Serendipity

31

"Hello, Dr. Vohra, can you please come home urgently?"

GK's panicked voice wafted through the house, stirring Anupama awake. She looked out, the orange hue of the rising sun was beginning to fill her bedroom. Propping herself up on her elbows, she turned to peek at her phone on the bedside table. It was 5.47 AM. Groggily she got up and rubbed her eyes.

*****

The only thing GK was ever afraid of was a fever - the sole symptom that led to the deaths of his dear friend and mentor Anand Kapadia and his wife Gayatri. It was irrational, and yet...

Since turning guardian for Anuj, GK had ensured that Anuj was regularly and diligently fed a host of supplements to keep his immunity in peak condition. The few times Anuj had suffered the occasional cold and fever in the last few years, had been nightmarish for him. But they still weren't in THIS house.

"Relax Mr. Karodiya," Dr. Vohra placated, snapping his fingers to break his yawn. He didn't understand why GK was creating such a fuss about Anuj having a fever. And yet, he didn't want to step on the man's toes, lest it cost him dearly in the future. He was in no mood to disturb his sleep to go visit a fever patient. So he decided to diplomatically buy himself some time.

"I have some urgent appointments at the clinic this morning, Mr. Karodiya," he replied after a prolonged pause. "I'll come by shortly after lunch. In the meantime give him some paracetamol to help with the symptoms."

Nothing the doctor said registered. GK was living one of his worst nightmares.

"GOPI," Gayatri Kapadia screamed his name as he came running to see what was wrong. "GOPI! COME QUICKLY!"

He'd rushed to their bedroom to see Gayatri Kapadia vigorously shake his best friend and mentor Anand Kapadia.

"Gayatri!" Gopi tried to get her away from Anand. She'd clawed on Gopi, hugging him, crying, while Gopi tried to calm her down.

"Gopi, see, what's wrong with him. He's shivering."

GK had touched Anand's forehead and immediately retracted his hand. His body was burning.

"Gayatri, he needs a doctor. He's running a very high temperature."

"I know Gopi, but see, he's not opening his eyes." She tried to shake Anand once again.

"Open your eyes, Anand, please...Open your eyes." Gayatri hugged her husband's body and cried, begging him to open his eyes, to say something.

Suddenly Anand's eyes opened and his eyeballs rolled up all the way into his skull. His body convulsively shook, his head and hands thrashing from side to side, as Gopi and Gayatri tried to hold onto him to their best extent to avoid any accidental physical harm.

"Anand," she wailed. His breathing became erratic and laboured. As the two held onto his hands and legs to prevent his fall from the bed, the breathing continued to slow down before finally coming to a stop. Right before their eyes, Anand Kapadia had breathed his last. And there was nothing they could do, except stare at his lifeless body.

Gayatri Kapadia died similarly a week later. Both the husband and wife's only visible symptom was a fever. The postmortem had revealed that both had died of meningitis. The fever had affected their brain.

"Anuj, nothing will happen to you," GK muttered under his breath. "Anuj, nothing can happen to you. Anuj, you'll be fine. You have to be fine."

*****

Anupama was not asleep anymore. Hastily completing her morning ablutions, she rushed out of her room to find GK sitting in front of Kanhaji's idol, crying.

"Kaka," Anupama rushed to him, her heart beating faster by the minute. Silently, he turned, hugged her, and cried. "I don't have the energy anymore beta."

Anupama panicked. "Kaka, what's wrong?"

"Anuj."

The world seemed to slip from beneath Anupama's feet. What had happened to Anuj? He seemed okay when she'd said good night.

"Fever."

She sighed, a sense of relief rushing through her body.

"Kaka, it's okay, come sit."

He listened to her, got up, and made his way to the sofa. All the commotion had woken up the house help.

"Mohan, can you please Kaka some tea," Anupama asked. When she got up, GK held her hand, "Beta where are you going?"

"To Anuj Ji."

When GK looked unsure, Anupama replied: "Kaka, I've raised three children. A fever is no match for me."

*****

The back of her palm stung with the heat emanating from Anuj's body. He was running an extremely high temperature.

"Anuj ji," she called out, hoping for a reaction. When she didn't hear anything from him, she muttered something about behaving childishly while she made her way to the kitchen.

She was back with a bowl of ice-cold water, the unmistakable stench of vinegar wafting through the entire apartment.

GK's eyes questioned her as she made her way into Anuj's room.

"This will help keep his fever under check until the doctor comes. It will keep his brain safe."

For the next few hours, Anupama sat by Anuj's side, swapping strips of cloth soaked in ice-cold vinegar water on his forehead. As the body temperature began to subside, the strips continued to remain wet longer. She alternatively swapped the strips, occasionally placing some under his foot as well. She was relentless, not moving away, not taking her eyes away from Anuj. GK observed her mutely, his eyes filled with tears, his heart blessing this angel.

An hour later, Anuj opened his eyes. "Water," he rasped. She helped him sit up, and sip a few times from a glass. Then she promptly fed him paracetamol before his body gave way and he collapsed once again.