~•Stars can't shine without darkness•~

It was a dark night . . . a night in which few hours ago the sky that was full of stars, shining brightly, spreading their love and guidance to all, to defeat and overcome the darkness and demon hidden within us. But now there was no source of any light or say any hope; the dark clouds had imprisoned and seized the stars, forbidding and capturing the light . . . the hope. The sound of thunder was enough to shake the nerves of anyone. And the sudden rain was the only thing left behind. It looked like the Almighty was crying and punishing this world for the loss of such beautiful yet poor souls.

The night was really a dark one in all senses.

It was a night that changed everything in Caroline's life.

Everything about that night was overwhelming.

That's called life, isn't it?

Unexpected!

Unpredictable!

Out-of-the-way!

"Doctor! Doctor!" A masculine voice roared as he pushed the double-door of the hospital, breaking the nonchalant atmosphere. "Is there anyone? It's an Emergency! We immediately need a doctor. Please, help."

The hospital that was silent till now, all of a sudden came into life. All the staff on duty rushed towards the source of sound.

A man and a woman in their thirties were standing there in a dishevelled state with Sara and Caroline lying on two stretchers.

"Is any doctor here? Please! It's an Emergency!" The lady with the man cried while holding the hands of little Caroline, tightly. Her peach coloured maxi gown was now filled with red spots which covered her skin. A stall was wrapped around Sara's forehead, to prevent further bleeding.

Tears ran through the lady's eyes as she caressed Caroline's face lovingly. "We're here, princess. The doctor will be here at any moment. Nothing will happen to either of you."

"What happened, sir?" one of the ward-boy asked as he jogged to the couple.

"Can't you see? Where the hell is your doctor? Call him right now or else I'll close this hospital in a blink," the man thunderclap. He wore a checkered grey T-shirt and pajamas, which was now turned red of the dried blood.

The ward-boy shivered in fear with the coldness and the intensity of the voice.

Till then a nurse rushed to them. She glanced at the two patients and whispered, "Please wait, sir. I'll call doctor."

Rosh and Ally Steel best friends of William and Sara White ever since their college days. For Rosh, Sara was more than his sister. After completing their degrees they decided to live together. We not only make the best memories in school and college, but the everlasting friendship and relation also.

The clock ticked. Seconds changed in minutes.

The time was passing, but there was no news of any doctor or even that nurse. The condition of Sara and Caroline was deteriorating. Rosh walked back and forth in the lobby.

Five minutes later the nurse arrived with a doctor.

"Please save them, Doctor. Do anything but save them," the lady rushed to him and then joined her hands in front of him and literally begged.

Rosh, her husband, put his arms around her shoulder consoling her. "Ally, nothing will happen to them."

"Let me first see them, ma'am."

The doctor stared at Sara, and then his eyes roamed at Caroline. Both were covered with blood, lying lifelessly in front of him.

"I'm sorry, sir. But it is a police case, we can't attend them. We have to call the Cops first," he said nonchalantly and shook his head in denial.

"Do you know who am I? Rosh. Rosh Steel. Just attend them, otherwise, I'll not think twice before destroying your career and this hospital," Rosh roared clutching the doctor by his coat.

"B-But it's against the rules of our hospital—"

"Fuck the hell with your rules, God dammit! You don't know me, doctor, and trust me, you don't want to hear about me. If anything happens to either of them; you will regret the day you were born. I'll make your life a real hell. That's Rosh Steel's promise," Rosh threatened through his gritted teeth, cutting the doctor in-between his talk. He was glowering at the doctor pulling his eyebrows together. His eyes were red by the blood rushed to it.

It looked like red was the colour for tonight.

Red!

The colour of love!

Red is a very emotionally intense colour.

But, ironically, it didn't resemble love tonight.

Being terrified, the doctor nodded. "Nurse, hurry up and take them to the Emergency Room and call Dr. Jake."

Caroline was treated in the Emergency Room. She had a minor fracture in her left elbow and some cut on her arms and legs.

While Sara after some first-aid was taken in the Operation Theater (OT) and the red light was switched on.

Rosh sat on a cold and uncomfortable chair placed outside the Operation Theater, an ashen look incised his face.

Ally clutched his hands tightly; they were giving each other the much needed strength, courage to face the disaster just happened in their life.

"Everything will be fine," she repeated, periodically staring at their entwined hands. It looked like she was assuring herself not than him.

Suddenly Rosh' phone started ringing. He composed himself.

"Steel, here," he attended the call maintaining his professional demeanour. Though he was broken, but there is so much to be taken care of. And the first one in his priority list was William.

