Her melancholic eyes had so many questions. The questions
were known but answers unknown. With brittle heart and fragile hopes, she remained
seated in the doctor’s chamber. Crumpled in her hand was the list of all the
queries she had to ask about her ailing father. The poem which she had read in
the red book when she was studying literature a decade ago kept on coming back
to her. The gel pen got paralyzed in her hand and the ink blot swelled and left
a halo.
‘She was dressed in white
And she had tears in her eyes.
He didn’t want to hurt anyone.
But this happens when someone dies.’
She kept on consoling her. He is still there and he was.
“If a man has lived his life with dignity and if at all it
is his time to go, then so be it with dignity.”
“Is there any chance to help him? This is so excruciating.”
She asked with a lump in her throat.
“He is critically placed and his prognosis is extremely
guarded. Something can happen as and when we are talking or this might just
linger awhile before the untoward event occurs. He is in a limbo right now.”
Said the face behind the mask.
“You have to save him come what may.” Demanded she.
“We do not have a magic wand. We can try and we will. It is
his response that matters. His body has to kick in.” said the medico with a
grin.
“When will he show any signs of improvement”?
“We have to talk about him in sessions. How is he right now.
How he is after 4 hours so on and so forth. Unfortunately, we do not have the
liberty to talk about what we would be doing tomorrow or day after.” be done
tomorrow or day- after."
“Why is he requiring so much support? When will he get
better?” asked the impatient.
“We have to give time. If you get your hand fractured. You
have to keep it in plaster for at least 6 weeks. If you don’t give it rest it
would pain. The house of cards crumble even if couple of cards slip away.”
Said the healer.
“He is just 65, 65 is no age to be that serious. Also, if he
has a problem in his heart then why the other organ systems are getting
affected.” Reasoned she.
“Well he has been extremely sick since early morning today.
Since then the routine of the entire family has gone for a toss. So, if this
can happen to us when a family member gets sick, you can imagine if one organ
system gets affected in the body then all others will get affected in some or
the other way. We are at the mercy of time.” For the first time ever the doctor
showed a hint of compassion; so far he had feigned the straight face well.
“But he was all fine yesterday!” explained she still in
disbelief.
“Yes, his biological age is 65, that is as per the documentation,
but his physiological age due to wear and tear of the various life processes might be more than that. Like if I have bought a car 2 years ago but if I have
drove it for lakhs of kilometres; you can understand the effect on the motor.”
Explained the man.
“What do you mean?”
“Our body tries to keep everything in equilibrium. When the
things go beyond one sees flurry of symptoms. It is like suddenly half of your
staff leaves and the remaining half is compensating. They will compensate but
only up till a certain extent. Finally, they would give up and everything will
tumble upon.” Explained he.
“How come suddenly the tables turn?” asked she lisping for
the first time in the conversation.
“Unfortunately subversion takes less time than conservation.
It is easy to destroy than to build. The wind changes the direction at its own whim. But we will try to turn the waves.”
“You will try everything possible right?” she pleaded with
fingers interlaced into one another.
Yes, we
will try everything possible. We are optimist while treating but pessimistic
while prognosticating. It is a steep walk ahead and we need to understand the
unfortunate situation on the table.” He explained with a barb of pain which he
himself felt within.
“Painfully he will leave us now? Not much of a fight left I
guess.” she suddenly felt like creeping towards the doom’s day. She asked exasperatedly.
“It is not like that. Whatever has to be done as per the
protocols, we have meticulously followed.”
“But it is painful to see him like this. like a howl stacked
in the chest.”
“He is beyond pain, that much I can assure you.”
“Is there anything more? He is so much in pain.” she
helplessly inquired.
“If a man has lived his life with dignity and if at all it
is his time to go, then so be it with dignity.”
Her melancholic eyes had so many questions. The questions
were known but answers unknown. With brittle heart and fragile hopes, she was
sitting in the doctor’s chamber making the list of all the queries she had to
ask about her ailing father. The poem which she had read in the red book when
she was studying literature a decade ago kept on coming back to her. The gel
pen got paralyzed in her hand and the ink blot swelled and left a halo.
‘She was dressed in white
And she had tears in her eyes.
He didn’t want to hurt anyone.
But this happens when someone dies.’
She kept on consoling her. He is still there and he was.
DO READ THE ARTICLE IN THE REVERSE ORDER FOR AMBIGRAM EFFECT.
