Read Online Till the Last Breath . . . by Durjoy Datta - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Durjoy Datta
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ate.
‘A few. The next stage has not been tried on anyone else. They might start with a few patients next week.’
‘Hmmm.’ Her mom’s eyebrows knitted. Even though her daughter was to be a doctor a few years from now, she never believed a word other doctors said. She always viewed them with piercing suspicion.
‘We can hope for the best,’ Pihu assured her.
Her mom stayed quiet for a while. ‘I don’t know why God did this to us. We have never cheated anybody. You have been such a good girl. I pray every day. Then why us? Why my little daughter?’ she said and patted Pihu’s head as she ate. Pihu tried hard not to cry. Seeing her mom’s tears made her maddeningly sad. But she had asked these questions a million times and had never got around to finding an answer. It was time to stop asking.
‘Maa, I don’t want you to cry. If you cry, I will too,’ she said.
‘But I had so many dreams for you. Your wedding, your kids, my grandchildren. What had we ever done to deserve this?’ her mom wailed and rushed to the other room.
Pihu knew she would not come out of her room before she cursed God countless times for their pain. But she would still pray, and light
diya
s and incense sticks. She felt sorry for her mother. Though she wanted to hug her and assure her, shewanted her mom to prepare for the worst. She concentrated on the food instead. A little later, the bell rang and her father brought in twenty more boxes of their stuff, which were unloaded in her room. Her father paid the driver and he left.
‘Mom’s crying again,’ she said as her dad joined her at the table.
‘What else can she do?’ he asked.
Pihu served him. He had not been eating a lot those days. She dumped a lot of rice and pulses on his plate. His attempts to stop her fell on deaf ears.
‘Eat. You need it,’ she commanded. ‘You’re under a lot of stress.’
‘And you?’
‘I am okay.’
‘Are you sure, beta?’
‘I will be fine. Plus, I have the best parents in the world to help me deal with this.’ She put her hands around her father’s neck and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Her father didn’t say anything. After they finished the food, they washed the dishes together—something that they had always done together.
‘Did you like the room you saw?’
‘Yes, I did. There is another patient in there. He is young, so it’s better. At least not like the other rooms where there were only old people,’ she laughed.
‘Is it a boy?’
‘Not really a boy. Five–six years older than me. Are you scared I might have an affair with him?’ she chuckled.
‘I wish you could. And then I could take away your cell phone and scold you,’ he said wistfully.
‘Aw. You’re the best dad ever,’ she purred and clutched his hand.
He put his arm around his daughter and his eyes filled with tears. Pihu knew how difficult it must be for him. No matterhow hard he tried, she could always see it. At least things were a little better now. She had got a second chance to live. Though she didn’t know how long it would last, she still wanted to thank the doctor who had made it all possible.
The taxi pulled over at GKL Hospital. The three boxes were in the trunk of the car. Sealed. Pihu got off the car without any help. She was feeling a little better. The hospital was made of red-brick stone and was preposterously huge. One of the hospitals she could have worked in, had she graduated. She was yet to meet her doctor, Arman Kashyap, and was
dying
to meet him. She stifled a giggle at her choice of words. He was the man with all the answers. And he was good-looking too!
They walked to the reception and filled up the elaborate patient-admission and insurance forms. They were asked to wait so that the room could be prepared for her. Pihu was asked to accompany one of the nurses into a changing room.
Unlike others, Pihu loved the stale, nauseating formaldehyde smell that hung around in a hospital. It smelled like a dream to her.
‘A few. The next stage has not been tried on anyone else. They might start with a few patients next week.’
‘Hmmm.’ Her mom’s eyebrows knitted. Even though her daughter was to be a doctor a few years from now, she never believed a word other doctors said. She always viewed them with piercing suspicion.
‘We can hope for the best,’ Pihu assured her.
Her mom stayed quiet for a while. ‘I don’t know why God did this to us. We have never cheated anybody. You have been such a good girl. I pray every day. Then why us? Why my little daughter?’ she said and patted Pihu’s head as she ate. Pihu tried hard not to cry. Seeing her mom’s tears made her maddeningly sad. But she had asked these questions a million times and had never got around to finding an answer. It was time to stop asking.
‘Maa, I don’t want you to cry. If you cry, I will too,’ she said.
‘But I had so many dreams for you. Your wedding, your kids, my grandchildren. What had we ever done to deserve this?’ her mom wailed and rushed to the other room.
Pihu knew she would not come out of her room before she cursed God countless times for their pain. But she would still pray, and light
diya
s and incense sticks. She felt sorry for her mother. Though she wanted to hug her and assure her, shewanted her mom to prepare for the worst. She concentrated on the food instead. A little later, the bell rang and her father brought in twenty more boxes of their stuff, which were unloaded in her room. Her father paid the driver and he left.
‘Mom’s crying again,’ she said as her dad joined her at the table.
‘What else can she do?’ he asked.
Pihu served him. He had not been eating a lot those days. She dumped a lot of rice and pulses on his plate. His attempts to stop her fell on deaf ears.
‘Eat. You need it,’ she commanded. ‘You’re under a lot of stress.’
‘And you?’
‘I am okay.’
‘Are you sure, beta?’
‘I will be fine. Plus, I have the best parents in the world to help me deal with this.’ She put her hands around her father’s neck and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Her father didn’t say anything. After they finished the food, they washed the dishes together—something that they had always done together.
‘Did you like the room you saw?’
‘Yes, I did. There is another patient in there. He is young, so it’s better. At least not like the other rooms where there were only old people,’ she laughed.
‘Is it a boy?’
‘Not really a boy. Five–six years older than me. Are you scared I might have an affair with him?’ she chuckled.
‘I wish you could. And then I could take away your cell phone and scold you,’ he said wistfully.
‘Aw. You’re the best dad ever,’ she purred and clutched his hand.
He put his arm around his daughter and his eyes filled with tears. Pihu knew how difficult it must be for him. No matterhow hard he tried, she could always see it. At least things were a little better now. She had got a second chance to live. Though she didn’t know how long it would last, she still wanted to thank the doctor who had made it all possible.
The taxi pulled over at GKL Hospital. The three boxes were in the trunk of the car. Sealed. Pihu got off the car without any help. She was feeling a little better. The hospital was made of red-brick stone and was preposterously huge. One of the hospitals she could have worked in, had she graduated. She was yet to meet her doctor, Arman Kashyap, and was
dying
to meet him. She stifled a giggle at her choice of words. He was the man with all the answers. And he was good-looking too!
They walked to the reception and filled up the elaborate patient-admission and insurance forms. They were asked to wait so that the room could be prepared for her. Pihu was asked to accompany one of the nurses into a changing room.
Unlike others, Pihu loved the stale, nauseating formaldehyde smell that hung around in a hospital. It smelled like a dream to her.
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