Chapter 6 – The Wound Beneath

The red light above the emergency room finally turned off.

The door opened.

Every head turned at once.

Ravi was the first to step forward. “Doctor… how is she?”

The doctor removed his gloves slowly, his expression serious but not alarming.

“She’s stable,” he said. “You can relax for now.”

A breath everyone didn’t realize they were holding escaped at once.

“The baby is fine,” he added, looking directly at Ravi. “There’s no immediate danger there.”

Ravi closed his eyes briefly, relief washing over him. “Thank you…”

But the doctor didn’t leave.

Instead, his expression turned more thoughtful.

“She didn’t faint because of physical weakness alone,” he continued. “This is deeper. She has gone into a trauma response. Something triggered her very strongly.”

Ravi frowned. “Trauma?”

“Yes,” the doctor nodded. “Her body reacted as if it was reliving something. Her breathing pattern, her sudden collapse—it’s not just grief. This is something old… something severe.”

Ravi turned immediately to Poornima.

“You’re her sister,” he said, his voice urgent but controlled. “You might know. What trauma?”

Poornima froze.

Her fingers tightened around the edge of her dupatta, her eyes filling with hesitation.

“I…” she started, then stopped.

“Poornima,” Ravi said more firmly, stepping closer. “This is important.”

She swallowed hard.

“There was… something,” she said slowly, her voice trembling. “Years ago… when akka was in 10th standard…”

Everyone grew still.

“She got 98%,” Poornima continued, her eyes distant now, as if she was seeing it all again. “She was so happy… she thought everyone would be proud…”

Her voice broke slightly.

“But… uncle didn’t react like that.”

Ravi’s expression hardened.

“What do you mean?”

Poornima looked down. “He scolded her… very badly. Not at home… in school.”

The doctor frowned slightly.

“In school?” he repeated.

“In front of her entire class,” Poornima said, her voice barely steady now. “He shouted at her… said it wasn’t enough… said she embarrassed him…”

Devraj’s face tightened, guilt flickering across his features as he listened.

“Everyone was there,” Poornima continued. “Her classmates… teachers… everyone. Some of them laughed… some of them taunted her later…”

Ravi’s jaw clenched.

“She came home that day and didn’t speak to anyone,” Poornima said. “She locked herself in her room… turned off the lights… and stayed in complete darkness.”

The doctor’s attention sharpened.

“How long?” he asked.

Poornima looked up, her eyes filled with tears.

“One week.”

Silence hit them like a shock.

“What?” Ravi whispered, disbelief and anger mixing in his voice.

“She didn’t eat properly… didn’t talk… didn’t come out,” Poornima said, her voice shaking now. “She just… stayed in the dark.”

“And after that?” the doctor asked, his tone now serious.

“She fell unconscious,” Poornima said. “For a whole week. She didn’t wake up.”

The doctor took a slow breath, processing it.

“That’s not a small incident,” he said firmly. “That’s severe psychological trauma.”

Ravi ran a hand through his hair, his frustration rising.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me this before?” he asked, his voice edged with anger.

Poornima shook her head helplessly. “We thought she got better… she started acting normal again… but…”

“But the fear stayed,” the doctor completed.

Poornima nodded weakly. “She has a severe phobia of darkness… and… of being humiliated like that again. When something triggers it… her body just… shuts down.”

Ravi closed his eyes for a second.

The taunts.

The accusations.

Her parents’ silence.

Everything from yesterday.

It wasn’t just pain for her.

It was a repetition.

A trigger.

The doctor spoke again, his tone now more direct.

“This kind of trauma doesn’t disappear on its own,” he said. “It stays in the nervous system. And if it keeps getting triggered like this, it can seriously affect her mental and physical health.”

Ravi looked at him immediately. “Affect… how?”

The doctor didn’t hesitate.

“Her nerves can weaken over time. Panic responses can become frequent. Breathing issues, fainting spells… even complications in pregnancy if the stress continues.”

Poornima gasped softly.

Devraj looked deeply disturbed, his hands clasped tightly behind him.

“What should we do?” Ravi asked, his voice steady but urgent.

“She needs care,” the doctor said. “Not just physically, but emotionally. She needs a safe environment. No stress, no triggers.”

He paused, then added,

“And eventually… proper therapy. This has to be treated carefully. Otherwise, it can get worse.”

Ravi nodded slowly.

“I’ll take care of it,” he said.

The doctor studied him for a moment, then gave a small nod.

“Good,” he said. “Because right now… she doesn’t just need medicine.”

He glanced toward the room where Gayathri was admitted.

“She needs someone who makes her feel safe.”

Silence followed.

Ravi turned his gaze toward the closed door.

His expression changed—not just concern, not just responsibility…

Something deeper.

A quiet resolve.

Poornima stepped closer to him. “Ravi…”

He didn’t look at her.

But his voice came out firm.

“She won’t go through this again,” he said.

This time—

It wasn’t just a promise.

It was a decision