Javed jumped out of the taxi and knocked on the orphanage door. He couldn’t wait to get Rukhsana and Ammi to safety, away from this chaos. Ghanshyam had said that a mob was headed to Azad Nagar. Things were getting worse with each passing hour. They needed to leave New Delhi as soon as possible.

‘Is Rukhsana here, Jayaji?’ he asked, as Mrs Rao opened the door.

‘No. She left a while ago. Is everything all right, Javed?’

Javed left without another word. He walked in a daze, desperately trying to keep his worst thoughts at bay. Javed was spotted at this moment by Raghu, Ghanshyam’s son, on his way home after his shift at the nearby government hospital. Jumping off his bicycle, Raghu rushed over to Javed’s side.

It was half an hour before they found Rukhsana, still lying in the ditch, barely conscious. Javed stood rooted to the spot, unable to come to grips with what he was seeing. Raghu immediately bent down to help Rukhsana. He felt her pulse—it was still present, although very faint.

‘Dr Khurana is on duty at the hospital,’ said Raghu. ‘I used to be his compounder. I’m sure he’ll see Rukhsana Bibi on priority.’

Javed nodded, his mind still unable to wrap itself around what had happened. He just sat there holding his wife’s hand.

Twenty minutes later, they were outside Dr Khurana’s consulting room. Upon seeing Javed and Raghu carrying Rukhsana, Dr Khurana’s eyes widened in alarm. He quickly ushered them in, glancing nervously around to ensure that no one had seen the Muslim couple. In these dark times, even giving medical attention to Muslims could cost him his job—or life, even.

Dr Khurana carried out a quick examination of Rukhsana and motioned to his staff to prepare for surgery.

‘We need to operate immediately,’ he told Javed. ‘The baby is almost at full term.’

‘Yes, our child is due next month,’ said Javed, almost to himself. The clock in the nearby church’s steeple struck six.

‘I’ll go and bring Arjumand Bibiji here,’ said Raghu. ‘The hospital is probably the safest place for all of you to spend the night, Javed Sahib.’

Javed nodded absently, anxious eyes on the doors of the operation theatre, just waiting for Dr Khurana to emerge. After what seemed like an eternity to Javed, Dr Khurana walked out. Javed stood up as he saw him.

‘Her vitals are stable now; she’s going to be all right,’ said the doctor. ‘But I’m sorry. Although we tried our best, we couldn’t save the baby.’

Javed stared at the floor, his senses felt scrambled. He could almost taste the metallic bittersweet emotion coursing through his veins. Rukhsana was alive. That was the only thing that mattered. But this was the second child she had lost. The grief would devastate her. He shut his eyes, as if to shut out the thought.

‘Thank you for saving Rukhsa—’ he started to say, when Dr Khurana cut him off.