Mirage

Walking down the dim-lit corridor of Seth Hasmuklal Memorial Hospital, Priya was moving as if floating on the thoughts that clogged her mind and kept all her sanity at bay. Flickering tube lights and the nauseating stench of hospital bedding did little to bother her, a distressed nurse passed by her murmuring curses at the head matron, a very old and senile fellow of ninety and two, looked longingly at her from his bedding as she passed his door. A rat was busy chewing on some leftover food that was left scattered over the floor and a foul odor filled the area. Upon seeing Priya, the rat hurriedly gobbled two-three morsels and dragged with him half piece of chapatti drenched in lentil soup, leaving behind an yellow smelly trail. Priya just glanced at this rat and went her way. She was sailing through an ocean of endless agony, her own heart tearing itself and choking with the very veins and arteries that supplied it with the life-giving fluids.

 

As she passed the water cooler, where it was painted in many shades from light to darkest brown by spitting of tobacco, the water at the holder sink below the tap was turpid and the heavy sludge of tobacco saliva and mucus clogged the drain. Priya passed into the adjacent corridor and was greeted with the strong smell of spirit and medicinal adages. She walked by two operation theaters and the red lights that denoted were only half noticed by her. When she came to the corner where a couple of young nurses were chatting about the hot doctor that came in this semester. 

Priya did not even think of it another second, in her second life, she would have dropped her ears to hear all the gossip and would have whatsapped her woodpecker friend who in turn would have lit a wildfire of this small gossip. But not today, today she was fantom and did not care even if her favorite movie star Rajani dropped by. Her only solace was to retrieve her crying child in the creche where all the patients who were grief-stricken and were inconsolable, their kids were then taken to creche where they played with the broken set of toys that did the job of calming them a little before the whole creche cried in the orchestra of different pitches and the young nurse who was assigned to the creche was overwhelmed such huge task, she gave up and sat motionless in the corner chair looking randomly across the room.

When Priya reached the creche she found her darling, crying and she immediately picked her up, the smell of her mother and the touch of her warmth soothed the child a little before she joined in the chorus of crying that went on and on and on. Priya left the creche and walked to the nearest snack place and purchased a little food which she fed the child in tiny morsels. She did this so mechanically, that anyone who would have had the opportunity of seeing her would have thought of her as a robot than a mother. little did people know that Priya was diagnosed with leukemia, a type of blood cancer and she had hardly 6 -7 months to leave and whatever dreams she dreamed for herself and her child, were washed away with the waters from the mirage called fate. 

While feeding the child, Priya suddenly smiled, she wiped the endless stream of tears that ran down her cheeks. She assumed the very look of Madonna and Sita, that of a mother who was brimming up with love which will be then bestowed upon the adored. She picked her baby up and walked straight out of the gate of the hospital, without looking back, she would take on the life in her last few months on the planet earth and find a place for her child, where this child would grow into a beautiful person like her and she could watch her over from the feathery clouds of the heaven.

Six months later.

Priya lay down on her bed and closed her eyes, she was ready now,  she had placed her child in the good hands of her sister who would raise the child as her own. There was nothing in the world now that could disturb her.  Today before going to the bed, she finished the trust compliances that would take care of her child's expenses for college and marriage later on. She was content now, happy and a radiant smile appeared on the tired white face drained out of the blood. 

As the sleep crept slowly on her eyelids and they became heavy with the cosmic night. There on the bed lay a mother who within a short period of six months fought with life to give her child the best of everything before leaving this world. A spirit with a warm halo and soft hands raised her soul from the body and asked her to accompany her to a place where happiness resides and joy and smile the children of happiness play mischiefs in the garden of eden.

***

Life is a mirage if you are banking on only good things happening, but this doesn't mean you give up when struggle and hardships appear on the horizon, you take the fight to them and show them that you hold that very cosmic presence that is embodied in each of us and no matter what circumstances, you won't give up without a fight and will not go silently into the night.

The End***

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