOSE them again. It's so bright. I'm shaking. My whole body is shaking. Actually, it's not my body that's shaking at whatever I'm lying on that's shaking. "Ishaan? Are you okay?" I hear Dhruv's voice. I open my eyes and see his sitting next to me. We're in an ambulance. I try to sit up to hug him, but someone pushes me back down.

"Be still, sir. You've got a pretty bad gash I'm on here." working. I look at the person talking to me. It's the paramedic who was holding me back. "Is she okay?" I feel myself succumb to the panic again. "Where is she? Is she okay?" He puts his hand on my shoulder to hold me still and places gauze over my eye. "I wish I knew something, but I don't. I'm sorry. I just know I need to get this injury of yours closed. We'll find out more when we get there." I look around the ambulance, but I don't see Nitya. "Where's Nitya?"

"They put her in the another ambulance." Dhruv says. I lay my head back, close my eyes, and pray. AS SOON AS the ambulance doors open and they pull me out, I unfasten the straps and jump off the gurney. "Sir, get back here! You need stitches!" I keep running. I glance back to make sure Dhruv is following me. He is, so I keep running. When I get inside, some people are standing at the nurses' station. "Where are they?" I say to the people. "Where'd they take them?" "I can't find anyone," Dhruv says. He looks as panicked as I do. He sees a nurse round the corner, and he runs up to her. "We're looking for two girls who were just brought here?" She glances at us, then walks around the desk to her computer. "Are you family?" Dhruv looks at me, then back at her. "Yes," he lies. She eyes Dhruv and picks up the phone. "The family is here... yes, sir." She hangs up the phone. "Follow me."

She leads us around the corner and into a room. "The doctor will be with you as soon as possible." Dhruv takes off his jacket and hands it to me. I look down and realize for the first time since I took it off that I'm not wearing a shirt, Dhruv and I pace the room. Several minutes pass with no word. I can't take it anymore. "I've got to find her" I say. I start to walk out of the room, but Dhruv pulls me back. "Just give it a minute, Ishaan. If they need to find you, you won't be here. Just give it a minute." I begin to pace again; it's all I can do. She has to be okay. She has to.

I glance across the hall and see a restroom. I go in-side, and as soon as I shut the door behind me, I get sick. I lean over the toilet and vomit. When I think I'm finished, I wash my hands in the sink and rinse my mouth. I grip the edges of the sink and take a deep breath, trying to calm down. When I look in the mirror, I don't even recognize myself. There's dried blood all over the side of my face. The bandage the paramedic placed above my eye is already saturated. I grab a napkin and try to wipe off some of the blood. As I'm wiping, I find myself wishing I had some of medicine given by Adriti's parents.

Adriti's parents. "Adriti's parents!" I yell. I throw open the bathroom door. "Dhruv! We have to call Adriti's parents! Where's your phone?" Dhruv pats his pockets. "I think it's in my jacket," he says. I reach into his jacket and pull out his phone. I dialled her mother's number.

She picks up on the second ring. "Hello?" I can't speak. What am I supposed to say? "Hello?" she says again. "It's me," I say. My voice cracks. "Ishaan?" she says. "Ishaan? What's wrong?" "We're at the hospital they..." "Ishaan! Is she okay? Is Adriti okay?" I can't respond. Dhruv takes the phone from my hand, and I run back to the bathroom. There's a knock on the bathroom door a few minutes later. I'm sitting on the floor against the wall with my eyes closed. I don't respond. When the door opens, I look up. It's the paramedic. "We've still got to get you stitched up" he says. "You've got a pretty bad cut." He offers his hand. I take it and he pulls me up. I follow him down the hall and into an exam room, where he instructs me to lie back on the table "Your friend said you've had some nausea. You more than likely have a concussion. Stay here, the nurse will be by in a minute."

After I've been stitched up and given instructions on how to care for the apparent concussion, I'm told to go to the nurses' station to fill out paperwork. When I get there, the nurse grabs a clipboard and hands it to me. "Which patient is your wife?" she asks. I just stare at her. "My wife?" Then it dawns on me that Dhruv told her we were related. I guess it's better if they think that. I'll get more information that way. "Adriti Shar... Pandit. Adriti Pandit."

"Fill out these forms and bring them back to me. And if you don't mind, take this clipboard to the other gentle-man with you." I grab the paperwork and head back to the waiting room. "Any news?" I ask, handing Dhruv his clip-board. He just shakes his head. "We've been here almost an hour! Where is every-body?" I throw my clipboard in the chair and sit down.

Just as I land, a man in a white lab coat rounds the corner toward us, followed by frantic Adriti's parents. I jump back up. "Ishaan!" she yells. She's crying. "Where is she? Where's Adriti? Is she hurt?" I put my arms around her, then look to the doctor for answers, since I don't have any. "You're looking for the little girl?" the doctor asks. Little girl? We all nods. "She'll be okay. She's got a broken arm and got hit on the head pretty hard. We're still waiting and few test results, but you're welcome to go see her. I've just put her in room 212. If you'll head to the nurses' station, they can direct you."

"Oh, thank God," I say. "Which one of you is with the other young lady?" he asks. Dhruv and I look at each other. The doctor's singular reference makes my heart stop. "There are two!" I'm fran-tic. "There are two of them!" He looks puzzled as to why I'm yelling at him. "I'm sorry," he says. "I was only brought the girl and a young lady. Sometimes, depending on the injuries, they don't come to me first. I only have news on a young lady with long black hair." "Nitya! Is she okay?" Dhruv asks. "She's stable. They're running tests, so you can't go back yet." He starts to walk away, so I cut him off in the hallway. "Wait!" I say. "What about Adriti? I haven't heard anything. Is she okay? Is she in surgery?" He looks at me with pity. It makes me want to punch him. "I'm sorry, sir. I only treated the other two. I'll do my best to find some answers and get back with you as soon as I can." He hurries away.

They're not telling me anything! They aren't telling me a damn thing! I lean against the wall and slide down to the floor. I pull up my knees and rest my elbows on them and bury my face in my hands. As much as I want to scream, as much as I want to cry, as much as my world is crashing down around me, I have to hold it all in just for her parents. I can't even begin to imagine what they're feeling. How scared they must be. Adriti is the only person that they have in this world.

"Ishaan?" I look up and see her father standing over me. I start to get up but he shakes his head and sits down on the floor next to me. "She'll be okay." He reaches over and shakes my hair. "Dhruv said you guys haven't heard anything about Adriti yet?" I shake my head. "It's been well over an hour, uncle. Why aren't they telling me anything? They won't even tell me if she's.." I can't finish the sentence. breath, trying to maintain my composure. I take a deep "Ishaan... if that were the case, they would have told you by now. That means they're doing everything they can.'

I know he's trying to help, but his statement hits me hard."I'll be back." I say. I run down the hallway to the nurses' station, but there isn't anyone there. The doors leading to the emergency rooms are locked. I look around for someone. There are a few people staring at me in the general waiting area, but no one offers to assist me. I walk behind the nurses' station and look around until I find the button that open the emergency doors.