"Where was he? What happened to them? That led them here," were the questions running in Rosh's mind.

"Is there any news about Mr. White?" His voice was cold, but it betrayed him at last.

"We are still on it, sir," the head of the search party replied. He was one of their best known men.

"Hmm . . ." was the only thing come from Rosh' mouth.

"How are they?" the head asked, concern and worry could be clearly seen in his words. And why not? Sara and William never treated him less than a brother. He had no child of his own, but Caroline fulfilled that hollowness. He felt guilty for all this happening. It was his responsibility to look after their security.

"Still critical." Rosh hung the phone and stared at the closed door of OT.

Ally was sitting beside Caroline's hospital bed, caressing her hair. The effect of seductive was over, but she hadn't gained consciousness yet.

"Mom . . ." Caroline mumbled wriggling in her sleep.

"Princess," Ally whispered, trying to wake her up.

"Mom . . ." Caroline groaned in pain. Ally cupped her face, shaking her to open her eyes, but careful enough not to hurt her.

"MOM!" Caroline woke up with a jerk. She panted heavily and her eyes wandered here and there across the room, searching for something or rather someone.

Ally quickly embraced Caroline and rubbed her back trying to make her calm. "Shh . . . calm down, princess."

Caroline jerked Ally's hands and started to get down. “Mumma! I want to go to mommy.”

"Princess, no, not now. You need to rest, your wounds are still fresh," Ally said, grabbing Caroline, when a sob released from her throat. "I-I promise I'll take you to meet your mother."

"Pinky promise?" Caroline outstretched her little finger. It was her way to seal a promise.

Ally smiled in tears, pulling out her little finger and entangled with Caroline's. "Pinky promise!"

Life is unpredictable no one knows what will happen the next second. No one has any control over it. It's like a river which can't be tamed or controlled.

Caroline was standing in a corner of one hospital room just looking at two persons lying on two different hospital beds all covered in a white shroud, without batting her eyelashes even once. She was just standing like a statue. Emotionless.

She felt like a lost child surrounded by a mass of unknown people, desperately waiting for his parents to find and hold him.

Ally was crying hysterically seeing her state. "Princess." She tried to gain Caroline's attention but got no response, as Caroline didn't hear her.

And this was scaring Ally, Caroline was not responding to anything after entering the room. She was expected to cry, to call her parents to wake up but nothing.

Surely, she was in trauma. She had lost the two most precious possessions of her life. A deadly night changed everything for her.

Rosh and the search party after continuous search for three hours found William's dead body, a few meters away from the burnt car. And Sara, she had lost a lot of blood.

The doctor's words still rang in Rosh and Ally's ear. 'I'm sorry. If you brought her a few hours ago then we might have saved her. You can claim the body after postmortem.'

Body?

Irony of fate!

How easily, two people turned into two bodies just in a few hours.

"Baby." Daniel, the eleven-year-old, son of Rosh and Ally, took Caroline in his embrace. That was it for her. As she was waiting for him only. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. And the next sound that was heard in the room was her loud cries.

Daniel was fast asleep when all this happened last night. When Rosh visited him in the morning he gave the news of accident without wasting a second the little boy rushed to the hospital with him.

"D-Danny bear," Caroline hiccuped hiding her face in his chest. He too tightened his hold. Though she was very young, but deep down she knew that everything was going to change from now. "See them, they are not talking. Please tell them to wake up. I promise I won't nag them. I won't trouble anyone."

Though Daniel was trying to console Caroline. But he was crying and devastated too. Why couldn't he? William and Sara were like his second parents. They were his godparents. Sara always protected him from Ally's scolding. And William was his partner in crime and his secret-keeper. Whenever there was any complain about him from school William was the one who used to accompany him without informing Rosh and Ally.

"Shh . . . baby, you know they don't like your tears, right?" he said wiping her tears.

"Please Danny, tell them to wake up. I promise I'll not cry." Caroline rubbed her palms over her cheeks. "See, I'm not crying, anymore. Now, will they talk to me?"

"And . . . and I'll not ask for any doll. I'll be a good girl. I won't show any tantrums. I'll have my food too, and even those yucky vegetables," Caroline kept babbling.

Seeing her like this Ally wailed and hugged her husband. Rosh didn't show his tears, but his heart was bleeding.

"They hadn't gone anywhere, princess," Rosh said pecking Caroline's temple as he got on his knees to reach at her level. "How can they go, leaving our sweet princess?"

"Really!" Caroline's face lightened up. "They are here? They will never leave me."

"Never." Rosh shook his head. "They are always with you." He held her palm in his and placed it over her heart. "Here! You'll always find them residing in your heart."